Is Los Cerritos Elementary a good school?

Los Cerritos Elementary ranks in the bottom 20.5% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Los Cerritos Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 305 students attended Los Cerritos Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Los Cerritos Elementary?

Students at Los Cerritos Elementary are 68% Hispanic, 17% Asian, 6% Two or more races, 4% Pacific Islander, 3% White, 2% American Indian, 2% African American.

What schools do graduates of Los Cerritos Elementary attend?

Students who attend Los Cerritos Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Parkway Heights Middle High : South San Francisco High

Los Cerritos Elementary

Summary:

Los Cerritos Elementary is a public elementary school in South San Francisco, California, serving 306 students in grades K-5 and part of the South San Francisco Unified School District.

While the district is ranked 650 out of 1,568 districts in California, Los Cerritos Elementary faces significant challenges. The school has a concerning 39.4% chronic absenteeism rate, much higher than the district's 20.4% and the state's 27.1%. Academically, Los Cerritos consistently underperforms the district and state averages, with only 27.94% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy and 19.73% in Mathematics, compared to the district's 49.46% and 38.45%, respectively. The school struggles to support the academic achievement of various student subgroups, ranking in the bottom quartile of California elementary schools for female, male, Hispanic, and low socioeconomic status students.

When compared to nearby schools in the district, such as Monte Verde Elementary and Buri Buri Elementary, which consistently outperform Los Cerritos, it becomes clear that the school is an outlier in terms of academic performance and student outcomes. The high percentage of students from low-income families at Los Cerritos, with 50.33% eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, may be a contributing factor to the school's challenges. Targeted interventions and support, such as attendance-improvement strategies and additional academic resources, could help address the unique needs of the Los Cerritos student population and improve educational outcomes.

Detail:

Public K-5

210 West Orange Ave.
South San Francisco, CA 94080-4444

(650) 877-8841

District: South San Francisco Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
4660^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $6,337

Students who attend Los Cerritos Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Parkway Heights Middle
High:	South San Francisco High

Student/teacher ratio: 20.3

Number of students: 305

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

67.5%

Asian:

16.7%

Two or more races:

5.6%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 60.7%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Los Cerritos Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Los Cerritos Elementary ranks worse than 79.5% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 8^th among 9 ranked elementary schools in the South San Francisco Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 22.08. (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 (67.5%), Asian (16.7%), two or more races (5.6%). (See more...)

Compare Details 60.7% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Los Cerritos Elementary is 20.3, which is the 3^rd best among 9 elementary schools in the South San Francisco Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Los Cerritos Elementary employs 15 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Los Cerritos Elementary is $6,337, which is the highest among 10 elementary schools in the South San Francisco Unified School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Los Cerritos Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Los Cerritos Elementary 4660^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Los Cerritos Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

South San Francisco Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks South San Francisco Unified 650^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Los Cerritos Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Los Cerritos Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	46.15	2351^st	4809	51.1%
2005	43.20	2529^th	4822	47.6%
2006	31.78	3187^th	4818	33.9%
2007	36.35	3149^th	5113	38.4%
2008	29.08	3664^th	5113	28.3%
2009	33.46	3476^th	5193	33.1%
2010	36.95	3360^th	5314	36.8%
2011	53.80	2369^th	5377	55.9%
2012	48.91	2684^th	5390	50.2%
2013	42.69	3138^th	5530	43.3%
2015	33.85	3413^th	5611	39.2%
2016	37.29	3256^th	5614	42.0%
2017	27.40	4055^th	5692	28.8%
2018	23.20	4404^th	5662	22.2%
2019	24.12	4443^rd	5789	23.3%
2021	21.13	1128^th	1417	20.4%
2022	40.95	3023^rd	5883	48.6%
2023	24.00	4461^st	5874	24.1%
2024	22.08	4660^th	5862	20.5%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Los Cerritos Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	59.59	865^th	3246	73.4%
2019	41.14	1716^th	3275	47.6%
2021	29.18	491^st	602	18.4%
2022	57.31	874^th	3311	73.6%
2023	34.95	2172^nd	3250	33.2%
2024	48.23	1285^th	3160	59.3%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Los Cerritos Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	29.45	1679^th	2420	30.6%
2024	39.67	1343^rd	2634	49.0%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Los Cerritos Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	20.76	4430^th	5084	12.9%
2019	21.66	4448^th	5173	14.0%
2021	26.41	883^rd	1110	20.5%
2022	52.60	2120^th	5264	59.7%
2023	28.33	4045^th	5374	24.7%
2024	17.77	4955^th	5511	10.1%

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

Rank History for Female students at Los Cerritos Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	24.08	4232^nd	5413	21.8%
2019	31.96	3669^th	5492	33.2%
2021	22.13	990^th	1267	21.9%
2022	29.85	3753^rd	5635	33.4%
2023	23.87	4345^th	5617	22.6%
2024	26.50	4100^th	5605	26.9%

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

Rank History for Male students at Los Cerritos Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	22.92	4281^st	5431	21.2%
2019	18.18	4805^th	5510	12.8%
2021	22.87	988^th	1272	22.3%
2022	53.62	2257^th	5663	60.1%
2023	27.31	4012^th	5650	29.0%
2024	19.74	4749^th	5636	15.7%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Los Cerritos Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	33.20	3327^th	4830	31.1%
2019	32.33	3530^th	4963	28.9%
2022	52.57	2038^th	5084	59.9%
2023	27.84	3879^th	5098	23.9%
2024	17.84	4600^th	5102	9.8%

