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Amesti Elementary

Public Grades K-5

5796^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 1% of California elementary schools

Summary

Amesti Elementary is a public K-5 school serving 431 students in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District in Watsonville, which faces significant academic challenges across the district.

Academically, Amesti's proficiency rates in English, math, and science are among the lowest in the area and in the state, a trend that has persisted for many years. A major concern is chronic absenteeism, with nearly one-third of students missing significant school, a rate higher than at nearby schools like Starlight Elementary or Watsonville Charter School of the Arts. Despite this, the school maintains a more favorable student-teacher ratio than many peers, such as Freedom Elementary and T. S. MacQuiddy Elementary, suggesting class sizes are not the primary issue.

While Amesti struggles overall, it shows relative strengths in supporting its English Language Learner and Special Education students. The performance of other local schools with similar student populations, such as Alianza Charter and Starlight Elementary, indicates that improvement is possible within the community context, pointing to potential differences in programs or instructional approaches.

431

Students ?

18.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

95.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

25 Amesti Rd.
Watsonville, CA 95076-1121

(831) 728-6250

District: Pajaro Valley Unified

Students who attend Amesti Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Lakeview Middle
High:	Pajaro Valley High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

94.9%

White:

3.7%

Asian:

0.9%

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At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 7th percentile in 2013 → 1st in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (8% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (1st percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (32% vs 19% California)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school8%

District avg21%

California avg41%

5,796^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 1%▼ down 2 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

17^th of 19Elementary Schools in the Pajaro Valley Unified

1253^rd of 1,543Pajaro Valley Unified 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	6.6	5796 of 5857	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.0	5772 of 5869	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	7.1	5815 of 5859	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.2	5845 of 5883	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	8.4	5648 of 5789	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	7.8	5543 of 5662	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	9.0	5546 of 5692	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	9.1	5488 of 5614	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	10.7	5440 of 5611	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	12.8	5164 of 5530	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	9.9	5200 of 5390	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	17.1	4850 of 5377	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	21.0	4534 of 5314	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	18.9	4505 of 5193	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	21.1	4269 of 5113	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	21.6	4163 of 5113	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	18.2	4119 of 4818	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	14.0	4404 of 4822	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2004	18.2	4099 of 4809	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	22.5	1892 of 2227	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.9	2301 of 2585	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.7	1833 of 2128	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	33.7	2277 of 3162	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.7	2558 of 3245	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	24.9	2954 of 3311	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.4	2840 of 3275	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.5	3014 of 3246	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	8.2	5509 of 5597	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.6	5490 of 5612	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.7	5535 of 5609	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.9	5601 of 5635	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	7.4	5426 of 5492	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	5.3	5385 of 5413	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	7.9	5049 of 5107	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.7	5006 of 5107	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	7.9	5056 of 5087	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	8.1	5053 of 5084	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.5	4842 of 4963	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	9.2	4750 of 4830	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.5	401 of 429	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	32.3	277 of 364	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.7	330 of 356	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	7.6	5398 of 5460	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.8	5439 of 5517	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.8	5300 of 5363	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	8.2	5224 of 5264	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.1	5049 of 5173	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.3	5010 of 5084	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	6.7	5574 of 5628	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.3	5570 of 5643	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	6.9	5619 of 5638	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.6	5623 of 5663	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.9	5315 of 5510	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.9	5158 of 5431	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Migrant

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	21.7	71 of 78	9.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	24.1	2364 of 2847	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.3	2094 of 2635	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	18.0	2261 of 2420	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

English Language Learner (2024)28th percentile+26 vs school

Special Education (2025)17th percentile+16 vs school

Disabled (2022)15th percentile+14 vs school

Migrant (2025)9th percentile+8 vs school

Homeless (2025)7th percentile+5 vs school

Female (2025)2nd percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)1st percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)1st percentile~ school

Male (2025)1st percentile~ school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy11%-38 vs state

