Summary:
ZIP code 92251 has six schools—three elementary, one middle and two high schools—serving students from elementary through high school. In 2025–2026, the schools’ average results were 48% in ELA, 31% in math and 30% in science, compared with California’s 49%, 38% and 36%. The biggest area-wide gaps are in math and science, but results differ sharply from school to school. The most important finding is that Imperial Ave. Holbrook High is a serious outlier: it scored below the state in all three subjects and had 78% chronic absenteeism, versus 18% statewide.
Imperial High leads ELA and science, with 64% in ELA and 40% in science, respectively 15 and 4 points above the state. It is not a leader in every subject: its 20% math result is 19 points below the state. At the bottom, Holbrook scored 30% in ELA, 0% in math and 20% in science—19, 38 and 16 points below state results. Among elementary schools, Imperial Cross Elementary is strongest in ELA and math, with 50% and 45%; T. L. Waggoner Elementary is virtually tied in math at 45%. Frank M. Wright Middle is above the state in ELA and science but below it in math. Ben Hulse Elementary leads the elementary schools in science, though its 30% result is below the state.
Recent trends are mixed: the group’s ELA and science averages edged down, and the average math result among schools with both years reported fell 2 points, while California improved in all three subjects. Cross had the largest science increase, up 7 points; Waggoner and Ben Hulse declined in all three subjects. SchoolDigger’s latest statewide rankings put Imperial High and Wright at the 62nd percentile, compared with Holbrook at the 23rd. For context, 2024–2025 free/reduced lunch eligibility ranged from 47% at Imperial High to 67% at Ben Hulse; the two high schools also differ in student-teacher ratio, 23 at Imperial High and 11.1 at Holbrook. These figures describe differences between schools, but do not explain them.
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