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Ben Hulse Elementary

Q: Is Ben Hulse Elementary a good school?

Ben Hulse Elementary ranks 2293 rd of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

2293^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 61% of California elementary schools

Summary

Ben Hulse Elementary is a large public elementary school serving 838 students in grades K-5 within the Imperial Unified district, consistently earning a solid 3-star rating while serving a community with significant economic need.

Academically, the school is a strong performer, particularly in mathematics where 43.1% of students are proficient, outperforming both the state and district averages and standing out compared to many nearby schools in the El Centro Elementary district, such as Sunflower Elementary. The school shows exceptional effectiveness with English Language Learners, ranking in the state's top tier for supporting these students. Attendance is also improving, with chronic absenteeism rates better than the state average and lower than several neighboring schools like Booker T. Washington Elementary.

Within its own district, Ben Hulse is a steady, middle performer compared to higher-achieving schools like T. L. Waggoner Elementary and the improving Imperial Cross Elementary. The school operates efficiently with its resources, spending less per student than many area schools while achieving good results. While there are areas for growth, such as science scores and support for some student groups, Ben Hulse provides consistent, quality education and is particularly adept at helping English Learners and Hispanic students succeed.

838

Students ?

22.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,572

Per pupil spending ?

66.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

303 South D St.
Imperial, CA 92251-1433

(760) 355-3210

District: Imperial Unified

Students who attend Ben Hulse Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Frank M. Wright Middle
High:	Imperial High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

90.9%

White:

6.3%

Asian:

1.6%

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Compare Ben Hulse Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 53rd percentile in 2015 → 61st in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 8 percentile points since 2015

✓Above the California median (61st percentile)

Worth a look

!Large classes — about 22 students per teacher

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school44%

District avg43%

California avg41%

2,293^rd of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Top 39%▲ up 8 pts since 2015

From top 47% (2015) to top 39% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 3Elementary Schools in the Imperial Unified

572^nd of 1,543Imperial 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	55.3	2293 of 5857	60.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	66.1	1775 of 5869	69.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	61.0	2011 of 5859	65.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	57.7	2135 of 5883	63.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	43.1	732 of 1417	48.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	53.8	2388 of 5789	58.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	57.0	2186 of 5662	61.4%	★★★☆☆
2017	58.4	2097 of 5692	63.2%	★★★☆☆
2016	55.5	2207 of 5614	60.7%	★★★☆☆
2015	46.6	2650 of 5611	52.8%	★★★☆☆
2013	56.1	2340 of 5530	57.7%	★★★☆☆
2012	45.3	2931 of 5390	45.6%	★★☆☆☆
2011	40.9	3179 of 5377	40.9%	★★☆☆☆
2010	35.2	3475 of 5314	34.6%	★★☆☆☆
2009	39.8	3059 of 5193	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2008	44.8	2671 of 5113	47.8%	★★☆☆☆
2007	45.5	2596 of 5113	49.2%	★★☆☆☆
2006	44.9	2444 of 4818	49.3%	★★☆☆☆
2005	39.4	2757 of 4822	42.8%	★★☆☆☆
2004	49.6	2175 of 4809	54.8%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	48.2	849 of 2227	61.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	31.5	1708 of 2585	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	25.8	1656 of 2128	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	83.1	199 of 3162	93.7%	★★★★★
2023	94.3	90 of 3245	97.2%	★★★★★
2022	69.3	500 of 3311	84.9%	★★★★☆
2021	60.1	127 of 602	78.9%	★★★★☆
2019	89.6	178 of 3275	94.6%	★★★★★
2018	81.5	311 of 3246	90.4%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	50.2	2456 of 5597	56.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	62.9	1814 of 5612	67.7%	★★★☆☆
2023	59.7	1962 of 5609	65.0%	★★★☆☆
2022	57.4	2047 of 5635	63.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	40.2	695 of 1267	45.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	48.6	2571 of 5492	53.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	55.3	2217 of 5413	59.0%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	71.2	1155 of 5107	77.4%	★★★★☆
2024	80.5	705 of 5107	86.2%	★★★★☆
2023	78.7	797 of 5087	84.3%	★★★★☆
2022	73.9	982 of 5084	80.7%	★★★★☆
2019	69.2	1210 of 4963	75.6%	★★★★☆
2018	71.9	1044 of 4830	78.4%	★★★★☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	86.4	27 of 364	92.6%	★★★★★
2023	58.0	106 of 335	68.4%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	61.9	1755 of 5460	67.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	72.3	1164 of 5517	78.9%	★★★★☆
2023	63.3	1554 of 5363	71.0%	★★★★☆
2022	55.1	1973 of 5264	62.5%	★★★☆☆
2021	56.8	397 of 1110	64.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	67.2	1333 of 5173	74.2%	★★★★☆
2018	64.8	1460 of 5084	71.3%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	59.4	2005 of 5628	64.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	67.1	1657 of 5643	70.6%	★★★★☆
2023	60.5	1923 of 5638	65.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	56.8	2105 of 5663	62.8%	★★★☆☆
2021	45.5	629 of 1272	50.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	57.4	2066 of 5510	62.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	56.8	2079 of 5431	61.7%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	51.9	1012 of 2847	64.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	61.8	679 of 2635	74.2%	★★★★☆
2023	53.1	823 of 2420	66.0%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	85.1	242 of 2651	90.9%	★★★★★
2022	49.5	1478 of 2726	45.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	44.3	1721 of 2834	39.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	40.1	1821 of 2737	33.5%	★★☆☆☆

