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Nelson Elementary

Public Grades K-5
4973rd
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 5,857 California Elementary Schools
Better than 15% of California elementary schools
Summary

Nelson Elementary is a public elementary school located in La Puente, California, serving grades K-6 with a total enrollment of 306 students. It is part of the Hacienda la Puente Unified School District, which is ranked 768 out of 1,565 districts in California and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite the relatively high per-student spending and the school's efforts, Nelson Elementary has consistently low test scores, with only 26.61% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 50.39% for the district and 48.81% for the state. The school also has significantly higher chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 18.4% to 25.1%, which is much higher than the district and state averages. Additionally, Sunset Elementary and Sparks Elementary, which are both within a mile of Nelson Elementary, have higher test scores, lower chronic absenteeism rates, and lower percentages of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch.

The data analysis suggests that Nelson Elementary is facing significant challenges in providing a high-quality education to its students. The school's consistently low test scores, high chronic absenteeism rates, and large achievement gaps among subgroups, such as male students and students with disabilities, indicate the need for a comprehensive review and implementation of targeted interventions to address the underlying issues and improve student outcomes.

291
Students ?
18.1
Student/teacher ratio ?
$28,275
Per pupil spending ?
76.3%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 330 North California Ave.
       La Puente, CA  91744-3718

(626) 933-8400

District: Hacienda la Puente Unified


Students who attend Nelson Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Sparks Middle
High:    La Puente High
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
91.8%
Asian:
4.8%
Two or more races:
3.4%
 See top rated California elementary schools

 Compare Nelson Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 36th percentile in 2013 → 15th in 2025
Worth a look
!Test scores below the California average (22% vs 41% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (15th percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 21 percentile points since 2013
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school22%
District avg43%
California avg41%
4,973rd of 5,857
California public elementary schools ?
Bottom 15%▼ down 25 pts since 2015
From bottom 40% (2015) to bottom 15% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
17th of 17Elementary Schools in the Hacienda la Puente Unified
777th of 1,543Hacienda la Puente 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
202518.44973 of 585715.1%★☆☆☆☆
202426.54253 of 586927.5%★☆☆☆☆
202325.84275 of 585927.0%★☆☆☆☆
202231.23773 of 588335.9%★★☆☆☆
201922.94544 of 578921.5%★☆☆☆☆
201835.53432 of 566239.4%★★☆☆☆
201733.33574 of 569237.2%★★☆☆☆
201636.33310 of 561441.0%★★☆☆☆
201534.83344 of 561140.4%★★☆☆☆
201337.23518 of 553036.4%★★☆☆☆
201230.73890 of 539027.8%★☆☆☆☆
201142.93034 of 537743.6%★★☆☆☆
201033.43592 of 531432.4%★★☆☆☆
200935.73326 of 519336.0%★★☆☆☆
200834.83283 of 511335.8%★★☆☆☆
200720.44260 of 511316.7%★☆☆☆☆
200623.23790 of 481821.3%★☆☆☆☆
200527.03478 of 482227.9%★☆☆☆☆
200429.33284 of 480931.7%★★☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202222.91868 of 222716.1%★☆☆☆☆
201918.12441 of 25855.6%☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202236.92050 of 331138.1%★★☆☆☆
201827.62555 of 324621.3%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202531.03774 of 559732.6%★★☆☆☆
202435.73363 of 561240.1%★★☆☆☆
202335.23345 of 560940.4%★★☆☆☆
202236.43238 of 563542.5%★★☆☆☆
201926.04148 of 549224.5%★☆☆☆☆
201836.63306 of 541338.9%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202521.44361 of 510714.6%★☆☆☆☆
202432.83516 of 510731.2%★★☆☆☆
202333.83399 of 508733.2%★★☆☆☆
202239.72924 of 508442.5%★★☆☆☆
201930.23682 of 496325.8%★☆☆☆☆
201846.52439 of 483049.5%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202522.24578 of 546016.2%★☆☆☆☆
202433.13696 of 551733.0%★★☆☆☆
202331.93741 of 536330.2%★★☆☆☆
202238.83105 of 526441.0%★★☆☆☆
201926.84110 of 517320.5%★☆☆☆☆
201843.52784 of 508445.2%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202511.05378 of 56284.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202421.34584 of 564318.8%★☆☆☆☆
202322.94453 of 563821.0%★☆☆☆☆
202230.03787 of 566333.1%★★☆☆☆
201921.94481 of 551018.7%★☆☆☆☆
201835.43317 of 543138.9%★★☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202516.22747 of 28473.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202434.11612 of 263538.8%★★☆☆☆
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 (2022)38th percentile~ school
Female (2025)33rd percentile+17 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)16th percentile~ school
Disabled (2022)16th percentile-20 vs school
Hispanic (2025)15th percentile~ school
Male (2025)4th percentile-11 vs school
Special Education (2025)4th percentile-12 vs school
By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts/Literacy27%-22 vs state
Mathematics19%-18 vs state
Science18%-15 vs state

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Schools Near Nelson Elementary

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Frequently Asked Questions about Nelson Elementary

Students at Nelson Elementary are 92% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 3% Two or more races.

In the 2024-25 school year, 291 students attended Nelson Elementary.

Students who attend Nelson Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Sparks Middle
High : La Puente High

Nelson Elementary ranks in the bottom 15.1% of California elementary schools.

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Latest California data All new data »
2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026
2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026
2024–25 CSA Spanish test scoresDec 22, 2025
2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 14, 2025


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.





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