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Rice (William) Elementary

Public Grades K-6

5587^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,817 California Elementary Schools

Better than 4% of California elementary schools

Summary

Rice (William) Elementary is a K–6 school in Santa Maria, California, serving 887 students in the Santa Maria-Bonita district. In 2025–2026, about 19% of students were proficient in English language arts (ELA), 13% in math and 10% in science—below district and state rates in all three subjects. The clearest concern is math: Rice had the lowest all-grade math proficiency among the 11 nearby schools.

Compared with nearby schools, science is Rice’s closest result to the local average: about 10% proficiency versus a nearby mean of 14%, a 4-point gap. ELA was about 19%, 5 points below the nearby mean of 24%, while math was about 13%, 7 points below the nearby mean of 19%. Rice’s results were also below district rates by 6 points in ELA, 4 in math and 5 in science, and below state rates by 30, 26 and 26 points, respectively. The grade-level picture is uneven: fifth-grade math was about 6%, below every nearby school’s result (range 6.11%–26.92%). Rice’s fourth- and fifth-grade ELA results were also second-lowest locally.

Rice’s scores have changed little or declined over four years while state results rose, widening the school–state gaps by 3 points in ELA, 5 in math and 5 in science. SchoolDigger places Rice at the 4th percentile with 0 stars in 2025–2026, down from the 7th percentile in 2023–2024. Attendance has improved: chronic absenteeism fell 29 percentage points from 2021–2022 to 2025–2026, reaching 14%, below the state’s 18% but above the district’s 13% and nearby average of 12%. The 2024–2025 free/reduced lunch eligible share was 95%, compared with a nearby average of 94%; the student-teacher ratio was 21.9, close to the nearby average of 22.1. One notable subgroup trend in SchoolDigger’s statewide rankings is for homeless students: the school’s ranking for how well it serves this group fell from the 35th percentile in 2023–2024 to the 10th percentile in 2025–2026.

887

Students ?

21.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,259

Per pupil spending ?

95.2%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in California receive free school meals.

≥ 99%

Kindergartners with all required immunizations (2024-25)

700 East Vickie Ave.
Santa Maria, CA 93454-2236

(805) 361-7740

District: Santa Maria-Bonita

Students who attend Rice (William) Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Fesler (Isaac) Junior High
High:	Pioneer Valley High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

95.5%

White:

1.8%

Two or more races:

1.6%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Rice (William) Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 15th percentile in 2015 → 4th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (15% vs 42% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (4th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 11 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school15%

District avg20%

California avg42%

5,587^th of 5,817

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 4%▼ down 17 pts since 2016

From bottom 20% (2016) to bottom 4% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

15^th of 17Elementary Schools in the Santa Maria-Bonita

1426^th of 1,530Santa Maria-Bonita 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
2026	10.3	5587 of 5817	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	11.0	5567 of 5857	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.0	5480 of 5869	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.1	5380 of 5859	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.1	5599 of 5883	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	27.4	4155 of 5789	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	38.5	3249 of 5662	42.6%	★★☆☆☆
2017	24.6	4292 of 5692	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	21.6	4465 of 5614	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	18.8	4750 of 5611	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	19.0	4803 of 5530	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	17.4	4823 of 5390	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	17.3	4837 of 5377	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	22.0	4460 of 5314	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	34.7	3388 of 5193	34.8%	★★☆☆☆
2008	42.6	2809 of 5113	45.1%	★★☆☆☆
2007	27.3	3752 of 5113	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	35.8	2950 of 4818	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2005	23.3	3744 of 4822	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	21.5	3835 of 4809	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	16.8	2208 of 2227	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	39.3	1338 of 2585	48.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	48.9	804 of 2128	62.2%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	30.4	2525 of 3162	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	33.8	2254 of 3245	30.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	30.4	2570 of 3311	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.0	2785 of 3275	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.8	2266 of 3246	30.2%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	11.0	5355 of 5581	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	11.5	5336 of 5597	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.8	5205 of 5612	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.8	5066 of 5609	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	15.7	5126 of 5635	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	34.4	3465 of 5492	36.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	42.4	2924 of 5413	46.0%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	13.0	4846 of 5094	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	14.4	4794 of 5107	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	17.4	4639 of 5107	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	17.5	4645 of 5087	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.7	4818 of 5084	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	34.3	3365 of 4963	32.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	48.3	2331 of 4830	51.7%	★★★☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	21.9	331 of 366	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	30.6	349 of 429	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	37.2	238 of 364	34.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	35.3	226 of 335	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	28.9	282 of 356	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	12.5	5177 of 5423	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	13.4	5150 of 5460	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	16.9	5020 of 5517	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	17.9	4833 of 5363	9.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.9	5023 of 5264	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	37.1	3342 of 5173	35.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	51.9	2238 of 5084	56.0%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	10.9	5367 of 5603	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	11.8	5325 of 5628	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.9	5247 of 5643	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.1	5225 of 5638	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	10.7	5518 of 5663	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	21.3	4538 of 5510	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	34.4	3387 of 5431	37.6%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	24.2	2435 of 2927	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	19.2	2634 of 2847	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	21.7	2307 of 2635	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	15.4	2407 of 2420	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

