Is Ada S. Nelson Elementary a good school?

Ada S. Nelson Elementary ranks 1949 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Ada S. Nelson Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 378 students attended Ada S. Nelson Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Ada S. Nelson Elementary?

Students at Ada S. Nelson Elementary are 94% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 1% African American, 1% White.

What schools do graduates of Ada S. Nelson Elementary attend?

Students who attend Ada S. Nelson Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Los Nietos Middle High : Pioneer High

Ada S. Nelson Elementary

Summary:

Ada S. Nelson Elementary is a public elementary school located in Whittier, CA, serving 382 students in grades K-6. The school is part of the Los Nietos District, which is ranked 545 out of 1,568 districts in California and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Ada S. Nelson Elementary consistently outperforms the Los Nietos District and the state of California in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics proficiency rates across all grade levels. The school's ELA proficiency rate for the end-of-course exam was 56.12%, compared to 50.7% for the district and 47.04% for the state. In Mathematics, the school's end-of-course proficiency rate was 42.86%, higher than the district's 37.69% and the state's 35.54%. The school's performance is particularly strong in 5th and 6th grade ELA, where proficiency rates exceed 60%. Additionally, the school excels in supporting its Hispanic, English Language Learner (ELL), and low socioeconomic status (SES) student populations, ranking in the top quartile of California elementary schools for these subgroups.

When compared to nearby schools, such as Aeolian Elementary and Rancho Santa Gertrudes Elementary within the Los Nietos District, as well as schools in the Whittier City Elementary and El Rancho Unified districts, Ada S. Nelson Elementary consistently outperforms these schools in both ELA and Mathematics proficiency rates, particularly in the upper elementary grades. This is noteworthy, as the school serves a higher percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (77.49%) compared to the nearby schools, suggesting that the school's academic achievements are even more impressive given the higher-need population it serves.

Detail:

Public K-6

8140 South Vicki Dr.
Whittier, CA 90606-3040

(562) 692-0615

District: Los Nietos

SchoolDigger Rank:
1949^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $8,448

Students who attend Ada S. Nelson Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Los Nietos Middle
High:	Pioneer High

Student/teacher ratio: 25.2

Number of students: 378

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

94.4%

Asian:

1.9%

African American:

1.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 72.2%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Ada S. Nelson Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Ada S. Nelson Elementary ranks better than 66.8% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 2^nd among 3 ranked elementary schools in the Los Nietos School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 62.59. (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 Ada S. Nelson Elementary has the largest elementary school student body size in the Los Nietos School District. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (94.4%), Asian (1.9%), African American (1.3%). (See more...)

Compare Details 72.2% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Ada S. Nelson Elementary is 25.2, which is the highest among 3 elementary schools in the Los Nietos School District! (See more...)

Compare Ada S. Nelson Elementary employs 14.9 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Ada S. Nelson Elementary is $8,448, which is the lowest among 3 elementary schools in the Los Nietos School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Ada S. Nelson Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Ada S. Nelson Elementary 1949^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Ada S. Nelson Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Los Nietos:

SchoolDigger ranks Los Nietos 545^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Ada S. Nelson Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Ada S. Nelson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	26.95	3421^st	4809	28.9%
2005	36.19	2940^th	4822	39.0%
2006	36.11	2928^th	4818	39.2%
2007	43.78	2685^th	5113	47.5%
2008	48.22	2482^nd	5113	51.5%
2009	48.51	2577^th	5193	50.4%
2010	39.63	3195^th	5314	39.9%
2011	38.45	3352^nd	5377	37.7%
2012	33.95	3670^th	5390	31.9%
2013	36.99	3528^th	5530	36.2%
2015	34.69	3351^st	5611	40.3%
2016	50.88	2450^th	5614	56.4%
2017	60.40	1996^th	5692	64.9%
2018	50.32	2557^th	5662	54.8%
2019	56.63	2222^nd	5789	61.6%
2021	42.57	740^th	1417	47.8%
2022	67.02	1737^th	5883	70.5%
2023	66.97	1710^th	5874	70.9%
2024	62.59	1949^th	5862	66.8%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Ada S. Nelson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	71.38	513^th	3246	84.2%
2019	85.49	241^st	3275	92.6%
2021	58.86	132^nd	602	78.1%
2023	76.00	347^th	3250	89.3%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Ada S. Nelson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	65.99	1395^th	5084	72.6%
2019	74.65	939^th	5173	81.8%
2021	69.46	241^st	1110	78.3%
2022	79.44	780^th	5264	85.2%
2023	78.36	838^th	5374	84.4%
2024	70.77	1226^th	5511	77.8%

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

Rank History for Homeless students at Ada S. Nelson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	93.15	15^th	356	95.8%

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

Rank History for Female students at Ada S. Nelson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	49.78	2508^th	5413	53.7%
2019	54.49	2252^nd	5492	59.0%
2021	39.41	706^th	1267	44.3%
2022	66.77	1653^rd	5635	70.7%
2023	62.01	1852^nd	5617	67.0%
2024	59.49	1976^th	5605	64.7%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Ada S. Nelson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	50.40	972^nd	2585	62.4%

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

Rank History for Male students at Ada S. Nelson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	48.71	2529^th	5431	53.4%
2019	56.04	2140^th	5510	61.2%
2021	46.35	610^th	1272	52.0%
2022	64.31	1762^nd	5663	68.9%
2023	69.77	1518^th	5650	73.1%
2024	63.86	1800^th	5636	68.1%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Ada S. Nelson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	66.03	1322^nd	4830	72.6%
2019	72.79	1022^nd	4963	79.4%
2022	82.02	672^nd	5084	86.8%
2023	82.42	637^th	5098	87.5%
2024	77.66	825^th	5102	83.8%

