Is Sundown Elementary a good school?

Sundown Elementary ranks in the bottom 18.2% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Sundown Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 889 students attended Sundown Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Sundown Elementary?

Students at Sundown Elementary are 53% Hispanic, 19% White, 18% African American, 8% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Sundown Elementary attend?

Students who attend Sundown Elementary usually go on to attend: High : Quartz Hill High

Sundown Elementary

Summary:

Sundown Elementary is a public elementary school located in Lancaster, CA, serving 848 students in grades K-6. The school is part of the Westside Union Elementary District, which is ranked 804 out of 1,568 districts in California and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Sundown Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom half of California elementary schools over the past decade, with a ranking between 2,624 and 4,797 out of around 5,600-5,900 schools. Its academic performance is notably lower than the district and state averages, with only 28.52% of Sundown students proficient or better in ELA End-of-Course, compared to 44.95% for the district and 47.04% for the state. In Mathematics, the performance gap is even wider, with only 17.9% of Sundown students proficient or better, compared to 31.25% for the district and 35.54% for the state. Sundown Elementary also has a higher rate of chronic absenteeism, at 40.7% in 2021-2022, compared to around 30% for the district and state.

Sundown Elementary's performance is generally lower than the nearby Rancho Vista Elementary, Valley View Elementary, and Quartz Hill Elementary, which tend to have higher academic proficiency rates and lower chronic absenteeism. The school's performance is particularly low for certain student subgroups, such as White and Multi-racial students, who rank in the bottom 10-20% of California elementary schools. However, the school's performance for African American and English Language Learner students is relatively better, ranking in the top 30-40% of California schools.

Detail:

Public K-6

6151 West Ave. J-8
Lancaster, CA 93536-4540

(661) 722-3026

District: Westside Union Elementary

SchoolDigger Rank:
4797^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $9,579

Students who attend Sundown Elementary usually attend:

High:

Quartz Hill High

Student/teacher ratio: 26.9

Number of students: 889

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

53.3%

White:

19.0%

African American:

17.9%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 59.6%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Sundown Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Sundown Elementary ranks worse than 81.8% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks last among 10 ranked elementary schools in the Westside Union Elementary School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 20.56. (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 Student population at Sundown Elementary is diverse. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (53.3%), White (19%), African American (17.9%). (See more...)

Compare Details 59.6% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Sundown Elementary is 26.9. 6 elementary schools in the Westside Union Elementary School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Sundown Elementary employs 33 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Sundown Elementary is $9,579, which is the highest among 10 elementary schools in the Westside Union Elementary School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Sundown Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Sundown Elementary 4797^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Sundown Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Westside Union Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Westside Union Elementary 804^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Sundown Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Sundown Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	79.85	898^th	4809	81.3%
2005	66.72	1475^th	4822	69.4%
2006	61.82	1668^th	4818	65.4%
2007	46.96	2498^th	5113	51.1%
2008	47.13	2537^th	5113	50.4%
2009	48.01	2610^th	5193	49.7%
2010	51.90	2456^th	5314	53.8%
2011	54.12	2346^th	5377	56.4%
2012	49.88	2624^th	5390	51.3%
2013	41.35	3232^nd	5530	41.6%
2015	33.06	3463^rd	5611	38.3%
2016	34.65	3434^th	5614	38.8%
2017	28.85	3926^th	5692	31.0%
2018	22.52	4473^rd	5662	21.0%
2019	26.00	4272^nd	5789	26.2%
2022	27.96	4051^st	5883	31.1%
2023	27.37	4139^th	5874	29.5%
2024	20.56	4797^th	5862	18.2%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Sundown Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2022	10.80	558^th	610	8.5%
2023	12.76	606^th	669	9.4%
2024	1.39	662^nd	669	1.0%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Sundown Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	42.70	1628^th	3311	50.8%
2024	53.05	1024^th	3160	67.6%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Sundown Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	35.27	1420^th	2420	41.3%
2024	34.73	1572^nd	2634	40.3%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Sundown Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	23.30	4248^th	5084	16.4%
2019	20.95	4505^th	5173	12.9%
2022	26.37	4130^th	5264	21.5%
2023	22.50	4498^th	5374	16.3%
2024	20.09	4772^nd	5511	13.4%

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

Rank History for Homeless students at Sundown Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	50.59	142^nd	356	60.1%
2023	44.66	175^th	336	47.9%

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

Rank History for Female students at Sundown Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	23.43	4279^th	5413	20.9%
2019	27.47	4031^st	5492	26.6%
2022	31.93	3580^th	5635	36.5%
2023	28.25	3940^th	5617	29.9%
2024	19.14	4785^th	5605	14.6%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Sundown Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	32.52	1328^th	2128	37.6%
2019	44.92	1134^th	2585	56.1%
2022	40.42	1057^th	2227	52.5%

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

Rank History for Male students at Sundown Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	22.04	4396^th	5431	19.1%
2019	25.23	4167^th	5510	24.4%
2022	25.31	4210^th	5663	25.7%
2023	27.39	4005^th	5650	29.1%
2024	22.83	4455^th	5636	21.0%

