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Lichen K-8

Public Grades K-8
3999th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 5,804 California Elementary Schools
Better than 31% of California elementary schools
Summary

Lichen K-8 serves 498 students from kindergarten through grade 8 in Citrus Heights, in San Juan Unified. In 2025–2026, its all-grade proficiency was 33% in English language arts (ELA), 23% in math and 22% in science. The most important finding for families is that results were below both state and district levels in all three subjects.

Compared with the state, Lichen’s scores were lower by 16 percentage points in ELA, 15 in math and 14 in science; compared with the district, the gaps were 7, 5 and 9 points, respectively. Math is closest to the district result, while science has the smallest state gap. Against 10 nearby schools, Lichen ranked fifth-lowest in ELA, fourth-lowest in math and third-lowest in science; its results were 9, 12 and 11 points below nearby averages. Grade-level results show a sharp contrast: fifth-grade ELA was a relative strength at 42%, 2 points above the district, while eighth-grade results were weakest. Compared with the only other nearby K–8 school, Creekview Ranch, Lichen was behind by 41 points in eighth-grade ELA, 45 in math and 46 in science. Grade 6 math was an exception, slightly above the district and close to Creekview.

Since 2022–2023, ELA and science each improved by about 3 points, while math rose by about 1; nevertheless, the state gap widened in math and science, and narrowed by less than 1 point in ELA. SchoolDigger ranked Lichen at the 31st percentile with 2 stars in 2025–2026; four nearby schools ranked lower and six higher. Its 2024–2025 student-teacher ratio was 20.3, the second-lowest among the nearby schools. That year, 64% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible, below the nearby-school average of 67%; these are context measures, not explanations for test results. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking for how well Lichen serves Special Education Students was at the 83rd percentile, up from the 56th percentile the previous year, compared with 31st overall. Its ranking for how well it serves White Students was at the 10th percentile.

498
Students ?
20.3
Student/teacher ratio ?
$23,877
Per pupil spending ?
63.9%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
All students in California receive free school meals.
 8319 Lichen Dr.
       Citrus Heights, CA  95621-1123

(916) 971-5237

District: San Juan Unified


Students who attend Lichen K-8 usually attend:

High:    Mesa Verde High
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
44.6%
White:
35.1%
Two or more races:
9.0%
more
 See top rated California elementary schools

