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Which teacher or staff member at James A. Whitaker Elementary deserves more recognition?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
559
Elementary
DISTRICT 480 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BUENA PARK ELEMENTARY·NCES 060636000560
James A. Whitaker Elementary
8401 Montana St., Buena Park, CA 90621 · (714) 521-9770 · Orange County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL559 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 24% of California public elementary schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C-Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded California public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
20.7:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 23.6:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
92%
514 students
DISTRICT 81% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 121 | 22% |
| Grade 1 | 91 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 91 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 74 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 82 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 100 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (121) is 21% larger than its 5th grade class (100).
Student demographics
33%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 52% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
25.2%
CA avg 49.1% . -5.8pp since 2014
Math
26.7%
CA avg 37.7% . +2.7pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 25 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 27 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are down about 6 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 3 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 9.8% | 15.3% | 20.9% | 53.9% |
| Math | 9.2% | 17.5% | 24.7% | 48.6% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 25.2% | 26.7% |
| 2023-24 | 23.5% | 27.4% |
| 2022-23 | 22.3% | 23.3% |
| 2021-22 | 26.6% | 31.6% |
| 2018-19 | 39.2% | 41.7% |
| 2017-18 | 38.8% | 37.5% |
| 2016-17 | 31.9% | 31.0% |
| 2015-16 | 33.0% | 31.0% |
| 2014-15 | 31.0% | 24.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
25.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
25.7%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+0.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 26% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 26% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like James A. Whitaker Elementary
James A. Whitaker Elementary's state test result (25.9% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| James A. Whitaker Elementary this school | 559 | 91.9% | 25.9% |
| Landau Elementary Cathedral City | 579 | 94.1% | 34.2% |
| Martin Luther King Seaside | 548 | 89.2% | 14.8% |
| Liggett Street Elementary Panorama City | 550 | 91.3% | 37.1% |
| Harriette Kirschen Elementary Modesto | 503 | 92.6% | 18.4% |
| Fillmore Elementary Stockton | 577 | 90.3% | 18.4% |
Matched among California elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where James A. Whitaker Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Orange County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 25.9% | #3,976 of 5,151 | #340 of 381 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 26.7% | #3,581 of 5,172 ▼ 234 | #320 of 382 ▼ 9 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 25.2% | #4,466 of 5,172 ▼ 20 | #362 of 382 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -3.1pp | #929 of 5,116 | #66 of 381 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 559 | #1,769 of 5,915 | #130 of 404 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.7:1 | #1,319 of 5,352 | #56 of 398 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 33.4% | #3,780 of 5,354 | #291 of 398 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 91.9% | #843 of 5,625 | #39 of 400 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +5.3% | #739 of 1,139 | #35 of 55 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
559
+35 (+7%) vs 2020
+1% since 1990-91, when it was 556
Student : Teacher
20.7:1
was 21.8:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 559 | 27 | 20.7:1 | 92% (514) |
| 2023-24 | 579 | 29 | 20.0:1 | 89% (513) |
| 2022-23 | 639 | 27 | 23.7:1 | 90% (574) |
| 2020-21 | 524 | 24 | 21.8:1 | 87% (456) |
| 2017-18 | 531 | 21 | 25.3:1 | 88% (469) |
| 2015-16 | 549 | 23 | 23.9:1 | 89% (486) |
| 2010-11 | 656 | N/A | N/A | 87% (571) |
| 2000-01 | 916 | 39 | 23.5:1 | 62% (565) |
| 1990-91 | 556 | 22 | 25.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for James A. Whitaker Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 5% (531 to 559); teachers up 29% (21 to 27).
About James A. Whitaker Elementary
James A. Whitaker Elementary is a public mid-sized elementary school in Buena Park, California. The school offers kindergarten through 5 and enrolls 559 students. That puts enrollment 20% larger than the 465-student average for elementary schools in California.
Buena Park Elementary is responsible for 7 schools, James A. Whitaker Elementary included, with 3,675 students in all.
By race and ethnicity, James A. Whitaker Elementary is 81% Hispanic. Other groups include 8% Asian, 5% White, 3% Black, and 3% multiracial. The county population is about 34% Hispanic. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 33, compared with 70 nationally.
The student-to-teacher ratio at James A. Whitaker Elementary is 20.7:1, based on 27 full-time-equivalent teachers. Statewide, elementary schools in California average 22.3:1. Lunch program data show 92% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Orange County is 55%.
Among California public elementary schools, James A. Whitaker Elementary outscored 24%, which works out to a C- on the allk12 Grade.
James A. Whitaker Elementary posts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 25.9%, compared with a predicted 25.7%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of California schools on BeatsExpectations.
The school is in Orange County, where median household income comes to about $116,289, roughly 44% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. Orange County counts 649 public schools with about 430,458 students.
James A. Whitaker Elementary's nearest public school is Buena Park High (about 0.5 miles). Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. Compared with its nearest neighbors, James A. Whitaker Elementary ranks 7th of 9 on average proficiency.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is Suburb: Large.
By 2024-25, enrollment had risen to 559, from 524 in 2020-21. The ratio of students to teachers went from 21.8:1 to 20.7:1 over the same years.
The allk12 page for James A. Whitaker Elementary lets the school community talk about special education services, counseling, and support programs. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Orange County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
3,165,820
Census ACS
Median income
$116,289
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
44%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
649
430,458 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Buena Park Elementary
- Charles G. Emery ElementaryElementary · 646 students
- Gordon H. Beatty MiddleMiddle · 641 students
- Buena Park MiddleMiddle · 633 students
- Carl E. Gilbert ElementaryElementary · 490 students
- Mabel L. Pendleton ElementaryElementary · 365 students
- Arthur F. Corey ElementaryElementary · 341 students
Other schools in Buena Park
- Buena Park HighHigh · 1,682 students
- Charles G. Emery ElementaryElementary · 646 students
- Gordon H. Beatty MiddleMiddle · 641 students
- Buena Park MiddleMiddle · 633 students
- Buena Terra ElementaryElementary · 627 students
- Carl E. Gilbert ElementaryElementary · 490 students
Nearby schools
- Buena Park High0.5 mi · 1,682
- Mabel L. Pendleton Elementary0.6 mi · 365
- Valencia Park Elementary0.8 mi · 398
- Glen H. Dysinger Sr. Elementary0.9 mi · 468
- Carl E. Gilbert Elementary1.2 mi · 490
- Gordon H. Beatty Middle1.5 mi · 641
Frequently asked questions
About James A. Whitaker ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at James A. Whitaker Elementary?
James A. Whitaker Elementary enrolls approximately 559 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does James A. Whitaker Elementary serve?
James A. Whitaker Elementary serves grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at James A. Whitaker Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at James A. Whitaker Elementary is approximately 20.7:1 (27 FTE teachers).
How diverse is James A. Whitaker Elementary?
James A. Whitaker Elementary reports a student body of 5% White, 81% Hispanic, 3% Black, 8% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees James A. Whitaker Elementary?
James A. Whitaker Elementary is overseen by Buena Park Elementary in Orange County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.