Hanh Phan Tilley Elementary, Fresno CA

Original Research by School Decision on Hanh Phan Tilley Elementary

Hanh Phan Tilley Elementary sits in Fresno's northeast area and serves a student body that is overwhelmingly from low-income households and predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial population of Asian students and a smaller Black population. The school is part of Central Unified, which serves the city proper and surrounding areas.

The academic picture is one of broad challenge. On California's 2024-25 state tests in math and English language arts, proficiency rates across all tested grades are low. In math, students in third grade reach proficiency at rates well below the state average, and performance declines as grades advance, with sixth graders showing especially weak results. English language arts is somewhat stronger than math but still reflects a school where a clear majority of students are not demonstrating grade-level command of the tested subjects. Science proficiency in fifth grade is also quite low. In the context of districts countywide in Fresno County, this school's overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint.

The school enrollment is stable at a size typical for its grade band, spanning kindergarten through sixth grade. The student population is economically stressed: a very large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is consistent with Fresno's broader economic profile. The school serves no students in identified special education or English learner programs according to the enrollment data, though a parent may want to look into whether data on these populations are collected and reported separately, since a school with this demographic composition often has both.

Fresno itself is California's largest interior city, a sprawling car-dependent metro area anchored in agriculture and public services, with a downtown that has been losing population for decades but is now the target of state-funded revitalization efforts. The immediate neighborhood where the school sits is residential and low-density. Housing costs in the Fresno area remain moderate relative to much of the state, and rents have risen modestly in recent months, but are still affordable by California standards.

The school is part of a district navigating a significant identity change: starting in the 2025-26 school year, Central Unified split its long-standing multi-campus Central and Central East High Schools into two separately identified schools with distinct athletic identities, which affects student assignment and high school identity for families in certain attendance areas. This kind of reconfiguration typically reflects capacity or operational decisions driven by enrollment or facilities.

For families in this attendance zone, the school provides a traditional elementary program serving the full K-6 span, with the academic challenge being substantial and legible in the data. Hanh Phan Tilley's low proficiency rates suggest that families should plan for supplemental academic support and should ask the school directly about its literacy and mathematics interventions, summer programming, and any tutoring or after-school enrichment it offers or can connect families to. The economic profile of the school population also points to questions about food service, mental health support, and other wraparound services that may help offset economic barriers to learning.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 331%

School 31% · District 43% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

Grade 437%

School 37% · District 33% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 31% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 33% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 335%

School 35% · District 43% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 41% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 45% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 631%

School 31% · District 48% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Science

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 27% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

This schoolCentral 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.