Is Central Elementary a good school?

Central Elementary ranks 3999 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Central Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 508 students attended Central Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Central Elementary?

Students at Central Elementary are 83% Hispanic, 13% Asian, 2% African American.

What schools do graduates of Central Elementary attend?

Students who attend Central Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : National City Middle High : Sweetwater High

Central Elementary

Summary:

Central Elementary is a public elementary school located in National City, California, serving 501 students in grades K-6. It is part of the National Elementary School District, which is ranked 1139 out of 1568 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Central Elementary faces significant challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates that have risen from 11.7% in 2018-2019 to 49.7% in 2021-2022, notably higher than the 34.7% to 49.3% range seen at nearby schools. Academically, the school's performance on Smarter Balanced Assessments is generally lower than the state average and its peers, with only 19.05% to 45.59% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy, and 11.76% to 35.38% proficient or better in mathematics, compared to state averages of 47.04% and 35.54%, respectively. The school's science performance, as measured by the CAST assessment, is also below the state average at 15.29% proficient or better.

Central Elementary's challenges may be exacerbated by its high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with 81.44% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in 2022-2023, significantly higher than the 72.96% to 88.36% range seen at nearby schools. While the school's large student enrollment of 501 and student-teacher ratio of 22.7 are comparable to its peers, addressing the attendance and academic performance issues will likely require a multifaceted approach, including targeted interventions, evidence-based instructional strategies, and support programs tailored to the needs of the school's socioeconomically disadvantaged population. By learning from the successes of higher-performing schools in the National Elementary School District, Central Elementary has the potential to improve student outcomes and provide a more equitable educational experience for its community.

Detail:

Public K-6

933 E Ave.
National City, CA 91950-3416

(619) 336-7400

District: National Elementary

SchoolDigger Rank:
3999^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $4,444

Students who attend Central Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	National City Middle
High:	Sweetwater High

Student/teacher ratio: 23.0

Number of students: 508

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

82.9%

Asian:

12.6%

African American:

2.4%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 83.3%

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Central Elementary ranks worse than 68.2% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 5^th among 10 ranked elementary schools in the National Elementary School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 29.11. (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 Central Elementary has the largest elementary school student body size in the National Elementary School District. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (82.9%), Asian (12.6%), African American (2.4%). (See more...)

Compare Details 83.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the highest percentage in the National Elementary School District. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Central Elementary is 23, which is the 5^th best among 10 elementary schools in the National Elementary School District. (See more...)

Compare Central Elementary employs 22 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Central Elementary is $4,444, which is the lowest among 10 elementary schools in the National Elementary School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Central Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Central Elementary 3999^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Central Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Homeless students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

National Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks National Elementary 1139^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Central Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Central Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	23.39	3672^nd	4809	23.6%
2005	27.19	3468^th	4822	28.1%
2006	13.09	4466^th	4818	7.3%
2007	25.63	3885^th	5113	24.0%
2008	30.61	3536^th	5113	30.8%
2009	31.11	3621^st	5193	30.3%
2010	31.17	3762^nd	5314	29.2%
2011	31.01	3910^th	5377	27.3%
2012	23.00	4454^th	5390	17.4%
2013	50.61	2652^nd	5530	52.0%
2015	40.62	2981^st	5611	46.9%
2016	44.02	2830^th	5614	49.6%
2017	49.05	2602^nd	5692	54.3%
2018	42.97	2956^th	5662	47.8%
2019	35.46	3500^th	5789	39.5%
2022	26.64	4184^th	5883	28.9%
2023	28.22	4049^th	5874	31.1%
2024	29.11	3999^th	5862	31.8%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Central Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	83.43	279^th	3246	91.4%
2019	40.21	1768^th	3275	46.0%
2022	48.79	1264^th	3311	61.8%
2023	53.13	1047^th	3250	67.8%
2024	50.65	1135^th	3160	64.1%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Central Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	19.56	2217^th	2420	8.4%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Central Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	56.00	1970^th	5084	61.3%
2019	48.11	2528^th	5173	51.1%
2022	37.80	3192^nd	5264	39.4%
2023	34.86	3503^rd	5374	34.8%
2024	37.56	3325^th	5511	39.7%

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

Rank History for Homeless students at Central Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2022	47.30	161^st	356	54.8%
2023	43.95	177^th	336	47.3%
2024	35.59	253^rd	364	30.5%

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

Rank History for Female students at Central Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	47.58	2625^th	5413	51.5%
2019	39.19	3158^th	5492	42.5%
2022	27.31	3987^th	5635	29.2%
2023	25.10	4217^th	5617	24.9%
2024	26.36	4111^th	5605	26.7%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Central Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	33.03	1305^th	2128	38.7%
2019	33.96	1587^th	2585	38.6%

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

Rank History for Male students at Central Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	39.65	3073^rd	5431	43.4%
2019	33.36	3510^th	5510	36.3%
2022	27.25	4028^th	5663	28.9%
2023	31.99	3612^th	5650	36.1%
2024	32.71	3585^th	5636	36.4%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Central Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	49.58	2253^rd	4830	53.4%
2019	41.21	2877^th	4963	42.0%
2022	34.41	3335^th	5084	34.4%
2023	32.36	3515^th	5098	31.1%
2024	35.03	3346^th	5102	34.4%

