Emery Park Elementary, Alhambra CA

Original Research by School Decision on Emery Park Elementary

Emery Park Elementary is a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school in Alhambra serving nearly four hundred students in a community that has anchored itself around mixed-use downtown revitalization and walkable neighborhoods. The school sits in the western San Gabriel Valley, where dense residential blocks give way to parks and a lively downtown core.

The student body is predominantly Latino with a substantial Asian population and incoming family economic need: about three-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. English learner data was not available in the school's public record, but given the demographic profile and the district's ongoing dual-language immersion programs elsewhere, multilingual support likely shapes classroom composition.

Academic performance across tested grades reflects a school working below the state midpoint. In English language arts, results are uneven: third and fourth graders showed performance in the low-to-mid range, fifth graders around mid-range, sixth and seventh graders in the upper-low range, and eighth graders notably higher. Math proficiency is lower overall, with third and eighth graders near the low-to-mid band, fourth graders in the low range, fifth and sixth graders below that, and seventh graders slightly above sixth grade. Science proficiency in fifth and eighth grades sits in the low range. These patterns are consistent across subjects: the school falls below the midpoint when compared to other schools across Los Angeles County. The upward bump in eighth-grade English, however, suggests something in the program resonates for students in that cohort or grade level, and a parent may want to ask the school about what instruction or supports drive that outcome.

Kindergarten through second grade enrollment is relatively steady, while third through fifth grades hold smaller cohorts, and sixth through eighth grades rise again, creating slight imbalance in the middle grades. This enrollment shape is worth noting if you have a student moving through the school; smaller middle-elementary sections may mean tighter peer groups, while larger eighth-grade classes prepare the transition to high school.

The school's stated grades span K-8, making it an elementary-middle school hybrid that feeds into Alhambra High School. The city itself is experiencing smart-growth-focused development around its downtown—mixed-use housing, retail, and civic anchors like the Civic Center Library and Almansor Park—rather than sprawling exurban expansion. Housing in the Alhambra zip code has appreciated modestly and sits above the state median, with rental housing also climbing, suggesting a relatively stable residential market for families already in the area.

Alhambra Unified, the parent district, has committed publicly to implementing high school ethnic studies coursework despite the state's funding pause, and operates dual-language immersion programs in Mandarin and Spanish at other elementary sites. These signal a district-level emphasis on cultural representation and multilingual education, even if Emery Park itself does not host an immersion track.

A parent evaluating Emery Park should come with two questions: what instructional approaches or supports explain the eighth-grade English strength, and what is the current plan to move proficiency upward across the tested grades, especially in math where the school lags notably. The demographic composition—predominantly Latino and Asian, with meaningful economic need—reflects the city's actual makeup, and families seeking that peer environment and community will recognize themselves here. Families seeking higher baseline proficiency should look at performance data across the district's other sites to compare options.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 344%

School 44% · District 60% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 436%

School 36% · District 57% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 47% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 631%

School 31% · District 54% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 733%

School 33% · District 54% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 58% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 56% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 61% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 57% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 639%

School 39% · District 64% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 741%

School 41% · District 66% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 871%

School 71% · District 73% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Science

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 39% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 834%

School 34% · District 52% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 59% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

This schoolAlhambra Unified, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income19%Higher-income83%64 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income36%Higher-income67%31 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income46%13 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income36%Higher-income47%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income72%Higher-income70%2 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income29%Higher-income69%41 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income12%Higher-income42%30 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income26%Higher-income39%12 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income20%Higher-income50%30 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income37%Higher-income55%18 pp gap