Summary:
ZIP code 90232 has two K–5 elementary schools, Linwood E. Howe Elementary and La Ballona Elementary, in the Culver City area. Their enrollments are similar—567 students at Howe and 531 at La Ballona—and both report all-grades results in English language arts (ELA), math and science. The most important finding for families is that the schools’ results differ substantially, particularly in math and in fourth grade.
Howe stands out at the top of this group in all three all-grades subjects for 2025–2026: 74% in ELA, 71% in math and 54% in science. La Ballona scored 50%, 41% and 44%, respectively—gaps of 24 points in ELA, 30 in math and 10 in science. Both schools were above state results in every subject, but La Ballona’s margins were small in ELA and math: 1 and 2 points, compared with Howe’s 24 and 32 points. Fourth grade shows an even wider separation: Howe led by 39 points in ELA and 43 in math. La Ballona’s fifth-grade results offer a counterpoint: its ELA and math scores were above state results by 11 and 5 points.
Recent trends vary by school and subject. From 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, La Ballona’s science result rose 15 points, while its ELA result fell 4; Howe’s math and science rose 2 and 3 points, while its ELA dipped by less than a point. The schools also differ in context measures: in 2024–2025, free/reduced lunch eligible students were 28% at Howe and 54% at La Ballona; student-teacher ratios were 22.6 and 21.2, respectively. SchoolDigger’s statewide percentile rankings rose from 84 to 89 for Howe and declined from 64 to 61 for La Ballona between 2023–2024 and 2025–2026. These measures provide context, not explanations for test results.
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