Liberty Elementary, Riverside CA

Original Research by School Decision on Liberty Elementary

Liberty Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Riverside, a large Southern California city. The school enrolls a substantial body of students, with a full spread across all its grade levels.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a smaller presence of Asian, Black, and White students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting an economically stretched community. Data on English learner enrollment and special education enrollment was not available in the school's reporting.

State testing results show low proficiency across all measured subjects and grades. In English language arts, proficiency rates across the school's tested grades (three through six) cluster in the mid-to-high twenties. Math proficiency is lower still, ranging from the low teens in sixth grade up to the low thirties in third grade. Science proficiency, measured only in fifth grade, sits in the high teens. These results place the school below the midpoint for proficiency when compared with other district-led schools in Riverside County. A parent may want to look into what supports the school is putting in place to address these numbers and what instructional changes are underway.

The Riverside Unified district has recently adopted a new instructional model centered on teacher coaching and four core concepts designed to remove learning barriers and identify struggling students more quickly. The district hired more than a dozen coaches and trained roughly one-third of its educators on this approach. Early reports cite gains in English and math, though the coaching initiative is federally funded and scheduled to end in 2028. Liberty Elementary, as part of Riverside Unified, is operating within this shifting pedagogical environment.

The district also maintains an ethnic studies graduation requirement that has been in place since 2020, predating California's statewide mandate. In December 2025 the board considered eliminating it due to lack of state funding but voted to keep it after community opposition. Though this requirement applies only to high school students, it reflects the district's instructional priorities.

Housing in the Riverside area where Liberty Elementary sits remains relatively affordable compared to California statewide, though rents have ticked upward recently. The local housing market sits below the state benchmark, making it accessible to families with moderate incomes, though affordability pressures remain present.

The school is a regular public school with no charter or magnet designation. Kindergarten through grade two are not tested under California's state assessment system, so results for those grades do not appear in the data. State assessment data for 2024-25 represents a single point in time; trend data was not available.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 42% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 428%

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

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 33% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Grade 615%

School 15% · District 32% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 327%

School 27% · District 41% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 42% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 46% · ▼ 17 pts below district

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

Grade 626%

School 26% · District 48% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Science

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 31% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

This schoolRiverside 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-income25%Higher-income43%18 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income34%Higher-income29%5 pp gap