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Central Elementary

Public Grades K-6

5634^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 4% of California elementary schools

Summary

Central Elementary is a K-6 public school serving 350 students in Imperial Beach as part of the South Bay Union district, operating in a high-needs community where the majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Academically, the school faces significant challenges, with proficiency rates in English, math, and science far below both the district and state averages; its statewide ranking is in the bottom 4th percentile. A major concern is chronic absenteeism, with nearly 30% of students missing too much school, a rate higher than the district and many nearby schools like Nestor Language Academy Charter (14.1%). Central also has the highest student-teacher ratio in the local area at 26.9 students per teacher, which is larger than neighboring schools such as Oneonta Elementary and Emory Elementary.

Despite these overall struggles, the school shows relative strengths in supporting its special education students and English Language Learners. However, its performance lags behind other schools in the district with similar student demographics, suggesting other factors are at play. Notably, nearby charter schools like Imperial Beach Charter and Nestor Language Academy achieve better academic results while serving similar communities, offering potential models for improvement focused on attendance and resource allocation.

350

Students ?

26.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,380

Per pupil spending ?

73.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1290 Ebony Ave.
Imperial Beach, CA 91932-2920

(619) 628-5000

District: South Bay Union

Students who attend Central Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Mar Vista Academy
High:	Mar Vista Senior High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

84.0%

Two or more races:

5.4%

White:

4.6%

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At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 8th percentile in 2015 → 4th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (14% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (4th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (29% vs 19% California)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school14%

District avg29%

California avg41%

5,634^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 4%▼ down 4 pts since 2015

From bottom 8% (2015) to bottom 4% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

11^th of 11Elementary Schools in the South Bay Union

1199^th of 1,543South Bay Union 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	10.0	5634 of 5857	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.8	5410 of 5869	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.8	5409 of 5859	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.1	5594 of 5883	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	17.4	1226 of 1417	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	11.3	5497 of 5789	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.5	5347 of 5662	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	11.4	5409 of 5692	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	13.3	5184 of 5614	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	14.2	5187 of 5611	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	12.8	5172 of 5530	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	25.9	4255 of 5390	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	29.8	3993 of 5377	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	35.0	3490 of 5314	34.3%	★★☆☆☆
2009	35.3	3343 of 5193	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2008	36.7	3151 of 5113	38.4%	★★☆☆☆
2007	22.2	4114 of 5113	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	33.6	3077 of 4818	36.1%	★★☆☆☆
2005	27.2	3464 of 4822	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	27.2	3402 of 4809	29.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	18.4	2148 of 2227	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	23.5	233 of 293	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.1	2002 of 2585	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	34.9	1221 of 2128	42.6%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	40.9	1760 of 3162	44.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.5	2276 of 3245	29.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.2	2741 of 3311	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	34.8	404 of 602	32.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	29.9	2503 of 3275	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	46.8	1408 of 3246	56.6%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	7.2	5546 of 5597	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.9	5295 of 5612	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.6	5259 of 5609	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.7	5206 of 5635	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	17.9	1100 of 1267	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	8.4	5382 of 5492	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	7.5	5335 of 5413	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	8.6	5034 of 5107	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	14.9	4768 of 5107	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.1	4896 of 5087	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.6	4965 of 5084	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.6	4768 of 4963	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	15.9	4469 of 4830	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	9.3	5342 of 5460	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	15.8	5096 of 5517	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.8	5046 of 5363	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.1	5014 of 5264	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	25.4	910 of 1110	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	13.4	4920 of 5173	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.7	4807 of 5084	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	15.4	5092 of 5628	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	16.4	5041 of 5643	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	15.2	5139 of 5638	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.2	5493 of 5663	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	18.7	1067 of 1272	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	15.9	4990 of 5510	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	17.8	4760 of 5431	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	36.1	1651 of 2847	42.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	38.9	1385 of 2635	47.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	27.0	1799 of 2420	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆

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)44th percentile+37 vs school

Special Education (2025)42nd percentile+38 vs school

Male (2025)10th percentile+6 vs school

Disabled (2022)4th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)2nd percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)1st percentile~ school

Female (2025)1st percentile-3 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy19%-30 vs state

Mathematics11%-27 vs state

Science7%-26 vs state

★

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Ranking:

