Is Whittier Elementary a good school?

Whittier Elementary ranks in the bottom 15.4% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Whittier Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 554 students attended Whittier Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Whittier Elementary?

Students at Whittier Elementary are 71% Hispanic, 15% Asian, 9% African American, 3% Two or more races, 2% White.

What schools do graduates of Whittier Elementary attend?

Students who attend Whittier Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Franklin Classical Middle High : Polytechnic High

Whittier Elementary

Summary:

Whittier Elementary is a public elementary school in Long Beach, California, serving 579 students in grades K-5. The school is part of the Long Beach Unified School District, which has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Whittier Elementary consistently underperforms the Long Beach Unified and California state averages in academic assessments. In the 2023-2024 school year, only 24.91% of Whittier students were proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy, compared to 49.52% for Long Beach Unified and 47.04% for California. In Mathematics, Whittier's proficiency rate was 20.56%, while the district and state scored 36.36% and 35.54%, respectively. Whittier also struggles with high chronic absenteeism, rising from 14.2% in 2020-2021 to 42.6% in 2022-2023, significantly higher than the surrounding schools and district/state averages.

Whittier Elementary serves a high percentage of students from low-income families, with 73.23% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. This socioeconomic challenge likely contributes to the school's academic struggles, as nearby schools like Alvarado Elementary and Lincoln Elementary outperform Whittier in ELA, Mathematics, and Science proficiency. Addressing the root causes of chronic absenteeism and providing targeted support for Whittier's student population could be crucial in improving the school's overall performance.

Detail:

Public K-5

1761 Walnut Ave.
Long Beach, CA 90813-2430

(562) 599-6263

District: Long Beach Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
4962^nd of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $7,927

Students who attend Whittier Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Franklin Classical Middle
High:	Polytechnic High

Student/teacher ratio: 25.1

Number of students: 554

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

70.9%

Asian:

14.6%

African American:

9.2%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 83.9%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Whittier Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Whittier Elementary ranks worse than 84.6% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 52^nd among 53 ranked elementary schools in the Long Beach Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 18.67. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: Hispanic (70.9%), Asian (14.6%), African American (9.2%). (See more...)

Compare Details 83.9% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Whittier Elementary is 25.1. 26 elementary schools in the Long Beach Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Whittier Elementary employs 22 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Whittier Elementary is $7,927. 44 elementary schools in the Long Beach Unified School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Whittier Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Whittier Elementary 4962^nd of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Whittier Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Asian students:

Hispanic students:

Long Beach Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Long Beach Unified 654^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Whittier Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Whittier Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	29.02	3301^st	4809	31.4%
2005	25.45	3601^st	4822	25.3%
2006	19.85	4013^th	4818	16.7%
2011	30.34	3955^th	5377	26.4%
2012	34.80	3606^th	5390	33.1%
2013	34.06	3740^th	5530	32.4%
2015	19.20	4709^th	5611	16.1%
2016	12.56	5261^st	5614	6.3%
2017	27.83	4015^th	5692	29.5%
2018	15.81	5021^st	5662	11.3%
2019	24.79	4376^th	5789	24.4%
2021	18.20	1200^th	1417	15.3%
2022	15.00	5362^nd	5883	8.9%
2023	18.51	4999^th	5874	14.9%
2024	18.67	4962^nd	5862	15.4%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Whittier Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	35.13	2051^st	3246	36.8%
2019	28.74	2587^th	3275	21.0%
2021	36.95	363^rd	602	39.7%
2022	34.18	2265^th	3311	31.6%
2023	42.53	1655^th	3250	49.1%
2024	28.15	2675^th	3160	15.3%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Whittier Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	26.91	1802^nd	2420	25.5%
2024	24.09	2160^th	2634	18.0%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Whittier Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	23.52	4222^nd	5084	17.0%
2019	37.21	3331^st	5173	35.6%
2021	33.64	755^th	1110	32.0%
2022	17.75	4798^th	5264	8.9%
2023	26.95	4166^th	5374	22.5%
2024	24.42	4415^th	5511	19.9%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Whittier Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	15.97	4849^th	5413	10.4%
2019	22.74	4408^th	5492	19.7%
2021	18.93	1076^th	1267	15.1%
2022	14.68	5214^th	5635	7.5%
2023	14.97	5146^th	5617	8.4%
2024	20.50	4656^th	5605	16.9%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Whittier Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	27.02	1587^th	2128	25.4%
2019	46.36	1083^rd	2585	58.1%
2021	22.26	250^th	293	14.7%
2022	22.80	1879^th	2227	15.6%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Whittier Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	16.96	4825^th	5431	11.2%
2019	28.41	3908^th	5510	29.1%
2021	18.56	1074^th	1272	15.6%
2022	17.13	5013^th	5663	11.5%
2023	24.40	4314^th	5650	23.6%
2024	18.90	4819^th	5636	14.5%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Whittier Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	5.20	1015^th	1071	5.2%
2019	13.54	1024^th	1149	10.9%
2022	6.11	1069^th	1154	7.4%
2023	5.90	1103^rd	1190	7.3%
2024	7.01	1100^th	1203	8.6%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Whittier Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	31.48	489^th	700	30.1%
2019	45.60	357^th	747	52.2%
2022	32.15	439^th	663	33.8%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Whittier Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	19.81	4257^th	4830	11.9%
2019	28.30	3811^th	4963	23.2%
2022	14.35	4836^th	5084	4.9%
2023	24.74	4131^st	5098	19.0%
2024	22.85	4280^th	5102	16.1%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: California Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Whittier Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	29	172	377	424	1	n/a	n/a	0	1003
1989	28	138	413	421	0	n/a	n/a	0	1000
1990	17	95	505	394	2	n/a	n/a	0	1013
1991	19	114	529	384	0	n/a	n/a	0	1046
1992	20	109	521	346	0	n/a	n/a	0	996
1993	23	111	490	349	0	n/a	n/a	0	973
1994	16	127	522	374	0	n/a	n/a	0	1039
1995	16	113	534	423	0	n/a	n/a	0	1086
1996	16	113	534	423	0	n/a	n/a	0	1086
1997	10	101	518	447	1	n/a	n/a	0	1077
1998	9	111	514	516	0	n/a	n/a	0	1150
1999	3	109	475	600	0	n/a	n/a	0	1187
2000	4	119	434	668	0	n/a	n/a	0	1225
2001	3	95	374	717	1	n/a	n/a	0	1190
2002	4	104	284	682	1	n/a	n/a	0	1075
2003	4	104	284	682	1	n/a	n/a	0	1075
2004	8	108	250	670	1	n/a	n/a	1	1038
2005	2	105	208	636	1	n/a	n/a	1	953
2006	3	111	181	623	1	n/a	n/a	0	919
2007	4	99	181	635	1	n/a	n/a	0	920
2008	4	92	182	594	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	872
2009	9	94	169	613	0	5	3	0	893
2010	7	94	175	588	0	1	2	0	867
2011	9	86	166	575	0	6	8	0	850
2012	12	94	156	574	0	5	15	0	856
2013	6	71	145	595	0	7	22	0	846
2014	6	73	143	655	0	7	30	0	914
2015	5	78	147	687	0	8	29	0	954
2016	9	84	171	716	0	7	41	0	1028
2017	9	98	170	754	0	2	37	0	1070
2018	9	88	149	718	0	7	35	0	1006
2019	7	92	155	662	0	4	32	0	952
2020	9	95	161	566	0	3	25	0	859
2021	8	76	139	522	0	1	16	0	762
2022	12	64	110	422	1	2	5	0	616
2023	11	56	96	403	1	2	10	0	579
2024	10	51	81	393	2	2	15	0	554

