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John E. Steinbeck Elementary

Q: Is John E. Steinbeck Elementary a good school?

John E. Steinbeck Elementary ranks 3841 st of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-6

3841^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 34% of California elementary schools

Summary

John E. Steinbeck Elementary is a K-6 public school serving 486 students in Salinas, part of the Alisal Union School District, and it stands out as a relatively strong academic performer within its local context despite the challenges faced by the broader district.

Academically, Steinbeck consistently outperforms the Alisal Union district average, with its biggest strength being science, where student proficiency is nearly double the district average and even slightly exceeds the state average. The school shows promising improvement, moving from a 1-star to a 2-star rating this year. Compared to nearby schools like Virginia Rocca Barton Elementary and Frank Paul Elementary, Steinbeck often has higher proficiency in core subjects, and it generally outperforms schools in the neighboring Salinas City Elementary district. However, performance varies significantly by grade, with 5th graders excelling but 6th graders struggling particularly in math.

Important areas for parents to note include a concerning, sharp decline in performance for English Language Learners and a chronic absenteeism rate that, while improved from pandemic highs, remains a challenge. The school achieves these academic results with slightly lower per-student spending than some district peers, suggesting efficient resource use. For families in the area, Steinbeck represents one of the stronger elementary school options, showing clear strengths in science and a positive recovery trend, though with specific grade-level and student group supports that may need attention.

486

Students ?

24.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$20,584

Per pupil spending ?

78%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1714 Burlington Dr.
Salinas, CA 93906-4411

(831) 753-5780

District: Alisal Union

Students who attend John E. Steinbeck Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Harden Middle
High:	Everett Alvarez High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

90.1%

Asian:

3.7%

Two or more races:

2.7%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare John E. Steinbeck Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 56th percentile in 2013 → 34th in 2025

Strengths

✓Among the top-ranked schools in Alisal Union

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (30% vs 41% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped — down 22 percentile points since 2013

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school30%

District avg24%

California avg41%

3,841^st of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 34%▼ down 14 pts since 2015

From bottom 48% (2015) to bottom 34% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 12Elementary Schools in the Alisal Union

1327^th of 1,543Alisal Union among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	31.5	3841 of 5857	34.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	25.2	4348 of 5869	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	27.6	4101 of 5859	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	30.0	3865 of 5883	34.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	49.2	2643 of 5789	54.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	43.1	2952 of 5662	47.9%	★★☆☆☆
2017	32.7	3630 of 5692	36.2%	★★☆☆☆
2016	39.2	3129 of 5614	44.3%	★★☆☆☆
2015	42.4	2890 of 5611	48.5%	★★☆☆☆
2013	54.8	2413 of 5530	56.4%	★★★☆☆
2012	57.1	2201 of 5390	59.2%	★★★☆☆
2011	43.3	3004 of 5377	44.1%	★★☆☆☆
2010	52.1	2443 of 5314	54.0%	★★★☆☆
2009	49.5	2519 of 5193	51.5%	★★★☆☆
2008	53.7	2182 of 5113	57.3%	★★★☆☆
2007	55.5	2041 of 5113	60.1%	★★★☆☆
2006	49.6	2215 of 4818	54.0%	★★★☆☆
2005	59.4	1777 of 4822	63.1%	★★★☆☆
2004	59.0	1761 of 4809	63.4%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	36.0	1234 of 2227	44.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	42.1	1227 of 2585	52.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	35.2	1213 of 2128	43.0%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	20.6	3053 of 3162	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	35.1	2152 of 3245	33.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	29.3	2665 of 3311	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	67.4	602 of 3275	81.6%	★★★★☆
2018	71.6	510 of 3246	84.3%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	28.2	3997 of 5597	28.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.5	4562 of 5612	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.1	3955 of 5609	29.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	35.1	3318 of 5635	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	55.0	2226 of 5492	59.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	46.4	2694 of 5413	50.2%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	40.5	2978 of 5107	41.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	31.4	3629 of 5107	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	35.2	3296 of 5087	35.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	38.9	2984 of 5084	41.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	61.2	1619 of 4963	67.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	52.5	2078 of 4830	57.0%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	32.9	3758 of 5460	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	33.1	3692 of 5517	33.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	34.3	3539 of 5363	34.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	32.8	3598 of 5264	31.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	59.1	1825 of 5173	64.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	62.1	1623 of 5084	68.1%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	34.9	3480 of 5628	38.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	29.8	3829 of 5643	32.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	28.3	3941 of 5638	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	27.4	4009 of 5663	29.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	43.8	2783 of 5510	49.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	39.4	3088 of 5431	43.1%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	33.4	1811 of 2847	36.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	29.9	1845 of 2635	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.8	1484 of 2420	38.7%	★★☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Disabled (2022)45th percentile+10 vs school

Hispanic (2025)42nd percentile+7 vs school

Male (2025)38th percentile+4 vs school

Special Education (2025)36th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)31st percentile-3 vs school

Female (2025)29th percentile-6 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)3rd percentile-22 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy36%-13 vs state

