Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Murdock Elementary

Public Grades K-4

5370^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 8% of California elementary schools

Summary

Murdock Elementary is a public elementary school located in Willows, California, serving grades K-5 with a total enrollment of 592 students. The school is part of the Willows Unified School District, which is ranked 1258 out of 1565 districts in California and has a rating of 1 out of 5 stars by SchoolDigger.

Murdock Elementary consistently ranks in the bottom 10-15% of California elementary schools, with a statewide ranking between 5093 and 5475 out of 5883-5862 schools over the past 5 years. The school's performance on Smarter Balanced Assessments is significantly below the state and district averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in 2024-2025, only 18.82% of Murdock students were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 26.61% for the Willows Unified district and 48.81% statewide. Murdock also has consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 18.2% to 24.9% over the past few years, significantly above the state average.

Murdock Elementary performs significantly worse than most of the nearby schools, such as Capay Joint Union Elementary, Lake Elementary, and Plaza Elementary, which all have higher academic achievement, lower chronic absenteeism, and serve a less economically disadvantaged student population. The only nearby school that performs similarly to Murdock is Fairview Elementary, which is also part of the low-performing Orland Joint Unified School District.

488

Students ?

20.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$27,324

Per pupil spending ?

74%

Free/discounted lunch ?

655 West French St.
Willows, CA 95988-2305

(530) 934-6640

District: Willows Unified

Students who attend Murdock Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Willows Intermediate
High:	Willows High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

49.6%

White:

38.7%

American Indian:

5.9%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Murdock Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 15th percentile in 2015 → 8th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (20% vs 43% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (8th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 7 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school20%

District avg24%

California avg43%

5,370^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 8%▼ down 6 pts since 2015

From bottom 15% (2015) to bottom 8% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1264^th of 1,543Willows 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)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	13.7	5370 of 5857	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.0	5482 of 5869	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.3	5283 of 5859	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	17.6	5093 of 5883	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	22.1	1111 of 1417	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	19.0	4899 of 5789	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.7	4708 of 5662	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	16.7	4976 of 5692	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	21.1	4513 of 5614	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	18.5	4789 of 5611	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	13.6	5134 of 5530	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	12.5	5104 of 5390	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	7.9	5278 of 5377	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	24.9	4231 of 5314	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	34.2	3424 of 5193	34.1%	★★☆☆☆
2008	41.7	2841 of 5113	44.4%	★★☆☆☆
2007	39.8	2917 of 5113	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2006	39.1	2760 of 4818	42.7%	★★☆☆☆
2005	45.5	2420 of 4822	49.8%	★★☆☆☆
2004	28.5	3331 of 4809	30.7%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	29.9	2564 of 3162	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	32.5	2357 of 3245	27.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	29.6	2638 of 3311	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	22.6	588 of 602	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	31.1	2406 of 3275	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.1	3039 of 3246	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	13.2	5244 of 5597	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.4	5335 of 5612	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.9	4966 of 5609	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.8	4425 of 5635	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	30.5	842 of 1267	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	16.3	4924 of 5492	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.2	4518 of 5413	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	12.4	4885 of 5107	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	14.4	4802 of 5107	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	12.0	4944 of 5087	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.6	4822 of 5084	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	19.6	4394 of 4963	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	18.5	4340 of 4830	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	14.4	5098 of 5460	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	16.1	5079 of 5517	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	17.6	4853 of 5363	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	23.8	4343 of 5264	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	32.0	783 of 1110	29.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.8	4518 of 5173	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	18.9	4549 of 5084	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	16.0	5035 of 5628	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.5	5126 of 5643	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.8	5178 of 5638	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.7	5234 of 5663	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	18.7	1070 of 1272	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.7	4403 of 5510	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.9	4489 of 5431	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	15.4	2613 of 2635	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	8.5	2435 of 2598	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	5.7	2565 of 2651	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	9.3	2491 of 2661	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.6	2489 of 2726	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.2	2621 of 2834	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.6	2495 of 2737	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)19th percentile+12 vs school

Male (2025)11th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)7th percentile~ school

Female (2025)6th percentile~ school

White (2025)6th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)4th percentile-4 vs school

Special Education (2024)1st percentile-6 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics22%-15 vs state

English Language Arts/Literacy19%-30 vs state

★

No ratings yet

Be the first to rate Murdock Elementary and help other families decide.

Rate Murdock Elementary

Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.

Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.

Tap a star to rate

Reviews

No written reviews yet. If you know this school, be the first to share what stands out.

