Best Public Schools in Carson, CA

Carson, California is home to 24 public schools serving grades K-12 across four districts, with most belonging to the Los Angeles Unified system, and they primarily serve low-income communities with a wide range of academic outcomes.

The standout academic performer is the California Academy of Mathematics and Science (CAMS), a top-ranked high school with exceptional test scores and a near-perfect graduation rate, demonstrating that high achievement is possible even with average per-student spending. Among elementary schools, Two Hundred Thirty-Second Place Elementary and Carson Street Elementary consistently post strong results, while Ralph Bunche Elementary in the Compton Unified district has the best attendance record.

Schools facing significant challenges include the fully online Virtual Academy of the Arts & Entertainment, which struggles with very high absenteeism and low graduation rates, and the small Eagle Tree Continuation high school, which requires intensive resources for its at-risk students. A common theme across most Carson schools is that mathematics proficiency lags behind English, indicating a key area for improvement, and there is no clear link between higher per-student spending and better academic outcomes.