Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Magnolia Elementary

Public Grades K-5
5787th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 5,857 California Elementary Schools
Better than 1% of California elementary schools
Summary

Magnolia Elementary is a public K-5 school serving 703 students in El Cajon, part of the Cajon Valley Union School District, and it currently ranks among the lowest-performing elementary schools in the entire state of California.

Academically, the school faces significant challenges, with only about 13% of students proficient in English and 7% in math, which is substantially lower than both the district and state averages. This performance is also notably weaker than nearby schools within the same district, such as Flying Hills School of Arts and Johnson Elementary, and dramatically trails schools in neighboring districts like Pepper Drive Elementary in the Santee district. Furthermore, chronic absenteeism, where students miss a large portion of the school year, is high at 30.5%, a pattern seen across several Cajon Valley Union schools but less common in other local districts.

The school's statewide ranking has declined steadily over the past decade, and it serves a student population where over 90% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. While the school spends nearly $20,000 per student, which is more than some higher-performing nearby schools, outcomes remain poor, suggesting challenges that may extend beyond funding alone. Parents may want to note that schools in adjacent districts, such as Winter Gardens Elementary in Lakeside Union Elementary district, achieve stronger academic results with similar or lower spending per student.

703
Students ?
26.2
Student/teacher ratio ?
$21,776
Per pupil spending ?
91%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 650 Greenfield Dr.
       El Cajon, CA  92021-2957

(619) 588-3080

District: Cajon Valley Union


Students who attend Magnolia Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Greenfield Middle
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
44.0%
White:
20.8%
African American:
13.9%
more
 See top rated California elementary schools

 Compare Magnolia Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 41st percentile in 2013 → 1st in 2025
Worth a look
!Test scores below the California average (10% vs 41% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (1st percentile)
!High chronic absenteeism (30% vs 19% California)
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school10%
District avg26%
California avg41%
5,787th of 5,857
California public elementary schools ?
Bottom 1%▼ down 35 pts since 2015
From bottom 36% (2015) to bottom 1% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
19th of 19Elementary Schools in the Cajon Valley Union
1184th of 1,543Cajon Valley 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
20256.85787 of 58571.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20247.95782 of 58691.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202311.75584 of 58594.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202215.65308 of 58839.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201910.95517 of 57894.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201811.55352 of 56625.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201716.74974 of 569212.6%★☆☆☆☆
201625.94103 of 561426.9%★☆☆☆☆
201531.53584 of 561136.1%★★☆☆☆
201341.23238 of 553041.4%★★☆☆☆
201245.72897 of 539046.3%★★☆☆☆
201126.54220 of 537721.5%★☆☆☆☆
201027.54039 of 531424.0%★☆☆☆☆
200939.43081 of 519340.7%★★☆☆☆
200832.03455 of 511332.4%★★☆☆☆
200733.83311 of 511335.2%★★☆☆☆
200627.93462 of 481828.1%★☆☆☆☆
200531.73181 of 482234.0%★★☆☆☆
200425.53524 of 480926.7%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202529.7403 of 56929.2%★☆☆☆☆
202417.2551 of 5937.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202331.2452 of 66131.6%★★☆☆☆

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
20250.31202 of 12030.1%☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202227.01631 of 222726.8%★☆☆☆☆
201922.22220 of 258514.1%★☆☆☆☆
201818.92019 of 21285.1%☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202422.42977 of 31625.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202321.43078 of 32455.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202239.11868 of 331143.6%★★☆☆☆
201935.42099 of 327535.9%★★☆☆☆
201828.72479 of 324623.6%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
20257.15553 of 55970.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202410.55450 of 56122.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202311.15439 of 56093.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202215.45153 of 56358.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201915.05030 of 54928.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201812.65093 of 54135.9%☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
20258.05047 of 51071.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202411.74943 of 51073.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202317.14670 of 50878.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202221.94365 of 508414.1%★☆☆☆☆
201910.24853 of 49632.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201812.14639 of 48304.0%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
20258.45376 of 54601.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20249.95408 of 55172.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202313.45137 of 53634.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202220.74600 of 526412.6%★☆☆☆☆
201914.14889 of 51735.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201814.84757 of 50846.4%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
20258.15529 of 56281.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20246.95605 of 56430.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202314.15234 of 56387.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202216.65062 of 566310.6%★☆☆☆☆
20199.05385 of 55102.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201812.55127 of 54315.6%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202525.52296 of 284719.4%★☆☆☆☆
202428.01941 of 263526.3%★☆☆☆☆
202338.61262 of 242047.9%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
20252.12579 of 25980.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20242.52629 of 26510.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20233.12630 of 26611.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20224.02671 of 27262.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20194.12772 of 28342.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20184.12690 of 27371.7%☆☆☆☆☆
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)
African American (2025)29th percentile+28 vs school
Disabled (2022)27th percentile+17 vs school
Special Education (2025)19th percentile+18 vs school
English Language Learner (2024)6th percentile+4 vs school
Male (2025)2nd percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)2nd percentile~ school
Hispanic (2025)1st percentile~ school
Female (2025)1st percentile~ school
White (2025)1st percentile~ school
Asian (2025)<1st percentile~ school
By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts/Literacy13%-36 vs state
Science10%-23 vs state
Mathematics7%-31 vs state

No ratings yet
Be the first to rate Magnolia Elementary and help other families decide.
Rate Magnolia Elementary
Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.
Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.
Tap a star to rate
Reviews
No written reviews yet. If you know this school, be the first to share what stands out.



Schools Near Magnolia Elementary

Ranking:
Map legend
E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private






Frequently Asked Questions about Magnolia Elementary

Students who attend Magnolia Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Greenfield Middle

Magnolia Elementary ranks in the bottom 1.2% of California elementary schools.

Students at Magnolia Elementary are 44% Hispanic, 21% White, 14% African American, 12% Asian, 8% Two or more races, 1% Pacific Islander.

In the 2024-25 school year, 703 students attended Magnolia Elementary.


Rate Magnolia Elementary!



Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Magnolia Elementary!


Latest California data All new data »
2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026
2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026
2024–25 CSA Spanish test scoresDec 22, 2025
2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 14, 2025


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.





Diagnostics