1
What's the vibe like in the hallways at Merced Elementary right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
617
Elementary
DISTRICT 407 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WEST COVINA UNIFIED·NCES 064200006880
Merced Elementary
1545 East Merced Ave., West Covina, CA 91791 · (626) 931-1700 · Los Angeles County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL617 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 96% of California public elementary schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- B-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
29.4:1
21 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 23.0:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
77%
473 students
DISTRICT 83% · 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 | 112 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 89 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 90 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 112 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 94 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 120 | 19% |
This year's kindergarten class (112) is 7% smaller than its 5th grade class (120).
Student demographics
49%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 41% · 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
66.1%
CA avg 49.1% . +9.1pp since 2014
Math
71.0%
CA avg 37.7% . +18.0pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 66 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 71 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 9 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 18 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 45.3% | 20.8% | 20.2% | 13.8% |
| Math | 48.6% | 22.4% | 17.5% | 11.5% |
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 | 66.1% | 71.0% |
| 2023-24 | 71.0% | 71.2% |
| 2022-23 | 64.0% | 69.1% |
| 2021-22 | 68.1% | 63.8% |
| 2018-19 | 68.6% | 68.6% |
| 2017-18 | 69.0% | 63.5% |
| 2016-17 | 67.9% | 63.6% |
| 2015-16 | 62.0% | 59.0% |
| 2014-15 | 57.0% | 53.0% |
% 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of CA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
70.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
34.6%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+35.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 70% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 35% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 35 points, placing it in California's top 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 Merced Elementary
Merced Elementary's state test result (70.1% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merced Elementary this school | 617 | 76.7% | 70.1% |
| Selma Herndon Elementary Livingston | 611 | 77.4% | 35.1% |
| Dr. Jonas E. Salk Anaheim | 627 | 75.1% | 46.8% |
| Shirakawa (George Sr.) Elementary San Jose | 508 | 82.7% | 39.4% |
| Earl Warren Elementary Garden Grove | 474 | 82.7% | 42.9% |
| Juan Felipe Herrera Elementary Fresno | 630 | 83.8% | 29.9% |
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 Merced Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Los Angeles County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 70.1% | #647 of 5,151 | #145 of 1,126 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 71.0% | #557 of 5,172 ▼ 11 | #123 of 1,129 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 66.1% | #961 of 5,172 ▼ 298 | #211 of 1,129 ▼ 61 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +2.6pp | #2,456 of 5,116 | #618 of 1,116 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 617 | #1,252 of 5,915 | #239 of 1,300 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 29.4:1 | #5,303 of 5,352 | #1,208 of 1,213 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 49.0% | #2,835 of 5,354 | #470 of 1,214 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 76.7% | #2,485 of 5,625 | #772 of 1,276 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +5.1% | #760 of 1,139 | #123 of 181 |
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
617
+4 (+1%) vs 2020
+22% since 1990-91, when it was 505
Student : Teacher
29.4:1
was 27.9:1
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 | 617 | 21 | 29.4:1 | 77% (473) |
| 2023-24 | 601 | 21 | 28.6:1 | 68% (408) |
| 2022-23 | 600 | 21.3 | 28.2:1 | 69% (411) |
| 2020-21 | 613 | 22 | 27.9:1 | 71% (436) |
| 2017-18 | 587 | 23 | 25.5:1 | 68% (397) |
| 2015-16 | 552 | 21 | 26.3:1 | 66% (362) |
| 2010-11 | 471 | N/A | N/A | 63% (298) |
| 2000-01 | 505 | 24 | 21.0:1 | 56% (285) |
| 1990-91 | 505 | 20 | 25.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Merced Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 5% (587 to 617); teachers down 9% (23 to 21).
About Merced Elementary
Merced Elementary is an elementary school in West Covina, California, and it is part of West Covina Unified. The school counts 617 students across kindergarten through 5. The school's enrollment is 33% bigger than the 465 average for elementary schools in California.
Merced Elementary is one school in a 15-school district, West Covina Unified, which enrolls 7,703 students.
Hispanic students make up a majority at Merced Elementary, at 65%. Smaller groups are 29% Asian, 3% White, and 2% multiracial. For comparison, the population of Los Angeles County is roughly 48% Hispanic. The school's diversity index is 49%, meaning two students picked at random have a 49% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Federal data list 21 full-time-equivalent teachers at Merced Elementary in 2024-25, for a ratio of 29.4:1. That is higher than the 22.3:1 average for elementary schools in California. The lunch program counts 77% of students at Merced Elementary as eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
Measured against California public elementary schools, Merced Elementary receives an A+. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
BeatsExpectations places Merced Elementary in the top 10% of California schools. The measure fits a line through proficiency and free or reduced-price lunch share for each state, and this school sits 35.5 points above it (70.1% actual, 34.6% predicted).
Los Angeles County has about 9,808,667 residents, and the median household income is $90,112, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 36% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 10%. In all, Los Angeles County has 2,244 public schools and roughly 1,265,907 students.
The next-closest public school is Coronado High (Continuation), about 0.3 miles away. Merced Elementary is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Merced Elementary ranks 1st of 7 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 70.1% against a local average of 42.4%.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as Suburb: Large, meaning it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, enrollment moved from 613 to 617, a small change. Students per teacher rose from 27.9 in 2020-21 to 29.4 in 2024-25.
Conversations here can range across school safety, transportation, and start times. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Los Angeles County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
9,808,667
Census ACS
Median income
$90,112
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
36%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
2,244
1,265,907 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in West Covina Unified
- West Covina HighHigh · 1,756 students
- Hollencrest MiddleMiddle · 737 students
- Edgewood HighHigh · 712 students
- Edgewood MiddleMiddle · 597 students
- Orangewood ElementaryElementary · 580 students
- Merlinda ElementaryElementary · 460 students
Other schools in West Covina
- West Covina HighHigh · 1,756 students
- South Hills HighHigh · 1,568 students
- San Jose Charter AcademyElementary · 1,255 students
- Mesa ElementaryElementary · 753 students
- Hollencrest MiddleMiddle · 737 students
- Edgewood HighHigh · 712 students
Nearby schools
- Coronado High (Continuation)0.3 mi · 120
- Vine Elementary0.5 mi · 346
- West Covina High0.5 mi · 1,756
- Cameron Elementary0.6 mi · 363
- Merlinda Elementary0.7 mi · 460
- Hollencrest Middle0.7 mi · 737
Frequently asked questions
About Merced ElementaryHow many students attend Merced Elementary?
Merced Elementary enrolls approximately 617 students in grades KG-05.
Is Merced Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Merced Elementary is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many students per teacher at Merced Elementary?
Approximately 29.4:1 students per teacher at Merced Elementary.
How diverse is Merced Elementary?
Merced Elementary reports a student body of 3% White, 65% Hispanic, 0% Black, 29% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees Merced Elementary?
Merced Elementary is overseen by West Covina Unified in Los Angeles County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.