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

Rank History for African American students at Sundown Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	35.39	434^th	700	38.0%
2019	27.59	565^th	747	24.4%
2022	50.67	255^th	663	61.5%
2023	56.57	230^th	662	65.3%
2024	30.19	414^th	593	30.2%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Sundown Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	26.37	3804^th	4830	21.2%
2019	33.48	3423^rd	4963	31.0%
2022	37.38	3109^th	5084	38.8%
2023	36.56	3179^th	5098	37.6%
2024	31.02	3662^nd	5102	28.2%

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

Rank History for White students at Sundown Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	12.92	2487^th	2737	9.1%
2019	20.56	2370^th	2834	16.4%
2022	14.57	2407^th	2726	11.7%
2023	16.50	2304^th	2662	13.4%
2024	11.90	2396^th	2647	9.5%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for White 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 Sundown Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1995	360	68	27	104	7	n/a	n/a	0	566
1996	360	68	27	104	7	n/a	n/a	0	566
1997	364	74	26	107	6	n/a	n/a	0	577
1998	385	82	24	126	3	n/a	n/a	0	620
1999	422	92	27	137	3	n/a	n/a	0	681
2000	422	94	28	136	2	n/a	n/a	0	682
2001	420	85	33	143	6	n/a	n/a	0	687
2002	411	100	27	149	4	n/a	n/a	0	691
2003	411	100	27	149	4	n/a	n/a	0	691
2004	354	87	19	137	5	n/a	n/a	93	695
2005	367	87	15	137	1	n/a	n/a	101	708
2006	377	104	27	201	5	n/a	n/a	41	755
2007	425	150	46	345	4	n/a	n/a	54	1024
2008	393	189	58	409	13	n/a	n/a	0	1062
2009	405	221	62	396	9	7	35	0	1135
2010	407	222	61	399	6	7	28	0	1130
2011	394	198	57	417	4	6	39	0	1115
2012	403	180	60	413	2	6	56	0	1120
2013	314	163	45	394	0	3	50	0	969
2014	335	167	52	442	1	1	48	0	1046
2015	333	155	39	443	2	0	50	0	1022
2016	322	149	29	464	0	0	60	0	1024
2017	316	147	28	460	0	0	63	0	1014
2018	305	140	26	440	0	0	70	0	981
2019	279	141	26	462	0	0	67	0	975
2020	267	163	25	459	0	0	63	0	977
2021	225	147	24	434	0	0	66	0	896
2022	189	136	20	423	0	0	66	0	834
2023	174	135	10	448	0	2	79	0	848
2024	169	159	14	474	1	1	71	0	889

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 Sundown Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1995	566	23.0	24.6	21.9
1996	566	23.0	24.6	21.9
1997	577	22.0	26.2	20.8
1998	620	32.0	19.4	23.7
1999	681	34.0	20.0	19.7
2000	682	35.0	19.5	20.5
2001	687	34.0	20.2	20.7
2002	691	32.0	21.6	25.3
2003	691	32.0	21.6	25.3
2004	695	34.0	20.4	30.2
2005	708	33.5	21.1	32.3
2006	755	27.5	27.5	0
2007	1024	35.5	28.8	30.4
2008	1062	43.2	24.6	36.5
2009	1135	39.6	26.6	42
2010	1130	41.0	27.5	44.5
2011	1115	n/a	n/a	42.1
2012	1120	40.0	28.0	35
2013	969	34.0	28.5	45
2014	1046	37.0	28.2	46.3
2015	1022	38.0	26.8	45.5
2016	1024	36.0	28.4	48.4
2017	1014	37.0	27.4	47.6
2018	981	36.0	27.2	52.3
2019	975	36.0	27.0	53.5
2020	977	n/a	n/a	57.3
2021	896	34.0	26.3	55.2
2022	834	33.0	25.2	58.5
2023	848	32.0	26.5	60.4
2024	889	33.0	26.9	59.6

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 Sundown Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1995	566	23.0	24.6	21.9
1996	566	23.0	24.6	21.9
1997	577	22.0	26.2	20.8
1998	620	32.0	19.4	23.7
1999	681	34.0	20.0	19.7
2000	682	35.0	19.5	20.5
2001	687	34.0	20.2	20.7
2002	691	32.0	21.6	25.3
2003	691	32.0	21.6	25.3
2004	695	34.0	20.4	30.2
2005	708	33.5	21.1	32.3
2006	755	27.5	27.5	0
2007	1024	35.5	28.8	30.4
2008	1062	43.2	24.6	36.5
2009	1135	39.6	26.6	42
2010	1130	41.0	27.5	44.5
2011	1115	n/a	n/a	42.1
2012	1120	40.0	28.0	35
2013	969	34.0	28.5	45
2014	1046	37.0	28.2	46.3
2015	1022	38.0	26.8	45.5
2016	1024	36.0	28.4	48.4
2017	1014	37.0	27.4	47.6
2018	981	36.0	27.2	52.3
2019	975	36.0	27.0	53.5
2020	977	n/a	n/a	57.3
2021	896	34.0	26.3	55.2
2022	834	33.0	25.2	58.5
2023	848	32.0	26.5	60.4
2024	889	33.0	26.9	59.6

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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