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Central Elementary

Public Grades K-5

4962^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 15% of California elementary schools

Summary

Central Elementary is a public K-5 school serving 575 students in the Escondido Union School District, operating in a high-need community where over 94% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Academically, the school faces significant challenges, with test scores in English, math, and science substantially below both district and state averages, placing it in the bottom 15% of schools statewide. Its performance is similar to some nearby schools like Oak Hill Elementary and Pioneer Elementary, but lower than others such as Rose Elementary and notably lower than the higher-performing Heritage K-8 Charter. A key positive trend is a major reduction in chronic absenteeism, dropping from over 40% to 22.4%, which is now better than most of its traditional elementary school peers in the district.

Despite the overall academic struggles, Central Elementary shows notable effectiveness with its English Language Learner students, who perform significantly better relative to the state than the school's overall student body. The school also has higher per-student spending than most comparable schools in the area, though this has not yet translated to broad academic gains. The data shows that even among schools serving students with similar economic needs, outcomes can vary, indicating that school-level practices and resources play an important role in student success.

575

Students ?

20.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

94.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

122 West Fourth Ave.
Escondido, CA 92025-4134

(760) 432-2431

District: Escondido Union

Students who attend Central Elementary usually attend:

Middle:

Del Dios Academy of Arts and Sciences

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

92.7%

White:

4.0%

Two or more races:

1.9%

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At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 23rd percentile in 2022 → 15th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (23% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (15th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped from its 23rd-percentile peak (2022) to 15th (2025)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school23%

District avg32%

California avg41%

4,962^nd of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 15%▲ up 6 pts since 2015

From bottom 10% (2015) to bottom 15% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

15^th of 18Elementary Schools in the Escondido Union

964^th of 1,543Escondido Union 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.5	4962 of 5857	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.3	4751 of 5869	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.2	4720 of 5859	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.9	4551 of 5883	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	11.0	5509 of 5789	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	14.8	5118 of 5662	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	14.4	5171 of 5692	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	13.0	5214 of 5614	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	15.3	5073 of 5611	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	12.1	5198 of 5530	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	7.4	5289 of 5390	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	12.2	5117 of 5377	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	10.9	5117 of 5314	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	13.8	4812 of 5193	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	25.3	3949 of 5113	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	28.4	3680 of 5113	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	26.0	3580 of 4818	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	31.4	3191 of 4822	33.8%	★★☆☆☆
2004	20.8	3879 of 4809	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	38.2	1942 of 3162	38.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	39.1	1889 of 3245	41.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	40.0	1805 of 3311	45.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	25.5	2827 of 3275	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.6	2551 of 3246	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	16.1	5020 of 5597	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.7	3912 of 5612	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.1	3839 of 5609	31.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	28.9	3838 of 5635	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	15.5	5000 of 5492	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	18.3	4677 of 5413	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	26.1	4036 of 5107	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.3	3854 of 5107	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.0	3789 of 5087	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	31.2	3606 of 5084	29.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	14.2	4702 of 4963	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	20.2	4234 of 4830	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	23.6	4471 of 5460	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.0	4234 of 5517	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.4	4034 of 5363	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	31.4	3717 of 5264	29.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	14.3	4875 of 5173	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	21.4	4376 of 5084	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	22.9	4476 of 5628	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	17.0	4982 of 5643	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.0	4982 of 5638	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.7	4841 of 5663	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	9.1	5379 of 5510	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	14.9	4972 of 5431	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	33.3	1814 of 2847	36.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	23.4	2204 of 2635	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆

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)39th percentile+20 vs school

Special Education (2025)36th percentile+21 vs school

Hispanic (2025)21st percentile+6 vs school

Male (2025)20th percentile+5 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)18th percentile+3 vs school

Female (2025)10th percentile-5 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics26%-11 vs state

English Language Arts/Literacy21%-27 vs state

Science13%-19 vs state

★

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Schools Near Central Elementary

