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Ralph Dunlap Elementary

Q: Is Ralph Dunlap Elementary a good school?

Ralph Dunlap Elementary ranks 3567 th of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-6

3567^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 39% of California elementary schools

Summary

Ralph Dunlap Elementary is a public elementary school located in Santa Maria, California, serving 486 students in grades K-6. The school is part of the Orcutt Union Elementary School District, which is ranked 647 out of 1,565 districts in the state.

In recent years, Ralph Dunlap Elementary has seen a decline in its statewide ranking, dropping from a high of 1,271 out of 5,530 California elementary schools in 2012-2013 to a low of 3,610 out of 5,874 in 2022-2023. This is in contrast to nearby schools like Joe Nightingale Elementary and Pine Grove Elementary, which have maintained higher rankings and ratings over the same period. Additionally, Ralph Dunlap Elementary has particularly low rankings for its Hispanic and Low Socio-Economic Status (SES) student groups, often ranking in the bottom 20-25% of California elementary schools for these subgroups.

Another area of concern for Ralph Dunlap Elementary is its high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 13.8% to 24.9% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the district and state averages. This is particularly troubling, as chronic absenteeism is often linked to lower academic achievement and other negative student outcomes. The school's academic performance, as measured by standardized tests, is also generally lower than the district and state averages across all grade levels and subject areas.

502

Students ?

26.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$9,541

Per pupil spending ?

56.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1220 Oak Knoll Rd.
Santa Maria, CA 93455-4301

(805) 938-8500

District: Orcutt Union Elementary

Students who attend Ralph Dunlap Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Orcutt Junior High
High:	Ernest Righetti High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

52.6%

White:

33.9%

Two or more races:

8.8%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Ralph Dunlap Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 77th percentile in 2013 → 39th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (33% vs 41% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped — down 38 percentile points since 2013

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school33%

District avg42%

California avg41%

3,567^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 39%▼ down 25 pts since 2015

From top 36% (2015) to bottom 39% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 6Elementary Schools in the Orcutt Union Elementary

637^th of 1,543Orcutt Union 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	35.1	3567 of 5857	39.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	35.2	3505 of 5869	40.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.6	3604 of 5859	38.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	46.7	2716 of 5883	53.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	55.7	2270 of 5789	60.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	63.1	1914 of 5662	66.2%	★★★☆☆
2017	58.2	2108 of 5692	63.0%	★★★☆☆
2016	57.4	2113 of 5614	62.4%	★★★☆☆
2015	57.9	2037 of 5611	63.7%	★★★☆☆
2013	75.8	1271 of 5530	77.0%	★★★★☆
2012	69.2	1572 of 5390	70.8%	★★★★☆
2011	70.8	1460 of 5377	72.8%	★★★★☆
2010	76.1	1182 of 5314	77.8%	★★★★☆
2009	79.3	1035 of 5193	80.1%	★★★★☆
2008	79.0	1015 of 5113	80.1%	★★★★☆
2007	71.2	1317 of 5113	74.2%	★★★★☆
2006	75.2	1135 of 4818	76.4%	★★★★☆
2005	78.5	988 of 4822	79.5%	★★★★☆
2004	67.8	1370 of 4809	71.5%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2019	70.2	504 of 2585	80.5%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	31.2	3761 of 5597	32.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	32.6	3599 of 5612	35.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	34.3	3389 of 5609	39.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	43.8	2764 of 5635	50.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	50.9	2440 of 5492	55.6%	★★★☆☆
2018	59.8	1987 of 5413	63.3%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	25.1	4106 of 5107	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	32.8	3517 of 5107	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	32.0	3540 of 5087	30.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	54.5	1918 of 5084	62.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	62.8	1538 of 4963	69.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	65.4	1365 of 4830	71.7%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	31.1	3899 of 5460	28.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.0	4707 of 5517	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.1	4219 of 5363	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	39.0	3095 of 5264	41.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	49.3	2448 of 5173	52.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	58.7	1814 of 5084	64.3%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	39.4	3157 of 5628	43.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.7	3234 of 5643	42.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.5	3505 of 5638	37.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	49.0	2500 of 5663	55.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	58.8	2007 of 5510	63.6%	★★★☆☆
2018	63.2	1803 of 5431	66.8%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	35.4	1688 of 2847	40.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	48.5	1005 of 2635	61.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	18.0	2270 of 2420	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	38.2	1746 of 2598	32.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	24.5	2106 of 2651	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.7	2107 of 2661	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.3	2113 of 2726	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	37.5	1924 of 2834	32.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	45.6	1644 of 2737	39.9%	★★☆☆☆

