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Lafayette Elementary

Q: Is Lafayette Elementary a good school?

Lafayette Elementary ranks 3759 th of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

3759^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 36% of California elementary schools

Summary

Lafayette Elementary is a K-5 public school serving about 208 students in the San Diego Unified district, located in a community where a high percentage of families face economic challenges.

Academically, the school's test scores in English, Math, and Science are below both district and state averages, and its statewide ranking has declined over the past three years. A significant challenge is chronic absenteeism, with over 27% of students missing too much school, a rate much higher than at nearby schools like Holmes Elementary (6.6%) or Hawthorne Elementary (11.8%). Performance has also dropped notably for students from low-income families and those in special education.

Interestingly, Lafayette Elementary has more resources per student and a lower student-teacher ratio than many neighboring schools, yet its academic results are lower. For example, Sequoia Elementary, just half a mile away and serving a similar student population, achieves significantly higher English proficiency. This suggests that with targeted improvements in attendance and instruction, Lafayette has the potential to better support its students.

208

Students ?

13.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$25,354

Per pupil spending ?

76%

Free/discounted lunch ?

6125 Printwood Way
San Diego, CA 92117-3346

(858) 987-5000

District: San Diego Unified

Students who attend Lafayette Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Innovation Middle
High:	Madison High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

59.1%

White:

23.6%

Two or more races:

9.6%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Lafayette Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 33rd percentile in 2013 → 36th in 2025

Worth a look

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

!High chronic absenteeism (27% vs 19% California)

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school30%

District avg49%

California avg41%

3,759^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 36%▼ down 22 pts since 2015

From top 43% (2015) to bottom 36% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

89^th of 120Elementary Schools in the San Diego Unified

577^th of 1,543San Diego 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	32.6	3759 of 5857	35.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	38.1	3297 of 5869	43.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	45.3	2795 of 5859	52.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	38.4	3200 of 5883	45.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	32.6	3724 of 5789	35.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	40.0	3143 of 5662	44.5%	★★☆☆☆
2017	44.4	2836 of 5692	50.2%	★★★☆☆
2016	40.1	3069 of 5614	45.3%	★★☆☆☆
2015	51.0	2394 of 5611	57.3%	★★★☆☆
2013	34.2	3729 of 5530	32.6%	★★☆☆☆
2012	48.7	2703 of 5390	49.9%	★★☆☆☆
2011	64.3	1789 of 5377	66.7%	★★★☆☆
2010	55.1	2274 of 5314	57.2%	★★★☆☆
2009	42.3	2922 of 5193	43.7%	★★☆☆☆
2008	46.5	2582 of 5113	49.5%	★★☆☆☆
2007	48.6	2403 of 5113	53.0%	★★★☆☆
2006	35.2	2986 of 4818	38.0%	★★☆☆☆
2005	40.6	2683 of 4822	44.4%	★★☆☆☆
2004	37.2	2795 of 4809	41.9%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	35.7	2144 of 3311	35.2%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	33.4	3594 of 5597	35.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	33.7	3514 of 5612	37.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	46.7	2596 of 5609	53.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	39.1	3047 of 5635	45.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	26.2	4142 of 5492	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.1	3989 of 5413	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	42.5	2837 of 5107	44.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	42.9	2768 of 5107	45.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	54.2	1989 of 5087	60.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	35.0	3289 of 5084	35.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	44.1	2678 of 4963	46.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	62.5	1510 of 4830	68.7%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	43.2	2929 of 5460	46.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	42.7	2932 of 5517	46.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	56.9	1938 of 5363	63.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	41.0	2917 of 5264	44.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	42.5	2936 of 5173	43.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	56.9	1912 of 5084	62.4%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	32.6	3654 of 5628	35.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	43.4	2853 of 5643	49.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	43.4	2841 of 5638	49.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	37.8	3152 of 5663	44.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	36.0	3323 of 5510	39.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	54.5	2197 of 5431	59.5%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	32.2	1875 of 2847	34.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	47.4	1045 of 2635	60.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	52.1	857 of 2420	64.6%	★★★☆☆

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)

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)46th percentile+11 vs school

