Best Public Schools in Downey, CA

Downey has 22 schools—13 elementary, four middle and five high schools—serving students across a range of grade levels; most are part of Downey Unified, with a county-run juvenile-hall school also on the list. In 2025–26, regular district schools averaged 57% in ELA, 48% in math and 38% in science, respectively 8, 10 and 2 points above state results. But those averages mask wide differences among schools: the most important finding for families is that performance varies substantially across Downey, even among regular district schools.

Warren High led All Grades ELA at 72%, 3 points above Williams Elementary and 23 points above the state. Williams led All Grades math at 74%, 14 points ahead of Unsworth Elementary, and 36 points above the state; in a matched third-grade comparison, Lewis Elementary led math at 79%. Price Elementary led science at 52%, just 1 point above Griffiths Middle, and led fifth-grade results in all three subjects. Gauldin Elementary had the lowest reported All Grades results among regular district schools: 39% ELA, 34% math and 22% science. Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall scored 0% in all three subjects, but its setting is very different from a neighborhood school. All Grades results mix grade spans, so matched-grade comparisons are more useful when available.

Results generally improved, but not everywhere: regular-school averages rose 3 points in ELA, 3 in math and 4 in science from 2024–25 to 2025–26, slightly outpacing state gains. Garcia Elementary gained 10 points in ELA, while Warren High fell 15 points in science. SchoolDigger percentile rankings also show varied longer-term movement: Ward Elementary gained 14 percentile points from 2023–24 to 2025–26, while Downey High lost 4. As context, regular schools report free/reduced lunch eligible (FRL), sy 2024–25: elementary-school shares range from 53% at Carpenter Elementary to 89% at Gauldin, but these figures do not explain a school’s results.