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Howard Pence Elementary

Public Grades K-6

4883^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,804 California Elementary Schools

Better than 16% of California elementary schools

Summary

Howard Pence Elementary serves 419 students in grades K–6 in San Diego, in South Bay Union. The school’s 2025–26 proficiency rates were 31% in English language arts (ELA), 15% in math and 10% in science. Its strongest results are still below district and state rates, and the most important concern is that proficiency is below both benchmarks in all three subjects.

ELA is the school’s relative bright spot: its 31% rate was 7 points below the district and 18 points below the state, and it was near the middle of eight nearby K–6 schools, whose average was 38%. Math and science stand out as weaker locally. Math proficiency was 15%, 10 points below the district and 23 below the state; it was the lowest among those nearby K–6 schools, averaging 26%. Science proficiency was 10%, 12 points below the district and 26 below the state, and second-lowest among nearby K–6 schools, which averaged 22%. Results also differ by grade: third-grade math was 7%, the lowest among nearby schools, while sixth-grade ELA reached 44%, 2 points above the district but 4 below the state.

ELA and math have improved since 2022–23, rising 13 and 5 percentage points, respectively, while science fell 2 points and lost ground against state and district results. SchoolDigger ranks Howard Pence at the 16th percentile statewide, with 1 star, in 2025–26—up 11 percentile points since 2022–23, but still near the bottom of the nearby group. Chronic absenteeism fell from 47% in 2021–22 to 15% in 2025–26, below both state and district rates. For context, 72% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–25, and the student-teacher ratio was 24.6 in 2024–25. SchoolDigger’s ranking for “Special Education Students” fell sharply, suggesting a marked decline in its measure of how well the school serves this group: from the 35th percentile in 2023–24 to the 2nd percentile in 2025–26, compared with the school’s overall 16th percentile.

419

Students ?

24.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$22,841

Per pupil spending ?

71.8%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in California receive free school meals.

877 Via Tonga Ct.
San Diego, CA 92154-2256

(619) 662-8100

District: South Bay Union

Students who attend Howard Pence Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Montgomery Middle
High:	Montgomery Senior High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

90.5%

Asian:

3.6%

White:

2.6%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Howard Pence Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 5th percentile in 2023 → 16th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 16th (2026) from a 5th-percentile low (2023)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (21% vs 42% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (16th percentile)

!Science scores 26 pts below the California average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school21%

District avg30%

California avg42%

4,883^rd of 5,804

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 16%▼ down 11 pts since 2016

From bottom 26% (2016) to bottom 16% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

7^th of 11Elementary Schools in the South Bay Union

752^nd of 968South Bay Union 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	19.0	4883 of 5804	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	16.4	5154 of 5857	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.0	5217 of 5869	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	12.2	5541 of 5859	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.7	5476 of 5883	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	14.3	1306 of 1417	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	26.1	4259 of 5789	26.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.2	4149 of 5662	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	36.4	3348 of 5692	41.2%	★★☆☆☆
2016	25.6	4127 of 5614	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	20.8	4546 of 5611	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	19.6	4767 of 5530	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	28.3	4063 of 5390	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	25.4	4306 of 5377	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	42.3	3043 of 5314	42.7%	★★☆☆☆
2009	42.5	2908 of 5193	44.0%	★★☆☆☆
2008	15.5	4626 of 5113	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	14.3	4691 of 5113	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	16.5	4256 of 4818	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	18.7	4054 of 4822	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	19.3	3979 of 4809	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	22.7	1883 of 2227	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.9	1745 of 2585	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	18.3	2036 of 2128	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	35.4	2155 of 3162	31.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	28.8	2611 of 3245	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	34.0	2275 of 3311	31.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	33.8	422 of 602	29.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	53.9	1049 of 3275	68.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	46.8	1410 of 3246	56.6%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	20.3	4640 of 5569	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	16.3	4993 of 5597	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.2	5111 of 5612	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.6	5407 of 5609	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	15.0	5185 of 5635	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	15.6	1164 of 1267	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	30.3	3793 of 5492	30.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	25.6	4131 of 5413	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	23.8	4158 of 5085	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	21.9	4328 of 5107	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.5	4492 of 5107	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	13.7	4856 of 5087	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	15.5	4771 of 5084	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	33.7	3413 of 4963	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	33.8	3288 of 4830	31.9%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	21.5	4580 of 5412	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	19.9	4739 of 5460	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	17.9	4949 of 5517	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	12.9	5158 of 5363	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.8	5031 of 5264	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	14.6	1068 of 1110	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	37.1	3347 of 5173	35.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	32.0	3620 of 5084	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	19.8	4712 of 5590	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	18.4	4843 of 5628	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.4	4869 of 5643	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	15.1	5153 of 5638	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.8	5319 of 5663	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	14.3	1173 of 1272	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	23.6	4319 of 5510	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.4	3831 of 5431	29.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	16.4	2851 of 2920	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	26.8	2210 of 2847	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.7	1717 of 2635	34.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	25.7	1873 of 2420	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆

