Is Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary a good school?

Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary ranks 1050 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary?

In the 2022-23 school year, 644 students attended Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary?

Students at Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary are 88% Asian, 6% Two or more races, 5% Hispanic.

What schools do graduates of Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary attend?

Students who attend Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Marina Middle High : Academy (The)- SF @McAteer High : Asawa (Ruth) SF School of the Arts A Public School High : Balboa High High : Burton (Phillip and Sala) Academic High High : Galileo High High : Jordan (June) School for Equity High : Lincoln (Abraham) High High : Lowell High High : Marshall (Thurgood) High High : Mission High High : O'Connell (John) High High : S.F. International High High : Wallenberg (Raoul) Traditional High High : Washington (George) High

Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary

Summary:

Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary is a high-performing public elementary school in San Francisco, California, serving 644 students in grades K-5. This school consistently outshines the San Francisco Unified School District and the state of California in academic achievement, with particularly strong results in Mathematics.

Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary's commitment to equity and inclusion is a standout feature, as the school excels in supporting traditionally underserved student groups. In the 2023-2024 school year, the school ranked in the top 5% of California elementary schools for English Language Learners and the top 7% for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Additionally, the school's chronic absenteeism rates are lower than the district and state averages, indicating a strong focus on student engagement and attendance.

When compared to nearby schools in the San Francisco Unified district, Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary stands out as a high-performing institution. For example, Chin (John Yehall) Elementary, located just 0.43 miles away, also performs well, but Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary has higher test scores and a stronger track record of supporting underserved student populations.

Detail:

Public K-5

950 Clay St.
San Francisco, CA 94108-1521

(415) 291-7921

District: San Francisco Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
1050^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $6,103

Students who attend Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Marina Middle
High:	Academy (The)- SF @McAteer
	Asawa (Ruth) SF School of the Arts A Public School
	Balboa High
	Burton (Phillip and Sala) Academic High
	More...
	Galileo High
	Jordan (June) School for Equity
	Lincoln (Abraham) High
	Lowell High
	Marshall (Thurgood) High
	Mission High
	O'Connell (John) High
	S.F. International High
	Wallenberg (Raoul) Traditional High
	Washington (George) High

Student/teacher ratio: 22.5

Number of students: 644

Racial breakdown:

Asian:

88.0%

Two or more races:

5.7%

Hispanic:

5.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 89.3%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary ranks better than 82.1% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 25^th among 71 ranked elementary schools in the San Francisco Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 82.56. (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: Asian (88%), two or more races (5.7%), Hispanic (5.3%). (See more...)

Compare Details 89.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary is 22.5. 50 elementary schools in the San Francisco Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary employs 28.5 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary is $6,103, which is the highest among 72 elementary schools in the San Francisco Unified School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary 1050^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Lau (Gordon J.) 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:

Homeless students:

Female students:

Male students:

Asian students:

San Francisco Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks San Francisco Unified 651^st of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	51.22	2087^th	4809	56.6%
2005	54.34	1987^th	4822	58.8%
2006	62.32	1651^st	4818	65.7%
2007	69.88	1379^th	5113	73.0%
2008	64.51	1652^nd	5113	67.7%
2009	62.94	1771^st	5193	65.9%
2010	64.89	1727^th	5314	67.5%
2011	61.86	1911^th	5377	64.5%
2012	48.72	2701^st	5390	49.9%
2013	68.83	1630^th	5530	70.5%
2015	80.83	1078^th	5611	80.8%
2016	72.51	1413^th	5614	74.8%
2017	72.57	1444^th	5692	74.6%
2018	70.76	1536^th	5662	72.9%
2019	74.22	1421^st	5789	75.5%
2022	83.44	1025^th	5883	82.6%
2023	87.92	822^nd	5874	86.0%
2024	82.56	1050^th	5862	82.1%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	53.07	1122^nd	3246	65.4%
2019	74.56	427^th	3275	87.0%
2022	89.27	171^st	3311	94.8%
2023	98.99	29^th	3250	99.1%
2024	91.98	95^th	3160	97.0%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	81.37	321^st	2634	87.8%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	82.94	572^nd	5084	88.7%
2019	88.30	352^nd	5173	93.2%
2022	95.15	177^th	5264	96.6%
2023	96.61	131^st	5374	97.6%
2024	92.11	361^st	5511	93.4%

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

Rank History for Homeless students at Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2022	95.07	14^th	356	96.1%
2023	98.53	2^nd	336	99.4%
2024	99.36	3^rd	364	99.2%

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

Rank History for Female students at Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	68.05	1592^nd	5413	70.6%
2019	72.54	1388^th	5492	74.7%
2022	86.39	801^st	5635	85.8%
2023	86.12	837^th	5617	85.1%
2024	80.51	1072^nd	5605	80.9%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	33.14	1345^th	2227	39.6%

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

Rank History for Male students at Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	70.86	1451^st	5431	73.3%
2019	74.00	1349^th	5510	75.5%
2022	77.94	1195^th	5663	78.9%
2023	87.55	749^th	5650	86.7%
2024	82.09	997^th	5636	82.3%

