Summary
Nystrom Elementary is a 415-student K–6 school in Richmond, within West Contra Costa Unified. The most important finding is that Nystrom’s 2025–2026 proficiency rates were below both district and California rates in all three tested subjects: 17% in English language arts (ELA), 19% in math and 6% in science, compared with 34%, 28% and 24% districtwide, and 49%, 38% and 36% statewide.
Compared with nearby district schools, Nystrom generally performs better than most, even though its scores remain below state and district benchmarks. Among seven nearby schools with results for 2025–2026, Nystrom ranked second in ELA and third in math and science; its ELA and math rates were 4 and 7 percentage points above the nearby-school averages, while its science rate was 2 points below the average. Fourth grade is a local bright spot: its ELA rate was 25%, second to Washington Elementary at 31%. Fifth-grade math is a concern at 6%, Nystrom’s lowest grade-level math result. Math is its strongest subject against state and district benchmarks, while ELA has the largest gap to the state and science has the lowest proficiency.
Over four years, math proficiency rose 6 percentage points overall, while ELA was essentially flat and science fell 2 points; the state gap widened in ELA and science. Chronic absenteeism is also high: 48% in 2025–2026, up 7 points from the prior year and 14 points above the district rate. SchoolDigger placed Nystrom at the 6th percentile with 0 stars, down from the 13th percentile the year before. For context, its 2024–2025 student-teacher ratio was 23, above the nearby district-school average of about 21; 77% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible that year, matching the nearby-school median. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking for how well Nystrom serves Special Education Students was at the 38th percentile in 2025–2026, compared with the school’s overall 6th percentile. Its ranking for serving English Language Learner Students reached the 52nd percentile in 2023–2024, up from the 29th percentile the prior year.
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