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Princeton Elementary

Public Grades K-8

5467^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 7% of California elementary schools

Summary

Princeton Elementary is a small, rural K-8 school serving 83 students in the Princeton Joint Unified district, which ranks in the bottom 13% of all districts in California.

Academically, the school faces significant challenges, currently ranking in the 7th percentile statewide, a sharp decline from its higher performance in the mid-2010s. This is lower than many nearby schools like Wilson Elementary (47th percentile) and Maxwell Elementary (50th percentile). The struggle is especially pronounced in science, where only 8.7% of students are proficient, and in the upper grades, where 8th-grade proficiency is notably lower than in 5th grade.

Despite these academic results, Princeton Elementary has some relative strengths: it spends over $27,500 per student—much more than most neighboring schools—and maintains a low student-teacher ratio of 14.8:1 and a better-than-average chronic absenteeism rate of 11.5%. This creates a puzzling situation where substantial resources and good attendance do not currently translate to strong test scores, suggesting the school may need to examine its curriculum and teaching methods, particularly by looking at higher-performing, similar schools like Richvale Elementary.

Students ?

14.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$23,041

Per pupil spending ?

66.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

428 Norman Rd.
Princeton, CA 95970

(530) 439-2501

District: Princeton Joint Unified

Students who attend Princeton Elementary usually attend:

High:

Princeton High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

61.4%

White:

27.7%

American Indian:

6.0%

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Compare Princeton Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 37th percentile in 2011 → 7th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (26% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (7th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 30 percentile points since 2011

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school26%

District avg28%

California avg41%

Elementary school

5,467^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 7%▼ down 48 pts since 2015

From top 45% (2015) to bottom 7% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

2,611^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 5%

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1336^th of 1,543Princeton Joint 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)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	12.5	5467 of 5857	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	18.5	4986 of 5859	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.5	4938 of 5789	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	16.7	4949 of 5662	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	48.5	2632 of 5692	53.8%	★★★☆☆
2016	19.0	4708 of 5614	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	48.3	2544 of 5611	54.7%	★★★☆☆
2013	50.6	2647 of 5530	52.1%	★★★☆☆
2012	63.3	1876 of 5390	65.2%	★★★☆☆
2011	37.9	3391 of 5377	36.9%	★★☆☆☆
2010	36.2	3423 of 5314	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2009	7.5	5095 of 5193	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	22.6	4156 of 5113	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	36.0	3171 of 5113	38.0%	★★☆☆☆
2006	34.2	3043 of 4818	36.8%	★★☆☆☆
2005	40.6	2679 of 4822	44.4%	★★☆☆☆
2004	26.6	3439 of 4809	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2019	17.2	4728 of 5173	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Elementary school

Low Socio Economic Status (2019)9th percentile-6 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy30%-19 vs state

Mathematics30%-7 vs state

Science9%-24 vs state

★

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Schools Near Princeton Elementary