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 (2019)81st percentile+20 vs school

Male (2025)44th percentile+5 vs school

Special Education (2025)41st percentile~ school

Female (2025)33rd percentile-6 vs school

White (2025)33rd percentile-6 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)29th percentile-11 vs school

Hispanic (2025)20th percentile-19 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy33%-16 vs state

Mathematics32%-5 vs state

Science32%~ state avg

★

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Schools Near Ralph Dunlap Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CSA Spanish Overall (2025)							CSA Spanish Listening (2025)							CSA Spanish Writing (2025)							CSA Spanish Reading (2025)							CAST Science (2025)			Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)							Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)							% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CSA Spanish Overall 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Ralph Dunlap Elementary	Public	K-6	1220 Oak Knoll Rd.	Santa Maria	93455	Santa Barbara County	Orcutt Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 938-8500	502	19	26.4	56.2%	170 (33.9%)	5 (1.0%)	264 (52.6%)	16 (3.2%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (8.8%)	35.1	3567^th of 5857 public elementary schools	39.1%		35.2	3505^th of 5869 public elementary schools	40.3%	62																													32.3		32.3	37.3	26.1	36.9	32.9			33.2	37.9	29.0	35.9	28.4			32.5							$9,541	$843	$8,698
Orcutt School for Independent Study	Public, Virtual	K-8	1220 Oak Knoll Rd.	Santa Maria	93455	Santa Barbara County	Orcutt Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(805) 960-5572	44	2	21.7	72.7%	14 (31.8%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (56.8%)	2 (4.5%)	1 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (4.5%)								(n/a)																														15.0	12.5					50.0	14.3	27.1					21.4	10.5	17.4							$9,596	$00	$9,596
Pine Grove Elementary	Public	K-6	1050 East Rice Ranch Rd.	Santa Maria	93455	Santa Barbara County	Orcutt Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 938-8800	569	22	25.8	58.7%	187 (32.9%)	6 (1.1%)	298 (52.4%)	16 (2.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	61 (10.7%)	65.5	1820^th of 5857 public elementary schools	68.9%		68.8	1649^th of 5869 public elementary schools	71.9%	171																													41.5		41.5	44.8	44.3	48.4	60.3			49.3	44.8	59.5	48.9	62.0			53.4							$9,309	$511	$8,798
Patterson Road Elementary	Public	K-6	400 Patterson Rd.	Santa Maria	93455	Santa Barbara County	Orcutt Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 938-8750	662	25	26.7	60.9%	188 (28.4%)	2 (0.3%)	378 (57.1%)	9 (1.4%)	6 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	79 (11.9%)	46.2	2809^th of 5857 public elementary schools	52.0%		55.4	2271^st of 5869 public elementary schools	61.3%	538																													30.5		30.5	19.1	42.9	43.4	61.9			41.6	23.6	36.4	42.5	45.2			37.1							$9,110	$813	$8,297
Alice Shaw Elementary	Public	K-6	759 Dahlia Pl.	Santa Maria	93455	Santa Barbara County	Orcutt Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 938-8850	530	21	24.6	76.4%	124 (23.4%)	4 (0.8%)	363 (68.5%)	5 (0.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (6.2%)	35	3581^st of 5857 public elementary schools	38.9%		35.6	3477^th of 5869 public elementary schools	40.8%	104																													18.1		18.1	33.3	41.8	36.1	42.7			38.6	42.4	32.8	23.6	25.7			30.8							$10,393	$1,246	$9,147
