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Kempton Street Literacy Academy

Public Grades K-5

5419^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 7% of California elementary schools

Summary

Kempton Street Literacy Academy is a public elementary school (grades K-5) serving 480 students in a high-need area of Spring Valley, CA, within the La Mesa-Spring Valley district, but it ranks in the bottom 10% of all California elementary schools academically.

The school faces significant challenges, with student proficiency in English, math, and science far below both district and state averages; for example, only about 23% of students are proficient in English, compared to 47% at nearby Sweetwater Springs Elementary. While the school has made impressive progress in reducing chronic student absences since the pandemic, its academic performance has declined over the past decade. Interestingly, despite its "Literacy Academy" name, its English scores are the lowest among comparable local schools, and there are puzzling gaps in performance between different grade levels, with fifth-grade math scores being particularly low.

Comparisons with nearby schools in other districts, like Mt. Vernon Elementary and Monterey Heights Elementary in the Lemon Grove district, show that schools with similar student populations can achieve better results, suggesting Kempton Street's struggles may be addressable. The school spends a mid-range amount per student but has a higher student-to-teacher ratio than many peers, and it shows a notable strength in supporting English learners while struggling significantly to serve students in special education.

480

Students ?

25.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$16,849

Per pupil spending ?

81%

Free/discounted lunch ?

740 Kempton St.
Spring Valley, CA 91977-5017

(619) 668-5870

District: La Mesa-Spring Valley

Students who attend Kempton Street Literacy Academy usually attend:

Middle:	Sci Technical Engr Arts and Math Academy at La Presa
High:	Mount Miguel High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

82.5%

African American:

7.1%

Two or more races:

4.4%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Kempton Street Literacy Academy to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 9th percentile in 2010 → 7th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (17% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (7th percentile)

!English Language Arts/Literacy scores 26 pts below the California average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school17%

District avg41%

California avg41%

5,419^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 7%▼ down 15 pts since 2015

From bottom 22% (2015) to bottom 7% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

17^th of 17Elementary Schools in the La Mesa-Spring Valley

723^rd of 1,543La Mesa-Spring Valley 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	13.0	5419 of 5857	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	14.0	5387 of 5869	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.8	5402 of 5859	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	19.4	4925 of 5883	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	19.5	4670 of 5614	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	22.5	4373 of 5611	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	27.3	4254 of 5530	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	26.7	4191 of 5390	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	14.7	4962 of 5377	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	16.1	4847 of 5314	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	31.5	3590 of 5193	30.9%	★★☆☆☆
2008	31.7	3468 of 5113	32.2%	★★☆☆☆
2007	35.6	3190 of 5113	37.6%	★★☆☆☆
2006	19.4	4039 of 4818	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	21.4	3865 of 4822	19.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	23.1	3693 of 4809	23.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	23.5	1831 of 2227	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	45.9	1422 of 3162	55.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	42.3	1662 of 3245	48.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	55.4	952 of 3311	71.2%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	14.9	5113 of 5597	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	15.2	5110 of 5612	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.8	5156 of 5609	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	19.3	4778 of 5635	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.1	4575 of 5107	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.7	4477 of 5107	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.8	4507 of 5087	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	24.3	4168 of 5084	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	15.9	4999 of 5460	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	17.1	5012 of 5517	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	17.9	4837 of 5363	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	25.0	4247 of 5264	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	12.9	5255 of 5628	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	14.0	5245 of 5643	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.1	5227 of 5638	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	21.3	4589 of 5663	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	17.0	2719 of 2847	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	19.9	2398 of 2635	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	17.2	2349 of 2420	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)55th percentile+47 vs school

Disabled (2022)18th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)10th percentile+3 vs school

Female (2025)9th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)8th percentile~ school

Male (2025)7th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)4th percentile-3 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy23%-26 vs state

Science14%-19 vs state

Mathematics13%-25 vs state

5.0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Monday, February 18, 2019

Great administration, wonderful staffs and compassionate teachers, they think about students first... Close Quote

