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What's something Merlinda Elementary does better than most schools?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
460
Elementary
DISTRICT 407 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WEST COVINA UNIFIED·NCES 064200006881
Merlinda Elementary
1120 South Valinda Ave., West Covina, CA 91790 · (626) 931-1720 · Los Angeles County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL460 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 62% of California public elementary schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- DThree-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
22.8:1
20 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 23.0:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
88%
407 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 | 89 | 19% |
| Grade 1 | 65 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 66 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 61 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 62 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 67 | 15% |
| Grade 6 | 50 | 11% |
This year's kindergarten class (89) is 78% larger than its 6th grade class (50).
Student demographics
43%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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Merlinda Elementary→Walnut Grove Intermediate
Based on grade levels within West Covina Unified. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
47.0%
CA avg 49.1% . -4.0pp since 2014
Math
38.4%
CA avg 37.7% . -1.6pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 47 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 38 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 4 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 2 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 20.4% | 26.5% | 23.0% | 30.0% |
| Math | 19.4% | 19.0% | 28.3% | 33.3% |
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 | 47.0% | 38.4% |
| 2023-24 | 43.9% | 40.2% |
| 2022-23 | 53.1% | 41.6% |
| 2021-22 | 53.1% | 46.5% |
| 2018-19 | 55.1% | 47.3% |
| 2017-18 | 61.6% | 47.9% |
| 2016-17 | 53.2% | 37.8% |
| 2015-16 | 47.0% | 41.0% |
| 2014-15 | 51.0% | 40.0% |
% 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
42.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
27.7%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+14.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 43% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 28% 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 15 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 Merlinda Elementary
Merlinda Elementary's state test result (42.5% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merlinda Elementary this school | 460 | 88.5% | 42.5% |
| Rowland Elementary Rowland Heights | 461 | 91.1% | 16.6% |
| Monte Vista Elementary West Covina | 448 | 85.5% | 50.0% |
| Hansen Elementary Anaheim | 416 | 87.5% | 47.6% |
| Commonwealth Avenue Elementary Los Angeles | 504 | 88.7% | 42.0% |
| Twila Reid Elementary Anaheim | 490 | 85.1% | 41.1% |
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 Merlinda Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Los Angeles County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 42.5% | #2,268 of 5,151 | #540 of 1,126 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 38.4% | #2,413 of 5,172 ▼ 242 | #605 of 1,129 ▼ 91 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 47.0% | #2,273 of 5,172 ▲ 79 | #537 of 1,129 ▲ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -7.1pp | #292 of 5,116 | #40 of 1,116 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 460 | #2,911 of 5,915 | #591 of 1,300 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 22.8:1 | #2,807 of 5,352 | #717 of 1,213 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 43.5% | #3,217 of 5,354 | #551 of 1,214 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 88.5% | #1,279 of 5,625 | #499 of 1,276 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -25.3% | #885 of 3,837 | #349 of 947 |
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
460
-25 (-5%) vs 2020
-10% since 1990-91, when it was 513
Student : Teacher
22.8:1
was 25.5:1
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 | 460 | 20.2 | 22.8:1 | 88% (407) |
| 2023-24 | 464 | 19.4 | 23.9:1 | 75% (349) |
| 2022-23 | 451 | 18.3 | 24.6:1 | 75% (336) |
| 2020-21 | 485 | 19 | 25.5:1 | 74% (357) |
| 2017-18 | 616 | 25 | 24.6:1 | 74% (453) |
| 2015-16 | 613 | 25 | 24.5:1 | 76% (467) |
| 2010-11 | 614 | N/A | N/A | 68% (419) |
| 2000-01 | 556 | 28 | 19.9:1 | 57% (317) |
| 1990-91 | 513 | 19 | 27.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Merlinda Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 25% (616 to 460); teachers down 19% (25 to 20.2).
About Merlinda Elementary
A mid-sized elementary school in West Covina, California, Merlinda Elementary is part of West Covina Unified. It reports enrollment of 460 students in kindergarten through 6.
Merlinda Elementary belongs to West Covina Unified, a district of 15 schools and 7,703 students.
Federal enrollment data show Merlinda Elementary is 72% Hispanic. Enrollment also includes 20% Asian, 3% Black, and 3% White. The school's Hispanic share is 24 points above the 48% share among Los Angeles County residents. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 43%.
Classroom staffing at Merlinda Elementary totals 20.2 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 22.8:1. It is about the same as the 22.3:1 average for elementary schools in California. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility at Merlinda Elementary is about 88%. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Los Angeles County is 70%.
Merlinda Elementary holds a B allk12 Grade, placing it above 62% of California public elementary schools.
Test results at Merlinda Elementary are 14.8 points above what its student poverty level predicts. The average proficiency rate across its state test results is 42.5%, compared with a predicted 27.7%, which ranks in the top 10% in California.
Los Angeles County is the school's county. There, the median household earns about $90,112 a year, roughly 36% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Public schools in Los Angeles County number 2,244, with about 1,265,907 students.
Of the public schools around it, Merlinda Elementary is closest to Walnut Grove Intermediate, about 0.5 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 45.8%; Merlinda Elementary's is 42.5%, ranking 3rd of 7.
Its NCES locale code is Suburb: Large: the school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment decreased by 5% across 4 years, from 485 in 2020-21 to 460 in 2024-25. The ratio of students to teachers went from 25.5:1 to 22.8:1 over the same years.
The discussion board for Merlinda Elementary is open to topics like special education services, counseling, and support programs. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
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
- Merced ElementaryElementary · 617 students
- Edgewood MiddleMiddle · 597 students
- Orangewood ElementaryElementary · 580 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
- Walnut Grove Intermediate0.5 mi · 259
- Cameron Elementary0.5 mi · 363
- Merced Elementary0.7 mi · 617
- Coronado High (Continuation)0.7 mi · 120
- West Covina High0.8 mi · 1,756
- Wescove Elementary1.0 mi · 224
Frequently asked questions
About Merlinda ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Merlinda Elementary?
Merlinda Elementary enrolls approximately 460 students in grades KG-06.
What grades does Merlinda Elementary serve?
Merlinda Elementary serves grades KG-06.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Merlinda Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Merlinda Elementary is approximately 22.8:1 (20 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Merlinda Elementary?
At Merlinda Elementary, the student body is approximately 3% White, 72% Hispanic, 3% Black, 20% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees Merlinda Elementary?
Merlinda 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.