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)32nd percentile+21 vs school

Hispanic (2026)18th percentile~ school

Female (2026)17th percentile~ school

Male (2026)16th percentile~ school

Disabled (2022)15th percentile+9 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)15th percentile~ school

Special Education (2026)2nd percentile-14 vs school

By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy31%-18 vs state

Mathematics15%-23 vs state

Science10%-26 vs state

★

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Schools Near Howard Pence Elementary

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				CSA Spanish Overall (2026)					CSA Spanish Listening (2026)					CSA Spanish Writing (2026)					CSA Spanish Reading (2026)					CAST Science (2026)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2026)					Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2026)					% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CSA Spanish Overall 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Howard Pence Elementary	Public	K-6	877 Via Tonga Ct.	San Diego	92154	San Diego County	South Bay Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 662-8100	419	17	24.6	71.8%	11 (2.6%)	3 (0.7%)	379 (90.5%)	15 (3.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.4%)	19	4883^rd of 5804 public elementary schools	15.9%		16.4	5154^th of 5857 public elementary schools	12.0%	271																					9.8	9.8	14.8	32.6	31.0	43.6	30.9	7.3	19.2	11.5	21.9	15.1					$22,841	$21,178	$1,663
Silver Wing Elementary	Public	K-6	3730 Arey Dr.	San Diego	92154	San Diego County	Chula Vista Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 423-3950	335	15	22.3	75.5%	5 (1.5%)	6 (1.8%)	302 (90.1%)	14 (4.2%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	6 (1.8%)	56.7	2218^th of 5804 public elementary schools	61.8%		40.8	3166^th of 5857 public elementary schools	45.9%	948																					31.9	31.9	59.5	28.3	63.8	67.3	55.1	55.8	25.5	34.0	40.4	38.6	92.7				$24,820	$23,698	$1,122
Los Altos Elementary	Public	K-6	1332 Kenalan Dr.	San Diego	92154	San Diego County	Chula Vista Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 690-5880	263	15	17.5	82.1%	1 (0.4%)	2 (0.8%)	246 (93.5%)	7 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.3%)	25.4	4344^th of 5804 public elementary schools	25.2%		22.1	4665^th of 5857 public elementary schools	20.4%	321																					29.3	29.3	22.2	27.5	41.5	19.4	28.9	33.3	25.0	26.8	13.9	23.7	96.9		96.9		$34,280	$31,830	$2,450
Finney (Myrtle S.) Elementary	Public	K-6	3950 Byrd St.	San Diego	92154	San Diego County	Chula Vista Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 690-1334	396	19	20.4	72.5%	12 (3.0%)	4 (1.0%)	335 (84.6%)	31 (7.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.0%)	32.2	3789^th of 5804 public elementary schools	34.7%		36.2	3462^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	40.9%	327																					22.0	22.0	33.3	47.3	36.7	43.1	40.7	28.6	27.3	16.0	25.9	24.4	96.5				$27,441	$25,270	$2,171
George Nicoloff Elementary	Public	K-6	1777 Howard Ave.	San Ysidro	92173	San Diego County	South Bay Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 428-1605	616	25	24.6	79.9%	2 (0.3%)	6 (1.0%)	591 (95.9%)	6 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	8 (1.3%)	13.9	5306^th of 5804 public elementary schools	8.6%		15.6	5215^th of 5857 public elementary schools	11.0%	91	27.3	34.5	18.0	8.9	22.1	61.4	29.3	58.0	8.9	37.5	34.1	44.8	12.0	12.5	26.0	11.4	31.0	4.0	3.6	13.0	14.3	14.3	13.1	27.9	28.4	23.5	23.9	20.0	19.4	9.1	12.5	15.2	96.5	96.5		96.5	$22,613	$21,094	$1,519