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)94th percentile+24 vs school

Homeless (2024)93rd percentile+23 vs school

White (2024)91st percentile+21 vs school

Hispanic (2025)77th percentile+17 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)68th percentile+7 vs school

Special Education (2025)64th percentile+4 vs school

Male (2025)64th percentile+4 vs school

Disabled (2022)62nd percentile~ school

Female (2025)56th percentile-5 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy49%~ state avg

Mathematics43%+6 vs state

Science33%~ state avg

★

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Schools Near Ben Hulse Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CSA Spanish Overall (2025)					CSA Spanish Listening (2025)					CSA Spanish Writing (2025)					CSA Spanish Reading (2025)					CAST Science (2025)			Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)							Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)							% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (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	CSA Spanish Overall 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	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	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Ben Hulse Elementary	Public	K-5	303 South D St.	Imperial	92251	Imperial County	Imperial Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 355-3210	838	38	22.0	66.7%	53 (6.3%)	1 (0.1%)	762 (90.9%)	13 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (1.1%)	55.3	2293^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	60.9%		66.1	1775^th of 5869 public elementary schools	69.8%	518																					32.6		32.6	43.5	44.5	60.2				49.1	50.3	34.4	43.4				43.1	98.0				$15,572	$2,455	$13,117
Imperial Cross Elementary	Public	K-5	2462 Cross Rd.	Imperial	92251	Imperial County	Imperial Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 355-3250	760	34	22.3	61.3%	48 (6.3%)	3 (0.4%)	701 (92.2%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.7%)	57.4	2197^th of 5857 public elementary schools	62.5%		52.9	2406^th of 5869 public elementary schools	59.0%	209	22.9				22.9	54.2				54.2	47.9				47.9	22.9				22.9	23.7		23.7	50.0	49.1	52.7				50.7	44.8	51.9	47.3				47.7	92.7	97.8	97.8		$14,636	$2,447	$12,189
T. L. Waggoner Elementary	Public	K-5	627 Joshua Tree St.	Imperial	92251	Imperial County	Imperial Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 355-3266	613	28	21.8	58.9%	40 (6.5%)	0 (0.0%)	565 (92.2%)	5 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	60.2	2058^th of 5857 public elementary schools	64.9%		54.6	2311^th of 5869 public elementary schools	60.6%	253																					29.0		29.0	51.1	44.2	55.0				50.2	53.4	43.2	54.0				50.2					$16,606	$1,767	$14,839
Martin Luther King Junior Elementary	Public	K-6	1950 Villa Ave.	El Centro	92243	Imperial County	El Centro Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 337-6555	445	19	23.4	90.1%	5 (1.1%)	3 (0.7%)	437 (98.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	31.5	3845^th of 5857 public elementary schools	34.4%		34.4	3568^th of 5869 public elementary schools	39.2%	277																					25.0		25.0	35.3	27.5	40.0	43.9			37.3	33.3	25.5	16.7	25.8			25.0					$20,552	$1,743	$18,809
McKinley Elementary	Public	K-6	1177 North Eighth St.	El Centro	92243	Imperial County	El Centro Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 352-3225	456	18	25.3	87.1%	6 (1.3%)	3 (0.7%)	438 (96.1%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.3%)	46.7	2786^th of 5857 public elementary schools	52.4%		42.8	3010^th of 5869 public elementary schools	48.7%	224																					33.9		33.9	29.0	41.7	50.0	45.1			40.9	42.1	44.1	43.6	27.5			39.1					$18,797	$1,679	$17,118
