Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 95382

This analysis covers five public elementary schools (grades K-6) within the Turlock Unified School District, all located in the Turlock, CA area (zip code 95382), revealing significant differences in performance and resources among schools serving the same community.

Walnut Elementary Education Center stands out as the clear top performer, with academic scores well above district and state averages and an exceptionally low chronic absenteeism rate of just 4%. It achieves this despite having the lowest per-student spending in the group. In contrast, Dennis G. Earl Elementary, Crowell Elementary, and Walter M. Brown Elementary all rank in the bottom third of state schools and struggle with proficiency rates and high absenteeism. Sandra Tovar Medeiros Elementary sits in the middle, performing near state averages.

Key takeaways for parents include the strong link between regular attendance and academic success, as demonstrated by Walnut Elementary's results. Science is a challenging subject across most of these schools. While higher poverty levels are present at the lower-performing schools, Sandra Tovar Medeiros Elementary shows that strong outcomes are possible even with a majority of students from low-income households, suggesting school-specific practices are crucial. The wide performance gap within the same district indicates that factors beyond just funding, such as school culture and teaching quality, play a major role in student achievement.