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University Park Elementary

Public Grades K-6
5223rd
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 5,857 California Elementary Schools
Better than 11% of California elementary schools
Summary

University Park Elementary is a K-6 public school serving 488 students in the Salinas City Elementary district, located in a community with significant economic need where over 70% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Academically, the school faces considerable challenges, with proficiency rates in English and Math (around 20%) well below state averages and a statewide ranking in the bottom 11% of California elementary schools. A major differentiator from nearby schools is its high rate of chronic absenteeism, at 26.1%, which is notably higher than schools like Lincoln Elementary (14.4%) and the district average. While the school spends more per student than several higher-performing neighbors, such as Lincoln Elementary, it has seen a sharp decline in its performance ranking over the past two years.

The school's effectiveness varies greatly for different groups of students; it shows notable strength in supporting English Learners but has significant struggles with improving outcomes for other student subgroups. Performance is also inconsistent across grade levels, with some grades performing relatively better in certain subjects while others, like 5th grade in math, show particular weakness. This pattern, combined with the high absenteeism, suggests that improving daily attendance and ensuring consistent instructional quality across all grades are critical areas for the school to address.

488
Students ?
21.2
Student/teacher ratio ?
70.3%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 833 West Acacia St.
       Salinas, CA  93901-1101

(831) 753-5655

District: Salinas City Elementary


Students who attend University Park Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Washington Middle
High:    Salinas High
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
86.1%
White:
4.3%
Two or more races:
3.3%
more
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 Compare University Park Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Holding steady — 7th percentile in 2013 → 11th in 2025
Worth a look
!Test scores below the California average (20% vs 41% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (11th percentile)
!English Language Arts/Literacy scores 28 pts below the California average
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school20%
District avg23%
California avg41%
5,223rd of 5,857
California public elementary schools ?
Bottom 11%▲ up 7 pts since 2015
From bottom 4% (2015) to bottom 11% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
10th of 15Elementary Schools in the Salinas City Elementary
1344th of 1,543Salinas City 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202515.55223 of 585710.8%★☆☆☆☆
202426.14279 of 586927.1%★☆☆☆☆
202330.53835 of 585934.5%★★☆☆☆
202226.34217 of 588328.3%★☆☆☆☆
201917.45036 of 578913.0%★☆☆☆☆
201814.15176 of 56628.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201718.04867 of 569214.5%★☆☆☆☆
201612.35289 of 56145.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201511.55383 of 56114.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201313.45141 of 55307.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201222.64475 of 539017.0%★☆☆☆☆
201125.74284 of 537720.3%★☆☆☆☆
201037.33331 of 531437.3%★★☆☆☆
200940.33038 of 519341.5%★★☆☆☆
200847.62511 of 511350.9%★★★☆☆
200747.32475 of 511351.6%★★★☆☆
200643.12545 of 481847.2%★★☆☆☆
200558.21826 of 482262.1%★★★☆☆
200454.41949 of 480959.5%★★★☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
201926.02006 of 258522.4%★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202451.71096 of 316265.3%★★★☆☆
202351.61104 of 324566.0%★★★☆☆
202233.32338 of 331129.4%★☆☆☆☆
201933.72231 of 327531.9%★★☆☆☆
201836.02008 of 324638.1%★★☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202513.45229 of 55976.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202426.34129 of 561226.4%★☆☆☆☆
202333.03503 of 560937.5%★★☆☆☆
202232.53531 of 563537.3%★★☆☆☆
201916.14936 of 549210.1%★☆☆☆☆
201813.55021 of 54137.2%☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202516.74659 of 51078.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202431.53623 of 510729.1%★☆☆☆☆
202336.53177 of 508737.5%★★☆☆☆
202233.43418 of 508432.8%★★☆☆☆
201920.44343 of 496312.5%★☆☆☆☆
201816.94425 of 48308.4%☆☆☆☆☆

Homeless

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202543.2248 of 42942.2%★★☆☆☆
202450.6167 of 36454.1%★★★☆☆
202346.5161 of 33551.9%★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202518.34840 of 546011.4%★☆☆☆☆
202430.93860 of 551730.0%★★☆☆☆
202338.33198 of 536340.4%★★☆☆☆
202228.03999 of 526424.0%★☆☆☆☆
201921.44471 of 517313.6%★☆☆☆☆
201816.94663 of 50848.3%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202520.54658 of 562817.2%★☆☆☆☆
202428.83932 of 564330.3%★★☆☆☆
202329.23842 of 563831.9%★★☆☆☆
202223.34394 of 566322.4%★☆☆☆☆
201920.44630 of 551016.0%★☆☆☆☆
201816.34873 of 543110.3%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202423.72188 of 263517.0%★☆☆☆☆
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)65th percentile+38 vs school
Homeless (2025)42nd percentile+31 vs school
Disabled (2019)22nd percentile+9 vs school
Male (2025)17th percentile+6 vs school
Special Education (2024)17th percentile-10 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)11th percentile~ school
Hispanic (2025)9th percentile~ school
Female (2025)7th percentile-4 vs school
By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts/Literacy21%-28 vs state
Mathematics20%-17 vs state
Science12%-20 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about University Park Elementary

University Park Elementary ranks in the bottom 10.8% of California elementary schools.

Students at University Park Elementary are 86% Hispanic, 4% White, 3% Two or more races, 3% African American, 2% Asian, 1% American Indian.

Students who attend University Park Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Washington Middle
High : Salinas High

In the 2024-25 school year, 488 students attended University Park 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.





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