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

Rank History for Asian students at Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	19.75	922^nd	1071	13.9%
2019	23.84	950^th	1149	17.3%
2022	33.36	871^st	1154	24.5%
2023	42.00	828^th	1190	30.4%
2024	36.40	887^th	1203	26.3%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Asian 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 Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	18	39	457	292	3	n/a	n/a	0	809
1989	13	51	433	323	1	n/a	n/a	0	821
1990	11	34	411	329	3	n/a	n/a	0	788
1991	12	30	390	299	1	n/a	n/a	0	732
1992	20	22	371	311	1	n/a	n/a	0	725
1993	13	22	392	312	1	n/a	n/a	0	740
1994	19	27	399	292	1	n/a	n/a	0	738
1995	15	15	416	318	1	n/a	n/a	0	765
1996	15	15	416	318	1	n/a	n/a	0	765
1997	10	12	402	314	1	n/a	n/a	0	739
1998	8	11	399	310	0	n/a	n/a	0	728
1999	6	13	394	278	1	n/a	n/a	0	692
2000	4	12	404	260	0	n/a	n/a	0	680
2001	4	8	403	226	0	n/a	n/a	20	661
2002	3	7	462	169	0	n/a	n/a	24	665
2003	3	7	462	169	0	n/a	n/a	24	665
2004	2	4	481	127	1	n/a	n/a	25	640
2005	1	3	523	106	2	n/a	n/a	27	662
2006	2	4	536	98	2	n/a	n/a	27	669
2007	2	2	563	84	2	n/a	n/a	19	672
2008	4	4	556	80	3	n/a	n/a	0	647
2009	6	0	564	79	2	2	14	0	667
2010	4	0	564	77	2	2	21	0	670
2011	5	1	566	70	2	1	20	0	665
2012	5	1	564	76	2	1	17	0	666
2013	4	1	491	49	1	19	85	0	650
2014	9	5	591	31	0	19	15	0	670
2015	5	6	589	34	0	2	12	0	648
2016	4	9	597	35	0	2	17	0	664
2017	8	8	591	31	0	2	39	0	679
2018	7	5	542	32	0	2	47	0	635
2019	12	5	588	34	1	1	54	0	695
2020	13	3	590	37	0	1	64	0	708
2021	9	3	615	37	0	0	80	0	744
2022	8	0	593	33	0	1	51	0	686
2023	6	0	567	34	0	0	37	0	644

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 Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	809	35.0	23.1	n/a
1989	821	34.2	24.0	n/a
1990	788	34.2	23.0	n/a
1991	732	34.3	21.3	n/a
1992	725	34.9	20.7	86.5
1993	740	27.5	26.9	86.5
1994	738	28.5	25.9	89.3
1995	765	29.0	26.4	94.9
1996	765	29.0	26.4	94.9
1997	739	35.0	21.1	85
1998	728	36.5	19.9	92.7
1999	692	37.0	18.7	91
2000	680	35.0	19.4	79.7
2001	661	34.0	19.4	96.6
2002	665	34.5	19.3	97
2003	665	34.5	19.3	97
2004	640	34.0	18.8	97.4
2005	662	31.8	20.8	94.2
2006	669	31.8	21.0	0
2007	672	30.0	22.4	93.7
2008	647	35.2	18.4	87.2
2009	667	35.0	17.7	86.1
2010	670	36.0	18.6	84.2
2011	665	n/a	n/a	89.5
2012	666	29.0	22.9	88.4
2013	650	30.0	21.6	77.2
2014	670	30.0	22.3	91
2015	648	26.0	24.9	92.4
2016	664	26.0	25.5	88.1
2017	679	29.5	23.0	83.9
2018	635	29.0	21.8	77.8
2019	695	28.8	24.1	81.6
2020	708	n/a	n/a	83.2
2021	744	30.5	24.3	88.2
2022	686	32.5	21.1	87.9
2023	644	28.5	22.5	89.3

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 Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	809	35.0	23.1	n/a
1989	821	34.2	24.0	n/a
1990	788	34.2	23.0	n/a
1991	732	34.3	21.3	n/a
1992	725	34.9	20.7	86.5
1993	740	27.5	26.9	86.5
1994	738	28.5	25.9	89.3
1995	765	29.0	26.4	94.9
1996	765	29.0	26.4	94.9
1997	739	35.0	21.1	85
1998	728	36.5	19.9	92.7
1999	692	37.0	18.7	91
2000	680	35.0	19.4	79.7
2001	661	34.0	19.4	96.6
2002	665	34.5	19.3	97
2003	665	34.5	19.3	97
2004	640	34.0	18.8	97.4
2005	662	31.8	20.8	94.2
2006	669	31.8	21.0	0
2007	672	30.0	22.4	93.7
2008	647	35.2	18.4	87.2
2009	667	35.0	17.7	86.1
2010	670	36.0	18.6	84.2
2011	665	n/a	n/a	89.5
2012	666	29.0	22.9	88.4
2013	650	30.0	21.6	77.2
2014	670	30.0	22.3	91
2015	648	26.0	24.9	92.4
2016	664	26.0	25.5	88.1
2017	679	29.5	23.0	83.9
2018	635	29.0	21.8	77.8
2019	695	28.8	24.1	81.6
2020	708	n/a	n/a	83.2
2021	744	30.5	24.3	88.2
2022	686	32.5	21.1	87.9
2023	644	28.5	22.5	89.3

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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