One Hundred Sixteenth Street Elementary

One Hundred Sixteenth Street Elementary is a K-5 public school serving 401 students in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, operating within the Los Angeles Unified school district and serving a community where nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Academically, the school's test scores are below state and district averages, but it shows notable strengths in serving specific groups of students, with English Language Learners making dramatic improvements and African American students performing relatively well. The school faces challenges with chronic absenteeism, though its rate of 22.9% has improved significantly from previous years and is slightly better than the district average. Performance varies by grade, with English Language Arts improving in upper grades but math and science, particularly in 5th grade, lagging behind.

Interesting comparisons can be made with nearby schools. For instance, One Hundred Twenty-Second Street Elementary, less than a mile away and with a very similar student population, achieves significantly higher test scores and has a much lower chronic absenteeism rate of 7.5%, despite receiving less funding per student. Schools in the neighboring Compton Unified district, like Carver Elementary and Ronald E. McNair Elementary, also show stronger academic results and excellent attendance, suggesting that the challenges at One Hundred Sixteenth Street are not inevitable given its demographics.