Kelly Elementary, Compton CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Kelly Elementary

Kelly Elementary sits on East Alondra Boulevard in Compton, a city in southern Los Angeles County anchored by manufacturing, logistics, and a cultural identity built around contributions to hip-hop and R&B. The school serves kindergarten through eighth grade, an unusually wide span that means a family could have a child here from age five through the end of middle school. Enrollment is large relative to what you might expect for that grade band, spread fairly evenly across all nine grade levels.

The student body is overwhelmingly Latino, with a smaller share of Black students and very few students from other backgrounds. The vast majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, meaning Kelly serves a community where economic need is the norm rather than the exception. Data on English learner rates and students with IEPs was not available in the sources we reviewed, so a parent interested in those specific support structures would want to ask the school directly.

On the California state assessments, the picture in English language arts is more encouraging than in math. ELA proficiency climbs steadily from the early grades into eighth grade, where results are genuinely strong by any measure. Third and fourth grade ELA rates sit in the low forties, fifth grade approaches the midpoint, and by seventh and eighth grade the majority of students are meeting or exceeding state standards. That upward arc through the grades is a meaningful pattern. Math tells a different story. Third grade math is the high point, near the midpoint, and rates decline through the upper grades, landing in the upper thirties by eighth grade. Taken together, the school's overall proficiency index places it just below the midpoint among districts in Los Angeles County, though it is worth noting that comparison is drawn from a broad countywide set of districts with very different demographics and resources.

Science results, tested at fifth and eighth grade, are below the midpoint of state norms at both checkpoints. A parent whose child has strong interest or ambition in science may want to ask the school what support and enrichment looks like in that subject.

Multi-year trend data was not available beyond the most recent school year, so it is not possible to characterize whether results have been improving, holding steady, or declining. That is a gap worth raising with the school.

No information on specific program offerings was available in the data we reviewed.

The surrounding community is working-class and dense, with walkability that varies by neighborhood. The city has a functioning transit backbone, including the Metro A Line with stops at Compton and Artesia stations, and a network of bus routes. Development activity is picking up, with several affordable housing projects underway or recently opened, and the city is updating its general plan to guide growth through the coming decades. Public reporting notes that local income levels remain below what is needed to afford newly built units without cost burden, which frames the economic pressure many Kelly families navigate.

Compton Unified, the parent district, has been investing substantially in its physical infrastructure. Voters have passed two facilities bonds in recent years. A new Compton High School opened for the 2025-26 school year, replacing the original building and designed around project-based learning. The district also publicly launched a new school, the Compton Academy of Technology and Innovation, built on the P-TECH model and offering students a path toward a tuition-free associate degree alongside a high school diploma in fields like biotechnology and cybersecurity. For a family whose kindergartner is starting at Kelly today, that downstream option at the high school level is worth knowing about.

Housing near the school carries a median home value well above the national midpoint, though it sits below the California state benchmark, and the estimated monthly mortgage at current rates represents a meaningful cost burden relative to local incomes. Rental cost data was not available in the sources provided.

Kelly is a school where ELA growth across grade levels is a real strength, math outcomes need attention especially in the upper grades, and the community it serves carries significant economic challenges. A parent weighing this school should press the administration on how math support is structured in sixth through eighth grade, and what student services look like for children with specific learning needs.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 352%

School 52% · District 58% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Grade 440%

School 40% · District 46% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 33% · ▲ 15 pts above district

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

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 44%

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

Grade 740%

School 40% · District 43% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 837%

School 37% · District 40% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 342%

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

▲ 2 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 442%

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

even with state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 45% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 655%

School 55% · District 50% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 760%

School 60% · District 57% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 870%

School 70% · District 53% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Science

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 21% · ▲ 8 pts above district

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

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 19% · ▲ 7 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 1 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.