Summary:
El Centro has 21 schools: 13 elementary, two middle, four high and two alternative schools, offering options from elementary through high school. In 2025–26, the simple school averages were below California’s in ELA (43% versus 49%), math (28% versus 38%) and science (23% versus 36%). Results varied substantially from school to school, with the top-to-bottom spread reaching 41 percentage points in ELA, 48 in math and 43 in science. The most important finding is that the area’s averages trail the state in every subject, while individual schools’ results differ widely.
McCabe Elementary is the clearest academic standout, leading all three reported All Grades subjects: 59% in ELA, 49% in math and 45% in science. Its scores were 3, 5 and 2 percentage points above the next-highest school in each subject, respectively. At the other end, Valley Academy had the lowest ELA and science results, at 17% and 2%, while Desert Oasis High (Continuation) had the lowest math result, at 1%. Results for the same grade can offer a more direct comparison: in eighth grade, De Anza Magnet led the listed schools in ELA (74%) and math (56%).
Average results rose from 2024–25 to 2025–26 by 3 percentage points in ELA, 2 in math and 4 in science, but improvement was not shared by every school. For example, Desert Garden Elementary gained 23 points in science, while McKinley Elementary fell 13 points. SchoolDigger placed McCabe Elementary at the 67th statewide percentile, compared with the 20th for Margaret Hedrick Elementary and the 22nd for Valley Academy. The schools’ 2024–25 low-income measure is free/reduced lunch eligible: it was 42% at McCabe and 95% at Booker T. Washington Elementary, though high percentages did not always accompany low scores—for instance, Lincoln Elementary had 89% eligible and scored 50% in ELA and 44% in math. As additional context, Central Union High and Southwest High had graduation rates of 97% and 94%, both above California’s 88%.
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