Mathematics7%-30 vs state

Science4%-28 vs state

★

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Schools Near Amesti Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores 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)							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	Total
Amesti Elementary	Public	K-5	25 Amesti Rd.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 728-6250	431	24	18.3	95.6%	16 (3.7%)	0 (0.0%)	409 (94.9%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	6.6	5796^th of 5857 public elementary schools	1.0%		8	5772^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	1.7%	24																													4.4		4.4	2.8	20.0	11.5				11.2	5.6	6.4	9.1				7.2
Freedom Elementary	Public	K-5	25 Holly Dr.	Freedom	95019	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 728-6260	479	20	24.5	91.4%	19 (4.0%)	1 (0.2%)	456 (95.2%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9.3	5669^th of 5857 public elementary schools	3.2%		12.4	5524^th of 5869 public elementary schools	5.9%	145																													6.2		6.2	10.6	19.2	10.2				13.0	21.4	19.2	6.3				15.1
Calabasas Elementary	Public	K-6	202 Calabasas Rd.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 728-6368	512	23	22.0	97.1%	23 (4.5%)	0 (0.0%)	482 (94.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	4 (0.8%)	9.6	5652^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	3.5%		10.3	5673^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	3.3%	21																													6.4		6.4	11.4	13.8	18.8	18.6			15.6	18.5	17.2	11.5	8.5			14.1
H. A. Hyde Elementary	Public	K-5	125 Alta Vista St.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 728-6243	476	23	21.0	91.6%	12 (2.5%)	2 (0.4%)	458 (96.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	9.7	5647^th of 5857 public elementary schools	3.6%		15.6	5246^th of 5869 public elementary schools	10.6%	401																													9.7		9.7	10.6	10.4	22.2				14.4	22.4	11.7	9.7				14.4
T. S. MacQuiddy Elementary	Public	K-5	330 Martinelli St.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 728-6315	438	20	22.0	92.9%	27 (6.2%)	1 (0.2%)	400 (91.3%)	9 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	5.3	5832^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	0.4%		6	5841^st of 5869 public elementary schools	0.5%	9																													5.0		5.0	8.9	2.4	15.2				8.7	11.5	2.4	3.9				5.9
Starlight Elementary	Public	K-5	225 Hammer Dr.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 728-6974	383	18	21.3	91.6%	6 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	374 (97.7%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18.3	4982^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	14.9%		16.6	5157^th of 5869 public elementary schools	12.1%	175																													8.6		8.6	17.2	31.6	19.3				22.7	33.3	27.6	14.3				25.2
Ann Soldo Elementary	Public	K-5	1140 Menasco Dr.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 786-1310	377	19	19.4	92.8%	11 (2.9%)	1 (0.3%)	355 (94.2%)	7 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.8%)	9.5	5659^th of 5857 public elementary schools	3.4%		14.8	5326^th of 5869 public elementary schools	9.3%	333																													13.0		13.0	16.1	15.5	18.2				16.6	16.1	12.3	5.5				11.3
Mintie White Elementary	Public	K-5	515 Palm Ave.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 728-6321	493	22	22.3	94.1%	23 (4.7%)	1 (0.2%)	459 (93.1%)	5 (1.0%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.6%)	7	5778^th of 5857 public elementary schools	1.3%		9.5	5702^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	2.8%	76																													6.1		6.1	17.1	7.6	7.7				11.0	18.6	6.5	4.6				10.3
Alianza Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	115 Casserly Rd.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 728-6333	626	28	22.3	80.2%	14 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	609 (97.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	40.3	3192^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	45.5%		39.3	3216^th of 5869 public elementary schools	45.2%	24	16.7	14.8	10.5	15.9	3.4	6.8	11.6	52.6	9.8	31.3	22.2	25.4	15.3	27.4	18.0	24.6	7.5	27.0	22.0	17.0	19.1	10.3	8.2	6.0	12.7	0.0	10.2	8.0	31.3	17.0	24.6	34.6	39.3	49.3	52.4	50.0	30.5	42.5	29.5	32.8	29.9	23.8	31.0	18.6	27.7
Landmark Elementary	Public	K-5	235 Ohlone Pkwy.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 761-7940	419	23	18.3	91.2%	19 (4.5%)	1 (0.2%)	379 (90.5%)	17 (4.1%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	9	5686^th of 5857 public elementary schools	2.9%		8.9	5733^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	2.3%	47																													12.1		12.1	8.1	8.5	24.1				13.8	14.0	1.4	13.3				10.0

Frequently Asked Questions about Amesti Elementary

How many students attend Amesti Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 431 students attended Amesti Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Amesti Elementary?

Students at Amesti Elementary are 95% Hispanic, 4% White.

What district is Amesti Elementary in?

Pajaro Valley Unified

What schools do graduates of Amesti Elementary attend?

Students who attend Amesti Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Lakeview Middle
High : Pajaro Valley High

Is Amesti Elementary a good school?

Amesti Elementary ranks in the bottom 1.0% of California elementary schools.

Rate Amesti 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.