Schools Near Murdock Elementary

Load more schools when map is moved

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 (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CSA Spanish Overall (2025)						CSA Spanish Listening (2025)						CSA Spanish Writing (2025)						CSA Spanish Reading (2025)						CAST Science (2025)			Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)							Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)							% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (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/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	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 7th 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 7th 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 7th 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 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th 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 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th 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 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Murdock Elementary	Public	K-4	655 West French St.	Willows	95988	Glenn County	Willows Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 934-6640	488	24	20.0	74.0%	189 (38.7%)	4 (0.8%)	242 (49.6%)	20 (4.1%)	29 (5.9%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.8%)	13.7	5370^th of 5857 public elementary schools	8.3%		13	5482^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	6.6%	112																												15.9	21.6					18.8	20.7	23.0					21.9						$27,324	$25,030	$2,294
Walden Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	1149 West Wood St.	Willows	95988	Glenn County	Walden Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 361-6480	167	10	16.7	44.3%	67 (40.1%)	0 (0.0%)	64 (38.3%)	3 (1.8%)	4 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (17.4%)	17.6	5049^th of 5857 public elementary schools	13.8%		20.6	4805^th of 5869 public elementary schools	18.1%	244																									14.3		19.4	30.4	38.9	19.1	15.4	27.3		31.3	21.7	22.2	4.8	15.4	27.3		19.8
Princeton Elementary	Public	K-8	428 Norman Rd.	Princeton	95970	Colusa County	Princeton Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 439-2501	83	6	14.8	66.3%	23 (27.7%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (61.4%)	1 (1.2%)	5 (6.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (3.6%)	12.5	5467^th of 5857 public elementary schools	6.7%					(n/a)																									8.3	9.1	8.7			16.7			9.1	29.8			16.7			9.1	29.8						$23,041	$20,062	$2,979
Plaza Elementary	Public	K-8	7322 County Road 24	Orland	95963	Glenn County	Plaza Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 865-1250	215	10	21.5	29.8%	123 (57.2%)	0 (0.0%)	80 (37.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (5.6%)	76.9	1287^th of 5857 public elementary schools	78.0%		76.5	1317^th of 5869 public elementary schools	77.6%	30																									56.5	52.6	54.8	69.6	77.3	69.6	30.4	71.4	70.0	64.4	87.0	81.8	39.1	39.1	71.4	52.6	61.8						$27,101	$24,766	$2,335
Fairview Elementary	Public	3-5	1308 Fairview St.	Orland	95963	Glenn County	Orland Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 865-1235	458	20	22.4	84.9%	112 (24.5%)	2 (0.4%)	318 (69.4%)	10 (2.2%)	6 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.0%)	12.7	5448^th of 5857 public elementary schools	7.0%		13	5479^th of 5869 public elementary schools	6.6%	31																									13.1		13.1	19.6	24.7	20.3				21.5	16.5	18.1	9.2				14.5						$24,017	$22,066	$1,951
Mill Street Elementary	Public	K-2	102 Second St.	Orland	95963	Glenn County	Orland Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 865-1240	521	27	19.3	86.9%	121 (23.2%)	3 (0.6%)	374 (71.8%)	7 (1.3%)	6 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.9%)								(n/a)																																										93.6	98.4	94.7	97.9	98.4	$23,951	$21,946	$2,005
Lake Elementary	Public	K-8	4672 County Road North	Orland	95963	Glenn County	Lake Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 865-1255	196	10	20.6	43.4%	124 (63.3%)	1 (0.5%)	66 (33.7%)	1 (0.5%)	2 (1.0%)	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.5%)	59.1	2112^th of 5857 public elementary schools	63.9%		69.9	1602^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	72.7%	510																									24.0	50.0	34.9	71.4	54.6	24.0	89.5	81.0	88.9	65.9	81.0	40.9	12.0	73.7	28.6	55.6	46.8						$32,222	$30,338	$1,884
Maxwell Elementary	Public	K-5	146 North St.	Maxwell	95955	Colusa County	Maxwell Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 438-2401	124	7	17.7	75.0%	43 (34.7%)	0 (0.0%)	69 (55.6%)	4 (3.2%)	3 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (4.0%)	44.6	2914^th of 5857 public elementary schools	50.2%		37.5	3335^th of 5869 public elementary schools	43.2%	421																									5.9		5.9	47.6	44.4	47.1				46.4	38.1	50.0	29.4				39.3	91.7				91.7	$21,172	$19,372	$1,800
Hamilton Elementary	Public	K-8	277 Capay Ave.	Hamilton City	95951	Glenn County	Hamilton Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 826-3474	393	22	18.1	91.3%	10 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	364 (92.6%)	8 (2.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.3%)	16.2	5169^th of 5857 public elementary schools	11.7%		20.6	4798^th of 5869 public elementary schools	18.2%	371	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	4.2	0.8	14.8	11.1	11.1	13.6	8.3	11.8	3.7	19.2	3.7	4.6	4.2	7.1	3.7	0.0	0.0	0.0	4.2	1.6	12.8	17.4	15.1	10.2	7.8	22.2	32.6	32.6	13.3	19.4	26.5	11.8	10.9	32.6	11.6	15.2	18.2						$21,715	$21,250	$465
Elk Creek Elementary	Public	K-8	3430 County Road 309	Elk Creek	95939	Glenn County	Stony Creek Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 968-5288	34	5	6.8	73.5%	8 (23.5%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (23.5%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (50.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.9%)								(n/a)																																		32.0							28.0						$63,972	$56,546	$7,426

Frequently Asked Questions about Murdock Elementary

How many students attend Murdock Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 488 students attended Murdock Elementary.

What schools do graduates of Murdock Elementary attend?

Students who attend Murdock Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Willows Intermediate
High : Willows High

Is Murdock Elementary a good school?

Murdock Elementary ranks in the bottom 8.3% of California elementary schools.

What is the racial makeup of Murdock Elementary?

Students at Murdock Elementary are 50% Hispanic, 39% White, 6% American Indian, 4% Asian.

What district is Murdock Elementary in?

Willows Unified

Rate Murdock Elementary!

Other helpful SchoolDigger resources...

Compare to nearby schools

CACalifornia Elementary School Rankings

CACalifornia District Rankings

Schools in Willows, CA

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Murdock Elementary!

Latest California data All new data »

2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026

2024–25 CSA Spanish test scoresDec 22, 2025

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 14, 2025

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.