Juarez-Lincoln Elementary	Public	K-6	849 Twining Ave.	San Diego	92154	San Diego County	Chula Vista Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 690-9222	426	19	22.4	69.5%	9 (2.1%)	15 (3.5%)	355 (83.3%)	36 (8.5%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.7%)	8 (1.9%)	33.9	3662^nd of 5804 public elementary schools	36.9%		35.9	3510^th of 5857 public elementary schools	40.1%	152																					8.8	8.8	17.7	29.7	23.2	61.1	35.0	32.7	24.2	8.8	58.9	32.7					$25,482	$24,326	$1,156
Sunnyslope Elementary	Public	K-6	2500 Elm Ave.	San Diego	92154	San Diego County	South Bay Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 628-8800	324	13	24.9	78.1%	3 (0.9%)	6 (1.9%)	304 (93.8%)	6 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.5%)	30.4	3957^th of 5804 public elementary schools	31.8%		28.1	4126^th of 5857 public elementary schools	29.6%	169	8.3	6.3	4.6	13.6	8.0	37.5	12.5	40.9	31.8	29.0	16.7	12.5	9.1	31.8	17.0	4.2	9.4	4.6	13.6	8.0	26.1	26.1	30.0	21.7	31.8	40.4	31.0	35.3	19.6	30.4	36.0	30.6					$22,603	$20,824	$1,779
Smythe Elementary	Public	K-6	1880 Smythe Ave.	San Ysidro	92173	San Diego County	San Ysidro Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 428-4447	534	24	22.2	65.0%	6 (1.1%)	3 (0.6%)	518 (97.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.1%)	16.2	5110^th of 5804 public elementary schools	12.0%		14.7	5294^th of 5857 public elementary schools	9.6%	184																					15.2	15.2	21.0	18.2	17.6	30.3	21.7	39.7	18.2	12.0	15.6	20.1	97.2				$18,377	$16,704	$1,673
Otay Elementary	Public	K-6	1651 Albany Ave.	Chula Vista	91911	San Diego County	Chula Vista Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 425-4311	455	20	22.7	84.6%	7 (1.5%)	4 (0.9%)	414 (91.0%)	17 (3.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.6%)	31.4	3872^nd of 5804 public elementary schools	33.3%		38.7	3303^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	43.6%	569																					25.0	25.0	20.0	39.3	40.0	45.6	37.1	25.0	18.6	21.7	32.5	25.2					$25,964	$24,736	$1,228
La Mirada Elementary	Public	K-6	222 Avenida de la Madrid	San Ysidro	92173	San Diego County	San Ysidro Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 428-4424	382	18	21.2	62.6%	5 (1.3%)	2 (0.5%)	361 (94.5%)	5 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.4%)	21.1	4703^rd of 5804 public elementary schools	19.0%		24.6	4445^th of 5857 public elementary schools	24.1%	258																					21.6	21.6	20.0	28.3	27.5	40.9	29.0	21.3	20.8	7.8	29.6	19.5					$17,963	$16,140	$1,823

Frequently Asked Questions about Howard Pence Elementary

What is the racial makeup of Howard Pence Elementary?

Students at Howard Pence Elementary are 90% Hispanic, 4% Asian, 3% White, 2% Two or more races.

What district is Howard Pence Elementary in?

South Bay Union

How many students attend Howard Pence Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 419 students attended Howard Pence Elementary.

Is Howard Pence Elementary a good school?

Howard Pence Elementary ranks in the bottom 15.9% of California elementary schools.

What schools do graduates of Howard Pence Elementary attend?

Students who attend Howard Pence Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Montgomery Middle
High : Montgomery Senior High

Rate Howard Pence Elementary!

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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.