Is Sparks Elementary a good school?

Sparks Elementary ranks 4250 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

How many students attend Sparks Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 426 students attended Sparks Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Sparks Elementary?

Students at Sparks Elementary are 91% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 2% White, 1% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of Sparks Elementary attend?

Students who attend Sparks Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Sparks Middle High : La Puente High

Sparks Elementary

Summary:

Sparks Elementary is a public elementary school located in La Puente, California, serving 455 students in grades K-6. It is part of the Hacienda la Puente Unified School District, which is ranked 782 out of 1,568 districts in the state and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Sparks Elementary faces significant challenges, including a sharp increase in chronic absenteeism rates, from 4.1% in 2018-2019 to 34.1% in 2021-2022, which is notably higher than nearby schools like California Elementary (39.7%) and Sunset Elementary (25.9%). Academically, Sparks Elementary's performance on Smarter Balanced Assessments is consistently lower than the district and state averages across all grade levels and subject areas, with only 24.58% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy and 28.34% in Mathematics, compared to the district's 48.59% and 36.92%, respectively.

The school's performance for specific student subgroups, such as English Language Learners, Special Education students, and Disabled students, is particularly concerning, with Sparks Elementary's Disabled students ranking 1,823 out of 2,227 California elementary schools, with a 1-star rating. Additionally, Sparks Elementary has a high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, reaching 86.33% in 2020-2021, significantly higher than nearby schools like California Elementary (75.68%) and Sunset Elementary (73.24%). These challenges suggest that Sparks Elementary is struggling to keep up with the academic performance of other schools in the Hacienda la Puente Unified School District and the state of California.

Detail:

Public K-6

15151 East Temple Ave.
La Puente, CA 91744-3765

(626) 933-5100

District: Hacienda la Puente Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
4250^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Students who attend Sparks Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Sparks Middle
High:	La Puente High

Student/teacher ratio: 25.0

Number of students: 426

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

91.1%

Asian:

4.7%

White:

1.9%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 89%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Sparks Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Sparks Elementary ranks worse than 72.5% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 19^th among 22 ranked elementary schools in the Hacienda la Puente Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 26.48. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: Hispanic (91.1%), Asian (4.7%), White (1.9%). (See more...)

Compare Details 89% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Sparks Elementary is 25. 19 elementary schools in the Hacienda la Puente Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Sparks Elementary employs 17 full-time teachers.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Sparks Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Sparks Elementary 4250^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Sparks Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Hacienda la Puente Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Hacienda la Puente Unified 782^nd of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Rating:

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Rank History for Sparks Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Sparks Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	25.41	3534^th	4809	26.5%
2005	16.18	4242^nd	4822	12.0%
2006	14.59	4376^th	4818	9.2%
2007	19.18	4360^th	5113	14.7%
2008	27.99	3749^th	5113	26.7%
2009	44.55	2785^th	5193	46.4%
2010	70.55	1432^nd	5314	73.1%
2011	72.23	1380^th	5377	74.3%
2012	61.51	1965^th	5390	63.5%
2013	55.94	2358^th	5530	57.4%
2015	49.97	2445^th	5611	56.4%
2016	43.12	2889^th	5614	48.5%
2017	43.63	2886^th	5692	49.3%
2018	34.19	3530^th	5662	37.7%
2019	39.91	3194^th	5789	44.8%
2022	28.93	3956^th	5883	32.8%
2023	27.93	4084^th	5874	30.5%
2024	26.48	4250^th	5862	27.5%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Sparks Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	43.60	1585^th	3246	51.2%
2019	42.08	1665^th	3275	49.2%
2022	46.58	1387^th	3311	58.1%
2023	55.35	973^rd	3250	70.1%
2024	41.18	1731^st	3160	45.2%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Sparks Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	34.85	1438^th	2420	40.6%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Sparks Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	50.48	2325^th	5084	54.3%
2019	54.28	2122^nd	5173	59.0%
2022	42.43	2802^nd	5264	46.8%
2023	38.23	3208^th	5374	40.3%
2024	34.97	3524^th	5511	36.1%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Sparks Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	32.20	3593^rd	5413	33.6%
2019	42.22	2969^th	5492	45.9%
2022	30.53	3678^th	5635	34.7%
2023	34.95	3357^th	5617	40.2%
2024	28.00	3971^st	5605	29.2%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Sparks Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	23.64	1823^rd	2227	18.1%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Sparks Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	36.53	3247^th	5431	40.2%
2019	37.70	3218^th	5510	41.6%
2022	28.55	3917^th	5663	30.8%
2023	23.27	4419^th	5650	21.8%
2024	27.35	4060^th	5636	28.0%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Sparks Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	45.36	2526^th	4830	47.7%
2019	52.97	2099^th	4963	57.7%
2022	39.33	2947^th	5084	42.0%
2023	38.43	3032^nd	5098	40.5%
2024	37.65	3142^nd	5102	38.4%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: California Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 5)

100%

Reviews:

by a citizen
Wednesday, May 22, 2019

EXCELLENT 2019 New Programs: NPDL, Code to the Future. New TK, New Library Media Center With New Principal Close Quote

