Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Central Elementary

Public Grades K-5
4365th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 5,817 California Elementary Schools
Better than 25% of California elementary schools
Summary

Central Elementary is a K–5 school serving 782 students in Banning, California, within Banning Unified. Its 2025–26 results are above the district in English and math, but below the state in all three tested subjects. The clearest concern is fifth-grade math: 10% of students met proficiency, below the district’s 13% and the state’s 37%, and the lowest result among nearby K–5 schools.

Math is Central’s strongest subject relative to its district, while science is its weakest compared with nearby schools. Across all grades, Central scored 27% in math, 9 percentage points above the district but 11 below the state; in ELA, it scored 32%, 3 points above the district and 17 below the state. Science was 15%—7 points below the district and 21 below the state. Among eight nearby schools with results, Central ranked fourth-lowest in ELA and math and second-lowest in science; its results were also below nearby-school averages in all three subjects. Attendance is a relative strength: chronic absenteeism was 14%, compared with 25% in the district and 18% statewide, making Central’s rate the second-lowest among nearby schools with current data.

Results have risen since 2022–23: ELA improved by 3 percentage points, math by 3, and science by 2. However, science gains lagged the state’s, widening Central’s science gap with the state from 17 to 21 points. SchoolDigger places Central at the 25th statewide percentile, up from 16 in 2021–22, and awards it 1 star; it remains in the lower portion of the nearby-school group. One notable subgroup result is English Language Learner Students: SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking for how well Central serves this group climbed from the 26th percentile in 2021–22 to the 81st in 2023–24, compared with Central’s overall 31st percentile that year. For context, the 2024–25 free/reduced lunch eligible rate was 92%, and the student-teacher ratio was 23.3, close to the nearby-school average.

782
Students ?
23.3
Student/teacher ratio ?
$10,930
Per pupil spending ?
91.6%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
All students in California receive free school meals.
88%
Kindergartners with all required immunizations (2024-25)
Exemptions: 0% (any vaccine)
 295 North San Gorgonio Ave.
       Banning, CA  92220-5519

(951) 922-0264

District: Banning Unified


Students who attend Central Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Nicolet Middle
High:    Banning High
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
80.9%
African American:
6.5%
White:
5.4%
more
 See top rated California elementary schools

 Compare Central Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 59th percentile in 2015 → 25th in 2026
Strengths
✓Among the top-ranked schools in Banning Unified
Worth a look
!Test scores below the California average (27% vs 42% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (25th percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 34 percentile points since 2015
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school27%
District avg23%
California avg42%
4,365th of 5,817
California public elementary schools ?
Bottom 25%▼ down 10 pts since 2016
From bottom 35% (2016) to bottom 25% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
1st of 4Elementary Schools in the Banning Unified
1386th of 1,530Banning Unified among California districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202625.34365 of 581725.0%★☆☆☆☆
202520.94753 of 585718.8%★☆☆☆☆
202428.84041 of 586931.1%★★☆☆☆
202323.94463 of 585923.8%★☆☆☆☆
202219.14947 of 588315.9%★☆☆☆☆
201934.93540 of 578938.8%★★☆☆☆
201829.73844 of 566232.1%★★☆☆☆
201736.13359 of 569241.0%★★☆☆☆
201631.23675 of 561434.5%★★☆☆☆
201553.32275 of 561159.5%★★★☆☆
201377.91170 of 553078.8%★★★★☆
201273.91329 of 539075.3%★★★★☆
201170.71465 of 537772.8%★★★★☆
201067.11622 of 531469.5%★★★☆☆
200962.31800 of 519365.3%★★★☆☆
200838.73020 of 511340.9%★★☆☆☆
200744.72633 of 511348.5%★★☆☆☆
200640.22713 of 481843.7%★★☆☆☆
200536.02953 of 482238.8%★★☆☆☆
200417.44166 of 480913.4%★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202224.91738 of 222722.0%★☆☆☆☆
201831.01394 of 212834.5%★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202462.9613 of 316280.6%★★★★☆
202356.3945 of 324570.9%★★★★☆
202231.92452 of 331125.9%★☆☆☆☆
201943.01605 of 327551.0%★★★☆☆
201848.51323 of 324659.2%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202628.34007 of 558128.2%★☆☆☆☆
202528.33986 of 559728.8%★☆☆☆☆
202434.03489 of 561237.8%★★☆☆☆
202327.93964 of 560929.3%★☆☆☆☆
202222.54450 of 563521.0%★☆☆☆☆
201936.33320 of 549239.5%★★☆☆☆
201832.13601 of 541333.5%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202634.23417 of 509432.9%★★☆☆☆
202528.43860 of 510724.4%★☆☆☆☆
202438.13115 of 510739.0%★★☆☆☆
202330.93635 of 508728.5%★☆☆☆☆
202225.34088 of 508419.6%★☆☆☆☆
201947.42457 of 496350.5%★★★☆☆
201841.22788 of 483042.3%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202631.63817 of 542329.6%★☆☆☆☆
202527.24194 of 546023.2%★☆☆☆☆
202435.23512 of 551736.3%★★☆☆☆
202330.93827 of 536328.6%★☆☆☆☆
202227.44044 of 526423.2%★☆☆☆☆
201947.72566 of 517350.4%★★★☆☆
201839.03095 of 508439.1%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202623.84391 of 560321.6%★☆☆☆☆
202515.95043 of 562810.4%★☆☆☆☆
202424.74307 of 564323.7%★☆☆☆☆
202321.84549 of 563819.3%★☆☆☆☆
202217.54983 of 566312.0%★☆☆☆☆
201934.13458 of 551037.2%★★☆☆☆
201828.83789 of 543130.2%★★☆☆☆

Military Connected

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
20254.5152 of 1530.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202416.8105 of 11811.0%★☆☆☆☆
202319.8114 of 14018.6%★☆☆☆☆
202227.798 of 13024.6%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202624.02445 of 292716.5%★☆☆☆☆
202526.02270 of 284720.3%★☆☆☆☆
202420.92352 of 263510.7%★☆☆☆☆
202322.32075 of 242014.3%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
20236.32551 of 26614.1%☆☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
English Language Learner (2024)81st percentile+49 vs school
Hispanic (2026)33rd percentile+8 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)30th percentile+5 vs school
Female (2026)28th percentile+3 vs school
Disabled (2022)22nd percentile+6 vs school
Male (2026)22nd percentile-3 vs school
Special Education (2026)16th percentile-8 vs school
White (2023)4th percentile-20 vs school
Military Connected (2025)1st percentile-18 vs school
By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts/Literacy32%-17 vs state
Mathematics27%-11 vs state
Science15%-21 vs state

★
No ratings yet
Be the first to rate Central Elementary and help other families decide.
Rate Central Elementary
Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.
Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.
Tap a star to rate
Reviews
No written reviews yet. If you know this school, be the first to share what stands out.



Schools Near Central Elementary

Ranking:
Map legend
E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private






Frequently Asked Questions about Central Elementary

Students at Central Elementary are 81% Hispanic, 7% African American, 5% White, 3% Asian, 3% Two or more races.

Students who attend Central Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Nicolet Middle
High : Banning High

In the 2024-25 school year, 782 students attended Central Elementary.

Central Elementary ranks in the bottom 25.0% of California elementary schools.

Rate Central Elementary!



Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Central Elementary!


Latest California data All new data »
2024–25 school spending data (updated)NewNov 2, 2026
2013–14 through 2024–25 immunization rates (updated)Oct 19, 2026
2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesOct 15, 2026
2025–26 CAST, CSA Spanish & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresOct 15, 2026


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.

Diagnostics