Lincoln Elementary	Public	K-6	200 North Twelfth St.	El Centro	92243	Imperial County	El Centro Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 352-3060	399	19	21.0	89.0%	5 (1.3%)	3 (0.8%)	380 (95.2%)	5 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.5%)	46.1	2829^th of 5857 public elementary schools	51.7%		25.3	4338^th of 5869 public elementary schools	26.1%	1509	33.3	50.0	20.0	29.4	32.9	76.2	44.4	70.0	52.9	61.8	33.3	66.7	10.0	52.9	39.5	14.3	55.6	15.0	23.5	26.3	19.1		19.1	42.7	46.2	41.5	43.1			43.4	45.7	34.6	36.6	37.3			39.3	95.7		96.8	96.8	$19,611	$1,707	$17,904
Sunflower Elementary	Public	K-6	2450 Main St.	El Centro	92243	Imperial County	El Centro Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 337-4890	427	20	21.3	79.2%	10 (2.3%)	3 (0.7%)	405 (94.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.9%)	42.9	3014^th of 5857 public elementary schools	48.5%		54	2342^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	60.1%	672																					13.6		13.6	72.0	50.0	35.6	51.5			51.6	52.0	33.3	15.3	19.1			28.4					$33,089	$13,476	$19,613
Imperial Valley Home School Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	2370 Main St.	El Centro	92243	Imperial County	El Centro Elementary	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 335-5100	131	5	26.2	58.0%	15 (11.5%)	2 (1.5%)	107 (81.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (5.3%)	39.5	3255^th of 5857 public elementary schools	44.4%		50.3	2537^th of 5869 public elementary schools	56.8%	718																					31.3	12.5	21.9	46.2	46.2	37.5		58.8	25.0	45.9	30.8	38.5	18.8		35.3	12.5	27.1					$62,288	$4,035	$58,253
Ballington Academy for the Arts and Sciences	Public, Charter	K-6	1525 West Main St.	El Centro	92243	Imperial County	Ballington Academy for the Arts and Sciences District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 353-0140	230	12	19.1	76.5%	4 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	223 (97.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.9%)	46	2830^th of 5857 public elementary schools	51.7%		40.7	3144^th of 5869 public elementary schools	46.4%	314																					47.5		47.5	30.4	40.0	57.5	35.0			43.2	26.1	25.7	40.0	22.7			30.0					$20,202	$2,452	$17,750
Margaret Hedrick Elementary	Public	K-6	550 South Waterman Ave.	El Centro	92243	Imperial County	El Centro Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 352-4750	446	20	22.3	78.5%	5 (1.1%)	3 (0.7%)	429 (96.2%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.1%)	23.2	4574^th of 5857 public elementary schools	21.9%		20	4863^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	17.1%	289																					9.8		9.8	23.0	17.9	45.9	45.3			32.8	29.5	16.4	16.4	17.2			19.8					$18,643	$1,674	$16,969

Frequently Asked Questions about Ben Hulse Elementary

What is the racial makeup of Ben Hulse Elementary?

Students at Ben Hulse Elementary are 91% Hispanic, 6% White, 2% Asian, 1% Two or more races.

Is Ben Hulse Elementary a good school?

Ben Hulse Elementary ranks 2293^rd of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Ben Hulse Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 838 students attended Ben Hulse Elementary.

What schools do graduates of Ben Hulse Elementary attend?

Students who attend Ben Hulse Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Frank M. Wright Middle
High : Imperial High

What district is Ben Hulse Elementary in?

Imperial Unified

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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.