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John Muir Elementary

Public Grades K-6
3814th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 5,817 California Elementary Schools
Better than 34% of California elementary schools
Summary

John Muir Elementary serves 567 students in grades K–6 in Modesto, California, among a group of nearby elementary schools with a wide range of enrollment and achievement. Its strongest subject compared with local peers is math, but it remains below California’s proficiency rate in English language arts (ELA), math, and science. The most immediate concern is attendance: 25% of students were chronically absent in 2025–2026, the highest rate among nearby schools.

Math is the school’s clearest academic strength locally: 31% of students were proficient in 2025–2026, compared with 24% in Modesto City Elementary and a nearby-school average of 30%. That result ranked fourth among 11 local schools, although it was still below the state’s 38%. ELA proficiency was 36%, close to the nearby average of 37% and slightly above the district’s 35%, but below the state’s 49%. Science was the weakest subject against the state: 19% were proficient, compared with 36% statewide and 22% in the district; it ranked seventh among nearby schools. Attendance also stands out: the 25% chronic absenteeism rate exceeded the district’s 17% and state’s 18%; Wilson Elementary was next-highest among nearby schools at 24%.

Over time, ELA and math proficiency improved from 2022–2023 to 2025–2026, rising 5 and 7 percentage points, respectively, while science fell 4 points overall despite a recent recovery. Chronic absenteeism has dropped from 48% in 2021–2022, but increased 5 points from its 2023–2024 low. John Muir was at the 34th percentile with 2 stars in SchoolDigger’s 2025–2026 overall ranking, near the middle of the local group. Its 2024–2025 student-teacher ratio was 23.1, among the highest nearby, and 81% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible that year. One notable SchoolDigger subgroup result is its statewide ranking for how well the school serves Special Education Students: the school ranked at the 75th percentile in 2025–2026, up from the 20th percentile the prior year, while its overall percentile rose from 29 to 34.

567
Students ?
23.1
Student/teacher ratio ?
$19,081
Per pupil spending ?
81.0%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
All students in California receive free school meals.
96%
Kindergartners with all required immunizations (2024-25)
Exemptions: 0% (any vaccine)
 1215 Lucerne Ave.
       Modesto, CA  95350-6011

(209) 574-8182

District: Modesto City Elementary


Students who attend John Muir Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    La Loma Junior High
High:    Thomas Downey High
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
57.5%
White:
20.1%
Two or more races:
12.0%
more
 See top rated California elementary schools

 Compare John Muir Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 17th percentile in 2016 → 34th in 2026
Strengths
✓Ranking is trending up — up 17 percentile points since 2016
Worth a look
!Test scores below the California average (32% vs 42% meeting standards)
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
!Science scores 17 pts below the California average
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school32%
District avg28%
California avg42%
3,814th of 5,817
California public elementary schools ?
Bottom 34%▲ up 18 pts since 2016
From bottom 17% (2016) to bottom 34% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
8th of 22Elementary Schools in the Modesto City Elementary
1170th of 1,530Modesto City Elementary 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
202632.13814 of 581734.4%★★☆☆☆
202527.64163 of 585728.9%★☆☆☆☆
202431.33826 of 586934.8%★★☆☆☆
202330.33850 of 585934.3%★★☆☆☆
202229.53908 of 588333.6%★★☆☆☆
202116.61249 of 141711.9%★☆☆☆☆
201918.34967 of 578914.2%★☆☆☆☆
201818.34822 of 566214.8%★☆☆☆☆
201714.95119 of 569210.1%★☆☆☆☆
201619.34687 of 561416.5%★☆☆☆☆
201525.54085 of 561127.2%★☆☆☆☆
201335.03678 of 553033.5%★★☆☆☆
201245.32930 of 539045.6%★★☆☆☆
201137.63415 of 537736.5%★★☆☆☆
201042.92993 of 531443.7%★★☆☆☆
200939.53073 of 519340.8%★★☆☆☆
200831.63479 of 511332.0%★★☆☆☆
200738.92974 of 511341.8%★★☆☆☆
200631.33222 of 481833.1%★★☆☆☆
200547.12334 of 482251.6%★★★☆☆
200436.02874 of 480940.2%★★☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
201917.02534 of 25852.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201824.81719 of 212819.2%★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202447.11352 of 316257.2%★★★☆☆
202341.51711 of 324547.3%★★☆☆☆
202246.21407 of 331157.5%★★★☆☆
202130.7469 of 60222.1%★☆☆☆☆
201919.93187 of 32752.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201825.22709 of 324616.5%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202632.23694 of 558133.8%★★☆☆☆
202529.63881 of 559730.7%★★☆☆☆
202431.93648 of 561235.0%★★☆☆☆
202332.53536 of 560937.0%★★☆☆☆
202224.84235 of 563524.8%★☆☆☆☆
202116.41144 of 12679.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201919.84643 of 549215.5%★☆☆☆☆
201821.54409 of 541318.5%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202637.23190 of 509437.4%★★☆☆☆
202534.03456 of 510732.3%★★☆☆☆
202441.52865 of 510743.9%★★☆☆☆
202332.63489 of 508731.4%★★☆☆☆
202242.22733 of 508446.2%★★☆☆☆
201920.64333 of 496312.7%★☆☆☆☆
201819.64275 of 483011.5%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202640.23176 of 542341.4%★★☆☆☆
202535.73524 of 546035.5%★★☆☆☆
202436.53413 of 551738.1%★★☆☆☆
202338.13222 of 536339.9%★★☆☆☆
202243.12760 of 526447.6%★★☆☆☆
202127.6860 of 111022.5%★☆☆☆☆
201924.54262 of 517317.6%★☆☆☆☆
201824.34173 of 508417.9%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202633.23612 of 560335.5%★★☆☆☆
202526.84118 of 562826.8%★☆☆☆☆
202432.13644 of 564335.4%★★☆☆☆
202328.83876 of 563831.3%★★☆☆☆
202235.23344 of 566341.0%★★☆☆☆
202118.71069 of 127216.0%★☆☆☆☆
201919.24731 of 551014.1%★☆☆☆☆
201817.74765 of 543112.3%★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
20250.6718 of 7180.0%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202662.4745 of 292774.5%★★★★☆
202525.92273 of 284720.2%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202626.51972 of 253622.2%★☆☆☆☆
202516.32243 of 259813.7%★☆☆☆☆
202411.92401 of 26519.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202320.32220 of 266116.6%★☆☆☆☆
202211.92479 of 27269.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201911.62583 of 28348.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201815.12447 of 273710.6%★☆☆☆☆
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)
Special Education (2026)75th percentile+40 vs school
English Language Learner (2024)57th percentile+22 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)41st percentile+7 vs school
Hispanic (2026)37th percentile+3 vs school
Male (2026)36th percentile~ school
Female (2026)34th percentile~ school
White (2026)22nd percentile-12 vs school
Disabled (2019)2nd percentile-12 vs school
Multi-racial (2025)<1st percentile-29 vs school
By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts/Literacy36%-14 vs state
Mathematics31%-7 vs state
Science19%-17 vs state

★
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Frequently Asked Questions about John Muir Elementary

In the 2024-25 school year, 567 students attended John Muir Elementary.

John Muir Elementary ranks 3814th of 5817 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Students at John Muir Elementary are 57% Hispanic, 20% White, 12% Two or more races, 6% Asian, 3% African American, 1% Pacific Islander.

Students who attend John Muir Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : La Loma Junior High
High : Thomas Downey High

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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.

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