Joe Nightingale Elementary	Public	K-6	255 Winter Rd.	Santa Maria	93455	Santa Barbara County	Orcutt Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 938-8650	695	26	26.7	66.9%	148 (21.3%)	7 (1.0%)	446 (64.2%)	18 (2.6%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	71 (10.2%)	73.9	1423^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	75.7%		74.3	1400^th of 5869 public elementary schools	76.1%	23																													55.8		55.8	42.4	52.4	75.5	67.0			59.5	45.7	47.6	60.0	54.7			52.0							$10,501	$1,047	$9,454
Bill Libbon Elementary	Public	K-6	750 Meehan St.	Santa Maria	93454	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-6500	834	36	23.4	87.9%	46 (5.5%)	11 (1.3%)	735 (88.1%)	22 (2.6%)	5 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (1.8%)	23.8	4519^th of 5857 public elementary schools	22.8%		21.3	4746^th of 5869 public elementary schools	19.1%	227																													16.9		16.9	24.8	33.0	38.3	31.7			31.4	18.8	27.3	32.1	13.6			22.3	98.5		98.5		98.5		$21,759	$3,170	$18,589
Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary	Public	K-6	1890 Sandalwood Dr.	Santa Maria	93455	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-6860	298	17	17.0	95.3%	6 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	291 (97.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29	4038^th of 5857 public elementary schools	31.1%		33	3692^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	37.1%	346																													30.6		30.6	12.8	23.8	41.7	41.5			29.8	28.2	19.1	19.4	36.6			26.0							$24,204	$3,061	$21,143
Jimenez Roberto and Dr. Francisco Elementary	Public	K-8	1970 South Biscayne St.	Santa Maria	93458	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-4340	1,177	47	25.0	80.7%	44 (3.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1,085 (92.2%)	32 (2.7%)	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (1.1%)	23.5	4550^th of 5857 public elementary schools	22.3%		28.4	4074^th of 5869 public elementary schools	30.6%	476	10.3	8.8	4.2	7.3	6.1	22.7	9.7	39.7	14.0	31.3	14.6	24.5	27.3	25.1	15.5	17.5	2.1	12.7	22.5	34.1	17.0	8.6	10.5	4.2	7.3	4.1	22.7	9.3	14.3	27.5	20.8	30.7	23.4	24.3	45.2	43.7	58.3	37.4	26.1	25.2	10.7	24.8	14.3	37.6	23.1	96.6	97.2		96.6	97.9	97.2	$19,468	$2,448	$17,020
Battles (Washington) Elementary	Public	K-6	605 East Battles Rd.	Santa Maria	93454	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-6880	769	37	20.8	97.3%	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	748 (97.3%)	9 (1.2%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.0%)	11.4	5546^th of 5857 public elementary schools	5.3%		13.8	5405^th of 5869 public elementary schools	7.9%	141																													12.9		12.9	22.5	20.4	24.4	19.1			21.5	20.2	9.0	8.7	5.3			10.6	98.2		98.2		98.2		$20,704	$2,491	$18,213

Frequently Asked Questions about Ralph Dunlap Elementary

What district is Ralph Dunlap Elementary in?

Orcutt Union Elementary

How many students attend Ralph Dunlap Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 502 students attended Ralph Dunlap Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Ralph Dunlap Elementary?

Students at Ralph Dunlap Elementary are 53% Hispanic, 34% White, 9% Two or more races, 3% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Ralph Dunlap Elementary attend?

Students who attend Ralph Dunlap Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Orcutt Junior High
High : Ernest Righetti High

Is Ralph Dunlap Elementary a good school?

Ralph Dunlap Elementary ranks 3567^th of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Rate Ralph Dunlap Elementary!

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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.