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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at Sundown Elementary this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
941
Elementary
DISTRICT 720 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WESTSIDE UNION ELEMENTARY·NCES 064212003262
Sundown Elementary
6151 West Ave. J-8, Lancaster, CA 93536 · (661) 722-3026 · Los Angeles County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL941 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
26.9:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 25.4:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
59%
556 students
DISTRICT 55% · 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 | 154 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 110 | 12% |
| Grade 2 | 113 | 12% |
| Grade 3 | 138 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 115 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 150 | 16% |
| Grade 6 | 161 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (154) is about the same size as its 6th grade class (161).
Student demographics
64%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · 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
34.5%
CA avg 49.1% . +0.5pp since 2014
Math
18.9%
CA avg 37.7% . -2.1pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 35 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 19 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores have held steady 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 | 11.2% | 23.3% | 21.7% | 43.8% |
| Math | 6.9% | 11.9% | 27.2% | 53.9% |
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 | 34.5% | 18.9% |
| 2023-24 | 28.5% | 17.9% |
| 2022-23 | 30.3% | 22.8% |
| 2021-22 | 32.4% | 22.1% |
| 2018-19 | 35.6% | 27.6% |
| 2017-18 | 34.7% | 20.6% |
| 2016-17 | 36.5% | 21.8% |
| 2015-16 | 39.0% | 24.0% |
| 2014-15 | 34.0% | 21.0% |
% 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of CA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
25.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
44.9%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-19.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 25% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 45% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Sundown Elementary
Sundown Elementary's state test result (25.1% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sundown Elementary this school | 941 | 59.1% | 25.1% |
| Rancho Vista Elementary Palmdale | 886 | 55.0% | 36.9% |
| REACH Leadership STEAM Academy Riverside | 645 | 57.1% | N/A |
| Muir (John) Elementary Antioch | 660 | 58.9% | 26.2% |
| Tournament Hills Elementary Beaumont | 805 | 58.4% | 50.6% |
| Orchard Park Oakley | 751 | 72.6% | 31.1% |
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 Sundown Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Los Angeles County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 25.1% | #4,064 of 5,151 | #994 of 1,126 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 18.9% | #4,406 of 5,172 no change | #1,059 of 1,129 ▼ 11 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 34.5% | #3,494 of 5,172 ▲ 449 | #853 of 1,129 ▲ 87 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -0.6pp | #1,626 of 5,116 | #283 of 1,116 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 941 | #128 of 5,915 | #19 of 1,300 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 26.9:1 | #5,094 of 5,352 | #1,145 of 1,213 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 64.1% | #1,366 of 5,354 | #207 of 1,214 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 59.1% | #3,516 of 5,625 | #942 of 1,276 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -4.1% | #3,421 of 3,837 | #877 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
941
+45 (+5%) vs 2020
+37% since 2000-01, when it was 687
Student : Teacher
26.9:1
was 26.4:1
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 | 941 | 35 | 26.9:1 | 59% (556) |
| 2023-24 | 889 | 33 | 26.9:1 | 60% (530) |
| 2022-23 | 848 | 32 | 26.5:1 | 60% (512) |
| 2020-21 | 896 | 34 | 26.4:1 | 55% (495) |
| 2017-18 | 981 | 36 | 27.3:1 | 52% (513) |
| 2015-16 | 1,024 | 36 | 28.4:1 | 48% (496) |
| 2010-11 | 1,115 | N/A | N/A | 42% (469) |
| 2000-01 | 687 | 34 | 20.2:1 | 21% (142) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Sundown Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 4% (981 to 941); teachers down 3% (36 to 35).
About Sundown Elementary
Sundown Elementary runs as a large elementary school in Lancaster, California. In all, 941 students attend the school in kindergarten through 6. It has 102% more students than the average for elementary schools in California (about 465).
Sundown Elementary is part of a district of 12 schools: Westside Union Elementary, with 9,078 students.
Hispanic students are 53% of those enrolled at Sundown Elementary. Other reported shares: 19% Black, 18% White, and 8% multiracial. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 64%.
Its staff includes 35 full-time-equivalent teachers, for about 26.9 students per teacher. The average for elementary schools in California, 22.3:1, is lower. Sundown Elementary has a free or reduced-price lunch rate of 59%. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Los Angeles County is 70%.
Compared with California schools that have similar shares of low-income students, Sundown Elementary scores 19.8 points lower than predicted. Its average proficiency rate across its state test results is 25.1%; the prediction is 44.9%.
In the surrounding county, Los Angeles County, the median household earns about $90,112 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 36%, and about 10% of people live in poverty. Counting Sundown Elementary, Los Angeles County has 2,244 public schools.
Sundown Elementary's closest public school neighbor is Academies of the Antelope Valley, about 1.7 miles away. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Sundown Elementary's average proficiency of 25.1% compares with 29.9% for its nearest scored neighbors.
NCES assigns Sundown Elementary the locale Suburb: Large, meaning in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Over 4 years, enrollment rose by 45 students, from 896 to 941.
People can post here about homework, tutoring, and testing dates and other school topics. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
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 Westside Union Elementary
- Hillview MiddleMiddle · 1,100 students
- Esperanza ElementaryElementary · 962 students
- Gregg Anderson AcademyElementary · 893 students
- Rancho Vista ElementaryElementary · 886 students
- Quartz Hill ElementaryElementary · 845 students
- Joe Walker MiddleMiddle · 781 students
Other schools in Lancaster
- Assurance Learning AcademyHigh · 3,014 students
- Lancaster HighHigh · 2,688 students
- Eastside HighHigh · 2,631 students
- Antelope Valley HighHigh · 1,498 students
- Amargosa Creek MiddleMiddle · 859 students
- New Vista MiddleMiddle · 835 students
Other Sundown Elementary schools
2 other US public schools in 2 states are named Sundown Elementary. Sundown Elementary is the largest of the 3.
- Sundown Elementary SchoolKATY, TX · 720 students
- Sundown Elementary SchoolSUNDOWN, TX · 231 students
Nearby schools
- Academies of the Antelope Valley1.7 mi · 677
- Quartz Hill High1.7 mi · 3,175
- Endeavour Middle1.7 mi · 805
- Joe Walker Middle2.2 mi · 781
- West Wind Elementary2.6 mi · 757
- Nancy Cory Elementary2.8 mi · 728
Frequently asked questions
About Sundown ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Sundown Elementary?
Sundown Elementary enrolls approximately 941 students in grades KG-06.
What grades does Sundown Elementary serve?
Sundown Elementary serves grades KG-06.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sundown Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Sundown Elementary is approximately 26.9:1 (35 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Sundown Elementary?
Student demographics at Sundown Elementary are roughly 18% White, 53% Hispanic, 19% Black, 2% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Is Sundown Elementary public or private?
Sundown Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Westside Union Elementary.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.