Summary:
ZIP code 93451 has three elementary schools serving kindergarten through grade 8: Lillian Larsen Elementary (448 students, K–8), Pleasant Valley Elementary (58 students, K–6), and Parkfield Elementary (11 students, K–6); together they enroll 517 students and belong to three different districts. The clearest area-wide concern is math: the two schools with reported 2025–2026 results averaged 25% proficiency, 13 percentage points below California, after their average fell from 35% the year before while the state’s result rose.
Pleasant Valley stands out in ELA, with 61% proficient in 2025–2026, compared with 35% at Lillian Larsen and 49% statewide. Pleasant Valley’s result was 11 points above the state and 26 points above Larsen’s. In math, Larsen had the higher result of the two—28% versus Pleasant Valley’s 21%—though both were below the state’s 38%. Larsen’s grade 8 results were a notable exception to its below-state results in grades 3–7: grade 8 was 7 points above the state in ELA and 4 points above in math. Parkfield has no reported 2025–2026 school test results, so it cannot be compared on achievement.
Recent results point in different directions by subject: the two reporting schools’ average ELA rose 2 points from 2024–2025, while their average math fell 10 points. Pleasant Valley’s ELA rose 6 points, but its math fell 15; Larsen’s math fell 5 points. SchoolDigger lists Larsen at the 27th percentile with one star in 2025–2026, down from the 38th percentile in 2024–2025; Pleasant Valley is listed at the 53rd percentile with three stars in 2024–2025, so the rankings are from different years. For context, free/reduced lunch eligible shares in 2024–2025 (sy) were 80% at Larsen, 24% at Pleasant Valley, and 46% at Parkfield; 2024–2025 student-teacher ratios were 18.1, 14.5, and 11, respectively. These figures describe context, not reasons for score differences; small enrollments and differing grade spans limit direct comparisons.
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