Summary
Gault Elementary serves 314 students in kindergarten through grade 5 in Santa Cruz. In 2025–2026, its proficiency results were below the district in English language arts (ELA), math, and science, but above the state in math and science. The clearest overall finding is that, despite those state-level strengths, Gault trailed its district in all three tested subjects.
Math is Gault’s strongest subject compared with the state: 43% of students were proficient, 5 percentage points above the state, though 8 points below the district and 3 below the nearby K–5 average of 46%. Science was also above the state at 40%—4 points higher—but trailed the district by 14 points and nearby schools’ average by 8. ELA was the weakest subject against nearby schools: 46% were proficient, 6 points below the nearby average, 3 below the state, and 8 below the district. Only two of the eight nearby K–5 schools had lower ELA results. Grade 4 stands out as a concern: proficiency was 41% in ELA and 36% in math, respectively 4 and 6 points below state results.
Math has improved substantially, rising 10 points from 33% in 2022–2023 to 43% in 2025–2026; ELA rose 2 points over that period, to 46%, but its gap with the state widened slightly. Santa Cruz City Elementary is the district comparison. SchoolDigger rated Gault at the 59th statewide percentile with 3 stars in 2025–2026, up 6 percentile points from 2023–2024, though six of the eight nearby K–5 schools with current ranks were above it. SchoolDigger’s ranking for how well the school serves White Students was at the 79th percentile, compared with 59th overall. For Special Education Students, its ranking was at the 37th percentile, down from 66th in 2022–2023; these rankings compare how well schools serve the same student groups. Gault’s student-teacher ratio was 22.4 in 2024–2025, close to the nearby average of 22.3. Its free/reduced lunch eligible rate was 48% that year, compared with a nearby average of 41%; this is population context, not an explanation for academic results.
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