 Compare Lichen K-8 to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 25th percentile in 2015 → 31st in 2026
Strengths
✓Ranking is trending up — up 6 percentile points since 2015
Worth a look
!Test scores below the California average (28% vs 42% meeting standards)
!High chronic absenteeism (26% vs 18% California)
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school28%
District avg34%
California avg42%
Elementary school
3,999th of 5,804
California public elementary schools ?
Bottom 31%▲ up 12 pts since 2016
From bottom 19% (2016) to bottom 31% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
Middle school
1,990th of 2,703
California public middle schools ?
Bottom 26%▼ down 16 pts since 2016
From bottom 42% (2016) to bottom 26% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
26th of 46Elementary Schools in the San Juan Unified
628th of 968San Juan 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202629.83999 of 580431.1%★★☆☆☆
202532.63753 of 585735.9%★★☆☆☆
202426.74232 of 586927.9%★☆☆☆☆
202329.83906 of 585933.3%★★☆☆☆
202223.34522 of 588323.1%★☆☆☆☆
201930.83874 of 578933.1%★★☆☆☆
201827.24064 of 566228.2%★☆☆☆☆
201718.44831 of 569215.1%★☆☆☆☆
201621.04532 of 561419.3%★☆☆☆☆
201524.14211 of 561125.0%★☆☆☆☆
201329.74068 of 553026.4%★☆☆☆☆
201225.54277 of 539020.6%★☆☆☆☆
201129.73998 of 537725.6%★☆☆☆☆
201027.24065 of 531423.5%★☆☆☆☆
200955.82136 of 519358.9%★★★☆☆
200852.92224 of 511356.5%★★★☆☆
200742.02784 of 511345.6%★★☆☆☆
200649.22229 of 481853.7%★★★☆☆
200558.01832 of 482262.0%★★★☆☆
200455.41906 of 480960.4%★★★☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202262.5542 of 222775.7%★★★★☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202359.7789 of 324575.7%★★★★☆
201924.62897 of 327511.5%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202620.64618 of 556917.1%★☆☆☆☆
202526.74106 of 559726.6%★☆☆☆☆
202422.94439 of 561220.9%★☆☆☆☆
202325.94141 of 560926.2%★☆☆☆☆
202220.74647 of 563517.5%★☆☆☆☆
201932.93602 of 549234.4%★★☆☆☆
201828.73854 of 541328.8%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202634.13422 of 508532.7%★★☆☆☆
202536.33290 of 510735.6%★★☆☆☆
202430.13740 of 510726.8%★☆☆☆☆
202339.82913 of 508742.7%★★☆☆☆
202228.43850 of 508424.3%★☆☆☆☆
201924.34088 of 496317.6%★☆☆☆☆
201827.53719 of 483023.0%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202629.23991 of 541226.3%★☆☆☆☆
202532.73777 of 546030.8%★★☆☆☆
202430.03960 of 551728.2%★☆☆☆☆
202330.43864 of 536328.0%★☆☆☆☆
202229.23913 of 526425.7%★☆☆☆☆
201936.33401 of 517334.3%★★☆☆☆
201835.13392 of 508433.3%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202643.32909 of 559048.0%★★☆☆☆
202540.23099 of 562844.9%★★☆☆☆
202431.63687 of 564334.7%★★☆☆☆
202334.43444 of 563838.9%★★☆☆☆
202227.04048 of 566328.5%★☆☆☆☆
201929.43842 of 551030.3%★★☆☆☆
201828.93776 of 543130.5%★★☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202672.3504 of 292082.7%★★★★☆
202545.21243 of 284756.3%★★★☆☆
202455.3820 of 263568.9%★★★☆☆
202358.2693 of 242071.4%★★★★☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202613.32277 of 253210.1%★☆☆☆☆
202520.52158 of 259816.9%★☆☆☆☆
202412.02397 of 26519.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202310.62460 of 26617.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20227.42590 of 27265.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201922.32336 of 283417.6%★☆☆☆☆
201815.42439 of 273710.9%★☆☆☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202624.71990 of 270326.4%★☆☆☆☆
202524.12046 of 276125.9%★☆☆☆☆
202426.91957 of 278329.7%★☆☆☆☆
202330.11799 of 278135.3%★★☆☆☆
202223.42062 of 274024.7%★☆☆☆☆
201931.21744 of 271535.8%★★☆☆☆
201836.71466 of 248040.9%★★☆☆☆
201725.41831 of 250827.0%★☆☆☆☆
201636.71441 of 249742.3%★★☆☆☆
201537.91393 of 247743.8%★★☆☆☆
201344.21312 of 237944.9%★★☆☆☆
201249.81103 of 225951.2%★★★☆☆
201139.41377 of 223638.4%★★☆☆☆
201055.9884 of 217959.4%★★★☆☆
200949.7981 of 206352.4%★★★☆☆
200855.9795 of 200560.3%★★★☆☆
200774.2402 of 199979.9%★★★★☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202227.31365 of 154011.4%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202616.92157 of 248313.1%★☆☆☆☆
202522.91948 of 253323.1%★☆☆☆☆
202425.61881 of 255126.3%★☆☆☆☆
202325.71844 of 253127.1%★☆☆☆☆
202223.41911 of 250923.8%★☆☆☆☆
201934.31471 of 238038.2%★★☆☆☆
201831.61519 of 226232.8%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202632.01551 of 232533.3%★★☆☆☆
202524.31861 of 239522.3%★☆☆☆☆
202426.01798 of 238824.7%★☆☆☆☆
202341.41221 of 237448.6%★★☆☆☆
202228.91662 of 235929.5%★☆☆☆☆
201931.41493 of 221332.5%★★☆☆☆
201847.6978 of 207252.8%★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202627.71810 of 249327.4%★☆☆☆☆
202520.12137 of 254215.9%★☆☆☆☆
202426.51928 of 257925.2%★☆☆☆☆
202329.91758 of 253130.5%★★☆☆☆
202227.01810 of 245826.4%★☆☆☆☆
201946.61124 of 236952.6%★★★☆☆
201850.8937 of 223058.0%★★★☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202636.21460 of 247841.1%★★☆☆☆
202526.21820 of 253428.2%★☆☆☆☆
202428.41739 of 255231.9%★★☆☆☆
202335.21484 of 253841.5%★★☆☆☆
202223.51913 of 252724.3%★☆☆☆☆
201929.31631 of 240732.2%★★☆☆☆
201841.61210 of 227346.8%★★☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202549.8571 of 156663.5%★★★☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202611.81332 of 148210.1%★☆☆☆☆
20259.11407 of 15207.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202411.01405 of 15378.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202313.61363 of 154311.7%★☆☆☆☆
202212.01421 of 15558.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201919.71311 of 160218.2%★☆☆☆☆
201814.21321 of 149611.7%★☆☆☆☆
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
Special Education (2026)83rd percentile+52 vs school
English Language Learner (2023)76th percentile+42 vs school
Disabled (2022)76th percentile+53 vs school
Male (2026)48th percentile+17 vs school
Hispanic (2026)33rd percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)26th percentile-5 vs school
Female (2026)17th percentile-14 vs school
White (2026)10th percentile-21 vs school
Middle school
Special Education (2025)64th percentile+38 vs school
Male (2026)41st percentile+15 vs school
Hispanic (2026)33rd percentile+7 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)27th percentile~ school
Female (2026)13th percentile-13 vs school
English Language Learner (2022)11th percentile-13 vs school
White (2026)10th percentile-16 vs school
By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts/Literacy33%-16 vs state
Mathematics23%-15 vs state
Science22%-14 vs state

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What people are saying
by a parent
Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Open Quote Have been a parent at this school for 8 years. My son is in 5th grade and this is his final year. School appeals to the lowest common denominator and does nothing about bad behavior. Teachers have lost motivation and don't seem to care anymore. Constantly making teachers change grades year after year. Close Quote




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Frequently Asked Questions about Lichen K-8

Lichen K-8 ranks 3999th of 5804 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Students at Lichen K-8 are 45% Hispanic, 35% White, 9% Two or more races, 5% African American, 3% Asian, 3% Pacific Islander.

Students who attend Lichen K-8 usually go on to attend:

High : Mesa Verde High

In the 2024-25 school year, 498 students attended Lichen K-8.

Rate Lichen K-8!



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Latest California data All new data »
2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNewOct 15, 2026
2025–26 CAST, CSA Spanish & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresNewOct 15, 2026
2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026
2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026


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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