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How has Willow Elementary changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
420
Elementary
DISTRICT 404 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LOS ANGELES UNIFIED·NCES 062271013090
Willow Elementary
2777 Willow Pl., South Gate, CA 90280 · (323) 568-5760 · Los Angeles County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL420 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
20.0:1
21 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.0:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
93%
392 students
DISTRICT 84% · STATE 65%
Community
5
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 | 85 | 20% |
| Grade 1 | 69 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 68 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 65 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 70 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 63 | 15% |
Student demographics
5%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 45% · 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
49.5%
CA avg 49.1% . +28.5pp since 2014
Math
42.1%
CA avg 37.7% . +24.1pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 50 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 42 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 29 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 24 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 18.3% | 31.2% | 22.8% | 27.7% |
| Math | 17.8% | 24.3% | 36.1% | 21.8% |
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 | 49.5% | 42.1% |
| 2023-24 | 43.5% | 46.5% |
| 2022-23 | 44.1% | 39.7% |
| 2021-22 | 38.8% | 35.1% |
| 2018-19 | 50.0% | 48.3% |
| 2017-18 | 41.3% | 40.8% |
| 2016-17 | 28.9% | 24.5% |
| 2015-16 | 31.0% | 27.0% |
| 2014-15 | 21.0% | 18.0% |
% 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
45.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
24.9%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+20.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 45% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 25% 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 20 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 →
Where Willow Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Los Angeles County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 45.0% | #2,069 of 5,151 | #486 of 1,126 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 42.1% | #2,144 of 5,172 | #533 of 1,129 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 49.5% | #2,074 of 5,172 | #475 of 1,129 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +8.9pp | #773 of 5,116 | #277 of 1,116 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 420 | #3,426 of 5,915 | #717 of 1,300 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.0:1 | #936 of 5,352 | #290 of 1,213 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 4.7% | #5,213 of 5,354 | #1,167 of 1,214 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -23.6% | #1,027 of 3,837 | #388 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.
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
420
-130 (-24%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
20.0:1
was 23.9:1
% White
0%
was 1%
% Hispanic
98%
was 98%
% Black
0%
was 0%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free or reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 420 | 21 | 20.0:1 | 93% (392) |
| 2023-24 | 439 | 21 | 20.9:1 | 94% (411) |
| 2022-23 | 448 | 21 | 21.3:1 | 95% (427) |
| 2017-18 | 550 | 23 | 23.9:1 | 93% (512) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Willow Elementary.
About Willow Elementary
Willow Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school in Los Angeles Unified, located in South Gate, California. The latest federal count shows 420 students in kindergarten through 5.
Los Angeles Unified has 406,887 students in 784 schools, and Willow Elementary is one of those schools.
The student body at Willow Elementary is 98% Hispanic. Los Angeles County's residents are about 48% Hispanic, 49 points below the school's share. Pick two students at random and there is a 5% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Willow Elementary operates with 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, a ratio of about 20.0:1. On average, elementary schools in California have 22.3:1, compared with 20.0:1 here. Willow Elementary reports 93% of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. That is higher than the 70% average for public schools in Los Angeles County.
The school's average proficiency rate on state tests, 45.0%, is 20.1 points above the 24.9% the model predicts from its free or reduced-price lunch share. That result is in the top 10% of California schools.
Los Angeles County has these Census figures: 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%. Los Angeles County is home to 2,244 public schools and about 1,265,907 public school students.
The school nearest to Willow Elementary is KIPP Corazon Academy, at a distance of about 0.2 miles. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. By average proficiency, Willow Elementary is 2nd among 5 schools close by.
Locale data from NCES put Willow Elementary in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more (Suburb: Large).
Over 7 years, Willow Elementary's enrollment declined 24%, to 420. The school's ratio fell from 23.9:1 to 20.0:1 between 2017-18 and 2024-25.
Discussions about Willow Elementary may include science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
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 Los Angeles Unified
- Grover Cleveland Charter HighHigh · 2,719 students
- North Hollywood Senior HighHigh · 2,444 students
- Phineas Banning Senior HighHigh · 2,422 students
- San Pedro Senior HighHigh · 2,398 students
- Venice Senior HighHigh · 2,293 students
- James A. Garfield Senior HighHigh · 2,237 students
Other schools in South Gate
- South East HighHigh · 1,990 students
- South Gate Senior HighHigh · 1,681 students
- Southeast MiddleMiddle · 1,215 students
- South Gate MiddleMiddle · 1,192 students
- KIPP Corazon AcademyElementary · 1,070 students
- International Studies Lrng Center at Legacy High Sch ComplexHigh · 867 students
Nearby schools
- KIPP Corazon Academy0.2 mi · 1,070
- Stanford Avenue Elementary0.3 mi · 329
- Liberty Boulevard Elementary0.4 mi · 410
- Westbrook Academy0.4 mi · 409
- Stanford Primary Center0.5 mi · 112
- Odyssey Continuation0.6 mi · 100
Frequently asked questions
About Willow ElementaryHow many students attend Willow Elementary?
Willow Elementary enrolls approximately 420 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Willow Elementary serve?
Willow Elementary serves grades KG-05.
How many teachers does Willow Elementary have?
Willow Elementary employs 21 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 20.0:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Willow Elementary?
At Willow Elementary, the student body is approximately 0% White, 98% Hispanic, 0% Black, 0% Asian, 2% Two or more.
What district is Willow Elementary in?
Willow Elementary is part of Los Angeles Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.