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

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Enrollment information for Los Cerritos Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
1988	145	24	92	142	0	n/a	n/a	403
1989	150	36	78	151	1	n/a	n/a	416
1990	154	35	84	164	0	n/a	n/a	437
1991	134	37	88	177	1	n/a	n/a	437
1992	138	41	89	182	0	n/a	n/a	450
1993	124	30	69	165	0	n/a	n/a	388
1994	114	28	72	145	28	n/a	n/a	387
1995	97	22	83	181	9	n/a	n/a	392
1996	97	22	83	181	9	n/a	n/a	392
1997	102	25	99	193	3	n/a	n/a	422
1998	70	20	98	182	2	n/a	n/a	372
1999	60	18	99	187	1	n/a	n/a	365
2000	64	17	108	188	0	n/a	n/a	377
2001	50	12	101	196	0	n/a	n/a	359
2002	33	7	80	232	2	n/a	n/a	354
2003	33	7	80	232	2	n/a	n/a	354
2004	29	7	73	221	3	n/a	n/a	333
2005	33	9	76	241	2	n/a	n/a	361
2006	27	16	85	242	6	n/a	n/a	376
2007	23	11	77	248	3	n/a	n/a	362
2008	23	11	78	233	5	n/a	n/a	350
2009	21	6	47	232	4	29	0	339
2010	21	1	51	226	1	28	16	344
2011	17	2	43	211	4	20	17	314
2012	17	8	44	203	1	18	14	305
2013	18	6	46	213	1	11	11	306
2014	12	6	43	215	0	12	12	300
2015	12	4	41	193	0	12	17	279
2016	6	5	58	177	0	13	15	274
2017	13	5	66	188	0	11	16	299
2018	9	9	64	197	0	13	17	309
2019	12	5	63	200	0	13	11	304
2020	9	6	58	194	0	18	11	296
2021	7	5	56	191	0	15	11	285
2022	8	4	55	186	0	11	14	278
2023	9	6	56	203	3	14	15	306
2024	9	5	51	206	6	11	17	305

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 Los Cerritos Elementary

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	403	15.0	26.8	n/a
1989	416	15.0	27.7	n/a
1990	437	16.0	27.3	n/a
1991	437	16.8	26.0	n/a
1992	450	17.1	26.3	35.3
1993	388	15.5	25.0	36.6
1994	387	17.0	22.8	38.8
1995	392	17.0	23.1	43.1
1996	392	17.0	23.1	43.1
1997	422	19.0	22.2	41
1998	372	22.0	16.9	43
1999	365	21.0	17.4	27.4
2000	377	20.0	18.9	42.4
2001	359	19.0	18.9	44.3
2002	354	19.0	18.6	58.2
2003	354	19.0	18.6	58.2
2004	333	16.0	20.8	64
2005	361	19.0	19.0	52.9
2006	376	18.0	20.9	63.6
2007	362	18.0	20.1	n/a
2008	350	18.0	19.4	62.6
2009	339	18.0	17.8	70.2
2010	344	18.0	19.1	65.7
2011	314	n/a	n/a	72.3
2012	305	12.6	24.2	n/a
2013	306	13.1	23.3	66
2014	300	12.5	24.0	48.7
2015	279	12.0	23.2	65.2
2016	274	12.0	22.8	66.1
2017	299	15.0	19.9	57.5
2018	309	15.0	20.6	65
2019	304	16.0	19.0	66.8
2020	296	n/a	n/a	61.8
2021	285	15.5	18.3	53.7
2022	278	15.0	18.5	58.3
2023	306	15.0	20.4	50.3
2024	305	15.0	20.3	60.7

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 Los Cerritos Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	403	15.0	26.8	n/a
1989	416	15.0	27.7	n/a
1990	437	16.0	27.3	n/a
1991	437	16.8	26.0	n/a
1992	450	17.1	26.3	35.3
1993	388	15.5	25.0	36.6
1994	387	17.0	22.8	38.8
1995	392	17.0	23.1	43.1
1996	392	17.0	23.1	43.1
1997	422	19.0	22.2	41
1998	372	22.0	16.9	43
1999	365	21.0	17.4	27.4
2000	377	20.0	18.9	42.4
2001	359	19.0	18.9	44.3
2002	354	19.0	18.6	58.2
2003	354	19.0	18.6	58.2
2004	333	16.0	20.8	64
2005	361	19.0	19.0	52.9
2006	376	18.0	20.9	63.6
2007	362	18.0	20.1	n/a
2008	350	18.0	19.4	62.6
2009	339	18.0	17.8	70.2
2010	344	18.0	19.1	65.7
2011	314	n/a	n/a	72.3
2012	305	12.6	24.2	n/a
2013	306	13.1	23.3	66
2014	300	12.5	24.0	48.7
2015	279	12.0	23.2	65.2
2016	274	12.0	22.8	66.1
2017	299	15.0	19.9	57.5
2018	309	15.0	20.6	65
2019	304	16.0	19.0	66.8
2020	296	n/a	n/a	61.8
2021	285	15.5	18.3	53.7
2022	278	15.0	18.5	58.3
2023	306	15.0	20.4	50.3
2024	305	15.0	20.3	60.7

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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