Castelar Street Elementary, Los Angeles CA

Original Research by School Decision on Castelar Street Elementary

Castelar Street Elementary is a small K-8 public school in downtown Los Angeles serving a compact enrollment that spans both early childhood through middle school in a single building. The school's student body is predominantly Asian, followed by a substantial Hispanic enrollment and a smaller mix of White and other students. Over most of the enrollment, free and reduced price lunch eligibility is very high, indicating a community with limited household income.

The school's state test results, from the 2024-25 CAASPP and CAST assessments, show a mixed academic picture that parents should examine carefully. In English language arts, proficiency rises steeply in middle grades, with strong results in seventh grade but lower results in the elementary grades. In math, performance is more consistently lower across most grade bands, with the highest results in third grade and notably low results by fifth grade before a slight uptick in eighth grade. Science results, assessed only in fifth and eighth grades, are weak across both years. The overall proficiency index places the school below the midpoint when compared to other schools across Los Angeles County. This pattern suggests that students enter the school with foundational skills but that proficiency in math and science requires attention; parents may want to discuss these trends directly with the school to understand what interventions are underway, particularly in the elementary grades.

The school feeds into the Los Angeles Unified School District, which in 2025 implemented an all-day cellphone ban affecting every campus, including storage of devices during lunch and breaks. This is a district-wide shift in school culture and student-parent communication that any family enrolled here would experience immediately. Additionally, LAUSD voters approved a major school facilities bond that will add property taxes for homeowners for up to thirty years, a long-term fiscal reality for families considering a move to the area.

The neighborhood surrounding the school is downtown Los Angeles, a district undergoing active revitalization with dense mixed-use development, walkable streets in the Historic Core and Arts District, and extensive Metro transit connections. Housing values in the 90012 zip code are moderate for the county, though mortgage costs and rent remain substantial relative to local incomes. The area combines urban density with ongoing growth driven by housing policy and upcoming major events, creating both opportunity and ongoing change. For families, Castelar Street Elementary represents an option in an increasingly developed urban neighborhood with transit access and a diverse peer group, but with academic results in math and science that merit further conversation with school leadership about support and trajectory.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 363%

School 63% · District 48% · ▲ 16 pts above district

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

Grade 447%

School 47% · District 43% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 36% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 635%

School 35% · District 35% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 735%

School 35% · District 34% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 32% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 351%

School 51% · District 44% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 45% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 47% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 645%

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

▲ 1 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 774%

School 74% · District 46% · ▲ 28 pts above district

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

Grade 862%

School 62% · District 45% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Science

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 29% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 27% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

This schoolLos Angeles 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-income47%Higher-income75%29 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income40%Higher-income73%33 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income63%Higher-income64%1 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income47%Higher-income50%3 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income27%Higher-income55%28 pp gap