Summary
Old River Elementary serves 540 students in grades 4–5 in Downey, California, as part of Downey Unified. Its clearest distinction is its matched-grade test performance: it led nearby schools with comparable results in both grades across ELA, math and science, and it scored above district and state results.
Old River’s results stand out against nearby schools in every tested subject and grade: fourth-grade ELA was 60% and math was 58%, compared with nearby-school averages of 38% in each; fifth-grade ELA was 66%, math 52% and science 45%, versus nearby averages of 48%, 34% and 29%. Science was especially strong against nearby peers, with fifth-grade results 16 points above their average. Across all grades, Old River’s results were above the district by 5 points in ELA, 11 in math and 7 in science, and above the state by 14, 17 and 9 points, respectively. ELA has the smallest margin over the district, though it remains above both district and state results.
Results have improved since 2022–2023: ELA rose 13 points, math 16 and science 19, while state gains were smaller. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking rose from the 60th percentile to the 78th in 2025–2026, earning Old River 4 stars; the next-highest nearby school with ranking data, Rio Hondo Elementary, was at the 64th percentile. One notable context is the student-teacher ratio: 30 in 2024–2025, compared with a nearby-school average of 21.6. The free/reduced lunch eligible measure was 81% in 2024–2025, below the nearby average of 85%. SchoolDigger’s subgroup percentile was 94 for Hispanic students, above the schoolwide 78th percentile; for White students it was 52, after rising from 27 the prior year.
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