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Whittier Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	1003	42.8	23.4	n/a
1989	1000	42.8	23.3	n/a
1990	1013	41.0	24.7	n/a
1991	1046	42.0	24.9	n/a
1992	996	42.7	23.3	95
1993	973	40.5	24.0	88.5
1994	1039	38.5	27.0	95
1995	1086	42.0	25.9	94.9
1996	1086	42.0	25.9	94.9
1997	1077	53.6	20.1	95
1998	1150	58.5	19.7	95
1999	1187	55.0	21.6	94.9
2000	1225	62.0	19.8	96
2001	1190	63.5	18.7	96
2002	1075	58.0	18.5	96.1
2003	1075	58.0	18.5	96.1
2004	1038	56.0	18.5	96.1
2005	953	52.2	18.3	96.2
2006	919	50.0	18.4	96.1
2007	920	49.0	18.8	93.6
2008	872	51.5	16.9	93.5
2009	893	45.0	18.6	92.9
2010	867	42.0	20.6	93
2011	850	n/a	n/a	94.5
2012	856	30.5	28.0	n/a
2013	846	30.0	28.2	70
2014	914	31.5	29.0	83
2015	954	34.0	28.0	79.6
2016	1028	39.0	26.3	85.5
2017	1070	39.0	27.4	85
2018	1006	33.5	30.0	84.3
2019	952	33.5	28.4	89.9
2020	859	n/a	n/a	86.8
2021	762	31.2	24.4	83.2
2022	616	27.0	22.8	72.9
2023	579	23.0	25.1	73.2
2024	554	22.0	25.1	83.9

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Whittier Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	1003	42.8	23.4	n/a
1989	1000	42.8	23.3	n/a
1990	1013	41.0	24.7	n/a
1991	1046	42.0	24.9	n/a
1992	996	42.7	23.3	95
1993	973	40.5	24.0	88.5
1994	1039	38.5	27.0	95
1995	1086	42.0	25.9	94.9
1996	1086	42.0	25.9	94.9
1997	1077	53.6	20.1	95
1998	1150	58.5	19.7	95
1999	1187	55.0	21.6	94.9
2000	1225	62.0	19.8	96
2001	1190	63.5	18.7	96
2002	1075	58.0	18.5	96.1
2003	1075	58.0	18.5	96.1
2004	1038	56.0	18.5	96.1
2005	953	52.2	18.3	96.2
2006	919	50.0	18.4	96.1
2007	920	49.0	18.8	93.6
2008	872	51.5	16.9	93.5
2009	893	45.0	18.6	92.9
2010	867	42.0	20.6	93
2011	850	n/a	n/a	94.5
2012	856	30.5	28.0	n/a
2013	846	30.0	28.2	70
2014	914	31.5	29.0	83
2015	954	34.0	28.0	79.6
2016	1028	39.0	26.3	85.5
2017	1070	39.0	27.4	85
2018	1006	33.5	30.0	84.3
2019	952	33.5	28.4	89.9
2020	859	n/a	n/a	86.8
2021	762	31.2	24.4	83.2
2022	616	27.0	22.8	72.9
2023	579	23.0	25.1	73.2
2024	554	22.0	25.1	83.9

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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