Is Cienega Elementary a good school?

Cienega Elementary ranks 4002 nd of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Cienega Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 408 students attended Cienega Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Cienega Elementary?

Students at Cienega Elementary are 80% Hispanic, 14% African American, 3% Two or more races, 2% White.

What schools do graduates of Cienega Elementary attend?

Students who attend Cienega Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Johnnie Cochran Junior Middle High : Susan Miller Dorsey Senior High

Cienega Elementary

Summary:

Cienega Elementary is a public elementary school in Los Angeles, California, serving 420 students in grades K-5. The school is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District, which has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Cienega Elementary faces significant challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates that have risen from 14.7% in 2017-2018 to 60.9% in 2021-2022, much higher than the district and state averages. The school also consistently underperforms the district and state in academic assessments, with only 31.33% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts and 28.14% in Mathematics, compared to 43.06% and 32.83% for the district, respectively. While Cienega performs better in the African American Students and English Language Learner Students subgroups, it ranks lower than the state in other subgroups, such as Female Students, Male Students, Hispanic Students, and Low Socio-Economic Status Students.

The high poverty rates at Cienega Elementary, with 92.05% to 93.81% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, suggest that addressing the needs of students from low-income families could be crucial for improving overall student performance. Interestingly, nearby schools like Marvin Elementary and Virginia Road Elementary also face high chronic absenteeism and mixed academic performance, indicating that the issues facing Cienega may be systemic within the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Detail:

Public K-5

2611 South Orange Dr.
Los Angeles, CA 90016-3515

(323) 939-1138

District: Los Angeles Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
4002^nd of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $11,421

Students who attend Cienega Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Johnnie Cochran Junior Middle
High:	Susan Miller Dorsey Senior High

Student/teacher ratio: 18.5

Number of students: 408

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

80.4%

African American:

14.0%

Two or more races:

3.4%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 87%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Cienega Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Cienega Elementary ranks worse than 68.3% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 345^th among 486 ranked elementary schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 29.07. (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 (80.4%), African American (14%), two or more races (3.4%). (See more...)

Compare Details 87% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Cienega Elementary is 18.5, which is the 126^th best among 486 elementary schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Cienega Elementary employs 22 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Cienega Elementary is $11,421, which is the 245^th highest among 486 elementary schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Cienega Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Cienega Elementary 4002^nd of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Cienega Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Los Angeles Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Los Angeles Unified 871^st of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Cienega Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Cienega Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	14.83	4352^nd	4809	9.5%
2005	16.46	4213^th	4822	12.6%
2006	16.85	4224^th	4818	12.3%
2007	21.00	4218^th	5113	17.5%
2008	28.33	3722^nd	5113	27.2%
2009	26.65	3928^th	5193	24.4%
2010	31.56	3738^th	5314	29.7%
2011	32.48	3800^th	5377	29.3%
2012	22.25	4494^th	5390	16.6%
2013	33.90	3747^th	5530	32.2%
2015	39.64	3033^rd	5611	45.9%
2016	36.26	3314^th	5614	41.0%
2017	38.81	3185^th	5692	44.0%
2018	39.79	3161^st	5662	44.2%
2019	36.28	3439^th	5789	40.6%
2022	23.48	4498^th	5883	23.5%
2023	21.15	4744^th	5874	19.2%
2024	29.07	4002^nd	5862	31.7%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Cienega Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	21.64	2944^th	3246	9.3%
2019	21.67	3097^th	3275	5.4%
2022	40.60	1765^th	3311	46.7%
2023	28.32	2647^th	3250	18.6%
2024	44.24	1531^st	3160	51.6%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Cienega Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	49.09	943^rd	2420	61.0%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Cienega Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	55.70	1992^nd	5084	60.8%
2019	48.77	2488^th	5173	51.9%
2022	32.76	3604^th	5264	31.5%
2023	26.51	4201^st	5374	21.8%
2024	36.39	3425^th	5511	37.9%

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

Rank History for Female students at Cienega Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	33.32	3526^th	5413	34.9%
2019	35.95	3346^th	5492	39.1%
2022	25.40	4175^th	5635	25.9%
2023	27.63	4010^th	5617	28.6%
2024	27.65	4009^th	5605	28.5%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Cienega Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	40.60	1274^th	2585	50.7%

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

Rank History for Male students at Cienega Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	46.90	2637^th	5431	51.4%
2019	38.06	3180^th	5510	42.3%
2022	22.61	4461^st	5663	21.2%
2023	17.17	4985^th	5650	11.8%
2024	31.24	3719^th	5636	34.0%

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

Rank History for African American students at Cienega Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	46.34	332^nd	700	52.6%
2019	41.27	410^th	747	45.1%
2023	43.03	322^nd	662	51.4%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Cienega Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	58.58	1698^th	4830	64.8%
2019	59.17	1738^th	4963	65.0%
2022	38.22	3038^th	5084	40.2%
2023	32.90	3476^th	5098	31.8%
2024	40.73	2917^th	5102	42.8%

