Summary
Willow Elementary is a K–6 school with 346 students in Lakewood, served by ABC Unified. Its 2025–2026 proficiency rates were 25% in English language arts (ELA), 20% in math and 13% in science. Chronic absenteeism was also high, at 24%, compared with 12% in the district. The most important finding for parents is that academic results are very low across all three subjects, not just in one area.
Compared with the state and district, Willow trails in every tested subject: ELA proficiency was 25%, versus 49% statewide and 64% in the district; math was 20%, versus 38% and 53%; and science was 13%, versus 36% and 49%. Math is the least far behind these benchmarks, but Willow’s results remain well below all three. Among 10 nearby schools, Willow had the lowest ELA and math proficiency and the second-lowest science result; its rates were 28 points below the nearby-school ELA average, 27 below the math average and 27 below the science average. Absenteeism was the second-highest nearby, behind only Aloha Elementary.
ELA proficiency fell from 38% in 2022–2023 to 25% in 2025–2026, while the state’s rate rose from 47% to 49%; math changed unevenly and ended 2 points lower, while the state gained 4 points. Willow’s latest SchoolDigger standing—5,070th of 5,804 California schools, at the 13th percentile with 1 star—was down from the 30th percentile in each of the prior two years. Its 2024–2025 student-teacher ratio was 20.3, below the nearby-school average of 23.0, while its free/reduced lunch eligible measure was 80% that school year, compared with a nearby average of 70%. SchoolDigger’s Special Education Students ranking improved from the 7th percentile in 2023–2024 to the 27th in 2025–2026, above Willow’s overall 13th-percentile standing; the English Language Learner Students ranking was at the 92nd percentile in 2018–2019 but 57th in 2022–2023. Some subgroup rankings are historical rather than current.
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