Farragut Elementary, Culver City CA

Original Research by School Decision on Farragut Elementary

Farragut Elementary serves about five hundred fifty students in kindergarten through fifth grade in Culver City, a small media and tech hub in southwest Los Angeles County. The school sits in a diverse, middle-class to affluent residential neighborhood within a city actively reshaping itself: downtown Culver City has recently become more walkable and transit-connected through infrastructure improvements, and major employers like Sony Pictures, Apple, and Amazon are expanding local office space and housing construction is accelerating under new zoning rules.

On state assessments, Farragut's students show solid proficiency in English language arts and math. In the tested grades (3 through 5), English language arts proficiency rates cluster in the high seventies, with a schoolwide average around seventy-nine percent. Math proficiency is somewhat lower, averaging in the low seventies across grades 3 through 5, with a dip in fourth grade to below that. Science proficiency in fifth grade came in at seventy percent. These results place Farragut in the top quartile of Los Angeles County elementary schools on overall proficiency. Only one year of data is available, so trends cannot be assessed.

The student body is economically mixed. About one in five students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating moderate economic diversity. Racially and ethnically, the school reflects Culver City's character: white students make up roughly two-fifths of enrollment, Hispanic and multiracial students each represent about one-fifth, Asian students are about one-sixth, Black students are a smaller minority at around six percent, and Native American and Native Hawaiian students together represent less than one percent. Data on special education enrollment and English learner population were not available.

Culver City Unified, the parent district, has undertaken two significant property-tax measures in the past two years. Voters approved a general obligation bond in March 2024 and renewed a per-parcel tax in November 2024. Both add to local property tax obligations and fund school modernization and staffing respectively; families in the area should be aware of these ongoing local levy costs. The district also implemented a major pedagogical change starting in fall 2022, moving ninth and tenth grade English from tracked (Honors versus Non-Honors) to a college-prep-for-all model; this reflects a districtwide shift in philosophy around academic grouping that may inform how the district approaches instruction in elementary grades as well.

Housing in the zip code is expensive. Home values are substantially above the California state median and rents are correspondingly high; a family's ability to afford the neighborhood is a primary constraint. The walkable downtown and transit connections to the Metro E Line appeal to some, while the residential areas away from downtown are quieter and car-dependent. The local economy is strong and employment is relatively stable.

Farragut's assessment results are genuinely strong, placing it among high-performing elementary schools in the county. The school environment appears academically sound and draws from a stable, diverse community. Parent questions might focus on the school's approach to students below proficiency in math, the specific supports in place for English learners (data on enrollment was missing), and how the school's pedagogy aligns with the district's broader detracking initiative, which may eventually influence elementary instruction as well.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 375%

School 75% · District 70% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Grade 467%

School 67% · District 65% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 572%

School 72% · District 57% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 39 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 379%

School 79% · District 68% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

Grade 479%

School 79% · District 68% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

Grade 578%

School 78% · District 71% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Science

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 50% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 43 pts above county median

This schoolCulver City 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 3Lower-income65%Higher-income85%20 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income44%Higher-income88%43 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income61%Higher-income82%21 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income54%Higher-income83%29 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income22%Higher-income78%56 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income56%Higher-income76%21 pp gap