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Vista Colorado Elementary

Public Grades K-5
5178th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 5,817 California Elementary Schools
Better than 11% of California elementary schools
Summary

Vista Colorado Elementary is a 319-student school serving grades K–5 in Needles, California. In 2025–2026, proficiency was below the state in English language arts (ELA), math and science. Science was closest to the district, while ELA was furthest behind both comparison groups. The clearest concern is ELA: 22% of students were proficient, compared with 49% statewide and 31% in Needles Unified.

Science is the school’s strongest subject relative to the district: 23% were proficient, just above the district’s 23%, though below the state’s 36%. Math proficiency was 15%, compared with 18% in the district and 38% statewide. There are no other schools within 20 miles, so local peer comparisons are unavailable. One encouraging measure is chronic absenteeism: 16% in 2025–2026, below the district’s 25% and the state’s 18%.

Results show mixed progress. Math proficiency fell from 28% in 2022–2023 to 15% in 2025–2026, and its gap with the state widened from 7 to 24 points. Science improved from 15% to 23%, while ELA changed little overall, moving from 23% to 22% after a higher result in 2024–2025. Chronic absenteeism improved substantially, dropping from 41% in 2021–2022 to 16%. SchoolDigger ranked the school at the 11th percentile, with one star, in 2025–2026, down from the 35th percentile and two stars in 2021–2022. Its subgroup ranking for Special Education Students was a relative bright spot: the 29th percentile in 2025–2026, compared with the school’s overall 11th percentile. In 2024–2025, the student–teacher ratio was 21.1, and 82% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible.

319
Students ?
21.1
Student/teacher ratio ?
$15,042
Per pupil spending ?
82.1%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
All students in California receive free school meals.
≥ 98%
Kindergartners with all required immunizations (2024-25)
 700 Bailey Ave.
       Needles, CA  92363-2802

(760) 326-2167

District: Needles Unified


Students who attend Vista Colorado Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Needles Middle
High:    Needles High
Racial breakdown:

White:
48.0%
Hispanic:
36.4%
African American:
6.3%
more
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At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 43rd percentile in 2015 → 11th in 2026
Worth a look
!Test scores below the California average (19% vs 42% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (11th percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 32 percentile points since 2015
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school19%
District avg24%
California avg42%
5,178th of 5,817
California public elementary schools ?
Bottom 11%▼ down 19 pts since 2016
From bottom 30% (2016) to bottom 11% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
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
202615.55178 of 581711.0%★☆☆☆☆
202522.44638 of 585720.8%★☆☆☆☆
202417.15111 of 586912.9%★☆☆☆☆
202323.04549 of 585922.4%★☆☆☆☆
202230.73823 of 588335.0%★★☆☆☆
201926.04273 of 578926.2%★☆☆☆☆
201833.93548 of 566237.3%★★☆☆☆
201728.23981 of 569230.1%★★☆☆☆
201627.93938 of 561429.9%★☆☆☆☆
201537.33181 of 561143.3%★★☆☆☆
201325.14393 of 553020.6%★☆☆☆☆
201221.34562 of 539015.4%★☆☆☆☆
201113.15059 of 53775.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201018.64671 of 531412.1%★☆☆☆☆
20098.95046 of 51932.8%☆☆☆☆☆
200820.94286 of 511316.2%★☆☆☆☆
200716.04576 of 511310.5%★☆☆☆☆
200615.34332 of 481810.1%★☆☆☆☆
200526.33534 of 482226.7%★☆☆☆☆
200428.43339 of 480930.6%★★☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202246.5895 of 222759.8%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202616.94917 of 558111.9%★☆☆☆☆
202524.74278 of 559723.6%★☆☆☆☆
202416.74988 of 561211.1%★☆☆☆☆
202323.64364 of 560922.2%★☆☆☆☆
202230.53689 of 563534.5%★★☆☆☆
201931.83693 of 549232.8%★★☆☆☆
201834.63434 of 541336.6%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202625.14088 of 509419.7%★☆☆☆☆
202531.53644 of 510728.6%★☆☆☆☆
202422.84293 of 510715.9%★☆☆☆☆
202350.92183 of 508757.1%★★★☆☆
202245.62483 of 508451.2%★★★☆☆
201940.02962 of 496340.3%★★☆☆☆
201856.91790 of 483062.9%★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202617.64856 of 542310.5%★☆☆☆☆
202526.54250 of 546022.2%★☆☆☆☆
202419.64816 of 551712.7%★☆☆☆☆
202325.64252 of 536320.7%★☆☆☆☆
202237.33231 of 526438.6%★★☆☆☆
201927.14090 of 517320.9%★☆☆☆☆
201838.33144 of 508438.2%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202615.45063 of 56039.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202522.34529 of 562819.5%★☆☆☆☆
202419.74759 of 564315.7%★☆☆☆☆
202326.04143 of 563826.5%★☆☆☆☆
202231.53666 of 566335.3%★★☆☆☆
201921.54523 of 551017.9%★☆☆☆☆
201835.23333 of 543138.6%★★☆☆☆

Native American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
201935.914 of 1822.2%★★☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202629.72084 of 292728.8%★☆☆☆☆
202527.12186 of 284723.2%★☆☆☆☆
202423.02239 of 263515.0%★☆☆☆☆
202329.61667 of 242031.1%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
20267.22413 of 25364.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20259.62412 of 25987.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20246.22549 of 26513.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20234.12613 of 26611.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202215.22389 of 272612.4%★☆☆☆☆
201910.12628 of 28347.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201819.42336 of 273714.7%★☆☆☆☆
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)60th percentile+25 vs school
Special Education (2026)29th percentile+18 vs school
Native American (2019)22nd percentile-4 vs school
Hispanic (2026)20th percentile+9 vs school
Female (2026)12th percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)10th percentile~ school
Male (2026)10th percentile~ school
White (2026)5th percentile-6 vs school
By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?
Science23%-13 vs state
English Language Arts/Literacy22%-27 vs state
Mathematics15%-24 vs state

★
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Frequently Asked Questions about Vista Colorado Elementary

Students who attend Vista Colorado Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Needles Middle
High : Needles High

Vista Colorado Elementary ranks in the bottom 11.0% of California elementary schools.

In the 2024-25 school year, 319 students attended Vista Colorado Elementary.

Students at Vista Colorado Elementary are 48% White, 36% Hispanic, 6% African American, 5% Two or more races, 3% American Indian.

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Schools in Needles, CA

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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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