Juarez (benito) Elementary, Cerritos CA

Original Research by School Decision on Juarez (benito) Elementary

Benito Juarez Elementary is a small school of roughly three hundred students serving kindergarten through sixth grade in Cerritos, a master-planned suburb in Los Angeles County. The school sits in a residential, car-dependent community built around shopping centers and commercial hubs rather than a walkable downtown, though the civic core—including the library, city hall, and Cerritos High School—clusters together near the Towne Center retail complex.

The school's current academic performance shows proficiency below the midpoint among elementary schools across Los Angeles County districts. In English language arts, proficiency ranges from the mid-thirties to mid-fifties across tested grades, with stronger results in sixth grade than in the lower elementary grades. Math proficiency is notably lower, running in the low to mid-fifties in third grade but dropping to the low thirties in grades four, five, and six. In science, fifth grade showed proficiency in the low twenties. These results suggest that students are meeting state standards at uneven rates, with a particular challenge in upper elementary mathematics.

About two-thirds of the school's enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The student population is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller shares of Asian, Black, and White students. Data on English learner enrollment and special education enrollment were not available, so a parent may want to look into those details directly with the school or district.

Cerritos itself is experiencing infill development driven by state housing mandates. The city is rezoning commercial and institutional sites to accommodate new housing, including townhome projects and mixed-use development, so the neighborhood's residential composition is likely to shift in coming years. Housing costs in the area are substantial relative to median household income, and most residents commute by car; the city's local bus service is set to end fixed-route service by mid-2026, making car access important for school transportation and broader mobility.

The school is part of ABC Unified, the school district serving Cerritos. No recent district-level changes or priorities were available to report. Parents considering Benito Juarez Elementary should discuss with the school the pathways it offers for students who are not yet proficient in core subjects, particularly in mathematics, and should clarify enrollment and support details for English learners and students in special education.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 63% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 432%

School 32% · District 56% · ▼ 25 pts below district

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

Grade 531%

School 31% · District 52% · ▼ 21 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 630%

School 30% · District 55% · ▼ 26 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 343%

School 43% · District 58% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 59% · ▼ 24 pts below district

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

Grade 541%

School 41% · District 65% · ▼ 24 pts below district

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

Grade 655%

School 55% · District 69% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 48% · ▼ 24 pts below district

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

This schoolABC 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 4Lower-income28%Higher-income55%27 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income27%Higher-income46%18 pp gap