Westside Union Elementary, Los Banos CA

Original Research by School Decision on Westside Union Elementary

Westside Union Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Los Banos, a San Joaquin Valley agricultural city where growth from Bay Area commuters has reshaped the landscape over the past two decades. The school sits in a district navigating rapid enrollment expansion and ongoing facility and boundary changes.

The school enrolls roughly mid-sized for its grade band, with a student body that is predominantly Hispanic, reflecting the city's demographics and agricultural workforce. About three in five students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, an indicator of economic need common in this region. Data on English learner and special education rates were not available.

In state testing administered in 2024-25, Westside Union's results show uneven proficiency across grade levels and subjects. In mathematics, third grade proficiency was low in the mid-range, fourth grade improved modestly, fifth grade dipped to among the lowest results the school reported, and sixth grade improved to near midpoint. English language arts results tell a similar story of variability: third and fourth grades were in the lower-to-middle range, fifth grade sat near the midpoint, and sixth grade showed markedly stronger proficiency. Fifth-grade science proficiency was low. Across all tested grades and subjects, the school's overall proficiency index placed it above the midpoint among the county's districts, a positioning that reflects strength at the upper grades despite the lower results in third and fourth grade. A parent may want to look into what instructional supports the school is providing in the lower elementary grades, where proficiency is weakest.

The school is part of Los Banos Unified, a district in the midst of substantial change. Elementary school attendance boundaries are being redrawn to relieve overcrowding at Grasslands Elementary and streamline operations as the town continues to add residents and new housing. Those boundary changes will affect roughly one-third of the district's families and could alter which school serves a given address. Separately, Los Banos Elementary is converting to a full dual language immersion model, a shift that is reshaping which families enroll there. The district also broke ground in late 2025 on a new early education center and opened facilities funded by a general obligation bond approved voters, expanding classroom and lab space. A new elementary school also came online as part of that bond-funded expansion.

Westside Union itself is located on K Street in the city's residential neighborhoods, away from the historic downtown core where the library and city hall anchor civic life. The area is car-dependent; most residents drive alone to work and commutes are long, typical of a growing valley city where many residents work elsewhere. Housing costs in the area are moderate relative to state benchmarks, and the real estate market has been softening slightly year-over-year, though rental costs have ticked upward. The local economy centers on agriculture, food processing, retail, and public education, with employers including the school district itself, major retailers, and farm packing operations.

Families considering Westside Union should understand that the school sits within a district actively reshaping its elementary footprint. The boundary redraws are real and may affect enrollment. The proficiency results show the school is performing slightly above its county peers overall, but with meaningful gaps in the lower grades where nearly three-quarters of students do not meet proficiency, particularly in mathematics. That is a fact worth understanding before enrollment.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 326%

School 26% · District 34% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 29% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 16% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 648%

School 48% · District 21% · ▲ 27 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 328%

School 28% · District 31% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 447%

School 47% · District 33% · ▲ 13 pts above district

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

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 34% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 665%

School 65% · District 36% · ▲ 29 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 17% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

This schoolLos Banos 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-income22%Higher-income53%31 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income43%Higher-income63%19 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income42%Higher-income46%3 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income65%Higher-income64%1 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income23%Higher-income40%17 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income31%Higher-income56%26 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income18%Higher-income36%18 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income44%Higher-income67%23 pp gap