Science31%~ state avg

Mathematics24%-14 vs state

4.0

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Schools Near John E. Steinbeck Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CSA Spanish Overall (2025)				CSA Spanish Listening (2025)				CSA Spanish Writing (2025)				CSA Spanish Reading (2025)				CAST Science (2025)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)					Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)					% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CSA Spanish Overall 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
John E. Steinbeck Elementary	Public	K-6	1714 Burlington Dr.	Salinas	93906	Monterey County	Alisal Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 753-5780	486	20	24.9	78.0%	12 (2.5%)	2 (0.4%)	438 (90.1%)	18 (3.7%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (2.7%)	31.5	3841^st of 5857 public elementary schools	34.4%		25.2	4348^th of 5869 public elementary schools	25.9%	507																	31.3	31.3	28.2	24.7	52.5	36.2	35.6	39.4	17.3	28.8	8.7	23.6	96.3				96.3		$20,584	$3,031	$17,553
Loma Vista Elementary	Public	K-6	757 Sausal Dr.	Salinas	93906	Monterey County	Salinas City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 753-5670	445	19	23.4	73.0%	7 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	427 (96.0%)	3 (0.7%)	5 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.7%)	5.6	5823^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	0.6%		8.2	5763^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	1.8%	60																	1.8	1.8	8.2	5.6	8.8	16.9	10.3	8.2	7.4	1.8	7.0	6.2
Creekside Elementary	Public	K-6	1770 Kittery St.	Salinas	93906	Monterey County	Alisal Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 753-5252	534	21	25.4	75.7%	15 (2.8%)	2 (0.4%)	484 (90.6%)	21 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	10 (1.9%)	20.7	4771^st of 5857 public elementary schools	18.5%		23	4580^th of 5869 public elementary schools	22.0%	191																	26.6	26.6	15.5	17.8	46.8	24.7	26.7	15.5	14.9	26.6	2.7	15.2							$21,166	$3,721	$17,445
Alisal Virtual Academy	Public, Virtual	1-6	1770 Kittery St.	Salinas	93906	Monterey County	Alisal Union	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(831) 753-5700	22	3	7.3	81.8%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (90.9%)	2 (9.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																							6.3					0.0							$31,587	$2,663	$28,924
New Republic Elementary	Public	K-5	636 Arcadia Way	Salinas	93906	Monterey County	Santa Rita Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 443-7246	482	23	20.9	78.6%	26 (5.4%)	3 (0.6%)	400 (83.0%)	38 (7.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (2.9%)	30.6	3909^th of 5857 public elementary schools	33.3%		33.1	3673^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	37.4%	236																	31.7	31.7	19.1	28.2	47.4		31.0	14.3	27.9	36.7		26.1	95.4	97.3	97.3	97.3	96.3	98.2	$20,270	$2,052	$18,218
Virginia Rocca Barton Elementary	Public	K-6	680 Las Casitas Dr.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Alisal Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 753-5770	526	20	26.3	94.1%	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	517 (98.3%)	4 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	23.9	4503^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	23.1%		30.2	3909^th of 5869 public elementary schools	33.4%	594																	4.7	4.7	22.7	32.5	10.8	40.8	26.4	42.1	26.7	8.2	31.3	26.6							$22,357	$3,357	$19,000
Frank Paul Elementary	Public	K-6	1300 Rider Ave.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Alisal Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 753-5740	638	27	24.0	92.0%	5 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	622 (97.5%)	5 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.6%)	14	5347^th of 5857 public elementary schools	8.7%		21.5	4719^th of 5869 public elementary schools	19.6%	628																	3.3	3.3	20.8	22.5	9.1	40.8	22.7	24.1	14.6	5.6	14.3	14.3							$21,689	$2,882	$18,807
Natividad Elementary	Public	K-6	1465 Modoc Ave.	Salinas	93906	Monterey County	Salinas City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 753-5675	705	31	23.1	78.9%	9 (1.3%)	2 (0.3%)	651 (92.3%)	21 (3.0%)	14 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.1%)	12.5	5465^th of 5857 public elementary schools	6.7%		9.3	5715^th of 5869 public elementary schools	2.6%	250	8.9	5.1	2.1	5.3	35.6	5.1	31.9	25.2	20.0	15.4	2.1	12.2	6.7	5.1	2.1	4.6	6.5	6.5	21.7	14.3	14.0	30.8	19.4	24.2	8.4	4.7	24.4	14.6
El Gabilan Elementary	Public	K-6	1256 Linwood Dr.	Salinas	93906	Monterey County	Salinas City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 753-5660	548	24	22.8	78.3%	20 (3.6%)	2 (0.4%)	497 (90.7%)	8 (1.5%)	6 (1.1%)	3 (0.5%)	12 (2.2%)	14.8	5278^th of 5857 public elementary schools	9.9%		16.8	5147^th of 5869 public elementary schools	12.3%	131																	15.1	15.1	7.9	21.4	25.9	30.4	21.2	6.6	22.6	9.3	20.5	15.4	92.9	96.4	96.4	95.5	96.4	98.2
Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Academy	Public	K-6	925 North Sanborn Rd.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Alisal Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-3916	577	24	24.5	96.2%	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	575 (99.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17.3	5068^th of 5857 public elementary schools	13.5%		18.3	5003^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	14.8%	65																	5.3	5.3	12.5	27.4	23.1	20.8	21.0	32.1	29.4	22.1	11.4	23.9							$20,715	$3,172	$17,543

Frequently Asked Questions about John E. Steinbeck Elementary

What district is John E. Steinbeck Elementary in?

Alisal Union

What schools do graduates of John E. Steinbeck Elementary attend?

Students who attend John E. Steinbeck Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Harden Middle
High : Everett Alvarez High

What is the racial makeup of John E. Steinbeck Elementary?

Students at John E. Steinbeck Elementary are 90% Hispanic, 4% Asian, 3% Two or more races, 2% White.

How many students attend John E. Steinbeck Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 486 students attended John E. Steinbeck Elementary.

Is John E. Steinbeck Elementary a good school?

John E. Steinbeck Elementary ranks 3841^st of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Rate John E. Steinbeck Elementary!

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.