English Language Learner (2024)20th percentile+14 vs school

Special Education (2026)17th percentile+13 vs school

Homeless (2026)10th percentile+6 vs school

Hispanic (2026)5th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)5th percentile~ school

Male (2026)4th percentile~ school

Female (2026)4th percentile~ school

Disabled (2022)1st percentile-4 vs school

By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy19%-30 vs state

Mathematics13%-26 vs state

Science10%-26 vs state

★

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Schools Near Rice (William) Elementary

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				CAST Science (2026)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2026)					Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2026)					Vaccination (2024-25)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	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	Vaccination: Kindergartners with all required immunizations	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Rice (William) Elementary	Public	K-6	700 East Vickie Ave.	Santa Maria	93454	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-7740	887	40	21.9	95.2%	16 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	847 (95.5%)	3 (0.3%)	7 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (1.6%)	10.3	5587^th of 5817 public elementary schools	4.0%		11	5567^th of 5857 public elementary schools	5.0%	20	10.1	10.1	17.7	16.8	15.5	25.8	19.0	16.7	16.0	5.9	12.1	12.7	≥ 99%		$21,259	$1,858	$19,401
Alvin Elementary	Public	K-6	301 East Alvin Ave.	Santa Maria	93454	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-6760	998	41	24.2	97.6%	12 (1.2%)	1 (0.1%)	973 (97.5%)	3 (0.3%)	5 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.4%)	10.1	5598^th of 5817 public elementary schools	3.8%		12	5502^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	6.1%	96	9.9	9.9	18.4	17.9	19.2	16.2	17.9	18.6	20.9	6.4	9.1	13.5	97%	0%	$20,247	$1,676	$18,571
Taylor (Ida Redmond) Elementary	Public	K-6	1921 North Carlotti Dr.	Santa Maria	93454	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-6250	849	45	19.0	85.7%	36 (4.2%)	2 (0.2%)	762 (89.8%)	33 (3.9%)	2 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	12 (1.4%)	17.8	4992^nd of 5817 public elementary schools	14.2%		17.3	5074^th of 5857 public elementary schools	13.4%	82	15.9	15.9	21.9	18.2	24.1	31.6	24.2	26.3	23.2	15.0	22.7	21.8	≥ 99%		$22,934	$2,671	$20,263
Tunnell (Martin Luther) Elementary	Public	K-6	1248 East Dena Way	Santa Maria	93454	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-7940	917	42	21.6	84.2%	56 (6.1%)	2 (0.2%)	819 (89.3%)	18 (2.0%)	4 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	17 (1.9%)	19.5	4856^th of 5817 public elementary schools	16.5%		17.2	5077^th of 5857 public elementary schools	13.3%	221	11.5	11.5	34.5	23.5	21.6	29.8	27.6	32.8	18.0	14.4	21.2	21.7	97%	0%	$20,074	$1,724	$18,350
Bruce (Robert) Elementary	Public	K-6	601 West Alvin Ave.	Santa Maria	93458	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-6940	1,050	47	22.3	96.1%	10 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1,026 (97.7%)	4 (0.4%)	4 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (0.6%)	11.7	5500^th of 5817 public elementary schools	5.4%		10.8	5583^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	4.7%	83	16.4	16.4	9.2	17.4	25.0	21.2	18.1	16.0	20.7	12.5	10.7	15.0	97%	0%	$20,866	$2,092	$18,774