Hispanic (2025)44th percentile+9 vs school

Female (2025)36th percentile~ school

English Language Learner (2022)35th percentile-10 vs school

Male (2025)35th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)34th percentile~ school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy33%-16 vs state

Science32%~ state avg

Mathematics27%-10 vs state

5.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, August 28, 2019

This website does not accurately reflect the environment/school community at Lafayette. The school is incredibly diverse, serving not only a wide range of demographics and socioeconomics, but also providing a hub for San Diego Unified's auditory services, TK-5th. All students at Lafayette learn weekly American Sign Language symbols to help them communicate with their deaf and hard-of-hearing classmates. They have a garden science and nutrition science program, sponsored by the Sage Garden Project and the Sprouts Foundation, through which students participate in weekly classes growing, caring for, harvesting, composting and learning about nutrition in their school garden. The school has recently adopted the district's STEAM Innovation initiative, and students are working with products developed by LEGO Education. This year, Lafayette was awarded a grant from KidSpark Education, which provides Rokenbok building class sets along with teacher training to implement this STEM programming into the 2nd-5th grade classes. UCSD BioCircuits program also is a partner with the school, bringing weekly science from UCSD grad students into the 3rd-5th grade classrooms for interactive, hands-on science learning. Lafayette has been the host site for Clairemont's Family Science & Engineering Day for two years in a row. The kinder and 1st grade classrooms were repainted and all new furniture this summer, and the entire school is (finally!) air-conditioned. There are beautiful green spaces, courtyards, an expanding school garden and a special native plant garden was installed with the assistance of the Pollinator Alliance last spring. Students experience Visual and Performing Arts every month, there is a wonderful library and librarian, caring office staff, and some of the most professional teachers I have known in my twenty years in education. Do more than just look at websites to gauge a school's worth. Visit your neighborhood school, ask to sit in a class, ask to speak to parents who send their kids there. There is so much to celebrate at Lafayette, a lot of wonderful learning happens there, and at all the neighborhood schools in Clairemont. Close Quote