Enrollment information for Sparks Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
1988	33	20	15	387	1	n/a	n/a	456
1989	34	19	12	376	1	n/a	n/a	442
1990	24	14	17	392	2	n/a	n/a	449
1991	39	17	22	451	2	n/a	n/a	531
1992	35	19	18	487	1	n/a	n/a	560
1993	35	21	29	514	0	n/a	n/a	599
1994	39	20	29	535	1	n/a	n/a	624
1995	28	14	27	563	3	n/a	n/a	635
1996	28	14	27	563	3	n/a	n/a	635
1997	34	14	29	613	5	n/a	n/a	695
1998	20	9	22	530	3	n/a	n/a	584
1999	14	7	16	516	2	n/a	n/a	555
2000	17	8	22	513	3	n/a	n/a	563
2001	16	3	16	485	0	n/a	n/a	520
2002	13	4	16	437	0	n/a	n/a	470
2003	13	4	16	437	0	n/a	n/a	470
2004	8	5	12	408	5	n/a	n/a	438
2005	4	4	7	392	3	n/a	n/a	410
2006	4	1	16	376	1	n/a	n/a	398
2007	3	0	14	431	1	n/a	n/a	449
2008	4	2	11	419	1	n/a	n/a	437
2009	1	6	7	447	1	1	0	463
2010	1	6	6	449	2	2	0	466
2011	2	1	11	438	1	3	0	456
2012	3	0	11	429	1	2	2	448
2013	3	0	12	473	1	2	2	493
2014	6	2	11	501	1	2	1	524
2015	3	2	15	488	2	3	0	513
2016	2	3	19	496	1	3	0	524
2017	4	4	15	444	0	3	2	472
2018	4	4	12	441	0	2	0	463
2019	2	3	11	428	0	2	0	446
2020	1	3	17	419	0	1	0	441
2021	5	1	20	410	1	0	2	439
2022	6	0	16	424	2	1	7	456
2023	8	3	18	417	1	1	7	455
2024	8	2	20	388	1	1	6	426

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Sparks Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	456	17.6	25.9	n/a
1989	442	17.1	25.8	n/a
1990	449	17.0	26.4	n/a
1991	531	19.5	27.2	n/a
1992	560	19.8	28.2	69.1
1993	599	19.0	31.5	57.6
1994	624	21.0	29.7	68.1
1995	635	23.0	27.6	72.6
1996	635	23.0	27.6	72.6
1997	695	26.0	26.7	86.2
1998	584	26.0	22.5	80.1
1999	555	26.0	21.3	89.9
2000	563	26.0	21.7	79
2001	520	25.0	20.8	86.7
2002	470	26.0	18.1	99.4
2003	470	26.0	18.1	99.4
2004	438	24.0	18.3	88.4
2005	410	24.0	17.1	89.5
2006	398	22.0	18.1	81.9
2007	449	22.0	20.4	90
2008	437	23.0	19.0	82.6
2009	463	24.0	18.5	90.3
2010	466	22.0	21.1	94.6
2011	456	n/a	n/a	95.8
2012	448	19.8	22.6	n/a
2013	493	21.0	23.4	94.1
2014	524	21.6	24.2	94.5
2015	513	20.0	25.6	94.9
2016	524	20.0	26.2	92.7
2017	472	18.0	26.2	91.3
2018	463	18.0	25.7	91.4
2019	446	17.0	26.2	89.2
2020	441	n/a	n/a	90.5
2021	439	17.0	25.8	86.3
2022	456	20.0	22.7	73.9
2023	455	17.6	25.7	80
2024	426	17.0	25.0	89

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Sparks Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	456	17.6	25.9	n/a
1989	442	17.1	25.8	n/a
1990	449	17.0	26.4	n/a
1991	531	19.5	27.2	n/a
1992	560	19.8	28.2	69.1
1993	599	19.0	31.5	57.6
1994	624	21.0	29.7	68.1
1995	635	23.0	27.6	72.6
1996	635	23.0	27.6	72.6
1997	695	26.0	26.7	86.2
1998	584	26.0	22.5	80.1
1999	555	26.0	21.3	89.9
2000	563	26.0	21.7	79
2001	520	25.0	20.8	86.7
2002	470	26.0	18.1	99.4
2003	470	26.0	18.1	99.4
2004	438	24.0	18.3	88.4
2005	410	24.0	17.1	89.5
2006	398	22.0	18.1	81.9
2007	449	22.0	20.4	90
2008	437	23.0	19.0	82.6
2009	463	24.0	18.5	90.3
2010	466	22.0	21.1	94.6
2011	456	n/a	n/a	95.8
2012	448	19.8	22.6	n/a
2013	493	21.0	23.4	94.1
2014	524	21.6	24.2	94.5
2015	513	20.0	25.6	94.9
2016	524	20.0	26.2	92.7
2017	472	18.0	26.2	91.3
2018	463	18.0	25.7	91.4
2019	446	17.0	26.2	89.2
2020	441	n/a	n/a	90.5
2021	439	17.0	25.8	86.3
2022	456	20.0	22.7	73.9
2023	455	17.6	25.7	80
2024	426	17.0	25.0	89

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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