Ronald E. Mcnair Elementary, Compton CA

Original Research by School Decision on Ronald E. Mcnair Elementary

Ronald E. McNair Elementary is a regular public school serving kindergarten through grade six in Compton, an urban area in southern Los Angeles County. The school sits on West El Segundo Avenue and draws nearly all of its students from low-income families, with a large majority qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment is small and stable, under four hundred students, with the student body predominantly Latino and Black.

On state tests administered in the 2024-25 school year, the school shows a mixed profile across grades and subjects. In third grade, performance is notably stronger: students meet proficiency in math at a high rate and in English language arts at a solid rate. Performance declines significantly in the upper elementary grades. Fourth and fifth graders show proficiency rates in the mid-range for both math and English language arts, and sixth grade shows further softening, particularly in English language arts where fewer than half of students meet the standard. Science proficiency in fifth grade also sits well below the midpoint. Across all tested grades and subjects combined, the school's overall proficiency sits above the median among the county's schools, a position it reaches primarily on the strength of third-grade results; the data signal a meaningful instructional challenge in the upper elementary band.

The third-to-fourth grade transition appears to mark a steep drop in proficiency across both subjects. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, both to understand what shifts in curriculum or instruction occur at that transition and to see what support the school has in place to help students sustain momentum.

Compton itself is a dense urban city with a strong cultural identity and a mix of residential and commercial neighborhoods. Downtown Compton has seen recent civic investment with a new City Hall and Civic Center, and the city is anchored by logistics, warehousing, and manufacturing tied to proximity to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Walkability varies; downtown and areas near the Metro A Line light-rail station score as fairly to very walkable, while outlying residential areas are somewhat walkable. The city is pursuing growth through affordable and multifamily housing; recent projects include a converted permanent supportive housing development opened in spring 2025 and several affordable developments under construction, though local reporting notes that median household income remains below what is needed to afford newly built market-rate units without cost burden.

The Compton Unified School District, McNair's parent district, has undergone significant facilities investment. Voters approved Measure AAA in 2022 for school repairs and construction, and in June 2026 approved Measure CPT, a major bond for a new Dominguez High School and other facilities, carrying ongoing property-tax obligations. The district opened a brand-new Compton High School campus in August 2025 designed around project-based learning, and in the same month opened Compton Academy of Technology and Innovation (C-Tech), a P-TECH model high school where students can earn both a diploma and a tuition-free associate degree in fields like biotechnology and cybersecurity. These additions reflect the district's commitment to modernizing its facilities and expanding career-pathway options for families, though McNair as an elementary school does not directly offer those programs.

Housing in the 90222 zip code where McNair is located carries a median value in the low six figures and median rents in the mid-range for the county. The school's proximity to transit and urban services reflects Compton's improving walkability and modest development momentum, though economic constraints remain real for many families in the area.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 387%

School 87% · District 58% · ▲ 29 pts above district

▲ 44 pts above state median · ▲ 40 pts above county median

Grade 445%

School 45% · District 46% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 33% · ▲ 11 pts above district

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

Grade 656%

School 56% · District 44% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 380%

School 80% · District 50% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 47% · ▲ 8 pts above district

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

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 45% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 50% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 538%

School 38% · District 21% · ▲ 18 pts above district

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