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Vista Colorado Elementary

Public Grades K-5
4638th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 5,857 California Elementary Schools
Better than 21% of California elementary schools
Summary

Vista Colorado Elementary is a public K-5 school serving 319 students in the high-desert community of Needles, California, as part of the Needles Unified School District.

Academic performance at Vista Colorado Elementary is below state averages, with less than a third of students proficient in English and less than a fifth proficient in math and science. The school's statewide ranking has fluctuated significantly in recent years. A notable bright spot is a dramatic improvement in student attendance, with chronic absenteeism dropping from 41% to 18.7% over three years, which is now better than both the district and state averages. However, this improvement in attendance has not yet led to corresponding gains in test scores.

The school shows very different results for students in different grades, with fifth graders performing better in English but worse in math compared to third graders. Performance has also been volatile from year to year, particularly in mathematics. As the only elementary school in the immediate area, its performance trends are generally similar to others in the Needles Unified district, though it leads the district in attendance improvement. The main challenge and opportunity for the school is to build on its success with attendance to create stronger academic outcomes for all students.

319
Students ?
21.1
Student/teacher ratio ?
$14,576
Per pupil spending ?
82.1%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 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: Holding steady — 21st percentile in 2013 → 21st in 2025
Worth a look
!Test scores below the California average (24% vs 41% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (21st percentile)
!Mathematics scores 18 pts below the California average
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school24%
District avg24%
California avg41%
4,638th of 5,857
California public elementary schools ?
Bottom 21%▼ down 22 pts since 2015
From bottom 43% (2015) to bottom 21% (2025)
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
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
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
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
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
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
202527.12186 of 284723.2%★☆☆☆☆
202423.02239 of 263515.0%★☆☆☆☆
202329.61667 of 242031.1%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
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
Hispanic (2025)29th percentile+8 vs school
Female (2025)24th percentile+3 vs school
Special Education (2025)23rd percentile~ school
Native American (2019)22nd percentile-4 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)22nd percentile~ school
Male (2025)20th percentile~ school
White (2025)7th percentile-14 vs school
By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts/Literacy31%-18 vs state
Science20%-13 vs state
Mathematics19%-18 vs state

★
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Frequently Asked Questions about Vista Colorado Elementary

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

In the 2024-25 school year, 319 students attended 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 20.8% of California elementary schools.


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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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