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 Cienega Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	6	397	12	517	0	n/a	n/a	0	932
1989	7	376	8	541	0	n/a	n/a	0	932
1990	5	342	9	591	0	n/a	n/a	0	947
1991	4	323	5	648	0	n/a	n/a	0	980
1992	4	336	3	695	0	n/a	n/a	0	1038
1993	3	302	2	692	0	n/a	n/a	0	999
1994	1	313	3	710	3	n/a	n/a	0	1030
1995	2	248	1	697	0	n/a	n/a	0	948
1996	2	248	1	697	0	n/a	n/a	0	948
1997	0	268	2	721	1	n/a	n/a	0	992
1998	0	239	4	785	1	n/a	n/a	0	1029
1999	1	264	3	837	1	n/a	n/a	0	1106
2000	0	250	3	821	1	n/a	n/a	0	1075
2001	4	230	2	844	2	n/a	n/a	0	1082
2002	3	214	4	825	0	n/a	n/a	0	1046
2003	3	214	4	825	0	n/a	n/a	0	1046
2004	2	195	4	766	2	n/a	n/a	0	969
2005	2	167	5	756	0	n/a	n/a	0	930
2006	2	151	5	693	0	n/a	n/a	0	851
2007	4	130	5	651	6	n/a	n/a	1	797
2008	4	125	3	621	4	n/a	n/a	0	757
2009	2	117	1	601	3	1	1	0	726
2010	2	96	2	610	3	0	6	0	719
2011	2	94	3	598	3	0	3	0	703
2012	4	107	3	603	2	0	6	0	725
2013	6	112	3	585	4	0	0	0	710
2014	8	96	1	583	6	0	0	0	694
2015	16	89	2	541	4	0	3	0	655
2016	18	91	2	521	3	0	9	0	644
2017	21	82	1	509	2	0	11	0	626
2018	24	71	1	489	2	0	4	0	591
2019	17	72	2	476	0	0	12	0	579
2020	23	68	2	430	0	0	6	0	529
2021	17	59	1	385	0	0	6	0	468
2022	13	53	0	318	0	0	6	0	390
2023	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	420	420
2024	8	57	0	328	1	0	14	0	408

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 Cienega Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	932	42.0	22.1	n/a
1989	932	41.0	22.7	n/a
1990	947	41.0	23.0	n/a
1991	980	43.0	22.7	n/a
1992	1038	43.7	23.7	89.2
1993	999	44.0	22.7	94.2
1994	1030	42.0	24.5	90.9
1995	948	39.0	24.3	94.9
1996	948	39.0	24.3	94.9
1997	992	44.5	22.3	95
1998	1029	50.5	20.4	94.9
1999	1106	57.0	19.4	94.1
2000	1075	56.0	19.2	98.8
2001	1082	59.0	18.3	92.5
2002	1046	56.0	18.7	90.9
2003	1046	56.0	18.7	90.9
2004	969	50.0	19.4	91.5
2005	930	49.0	19.0	87.7
2006	851	48.0	17.7	88.4
2007	797	42.0	19.0	92.8
2008	757	45.0	16.8	88.9
2009	726	41.0	16.1	89
2010	719	36.0	19.9	87.1
2011	703	n/a	n/a	93
2012	725	30.5	23.7	n/a
2013	710	31.0	22.9	n/a
2014	694	32.0	21.6	76.2
2015	655	30.0	21.8	79.4
2016	644	28.0	23.0	90.8
2017	626	28.0	22.3	83.9
2018	591	27.0	21.8	92.7
2019	579	26.0	22.2	90.7
2020	529	n/a	n/a	93
2021	468	25.0	18.7	93.4
2022	390	25.0	15.6	92.1
2023	420	21.0	20.0	93.8
2024	408	22.0	18.5	87

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 Cienega Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	932	42.0	22.1	n/a
1989	932	41.0	22.7	n/a
1990	947	41.0	23.0	n/a
1991	980	43.0	22.7	n/a
1992	1038	43.7	23.7	89.2
1993	999	44.0	22.7	94.2
1994	1030	42.0	24.5	90.9
1995	948	39.0	24.3	94.9
1996	948	39.0	24.3	94.9
1997	992	44.5	22.3	95
1998	1029	50.5	20.4	94.9
1999	1106	57.0	19.4	94.1
2000	1075	56.0	19.2	98.8
2001	1082	59.0	18.3	92.5
2002	1046	56.0	18.7	90.9
2003	1046	56.0	18.7	90.9
2004	969	50.0	19.4	91.5
2005	930	49.0	19.0	87.7
2006	851	48.0	17.7	88.4
2007	797	42.0	19.0	92.8
2008	757	45.0	16.8	88.9
2009	726	41.0	16.1	89
2010	719	36.0	19.9	87.1
2011	703	n/a	n/a	93
2012	725	30.5	23.7	n/a
2013	710	31.0	22.9	n/a
2014	694	32.0	21.6	76.2
2015	655	30.0	21.8	79.4
2016	644	28.0	23.0	90.8
2017	626	28.0	22.3	83.9
2018	591	27.0	21.8	92.7
2019	579	26.0	22.2	90.7
2020	529	n/a	n/a	93
2021	468	25.0	18.7	93.4
2022	390	25.0	15.6	92.1
2023	420	21.0	20.0	93.8
2024	408	22.0	18.5	87

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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