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Carlos Santana Arts Academy

Q: Is Carlos Santana Arts Academy a good school?

Carlos Santana Arts Academy ranks 3983 rd of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

3983^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 32% of California elementary schools

Summary

Carlos Santana Arts Academy is a public K-5 elementary school serving 371 students in North Hills, California, within the Los Angeles Unified School District, known for its significant academic improvement over the past several years.

The school has shown a remarkable turnaround, rising from being ranked among the very lowest in the state to now performing in the 32nd percentile, which is the most dramatic growth story among nearby schools. It has developed a particular strength in teaching English Language Learners, who now perform in the 78th percentile. However, challenges remain, including a high rate of chronic student absences (26.3%) and notably low proficiency in science (17%), which is a larger gap than at most surrounding schools like Panorama City Elementary.

When compared to neighbors, Carlos Santana Arts Academy sits in the middle of traditional public schools but lags behind the high-performing Vintage Math/Science/Technology Magnet. The school spends more per student ($28,100) than many area schools, yet outcomes are mixed, suggesting resources are still being optimized. Its arts-focused mission presents a unique opportunity to further engage students and build on the solid foundation of improvement already achieved.

371

Students ?

19.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$48,019

Per pupil spending ?

91.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

9301 Columbus Ave.
North Hills, CA 91343-2229

(818) 920-4060

District: Los Angeles Unified

Students who attend Carlos Santana Arts Academy usually attend:

Middle:	Francisco Sepulveda Middle
High:	James Monroe High
	Northridge Academy High
	Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

87.1%

African American:

5.9%

White:

3.8%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Carlos Santana Arts Academy to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 3rd percentile in 2013 → 32nd in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 29 percentile points since 2013

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (30% vs 41% meeting standards)

!English Language Arts/Literacy scores 16 pts below the California average

!Near the bottom of Los Angeles Unified's ranking

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school30%

District avg39%

California avg41%

3,983^rd of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 32%▲ up 21 pts since 2015

From bottom 11% (2015) to bottom 32% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

368^th of 487Elementary Schools in the Los Angeles Unified

791^st of 1,543Los Angeles 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	29.7	3983 of 5857	32.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	34.4	3570 of 5869	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.2	3960 of 5859	32.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	21.0	4755 of 5883	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	7.6	5674 of 5789	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	7.7	5548 of 5662	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	12.8	5301 of 5692	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	13.4	5180 of 5614	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	16.0	4996 of 5611	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	8.4	5359 of 5530	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2019	16.8	2542 of 2585	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	17.7	2073 of 2128	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	60.5	708 of 3162	77.6%	★★★★☆
2023	23.9	2948 of 3245	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	18.7	3248 of 3311	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	20.6	3149 of 3275	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	16.9	3186 of 3246	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	32.7	3643 of 5597	34.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	31.7	3665 of 5612	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	30.4	3721 of 5609	33.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	16.1	5074 of 5635	10.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	7.9	5402 of 5492	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	6.8	5359 of 5413	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	42.8	2811 of 5107	45.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	49.0	2340 of 5107	54.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	41.8	2773 of 5087	45.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	30.8	3640 of 5084	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	9.4	4872 of 4963	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	9.7	4738 of 4830	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	32.7	3771 of 5460	30.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.8	3312 of 5517	40.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	38.8	3156 of 5363	41.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	31.9	3685 of 5264	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	10.4	5041 of 5173	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.2	4949 of 5084	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	28.4	3984 of 5628	29.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	36.9	3280 of 5643	41.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	28.5	3913 of 5638	30.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	25.9	4140 of 5663	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	9.8	5358 of 5510	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	9.9	5277 of 5431	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	31.1	1939 of 2847	31.9%	★★☆☆☆

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)78th percentile+38 vs school

Hispanic (2025)45th percentile+13 vs school

Female (2025)35th percentile+3 vs school

Special Education (2025)32nd percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)31st percentile~ school

Male (2025)29th percentile-3 vs school

Disabled (2019)2nd percentile~ school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy33%-16 vs state

Mathematics31%-6 vs state

Science17%-16 vs state

3.0

2 ratings · 1 written review

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1★1

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What people are saying

by a student
Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Used to go to this school back in 2009, I had fond memories of the teachers there would recomment Close Quote

