Elementary Schools in Los Banos Unified

Summary:

This analysis examines the 10 elementary schools within the Los Banos Unified district, serving grades K-6 (with one K-only center), revealing significant variation in performance and resources across schools serving a high-need community.

When comparing schools, Grasslands Elementary stands out as the top performer, achieving the highest test scores in English, math, and science while having the district's lowest per-student spending and best attendance. Charleston Elementary also excels with exceptionally low chronic absenteeism and strong academics. In contrast, the Transitional Kindergarten Center has a severe absenteeism rate over 50%, and R. M. Miano Elementary shows the lowest proficiency rates, indicating a wide performance gap within the district.

Overall, the district faces challenges, with average test scores notably below state averages in all subjects and a chronic absenteeism rate higher than the state's. Interestingly, higher spending does not guarantee better results, and math scores tend to decline in the upper elementary grades. For parents, this highlights the importance of looking at individual school performance, as practices and environment vary significantly even within the same district.

District Detail

1717 South 11th St.
Los Banos, CA 93635-4800

(209) 826-3801

SchoolDigger Rank:
1261^st of 1543 California districts

See the 2025 California District rankings!

Grades served: K-12
Students: 11,020

Primary Schools: 10
Middle Schools: 2
High Schools: 3
Alternative Schools: 1

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)					Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)					% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Charleston Elementary	Public	K-6	18463 West Charleston Rd.	Los Banos	93635	Merced County	Los Banos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 826-5270	374	14	26.7	73.5%	92 (24.6%)	3 (0.8%)	262 (70.1%)	10 (2.7%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (0.8%)	3 (0.8%)	41.7	3087^th of 5857 public elementary schools	47.3%		52.3	2435^th of 5869 public elementary schools	58.5%	652	18.3	18.3	32.7	40.9	48.3	52.5	44.2	44.2	31.1	28.3	30.7	33.3						$17,385	$2,641	$14,744
Henry Miller Elementary	Public	K-6	545 West L St.	Los Banos	93635	Merced County	Los Banos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 826-3816	676	26	26.0	89.6%	38 (5.6%)	7 (1.0%)	617 (91.3%)	6 (0.9%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	5 (0.7%)	13.4	5392^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	7.9%		15.7	5235^th of 5869 public elementary schools	10.8%	157	8.7	8.7	28.6	22.5	17.7	22.6	22.7	25.3	17.5	5.0	12.2	14.5	90.2	92.4	95.7	91.3	94.6	$15,181	$1,582	$13,599
Los Banos Elementary	Public	K-6	1260 Seventh St.	Los Banos	93635	Merced County	Los Banos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 826-4981	622	25	24.8	78.6%	52 (8.4%)	12 (1.9%)	545 (87.6%)	5 (0.8%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.6%)	24.1	4496^th of 5857 public elementary schools	23.2%		23.3	4551^st of 5869 public elementary schools	22.5%	55	16.4	16.4	41.5	25.6	28.2	28.6	30.5	41.5	27.6	9.6	14.1	23.2						$19,867	$3,977	$15,890
R. M. Miano Elementary	Public	K-6	1129 B St.	Los Banos	93635	Merced County	Los Banos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 826-3877	778	30	25.9	82.4%	34 (4.4%)	7 (0.9%)	724 (93.1%)	6 (0.8%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	5 (0.6%)	13.7	5372^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	8.3%		17	5119^th of 5869 public elementary schools	12.8%	253	10.5	10.5	25.8	29.0	23.8	17.3	23.7	14.1	26.0	8.1	7.8	13.3						$16,284	$1,908	$14,376
Volta Elementary	Public	K-6	24307 West Ingomar Grade	Los Banos	93635	Merced County	Los Banos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 826-2912	387	16	24.1	89.4%	35 (9.0%)	2 (0.5%)	333 (86.0%)	12 (3.1%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (0.8%)	1 (0.3%)	30	3965^th of 5857 public elementary schools	32.3%		29.8	3940^th of 5869 public elementary schools	32.9%	25	17.3	17.3	29.7	41.5	36.0	43.3	37.1	31.3	41.5	13.3	23.3	25.4	91.9		95.2	95.2	93.6	$16,628	$3,470	$13,158
Westside Union Elementary	Public	K-6	659 K St.	Los Banos	93635	Merced County	Los Banos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 827-9390	573	24	23.8	80.8%	57 (9.9%)	9 (1.6%)	478 (83.4%)	17 (3.0%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	8 (1.4%)	43.2	2993^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	48.9%		49.1	2601^st of 5869 public elementary schools	55.7%	392	25.5	25.5	27.5	46.6	42.9	65.1	45.0	26.1	35.2	22.5	48.2	32.4	92.1		92.1		96.1	$17,221	$2,179	$15,042
Lorena Falasco Elementary	Public	K-6	310 Overland Ave.	Los Banos	93635	Merced County	Los Banos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 827-5834	669	26	25.7	77.0%	29 (4.3%)	8 (1.2%)	616 (92.1%)	5 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.4%)	8 (1.2%)	26.4	4284^th of 5857 public elementary schools	26.9%		22.6	4616^th of 5869 public elementary schools	21.3%	332	11.7	11.7	39.3	34.6	31.8	23.3	31.7	50.6	30.5	18.8	10.7	26.0						$15,637	$1,659	$13,978
Mercey Springs Elementary	Public	K-6	1900 South Mercey Springs Rd.	Los Banos	93635	Merced County	Los Banos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 827-0302	608	22	27.6	89.3%	30 (4.9%)	5 (0.8%)	555 (91.3%)	9 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.0%)	3 (0.5%)	16.8	5127^th of 5857 public elementary schools	12.5%		18.4	4995^th of 5869 public elementary schools	14.9%	132	6.7	6.7	28.2	17.4	28.9	33.7	27.1	25.9	14.1	7.9	19.4	16.8	96.6					$15,894	$1,603	$14,291
Transitional Kindergarten Center	Public	K	1149 East B St.	Los Banos	93635	Merced County	Los Banos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 827-1031	166	8	20.7	75.9%	21 (12.7%)	0 (0.0%)	139 (83.7%)	2 (1.2%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.8%)								(n/a)																		$17,888	$1,063	$16,825
Grasslands Elementary	Public	K-6	1951 Mission Dr.	Los Banos	93635	Merced County	Los Banos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 826-2122	884	29	30.4	85.1%	75 (8.5%)	4 (0.5%)	760 (86.0%)	20 (2.3%)	1 (0.1%)	7 (0.8%)	17 (1.9%)	49.9	2595^th of 5857 public elementary schools	55.7%		43.1	2986^th of 5869 public elementary schools	49.1%	391	32.6	32.6	32.9	45.9	52.3	55.4	46.3	47.6	39.3	29.0	33.9	37.6	97.6					$13,552	$1,586	$11,966

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Merced County Office of Education	6.13 mi	8	1475^th
Dos Palos Oro Loma Joint Unified	9.72 mi	7	1436^th
Gustine Unified	13.23 mi	6	1277^th
Alview-Dairyland Union Elementary	20.1 mi	2	462^nd
El Nido Elementary	21.42 mi	2	608^th

See the top CA California districts

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.