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 Central Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	68	23	76	573	2	n/a	n/a	0	742
1989	59	27	53	623	0	n/a	n/a	0	762
1990	72	19	58	648	3	n/a	n/a	0	800
1991	59	13	51	664	4	n/a	n/a	0	791
1992	47	25	61	687	5	n/a	n/a	0	825
1993	48	19	62	680	0	n/a	n/a	0	809
1994	32	20	48	686	3	n/a	n/a	0	789
1995	31	18	51	710	2	n/a	n/a	0	812
1996	31	18	51	710	2	n/a	n/a	0	812
1997	12	25	51	722	3	n/a	n/a	0	813
1998	21	25	45	750	2	n/a	n/a	0	843
1999	20	19	40	747	1	n/a	n/a	0	827
2000	28	13	51	740	1	n/a	n/a	0	833
2001	15	13	57	745	3	n/a	n/a	0	833
2002	15	15	67	732	0	n/a	n/a	0	829
2003	15	15	67	732	0	n/a	n/a	0	829
2004	14	12	60	707	1	n/a	n/a	0	794
2005	9	12	87	678	1	n/a	n/a	0	787
2006	6	13	66	669	3	n/a	n/a	0	757
2007	8	12	62	667	1	n/a	n/a	2	752
2008	13	11	44	651	1	n/a	n/a	0	720
2009	52	9	53	601	2	2	0	0	719
2010	5	2	6	594	0	0	99	0	706
2011	8	14	33	560	1	3	46	0	665
2012	9	13	59	607	0	3	6	0	697
2013	14	11	56	623	0	1	7	0	712
2014	21	9	57	616	0	3	10	0	716
2015	17	11	60	571	0	6	12	0	677
2016	17	13	51	563	0	3	14	0	661
2017	13	8	42	541	0	3	16	0	623
2018	11	13	48	516	1	1	17	0	607
2019	10	8	57	493	0	1	11	0	580
2020	6	8	45	500	0	1	10	0	570
2021	5	8	47	475	0	1	9	4	549
2022	4	7	58	415	0	1	5	1	491
2023	5	8	70	406	0	0	11	1	501
2024	5	12	64	421	0	1	4	1	508

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 Central Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	742	31.0	23.9	n/a
1989	762	32.4	23.5	n/a
1990	800	32.5	24.6	n/a
1991	791	31.0	25.5	n/a
1992	825	31.5	26.1	n/a
1993	809	32.0	25.3	95.1
1994	789	30.9	25.5	94.9
1995	812	31.0	26.2	95
1996	812	31.0	26.2	95
1997	813	30.0	27.1	95
1998	843	34.0	24.8	94.9
1999	827	39.8	20.8	94.9
2000	833	39.5	21.1	99.6
2001	833	39.0	21.4	99.6
2002	829	38.0	21.8	99.6
2003	829	38.0	21.8	99.6
2004	794	37.0	21.5	99.6
2005	787	37.0	21.3	99.6
2006	757	34.0	22.3	85.5
2007	752	34.0	22.1	84.5
2008	720	40.0	18.0	86
2009	719	33.0	18.0	99.6
2010	706	27.0	26.1	87.4
2011	665	n/a	n/a	86.9
2012	697	33.0	21.1	n/a
2013	712	31.1	22.8	n/a
2014	716	29.0	24.6	74.3
2015	677	28.0	24.1	76.8
2016	661	30.0	22.0	78.1
2017	623	28.5	21.8	82.8
2018	607	27.0	22.4	83.9
2019	580	26.0	22.3	80.2
2020	570	n/a	n/a	81.9
2021	549	27.0	20.3	73.4
2022	491	24.0	20.4	80.7
2023	501	22.0	22.7	81.4
2024	508	22.0	23.0	83.3

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 Central Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	742	31.0	23.9	n/a
1989	762	32.4	23.5	n/a
1990	800	32.5	24.6	n/a
1991	791	31.0	25.5	n/a
1992	825	31.5	26.1	n/a
1993	809	32.0	25.3	95.1
1994	789	30.9	25.5	94.9
1995	812	31.0	26.2	95
1996	812	31.0	26.2	95
1997	813	30.0	27.1	95
1998	843	34.0	24.8	94.9
1999	827	39.8	20.8	94.9
2000	833	39.5	21.1	99.6
2001	833	39.0	21.4	99.6
2002	829	38.0	21.8	99.6
2003	829	38.0	21.8	99.6
2004	794	37.0	21.5	99.6
2005	787	37.0	21.3	99.6
2006	757	34.0	22.3	85.5
2007	752	34.0	22.1	84.5
2008	720	40.0	18.0	86
2009	719	33.0	18.0	99.6
2010	706	27.0	26.1	87.4
2011	665	n/a	n/a	86.9
2012	697	33.0	21.1	n/a
2013	712	31.1	22.8	n/a
2014	716	29.0	24.6	74.3
2015	677	28.0	24.1	76.8
2016	661	30.0	22.0	78.1
2017	623	28.5	21.8	82.8
2018	607	27.0	22.4	83.9
2019	580	26.0	22.3	80.2
2020	570	n/a	n/a	81.9
2021	549	27.0	20.3	73.4
2022	491	24.0	20.4	80.7
2023	501	22.0	22.7	81.4
2024	508	22.0	23.0	83.3

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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