Schools Near Carlos Santana Arts 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)				CAST Science (2025)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)					Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)					% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (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	CAST Science 5th 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 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 All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Carlos Santana Arts Academy	Public	K-5	9301 Columbus Ave.	North Hills	91343	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 920-4060	371	19	19.5	91.1%	14 (3.8%)	22 (5.9%)	323 (87.1%)	6 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.6%)	29.7	3983^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	32.0%		34.4	3570^th of 5869 public elementary schools	39.2%	413	17.1	17.1	35.7	26.3	35.7		32.8	40.0	23.7	30.3		31.3						$48,019	$43,154	$4,865
Plummer Elementary	Public	K-6	9340 Noble Ave.	North Hills	91343	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 895-2481	600	31	19.3	95.5%	6 (1.0%)	18 (3.0%)	512 (85.3%)	42 (7.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	20 (3.3%)	31.3	3856^th of 5857 public elementary schools	34.2%		25.4	4328^th of 5869 public elementary schools	26.3%	472	29.3	29.3	25.3	24.7	43.1	48.8	34.9	32.6	26.0	24.1	22.1	26.5	92.6	95.6		96.3	97.8	$45,146	$41,972	$3,174
Lassen Elementary	Public	K-5	15017 Superior St.	North Hills	91343	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 892-8618	412	21	19.6	89.1%	22 (5.3%)	11 (2.7%)	353 (85.7%)	16 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.7%)	7 (1.7%)	42.8	3018^th of 5857 public elementary schools	48.5%		50	2555^th of 5869 public elementary schools	56.5%	463	24.7	24.7	39.0	46.6	43.7		43.1	51.7	25.0	31.5		35.8						$46,500	$43,818	$2,682
Primary Academy for Success	Public	K-2	9075 Willis Ave.	Panorama City	91402	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 920-2932	192	10	19.2	97.4%	3 (1.6%)	1 (0.5%)	180 (93.8%)	2 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.1%)								(n/a)																		$51,217	$47,754	$3,463
Rosa Parks Learning Center	Public	K-5	8855 Noble Ave.	North Hills	91343	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 895-9620	500	26	19.2	96.4%	17 (3.4%)	11 (2.2%)	445 (89.0%)	17 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.0%)	25.4	4363^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	25.5%		17.6	5063^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	13.7%	700	11.3	11.3	35.1	20.9	23.9		27.1	44.7	24.4	21.1		31.1	98.0		98.0			$42,998	$39,066	$3,932
Langdon Avenue Elementary	Public	K-5	8817 Langdon Ave.	North Hills	91343	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 892-0779	532	25	21.2	96.1%	7 (1.3%)	35 (6.6%)	473 (88.9%)	5 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.3%)	15.7	5210^th of 5857 public elementary schools	11.0%		18.1	5020^th of 5869 public elementary schools	14.5%	190	6.7	6.7	24.0	33.7	17.4		25.1	18.2	26.1	9.0		17.7	98.2					$43,028	$39,502	$3,526
Alta California Elementary	Public	K-5	14859 Rayen St.	Panorama City	91402	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 830-4400	588	28	21.0	96.4%	13 (2.2%)	1 (0.2%)	539 (91.7%)	23 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.0%)	55.8	2254^th of 5857 public elementary schools	61.5%		47.7	2685^th of 5869 public elementary schools	54.3%	431	21.2	21.2	47.9	43.8	60.6		50.0	53.2	39.0	45.5		46.4						$38,935	$35,652	$3,283
Gledhill Street Elementary	Public	K-5	16030 Gledhill St.	North Hills	91343	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 894-1151	373	20	18.6	78.8%	32 (8.6%)	5 (1.3%)	282 (75.6%)	40 (10.7%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	12 (3.2%)	53	2429^th of 5857 public elementary schools	58.5%		45	2865^th of 5869 public elementary schools	51.2%	436	29.3	29.3	45.1	31.8	53.5		44.4	54.9	37.8	44.8		46.1						$55,992	$52,712	$3,280
Panorama City Elementary	Public	K-5	8600 Kester Ave.	Panorama City	91402	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 895-4230	443	21	21.0	99.1%	8 (1.8%)	10 (2.3%)	412 (93.0%)	8 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.1%)	63.2	1915^th of 5857 public elementary schools	67.3%		54.1	2336^th of 5869 public elementary schools	60.2%	421	23.8	23.8	48.6	51.2	48.4		49.5	57.1	59.8	50.8		56.3						$42,608	$39,234	$3,374
Liggett Street Elementary	Public	K-5	9373 Moonbeam Ave.	Panorama City	91402	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 892-4388	550	25	22.0	91.3%	12 (2.2%)	17 (3.1%)	468 (85.1%)	21 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	31 (5.6%)	40.1	3208^th of 5857 public elementary schools	45.2%		35.3	3490^th of 5869 public elementary schools	40.5%	282	18.6	18.6	38.2	48.7	44.1		43.7	37.7	39.2	26.4		34.2	96.6	96.6	96.6	96.6	96.6	$41,083	$37,906	$3,177

Frequently Asked Questions about Carlos Santana Arts Academy

What schools do graduates of Carlos Santana Arts Academy attend?

Students who attend Carlos Santana Arts Academy usually go on to attend:

Middle : Francisco Sepulveda Middle
High : James Monroe High
High : Northridge Academy High
High : Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences

What is the racial makeup of Carlos Santana Arts Academy?

Students at Carlos Santana Arts Academy are 87% Hispanic, 6% African American, 4% White, 2% Asian, 2% Two or more races.

What district is Carlos Santana Arts Academy in?

Los Angeles Unified

How many students attend Carlos Santana Arts Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 371 students attended Carlos Santana Arts Academy.

Is Carlos Santana Arts Academy a good school?

Carlos Santana Arts Academy ranks 3983^rd of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Rate Carlos Santana Arts 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.