Summary:
In the affluent coastal community of Malibu, California (zip code 90265), families are served by two high-performing elementary schools, Malibu Elementary and Webster Elementary, both part of the highly-ranked Santa Monica-Malibu Unified school district.
While both schools significantly exceed state averages in English, math, and science, they have distinct characteristics. Webster Elementary stands out for its smaller class size, with a student-teacher ratio of 13.8 compared to 18.7 at Malibu Elementary, and currently shows slightly higher overall proficiency rates. Webster also has a notably lower rate of chronic student absenteeism. Malibu Elementary, the larger of the two schools, demonstrates impressive consistency in its year-to-year state rankings and shows particular strength in 3rd-grade mathematics.
Key insights for parents include notable performance variability between grade levels at each school, suggesting it's valuable to look at specific grade data. Despite nearly identical per-student spending, the schools allocate resources differently, leading to Webster's advantage in staffing ratios. While Webster's state ranking dropped more recently, Malibu's has remained steady, and both schools outperform their district in mathematics, indicating strong math instruction in the area's elementary schools.
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