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)			Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)							Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)							% Completely Immunized (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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	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	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Princeton Elementary	Public	K-8	428 Norman Rd.	Princeton	95970	Colusa County	Princeton Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 439-2501	83	6	14.8	66.3%	23 (27.7%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (61.4%)	1 (1.2%)	5 (6.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (3.6%)	12.5	5467^th of 5857 public elementary schools	6.7%					(n/a)	8.3	9.1	8.7			16.7			9.1	29.8			16.7			9.1	29.8				$23,041	$20,062	$2,979
Maxwell Elementary	Public	K-5	146 North St.	Maxwell	95955	Colusa County	Maxwell Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 438-2401	124	7	17.7	75.0%	43 (34.7%)	0 (0.0%)	69 (55.6%)	4 (3.2%)	3 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (4.0%)	44.6	2914^th of 5857 public elementary schools	50.2%		37.5	3335^th of 5869 public elementary schools	43.2%	421	5.9		5.9	47.6	44.4	47.1				46.4	38.1	50.0	29.4				39.3	91.7		91.7	$21,172	$19,372	$1,800
Murdock Elementary	Public	K-4	655 West French St.	Willows	95988	Glenn County	Willows Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 934-6640	488	24	20.0	74.0%	189 (38.7%)	4 (0.8%)	242 (49.6%)	20 (4.1%)	29 (5.9%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.8%)	13.7	5370^th of 5857 public elementary schools	8.3%		13	5482^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	6.6%	112				15.9	21.6					18.8	20.7	23.0					21.9				$27,324	$25,030	$2,294
Walden Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	1149 West Wood St.	Willows	95988	Glenn County	Walden Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 361-6480	167	10	16.7	44.3%	67 (40.1%)	0 (0.0%)	64 (38.3%)	3 (1.8%)	4 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (17.4%)	17.6	5049^th of 5857 public elementary schools	13.8%		20.6	4805^th of 5869 public elementary schools	18.1%	244	14.3		19.4	30.4	38.9	19.1	15.4	27.3		31.3	21.7	22.2	4.8	15.4	27.3		19.8
James M. Burchfield Primary	Public	K-3	400 Fremont St.	Colusa	95932	Colusa County	Colusa Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 458-5853	430	20	21.6	78.4%	80 (18.6%)	2 (0.5%)	309 (71.9%)	3 (0.7%)	12 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (5.6%)								(n/a)				36.0						36.0	50.5						50.5	98.4			$25,025	$19,818	$5,207
Richvale Elementary	Public	1-6	5236 Church St.	Richvale	95974	Butte County	Biggs Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 624-0731	53	3	18.0	52.8%	37 (69.8%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (28.3%)	1 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)					38.5					50.0		69.2					58.3				$16,484	$16,020	$464
Biggs Elementary	Public	K-8	300 B St.	Biggs	95917	Butte County	Biggs Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 868-5870	320	17	18.9	68.8%	164 (51.3%)	3 (0.9%)	142 (44.4%)	7 (2.2%)	2 (0.6%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	22.1	4664^th of 5857 public elementary schools	20.4%		16.3	5187^th of 5869 public elementary schools	11.6%	523	17.1	11.6	14.1	21.7	24.1	34.3	36.7	27.7	45.2	32.5	30.4	20.7	8.6	26.7	10.4	11.6	16.4				$17,048	$15,314	$1,734
McKinley Elementary	Public	K-1	1045 Sycamore St.	Gridley	95948	Butte County	Gridley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 846-5686	341	16	21.3	80.9%	120 (35.2%)	1 (0.3%)	198 (58.1%)	12 (3.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.9%)								(n/a)																		97.1	97.1		$24,966	$23,458	$1,508
Wilson Elementary	Public	2-5	409 Magnolia St.	Gridley	95948	Butte County	Gridley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 846-3675	544	24	22.6	79.6%	181 (33.3%)	6 (1.1%)	311 (57.2%)	19 (3.5%)	3 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	22 (4.0%)	41.7	3098^th of 5857 public elementary schools	47.1%		51.4	2483^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	57.7%	615	31.5		31.5	40.9	39.9	46.5				42.2	34.5	34.3	30.7				33.3				$21,672	$20,508	$1,164
Meridian Elementary	Public	K-8	15898 Central St.	Meridian	95957	Sutter County	Meridian Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 696-2604	78	4	19.5	76.9%	33 (42.3%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (44.9%)	1 (1.3%)	2 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (9.0%)	16.5	5149^th of 5857 public elementary schools	12.1%					(n/a)	6.3		7.7			29.4		9.1		26.2			17.7		0.0		18.0				$15,606	$14,618	$988

Frequently Asked Questions about Princeton Elementary

How many students attend Princeton Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 83 students attended Princeton Elementary.

What district is Princeton Elementary in?

Princeton Joint Unified

What schools do graduates of Princeton Elementary attend?

Students who attend Princeton Elementary usually go on to attend:

High : Princeton High

Is Princeton Elementary a good school?

Princeton Elementary ranks in the bottom 6.7% of California elementary schools.

What is the racial makeup of Princeton Elementary?

Students at Princeton Elementary are 61% Hispanic, 28% White, 6% American Indian, 4% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

Rate Princeton Elementary!

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Latest California data All new data »

2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026

2024–25 CSA Spanish test scoresDec 22, 2025

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 14, 2025

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.