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)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (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 8th 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 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th 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 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	Total
Central Elementary	Public	K-5	122 West Fourth Ave.	Escondido	92025	San Diego County	Escondido Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 432-2431	575	28	20.9	94.3%	23 (4.0%)	3 (0.5%)	533 (92.7%)	4 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (1.9%)	18.5	4962^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	15.3%		21.3	4751^st of 5869 public elementary schools	19.0%	211	13.3		13.3	20.9	13.9	29.7				21.5	30.4	24.7	21.3				26.2	94.2	94.2	98.3	95.8	96.7
Felicita Elementary	Public	K-5	737 West 13th Ave.	Escondido	92025	San Diego County	Escondido Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 432-2444	478	25	19.4	91.6%	24 (5.0%)	2 (0.4%)	431 (90.2%)	8 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (2.7%)	19.6	4868^th of 5857 public elementary schools	16.9%		15.5	5259^th of 5869 public elementary schools	10.4%	391	8.1		8.1	20.3	35.2	19.2				25.0	25.0	37.5	9.5				23.8	93.0			93.0
Juniper Elementary	Public	K-5	1809 South Juniper St.	Escondido	92025	San Diego County	Escondido Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 432-2462	588	30	19.4	87.1%	42 (7.1%)	5 (0.9%)	503 (85.5%)	11 (1.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (4.4%)	31.6	3828^th of 5857 public elementary schools	34.6%		25	4366^th of 5869 public elementary schools	25.6%	538	23.1		23.1	19.5	31.0	35.6				28.9	36.6	34.5	35.2				35.4	96.2			98.1	98.1
Lincoln Elementary	Public	K-5	1029 North Broadway	Escondido	92026	San Diego County	Escondido Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 432-2466	547	30	18.4	92.0%	8 (1.5%)	6 (1.1%)	505 (92.3%)	14 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (2.6%)	22.9	4606^th of 5857 public elementary schools	21.4%		20.4	4816^th of 5869 public elementary schools	17.9%	210	14.7		14.7	24.1	23.8	32.4				26.6	32.2	28.8	24.0				28.6	93.8	94.6	95.5	93.8	94.6
Limitless Learning Academy	Public, Virtual	K-8	1400 West Ninth Ave.	Escondido	92029	San Diego County	Escondido Union	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(760) 432-2388	119	8	14.8	65.5%	6 (5.0%)	3 (2.5%)	95 (79.8%)	6 (5.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (7.6%)	48.8	2658^th of 5857 public elementary schools	54.6%		42.9	3000^th of 5869 public elementary schools	48.9%	342	26.3	25.9	26.1	30.8		42.1	60.7	54.8	40.7	48.8	46.2		31.6	32.1	35.5	40.7	35.2
Farr Avenue Elementary	Public	K-5	933 Farr Ave.	Escondido	92026	San Diego County	Escondido Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 735-3049	513	28	18.3	89.5%	14 (2.7%)	6 (1.2%)	472 (92.0%)	11 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.9%)	28.5	4091^st of 5857 public elementary schools	30.2%		23.4	4539^th of 5869 public elementary schools	22.7%	448	14.0		14.0	43.7	30.5	27.2				33.0	39.4	34.0	18.3				29.8	94.6			94.6
Miller Elementary	Public	K-5	1975 Miller Ave.	Escondido	92025	San Diego County	Escondido Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 432-2470	378	24	15.6	71.7%	57 (15.1%)	5 (1.3%)	260 (68.8%)	28 (7.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (7.4%)	38.7	3300^th of 5857 public elementary schools	43.7%		47.5	2702^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	54.0%	598	26.4		26.4	29.2	40.4	35.9				34.7	47.7	42.3	24.5				38.8	95.7
Pioneer Elementary	Public	K-5	980 North Ash St.	Escondido	92027	San Diego County	Escondido Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 432-2412	598	31	19.2	93.8%	10 (1.7%)	2 (0.3%)	567 (94.8%)	9 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.7%)	11.3	5552^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	5.2%		16.4	5172^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	11.9%	380	10.5		10.5	17.4	20.5	19.4				19.1	14.7	16.3	12.4				14.4	90.8	95.8	97.5	93.3	95.0
Rose Elementary	Public	K-5	906 North Rose Ave.	Escondido	92027	San Diego County	Escondido Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 432-2495	498	28	18.0	89.4%	5 (1.0%)	3 (0.6%)	458 (92.0%)	22 (4.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.0%)	28.2	4116^th of 5857 public elementary schools	29.7%		22.3	4651^st of 5869 public elementary schools	20.8%	535	20.3		20.3	32.9	34.3	28.1				31.9	35.6	25.7	26.6				29.5	96.1	98.0		97.1
Oak Hill Elementary	Public	K-5	1820 Oak Hill Dr.	Escondido	92027	San Diego County	Escondido Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 432-2483	679	34	19.9	92.2%	25 (3.7%)	6 (0.9%)	606 (89.2%)	16 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (3.8%)	13	5425^th of 5857 public elementary schools	7.4%		17.5	5077^th of 5869 public elementary schools	13.5%	348	13.0		13.0	16.8	18.0	21.9				19.0	17.9	18.8	15.7				17.4	96.0	97.6		98.4	98.4

Frequently Asked Questions about Central Elementary

What is the racial makeup of Central Elementary?

Students at Central Elementary are 93% Hispanic, 4% White, 2% Two or more races.

Is Central Elementary a good school?

Central Elementary ranks in the bottom 15.3% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Central Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 575 students attended Central Elementary.

What district is Central Elementary in?

Escondido Union

What schools do graduates of Central Elementary attend?

Students who attend Central Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Del Dios Academy of Arts and Sciences

Rate Central Elementary!

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Schools in Escondido, CA

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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.