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 Ada S. Nelson Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	67	7	11	404	0	n/a	n/a	0	489
1989	52	11	10	427	1	n/a	n/a	0	501
1990	46	15	15	431	0	n/a	n/a	0	507
1991	56	4	13	459	0	n/a	n/a	0	532
1992	49	2	16	472	0	n/a	n/a	0	539
1993	37	4	14	451	0	n/a	n/a	0	506
1994	23	4	9	506	0	n/a	n/a	0	542
1995	32	6	10	516	1	n/a	n/a	0	565
1996	32	6	10	516	1	n/a	n/a	0	565
1997	21	4	20	539	0	n/a	n/a	0	584
1998	15	9	6	482	0	n/a	n/a	0	512
1999	13	5	6	519	1	n/a	n/a	0	544
2000	13	4	5	525	1	n/a	n/a	0	548
2001	21	8	9	514	1	n/a	n/a	1	554
2002	20	7	6	524	1	n/a	n/a	1	559
2003	20	7	6	524	1	n/a	n/a	1	559
2004	35	4	8	488	1	n/a	n/a	0	536
2005	29	3	7	495	2	n/a	n/a	0	536
2006	21	4	9	469	2	n/a	n/a	3	508
2007	18	3	4	499	3	n/a	n/a	0	527
2008	18	2	6	484	2	n/a	n/a	0	512
2009	18	4	2	485	1	0	0	0	510
2010	15	4	4	549	1	0	0	0	573
2011	11	2	4	496	3	0	1	0	517
2012	9	1	3	423	66	0	0	0	502
2013	3	0	4	503	8	0	0	0	518
2014	2	0	2	453	2	1	2	0	462
2015	7	2	1	383	2	1	1	0	397
2016	8	1	4	414	1	0	1	0	429
2017	4	1	3	424	0	0	4	0	436
2018	4	3	3	397	0	0	2	0	409
2019	6	4	6	391	0	0	0	0	407
2020	4	5	6	371	0	2	0	0	388
2021	5	5	6	354	0	0	0	0	370
2022	2	2	7	355	1	0	2	0	369
2023	7	4	9	355	2	0	5	0	382
2024	4	5	7	357	2	0	3	0	378

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 Ada S. Nelson Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	489	21.0	23.2	n/a
1989	501	20.0	25.0	n/a
1990	507	20.5	24.7	n/a
1991	532	21.0	25.3	n/a
1992	539	21.3	25.3	69
1993	506	20.0	25.3	74.1
1994	542	20.0	27.1	79.5
1995	565	21.0	26.9	83
1996	565	21.0	26.9	83
1997	584	24.0	24.3	86.3
1998	512	25.0	20.5	87.3
1999	544	25.0	21.8	85.8
2000	548	25.0	21.9	83
2001	554	25.0	22.2	73.4
2002	559	26.0	21.5	99.6
2003	559	26.0	21.5	99.6
2004	536	26.0	20.6	99.4
2005	536	25.0	21.4	99.4
2006	508	23.0	22.1	100
2007	527	22.1	23.8	99.4
2008	512	27.0	19.0	99.4
2009	510	24.0	19.2	99.4
2010	573	26.0	22.0	99.5
2011	517	n/a	n/a	99.4
2012	502	17.0	29.5	99.4
2013	518	17.0	30.4	99
2014	462	17.0	27.1	99.4
2015	397	14.0	28.3	79.3
2016	429	15.0	28.6	88.1
2017	436	16.8	25.9	88.8
2018	409	16.0	25.5	83.4
2019	407	14.0	29.0	82.3
2020	388	n/a	n/a	74.2
2021	370	14.0	26.4	74.9
2022	369	15.5	23.8	77.8
2023	382	15.9	23.9	77.5
2024	378	14.9	25.2	72.2

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 Ada S. Nelson Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	489	21.0	23.2	n/a
1989	501	20.0	25.0	n/a
1990	507	20.5	24.7	n/a
1991	532	21.0	25.3	n/a
1992	539	21.3	25.3	69
1993	506	20.0	25.3	74.1
1994	542	20.0	27.1	79.5
1995	565	21.0	26.9	83
1996	565	21.0	26.9	83
1997	584	24.0	24.3	86.3
1998	512	25.0	20.5	87.3
1999	544	25.0	21.8	85.8
2000	548	25.0	21.9	83
2001	554	25.0	22.2	73.4
2002	559	26.0	21.5	99.6
2003	559	26.0	21.5	99.6
2004	536	26.0	20.6	99.4
2005	536	25.0	21.4	99.4
2006	508	23.0	22.1	100
2007	527	22.1	23.8	99.4
2008	512	27.0	19.0	99.4
2009	510	24.0	19.2	99.4
2010	573	26.0	22.0	99.5
2011	517	n/a	n/a	99.4
2012	502	17.0	29.5	99.4
2013	518	17.0	30.4	99
2014	462	17.0	27.1	99.4
2015	397	14.0	28.3	79.3
2016	429	15.0	28.6	88.1
2017	436	16.8	25.9	88.8
2018	409	16.0	25.5	83.4
2019	407	14.0	29.0	82.3
2020	388	n/a	n/a	74.2
2021	370	14.0	26.4	74.9
2022	369	15.5	23.8	77.8
2023	382	15.9	23.9	77.5
2024	378	14.9	25.2	72.2

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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