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Sanchez (David J.) Elementary

Public Grades K-6
4433rd
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 5,804 California Elementary Schools
Better than 24% of California elementary schools
Summary

Sanchez (David J.) Elementary serves 654 students in grades K–6 in Santa Maria, in the Santa Maria-Bonita district. Its 2025–26 results show a clear local advantage in English language arts (ELA) and math, but the most important finding is that Sanchez remains below California’s statewide results in all three tested subjects.

Among nearby K–6 schools, Sanchez had the highest ELA and math proficiency rates: 29% in ELA and 27% in math, compared with peer averages of 20% and 16%. It was also above the district by 4 percentage points in ELA and 10 in math. However, its scores remained 20 points below the state in ELA and 12 below in math. Science is the weaker area: Sanchez’s 15% was fourth among the ten schools compared, just 2 points above the nearby-school average and essentially level with the district, but 21 points below the state. These subject results are school-level snapshots, not a record of the same students’ progress over time.

The statewide gaps have widened since 2022–23, especially in science: Sanchez’s science result fell from 20% to 15% as the state rose from 30% to 36%, widening the gap from 10 to 21 points. ELA also declined, from 31% to 29%, while the state improved; math rose from 25% to 27%, but more slowly than the state. SchoolDigger places Sanchez at the 24th percentile with 1 star in 2025–26, above the nearby K–6 schools’ 4th-to-13th percentile range; its student-teacher ratio was 20.8 in 2024–25, tied for the lowest among nearby K–6 schools. The school reported 96% free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–25, compared with a nearby-school average of 95%. SchoolDigger’s homeless-student ranking was notably higher than its overall standing: 80th percentile versus 24th in 2025–26. Its Special Education Students ranking fell from the 55th percentile in 2024–25 to the 35th in 2025–26, still above the overall percentile.

654
Students ?
20.8
Student/teacher ratio ?
$23,109
Per pupil spending ?
96.2%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
All students in California receive free school meals.
 804 West Liberty St.
       Santa Maria, CA  93458-6806

(805) 361-4625

District: Santa Maria-Bonita


Students who attend Sanchez (David J.) Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Arellanes Junior High
High:    Santa Maria High
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
98.6%
White:
0.6%
African American:
0.3%
more
 See top rated California elementary schools

 Compare Sanchez (David J.) Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 37th percentile in 2018 → 24th in 2026
Strengths
✓Among the top-ranked schools in Santa Maria-Bonita
Worth a look
!Test scores below the California average (26% vs 42% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (24th percentile)
!Ranking has slipped from its 37th-percentile peak (2018) to 24th (2026)
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school26%
District avg20%
California avg42%
4,433rd of 5,804
California public elementary schools ?
Bottom 24%▲ up 6 pts since 2016
From bottom 18% (2016) to bottom 24% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
3rd of 17Elementary Schools in the Santa Maria-Bonita
916th of 968Santa 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202624.34433 of 580423.6%★☆☆☆☆
202524.44459 of 585723.9%★☆☆☆☆
202425.24353 of 586925.8%★☆☆☆☆
202329.83897 of 585933.5%★★☆☆☆
202228.34015 of 588331.8%★★☆☆☆
201927.44153 of 578928.3%★☆☆☆☆
201833.83556 of 566237.2%★★☆☆☆
201730.13818 of 569232.9%★★☆☆☆
201620.24598 of 561418.1%★☆☆☆☆
201518.64780 of 561114.8%★☆☆☆☆
201329.04131 of 553025.3%★☆☆☆☆
201223.34425 of 539017.9%★☆☆☆☆
201123.24454 of 537717.2%★☆☆☆☆
201019.14646 of 531412.6%★☆☆☆☆
200918.04579 of 519311.8%★☆☆☆☆
200828.43718 of 511327.3%★☆☆☆☆
200720.84229 of 511317.3%★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202224.41767 of 222720.7%★☆☆☆☆
201919.62372 of 25858.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201842.5972 of 212854.3%★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202448.71255 of 316260.3%★★★☆☆
202368.6532 of 324583.6%★★★★☆
202250.31187 of 331164.1%★★★☆☆
201934.72148 of 327534.4%★★☆☆☆
201831.02318 of 324628.6%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202629.03946 of 556929.1%★☆☆☆☆
202527.54043 of 559727.8%★☆☆☆☆
202425.84174 of 561225.6%★☆☆☆☆
202330.43716 of 560933.7%★★☆☆☆
202229.13823 of 563532.2%★★☆☆☆
201930.13819 of 549230.5%★★☆☆☆
201833.33528 of 541334.8%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202634.03433 of 508532.5%★★☆☆☆
202533.03545 of 510730.6%★★☆☆☆
202435.43322 of 510735.0%★★☆☆☆
202341.82769 of 508745.6%★★☆☆☆
202238.92985 of 508441.3%★★☆☆☆
201939.33004 of 496339.5%★★☆☆☆
201846.22469 of 483048.9%★★☆☆☆

Homeless

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202668.575 of 36679.5%★★★★☆
202554.3157 of 42963.4%★★★☆☆
202458.1117 of 36467.9%★★★☆☆
202343.3183 of 33545.4%★★☆☆☆
202224.1307 of 35613.8%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202633.63679 of 541232.0%★★☆☆☆
202533.43720 of 546031.9%★★☆☆☆
202433.93630 of 551734.2%★★☆☆☆
202341.32961 of 536344.8%★★☆☆☆
202239.13086 of 526441.4%★★☆☆☆
201939.73146 of 517339.2%★★☆☆☆
201847.12547 of 508449.9%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202621.94530 of 559019.0%★☆☆☆☆
202523.14463 of 562820.7%★☆☆☆☆
202425.34245 of 564324.8%★☆☆☆☆
202330.43738 of 563833.7%★★☆☆☆
202228.53926 of 566330.7%★★☆☆☆
201926.54064 of 551026.2%★☆☆☆☆
201834.43381 of 543137.7%★★☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202632.91892 of 292035.2%★★☆☆☆
202544.21279 of 284755.1%★★★☆☆
202434.71578 of 263540.1%★★☆☆☆
202339.61229 of 242049.2%★★☆☆☆
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)
Homeless (2026)80th percentile+56 vs school
English Language Learner (2024)60th percentile+34 vs school
Special Education (2026)35th percentile+12 vs school
Hispanic (2026)32nd percentile+9 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)32nd percentile+8 vs school
Female (2026)29th percentile+6 vs school
Disabled (2022)21st percentile-11 vs school
Male (2026)19th percentile-5 vs school
By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts/Literacy29%-20 vs state
Mathematics27%-12 vs state
Science15%-21 vs state

★
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Frequently Asked Questions about Sanchez (David J.) Elementary

Students who attend Sanchez (David J.) Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Arellanes Junior High
High : Santa Maria High

Sanchez (David J.) Elementary ranks in the bottom 23.6% of California elementary schools.

Students at Sanchez (David J.) Elementary are 99% Hispanic.

In the 2024-25 school year, 654 students attended Sanchez (David J.) Elementary.

Rate Sanchez (David J.) Elementary!



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Latest California data All new data »
2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNewOct 15, 2026
2025–26 CAST, CSA Spanish & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresNewOct 15, 2026
2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026
2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 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.

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