Ontiveros (Juan Pacifico) Elementary	Public	K-6	930 West Rancho Verde	Santa Maria	93458	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-7680	869	35	24.8	94.2%	8 (0.9%)	1 (0.1%)	840 (96.7%)	10 (1.2%)	6 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.5%)	36.1	3493^rd of 5817 public elementary schools	40.0%		40.6	3177^th of 5857 public elementary schools	45.8%	316	21.2	21.2	37.9	34.7	47.1	39.7	39.7	34.7	45.1	26.9	18.2	31.2	≥ 99%		$21,222	$1,678	$19,544
Oakley (Calvin C.) Elementary	Public	K-6	1120 West Harding St.	Santa Maria	93458	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-7620	849	40	21.0	95.9%	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	830 (97.8%)	11 (1.3%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	15	5220^th of 5817 public elementary schools	10.3%		15	5261^st of 5857 public elementary schools	10.2%	41	9.3	9.3	18.1	31.3	14.7	23.0	21.6	19.9	28.7	16.2	15.0	20.0	≥ 99%		$21,494	$1,661	$19,833
Fairlawn Elementary	Public	K-6	120 Mary Dr.	Santa Maria	93458	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-7500	716	34	20.8	97.6%	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	705 (98.5%)	4 (0.6%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12.5	5439^th of 5817 public elementary schools	6.5%		14.9	5272^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	10.0%	167	19.5	19.5	15.1	17.6	26.1	19.8	19.5	11.3	14.9	19.3	11.9	14.1	98%	0%	$21,182	$1,650	$19,532
Miller (Isaac) Elementary	Public	K-6	410 East Camino Colegio	Santa Maria	93454	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-7560	883	40	21.8	94.5%	20 (2.3%)	2 (0.2%)	839 (95.0%)	5 (0.6%)	7 (0.8%)	2 (0.2%)	8 (0.9%)	14.3	5287^th of 5817 public elementary schools	9.1%		16	5179^th of 5857 public elementary schools	11.6%	108	12.9	12.9	10.9	31.9	21.3	25.5	22.4	12.5	28.3	9.8	13.5	15.9	≥ 99%		$20,569	$1,638	$18,931
Sanchez (David J.) Elementary	Public	K-6	804 West Liberty St.	Santa Maria	93458	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-4625	654	31	20.8	96.2%	4 (0.6%)	2 (0.3%)	645 (98.6%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24.3	4444^th of 5817 public elementary schools	23.6%		24.4	4459^th of 5857 public elementary schools	23.9%	15	14.9	14.9	40.5	29.5	21.2	25.6	28.8	40.8	34.6	14.9	18.3	26.6	97%	0%	$22,062	$1,761	$20,301

Frequently Asked Questions about Rice (William) Elementary

What schools do graduates of Rice (William) Elementary attend?

Students who attend Rice (William) Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Fesler (Isaac) Junior High
High : Pioneer Valley High

What district is Rice (William) Elementary in?

Santa Maria-Bonita

Is Rice (William) Elementary a good school?

Rice (William) Elementary ranks in the bottom 4.0% of California elementary schools.

What is the racial makeup of Rice (William) Elementary?

Students at Rice (William) Elementary are 95% Hispanic, 2% White, 2% Two or more races.

How many students attend Rice (William) Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 887 students attended Rice (William) Elementary.

Rate Rice (William) Elementary!

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Latest California data All new data »

2024–25 school spending data (updated)NewNov 2, 2026

2013–14 through 2024–25 immunization rates (updated)Oct 19, 2026

2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesOct 15, 2026

2025–26 CAST, CSA Spanish & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresOct 15, 2026

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.