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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 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 8th 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 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 8th 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 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 8th 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 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 8th 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
Central Elementary	Public	K-6	1290 Ebony Ave.	Imperial Beach	91932	San Diego County	South Bay Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 628-5000	350	13	26.9	73.7%	16 (4.6%)	15 (4.3%)	294 (84.0%)	5 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	19 (5.4%)	10	5634^th of 5857 public elementary schools	3.8%		13.8	5410^th of 5869 public elementary schools	7.8%	224																													6.5		6.5	14.0	16.7	26.7	20.0			19.0	7.0	16.3	8.7	12.5			10.8							$21,380	$20,024	$1,356
Oneonta Elementary	Public	K-6	1311 Tenth St.	Imperial Beach	91932	San Diego County	South Bay Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 628-8600	434	19	22.8	69.4%	34 (7.8%)	11 (2.5%)	334 (77.0%)	30 (6.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (5.3%)	26.7	4255^th of 5857 public elementary schools	27.4%		24.9	4380^th of 5869 public elementary schools	25.4%	125																													15.6		15.6	33.3	32.6	51.1	33.3			37.4	32.7	28.3	6.7	11.8			19.9	96.2						$23,545	$21,910	$1,635
Imperial Beach Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	650 Imperial Beach Blvd.	Imperial Beach	91932	San Diego County	South Bay Union	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 628-5600	724	29	24.9	62.8%	122 (16.9%)	13 (1.8%)	512 (70.7%)	22 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	50 (6.9%)	31.6	3835^th of 5857 public elementary schools	34.5%		34.3	3579^th of 5869 public elementary schools	39.0%	256																													19.5	11.2	14.9	33.9	42.9	42.1	36.7	28.2	20.2	33.1	23.2	32.1	26.0	17.5	19.3	12.2	21.1	96.8						$28,148	$26,704	$1,444
Bayside STEAM Academy	Public	K-6	490 Emory St.	Imperial Beach	91932	San Diego County	South Bay Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 628-2500	362	14	25.8	70.7%	22 (6.1%)	2 (0.6%)	304 (84.0%)	14 (3.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.2%)	27.5	4166^th of 5857 public elementary schools	28.9%		22.9	4594^th of 5869 public elementary schools	21.7%	428																													20.7		20.7	36.5	29.6	42.9	32.1			34.2	32.1	32.7	24.1	7.4			24.1	91.6	94.4	97.2	95.8	93.0	97.2	$21,300	$19,860	$1,440
Emory Elementary	Public	K-6	1915 Coronado Ave.	San Diego	92154	San Diego County	South Bay Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 628-5300	399	16	24.9	71.4%	20 (5.0%)	11 (2.8%)	311 (77.9%)	36 (9.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (5.3%)	43.8	2963^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	49.4%		45.7	2821^st of 5869 public elementary schools	51.9%	142																													35.6		35.6	27.6	42.4	54.4	54.4			44.6	27.1	30.0	35.6	28.8			30.4							$22,101	$20,628	$1,473
Teofilo Mendoza	Public	K-6	2050 Coronado Ave.	San Diego	92154	San Diego County	South Bay Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 424-0100	468	19	24.6	65.4%	8 (1.7%)	17 (3.6%)	422 (90.2%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (3.8%)	18.6	4948^th of 5857 public elementary schools	15.5%		16.9	5133^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	12.5%	185																													14.5		14.5	24.6	18.0	22.1	40.0			27.3	16.2	26.9	11.8	17.3			17.5	92.9	97.1	97.1		92.9		$22,944	$21,404	$1,540
Godfrey G. Berry Elementary	Public	K-6	2001 Rimbey St.	San Diego	92154	San Diego County	South Bay Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 628-3500	273	11	24.8	75.1%	6 (2.2%)	8 (2.9%)	250 (91.6%)	5 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.5%)	22.1	4670^th of 5857 public elementary schools	20.3%		22.6	4617^th of 5869 public elementary schools	21.3%	53																													17.1		17.1	19.4	20.5	45.0	42.1			32.0	6.3	17.4	23.8	12.2			15.5							$24,111	$22,604	$1,507
Nestor Language Academy Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	1455 Hollister St.	San Diego	92154	San Diego County	South Bay Union	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 628-0900	1,079	43	25.0	58.1%	44 (4.1%)	7 (0.6%)	1,011 (93.7%)	8 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	8 (0.7%)	56.8	2222^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	62.1%		46.5	2763^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	52.9%	541	31.4	29.3	21.0	9.5	15.8	17.1	20.7	71.2	32.8	63.9	24.1	32.5	26.0	41.8	37.3	43.1	27.7	23.3	34.2	23.6	31.4	21.2	25.9	10.9	6.0	8.8	26.0	16.6	37.8	22.8	30.2	43.2	37.4	65.6	48.3	63.1	57.9	52.6	51.7	27.6	56.3	36.2	44.7	33.3	41.6							$25,684	$24,472	$1,212
Sunnyslope Elementary	Public	K-6	2500 Elm Ave.	San Diego	92154	San Diego County	South Bay Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 628-8800	324	13	24.9	78.1%	3 (0.9%)	6 (1.9%)	304 (93.8%)	6 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.5%)	28.1	4126^th of 5857 public elementary schools	29.6%		26.9	4214^th of 5869 public elementary schools	28.2%	88	14.3	19.1	5.9	4.8			11.5	50.0	28.6	70.6	23.8			42.5	21.4	19.1	5.9	14.3			16.1	10.7	14.3	11.8	4.8			10.3	19.5		19.5	22.5	20.0	36.6	50.0			31.6	18.0	28.9	22.0	35.7			25.8							$22,603	$20,824	$1,779
Harborside Elementary	Public	K-6	681 Naples St.	Chula Vista	91911	San Diego County	Chula Vista Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 422-8369	524	24	21.8	87.2%	14 (2.7%)	6 (1.1%)	486 (92.7%)	7 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	9 (1.7%)	18.1	5005^th of 5857 public elementary schools	14.5%		23.4	4540^th of 5869 public elementary schools	22.6%	465																													16.7		16.7	33.8	23.5	26.9	30.4			28.8	14.3	15.3	15.1	16.7			15.3	95.1			97.0	96.0	97.0	$24,719	$23,072	$1,647

Frequently Asked Questions about Central Elementary

What schools do graduates of Central Elementary attend?

Students who attend Central Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Mar Vista Academy
High : Mar Vista Senior High

What district is Central Elementary in?

South Bay Union

What is the racial makeup of Central Elementary?

Students at Central Elementary are 84% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races, 5% White, 4% African American, 1% Asian.

How many students attend Central Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 350 students attended Central Elementary.

Is Central Elementary a good school?

Central Elementary ranks in the bottom 3.8% of California elementary schools.

Rate Central Elementary!

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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.