Summary
Madison Elementary serves 675 students in grades K–6 in Riverside, as part of Riverside Unified. Its results vary considerably by grade and subject: sixth grade is a relative bright spot, while fifth grade is a concern. The most serious weakness is science, where just 18% of students were proficient in 2025–26—the lowest result among the nine nearby schools.
Across all grades, Madison was below the state and district in ELA, math, and science, but math was its strongest subject: 33% were proficient, compared with 34% in the district and 38% statewide. Its math result was also close to the nearby-school average of 33%. Science was further behind, at 18% versus 32% in the district and 36% statewide, and 9 points below the nearby average. Fifth grade is a particular weak spot: ELA proficiency was 29%, below every nearby school and 16 points below the district; math was 21%, 13 points below the district. By contrast, sixth-grade ELA and math both exceeded district results, and sixth-grade ELA was also above the state.
Recent trends are mixed: over four years, ELA rose 4 points and math rose 3 points overall, but math fell from 36% in 2024–25 to 33% in 2025–26. Science declined 3 points over the period, while its gap to the state widened from 8 to 18 points. Chronic absenteeism improved from 39% in 2021–22 to 23% in 2025–26, but remains above the district’s 17%, the state’s 18%, and every nearby school. SchoolDigger gives Madison 2 stars and a 41st-percentile ranking in 2025–26; its overall percentile fell from 54 in 2021–22. In 2024–25, 87% of students were reported as free/reduced lunch eligible, compared with a nearby-school average of 80%; this is an eligibility measure, even though the state provides free meals to all students. The student-teacher ratio was 25, above the nearby average of 24. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking for English Language Learner Students reached the 79th percentile in 2023–24, compared with 49th for Madison overall that year; its Special Education Students ranking rose from the 15th percentile in 2023–24 to the 37th in 2025–26, close to the school’s overall 41st percentile.
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