Schools Near Lafayette 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)	% 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	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
Lafayette Elementary	Public	K-5	6125 Printwood Way	San Diego	92117	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 987-5000	208	16	13.4	76.0%	49 (23.6%)	7 (3.4%)	123 (59.1%)	8 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	20 (9.6%)	32.6	3759^th of 5857 public elementary schools	35.8%		38.1	3297^th of 5869 public elementary schools	43.8%	462	32.3		32.3	14.8	35.7	46.7				32.9	20.0	28.6	32.3				27.0							$25,354	$4,383	$20,971
Kavod Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	6991 Balboa Ave.	San Diego	92111	San Diego County	Kavod Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 386-0887	395	21	18.8	40.3%	182 (46.1%)	42 (10.6%)	113 (28.6%)	24 (6.1%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.3%)	31 (7.8%)	73.5	1451^st of 5857 public elementary schools	75.2%		79.9	1158^th of 5869 public elementary schools	80.3%	293	69.2	39.5	54.6	36.6	67.5	63.2	56.8	73.3	52.8	57.7	46.5	55.8	59.0	52.6	54.8	50.0	53.0							$13,593	$940	$12,653
Clairemont Canyons Academy	Public	K-5	4133 Mt. Albertine Ave.	San Diego	92111	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 605-1350	318	17	18.7	73.3%	84 (26.4%)	44 (13.8%)	105 (33.0%)	56 (17.6%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	26 (8.2%)	41.6	3106^th of 5857 public elementary schools	47.0%		54.9	2292^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	60.9%	814	25.0		25.0	41.9	30.0	33.3				35.5	58.1	30.0	33.3				42.1	92.1	93.7	95.2	95.2	95.2	96.8	$30,288	$4,556	$25,732
Sequoia Elementary	Public	K-5	4690 Limerick Ave.	San Diego	92117	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 605-1800	180	10	18.0	74.4%	37 (20.6%)	5 (2.8%)	97 (53.9%)	21 (11.7%)	1 (0.6%)	1 (0.6%)	18 (10.0%)	80.6	1136^th of 5857 public elementary schools	80.6%		69.8	1606^th of 5869 public elementary schools	72.6%	470	55.9		55.9	61.5	56.5	67.7				62.7	61.5	50.0	58.8				57.1							$30,140	$2,937	$27,203
High Technical Elementary Mesa	Public, Charter	K-5	5331 Mt. Alifan Dr.	San Diego	92111	San Diego County	High Technical Elementary Mesa District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 510-4620	423	18	23.5	38.5%	139 (32.9%)	28 (6.6%)	136 (32.2%)	95 (22.5%)	3 (0.7%)	4 (0.9%)	17 (4.0%)	46.9	2771^st of 5857 public elementary schools	52.7%		44.7	2881^st of 5869 public elementary schools	50.9%	110	36.6		36.6	40.3	45.1	50.7				45.3	34.7	39.4	29.6				34.6	97.0						$14,064	$904	$13,160
Ross Elementary	Public	K-5	7470 Bagdad St.	San Diego	92111	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 800-5800	187	8	23.3	72.7%	35 (18.7%)	7 (3.7%)	90 (48.1%)	31 (16.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (12.8%)	45.9	2834^th of 5857 public elementary schools	51.6%		49.8	2567^th of 5869 public elementary schools	56.3%	267	33.3		33.3	47.6	35.3	52.0				46.0	36.4	26.3	36.0				33.3							$24,959	$4,157	$20,802
Hawthorne Elementary	Public	K-5	4750 Lehrer Dr.	San Diego	92117	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 634-5701	248	11	22.5	61.7%	78 (31.5%)	6 (2.4%)	99 (39.9%)	28 (11.3%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.6%)	33 (13.3%)	72.5	1498^th of 5857 public elementary schools	74.4%		69.4	1617^th of 5869 public elementary schools	72.4%	119	44.7		44.7	51.2	58.1	68.4				59.1	53.7	51.6	50.0				51.8							$25,942	$4,249	$21,693
John Muir	Public	K-8	4431 Mt. Herbert Ave.	San Diego	92117	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 268-1954	336	17	19.7	43.8%	100 (29.8%)	21 (6.3%)	181 (53.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (9.8%)	86.2	867^th of 5857 public elementary schools	85.2%		47.9	2670^th of 5869 public elementary schools	54.5%	1803	73.9	23.1	55.6	66.7	57.1	78.3	72.4	56.3	46.2	65.1	66.7	52.4	60.9	56.7	31.3	30.8	53.1							$23,931	$3,140	$20,791
Holmes Elementary	Public	K-5	4902 Mt. Ararat Dr.	San Diego	92111	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 605-4400	495	19	26.3	23.8%	313 (63.2%)	0 (0.0%)	95 (19.2%)	18 (3.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	68 (13.7%)	96.5	191^st of 5857 public elementary schools	96.7%		98.5	47^th of 5869 public elementary schools	99.2%	144	57.0		57.0	92.3	83.8	82.3				86.1	91.1	90.0	74.7				85.3							$18,230	$2,562	$15,668
Field Elementary	Public	K-5	4375 Bannock Ave.	San Diego	92117	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 800-5900	238	10	23.8	68.5%	43 (18.1%)	4 (1.7%)	166 (69.7%)	11 (4.6%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (5.5%)	71.3	1545^th of 5857 public elementary schools	73.6%		62.8	1938^th of 5869 public elementary schools	67.0%	393	48.8		48.8	50.0	50.0	55.8				52.3	63.3	61.8	44.2				55.1							$27,474	$4,809	$22,665

Frequently Asked Questions about Lafayette Elementary

Is Lafayette Elementary a good school?

Lafayette Elementary ranks 3759^th of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What schools do graduates of Lafayette Elementary attend?

Students who attend Lafayette Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Innovation Middle
High : Madison High

What is the racial makeup of Lafayette Elementary?

Students at Lafayette Elementary are 59% Hispanic, 24% White, 10% Two or more races, 4% Asian, 3% African American.

What district is Lafayette Elementary in?

San Diego Unified

How many students attend Lafayette Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 208 students attended Lafayette Elementary.

Rate Lafayette Elementary!

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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.