Schools Near Kempton Street Literacy Academy

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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 All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 4th 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	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Kempton Street Literacy Academy	Public	K-5	740 Kempton St.	Spring Valley	91977	San Diego County	La Mesa-Spring Valley	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 668-5870	480	19	25.2	81.0%	11 (2.3%)	34 (7.1%)	396 (82.5%)	16 (3.3%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	21 (4.4%)	13	5419^th of 5857 public elementary schools	7.5%		14	5387^th of 5869 public elementary schools	8.2%	32													14.1		14.1	19.7	15.7	32.9				23.0	17.5	13.9	6.4				12.6	93.5	94.4	97.2	97.2	96.3	97.2	$16,849	$15,074	$1,775
La Presa Elementary	Public	K-5	519 La Presa St.	Spring Valley	91977	San Diego County	La Mesa-Spring Valley	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 668-5790	346	14	24.7	79.8%	33 (9.5%)	25 (7.2%)	246 (71.1%)	23 (6.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	18 (5.2%)	33.2	3704^th of 5857 public elementary schools	36.8%		37.1	3356^th of 5869 public elementary schools	42.8%	348													13.7		13.7	43.9	45.3	31.3				40.5	31.0	38.9	14.0				28.4							$16,444	$15,310	$1,134
Rancho Elementary	Public	K-5	8845 Noeline Ave.	Spring Valley	91977	San Diego County	La Mesa-Spring Valley	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 668-5885	324	15	21.6	83.3%	27 (8.3%)	36 (11.1%)	211 (65.1%)	20 (6.2%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.2%)	26 (8.0%)	19.1	4918^th of 5857 public elementary schools	16.0%		18.8	4952^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	15.6%	34													19.6		19.6	25.6	35.0	22.7				27.6	25.6	22.0	6.7				17.6							$17,666	$16,160	$1,506
Avondale Elementary	Public	K-5	8401 Stansbury St.	Spring Valley	91977	San Diego County	La Mesa-Spring Valley	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 668-5880	291	11	26.4	88.7%	10 (3.4%)	17 (5.8%)	218 (74.9%)	22 (7.6%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.0%)	21 (7.2%)	40.1	3210^th of 5857 public elementary schools	45.2%		34.9	3527^th of 5869 public elementary schools	39.9%	317													17.1		17.1	39.6	41.8	39.0				40.3	41.7	36.8	34.2				37.7	96.6				96.6		$19,484	$17,858	$1,626
Bancroft Elementary	Public	K-8	8805 Tyler St.	Spring Valley	91977	San Diego County	La Mesa-Spring Valley	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 668-5890	391	15	25.7	93.1%	15 (3.8%)	31 (7.9%)	301 (77.0%)	15 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	26 (6.6%)	15.7	5207^th of 5857 public elementary schools	11.1%		15.2	5283^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	10.0%	76													17.9		17.0	14.7	29.3	26.8				22.5	11.4	25.9	12.5				15.9							$16,820	$15,246	$1,574
Freese Elementary	Public	K-5	8140 Greenlawn Dr.	San Diego	92114	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 344-3100	280	13	21.5	82.1%	11 (3.9%)	41 (14.6%)	160 (57.1%)	45 (16.1%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.1%)	20 (7.1%)	29	4045^th of 5857 public elementary schools	30.9%		45.7	2814^th of 5869 public elementary schools	52.1%	1231													23.8		23.8	31.4	33.3	32.6				32.4	23.5	26.7	36.6				28.5	96.0				96.0		$35,951	$33,092	$2,859
Audubon K-8	Public	K-8	8111 San Vicente	San Diego	92114	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 344-5800	495	21	23.5	87.9%	15 (3.0%)	28 (5.7%)	403 (81.4%)	29 (5.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	18 (3.6%)	22.5	4634^th of 5857 public elementary schools	20.9%		26.3	4263^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	27.4%	371													10.8	25.6	18.8	18.8	26.3	18.9	34.0	22.7	35.7	26.1	28.6	30.0	18.9	29.1	27.3	34.9	28.3	90.6	96.2	96.2	96.2	96.2	96.2	$29,301	$27,000	$2,301
Mt. Vernon Elementary	Public	K-6	8350 Mount Vernon St.	Lemon Grove	91945	San Diego County	Lemon Grove	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 825-5613	359	16	21.9	69.9%	12 (3.3%)	22 (6.1%)	294 (81.9%)	11 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (5.6%)	50.4	2566^th of 5857 public elementary schools	56.2%		48.6	2635^th of 5869 public elementary schools	55.1%	69	8.8	14.6	11.6	33.3	14.6	24.1	22.8	27.3	25.0	5.3	12.7	8.9	27.1		27.1	49.1	49.1	37.8	57.8			48.5	50.9	38.2	23.4	34.8			37.6							$22,535	$20,624	$1,911
Lemon Grove Early Childhood Education Center	Public	K	8425 Palm St.	Lemon Grove	91945	San Diego County	Lemon Grove	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 825-5600	142	8	17.7	51.4%	15 (10.6%)	15 (10.6%)	98 (69.0%)	8 (5.6%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (3.5%)								(n/a)																																				$34,955	$31,850	$3,105
Monterey Heights Elementary	Public	K-6	7550 Canton Dr.	Lemon Grove	91945	San Diego County	Lemon Grove	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 825-5633	341	13	25.7	67.2%	26 (7.6%)	27 (7.9%)	231 (67.7%)	18 (5.3%)	2 (0.6%)	5 (1.5%)	32 (9.4%)	49.7	2610^th of 5857 public elementary schools	55.4%		34.3	3572^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	39.1%	962													30.8		30.8	62.2	33.3	34.4	52.5			43.8	68.9	38.9	20.0	47.5			41.2	94.4				96.3		$24,153	$22,212	$1,941

Frequently Asked Questions about Kempton Street Literacy Academy

How many students attend Kempton Street Literacy Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 480 students attended Kempton Street Literacy Academy.

What schools do graduates of Kempton Street Literacy Academy attend?

Students who attend Kempton Street Literacy Academy usually go on to attend:

Middle : Sci Technical Engr Arts and Math Academy at La Presa
High : Mount Miguel High

What district is Kempton Street Literacy Academy in?

La Mesa-Spring Valley

Is Kempton Street Literacy Academy a good school?

Kempton Street Literacy Academy ranks in the bottom 7.5% of California elementary schools.

What is the racial makeup of Kempton Street Literacy Academy?

Students at Kempton Street Literacy Academy are 83% Hispanic, 7% African American, 4% Two or more races, 3% Asian, 2% White.

Rate Kempton Street Literacy Academy!

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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.