Dickison Elementary, Compton CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Dickison Elementary

Dickison Elementary sits in the heart of Compton, serving students from kindergarten through eighth grade in a school of about typical size for the area. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, reflecting the economic realities of its community. The student body is overwhelmingly Latino, with smaller shares of Black and other students. The school serves families across a wide grade span, from early elementary through the first year of middle school.

On California's standardized assessments, Dickison's students show uneven performance across subjects and grades. In English language arts, performance ranges from around half the students meeting proficiency in grades three and seven to lower rates in grades four, six, and eight, hovering in the high thirties to low forties in those grades. Math proficiency is notably weaker. It drops sharply by grade five, where roughly a quarter of students meet the standard, and remains in the low to mid-forties in the earlier grades and in grades six and seven. By grade eight, math proficiency falls to about a third. Science results, where available, are the lowest area: only about one-fifth of fifth graders and roughly one in seven eighth graders meet proficiency.

The overall proficiency index across all tested areas places Dickison below the midpoint when compared to other schools serving students in Los Angeles County. This reflects a consistent pattern of students not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks across tested subjects, with math and science presenting particular gaps. Parents may want to look into what targeted supports the school offers in these areas, especially as students reach the upper elementary and middle grades where proficiency noticeably declines.

Compton, where Dickison sits, is a historically industrial urban city in southern Los Angeles County, anchored by warehousing, logistics, and manufacturing tied to the region's major ports. The city is pursuing growth through affordable and multi-family housing, with recent projects converting motels into supportive housing and breaking ground on new affordable apartment complexes. Downtown Compton has a civic center and transit connections to the Metro A Line light rail. Walkability varies by location; areas near the transit station score highly, while residential neighborhoods fall into the "somewhat walkable" range. The median household income locally remains below what is typically needed to afford newly built units without cost burden, a reality that shapes who lives in the district.

The Compton Unified School District itself has undergone substantial recent changes. A major new Compton High School campus opened in August 2025, funded by a prior bond measure and designed around project-based learning. More recently, the district opened the Compton Academy of Technology and Innovation (C-Tech), a new high school using the P-TECH model that allows students to earn a high school diploma alongside a tuition-free associate degree in fields like biotechnology and cybersecurity. Additionally, voters approved another bond measure in June 2026 that includes funding for a new Dominguez High School. These investments signal sustained district commitment to facilities and career pathways, though they also carry ongoing property-tax implications families should understand.

For elementary and middle-grade students like those at Dickison, the context is a district in transition with new infrastructure and program options taking shape at the high school level, while Dickison itself remains focused on foundational academics in a high-poverty setting where math and science achievement warrant close attention from families and educators.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 346%

School 46% · District 58% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 441%

School 41% · District 46% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 33% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 635%

School 35% · District 44% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 746%

School 46% · District 43% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 832%

School 32% · District 40% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 360%

School 60% · District 50% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 47% · ▼ 5 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 45% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 638%

School 38% · District 50% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

Grade 750%

School 50% · District 57% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 843%

School 43% · District 53% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Science

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 21% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 19% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

This schoolCompton 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.