Carver Elementary, San Marino CA

Original Research by School Decision on Carver Elementary

Carver Elementary is a small public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in San Marino, a community in Los Angeles County. The school has an enrollment of about seven hundred students distributed fairly evenly across the six grades.

The school's academic results are strong. On the 2024-25 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, Carver's students posted proficiency rates in the high eighties and low nineties across English language arts and mathematics. In third-grade math and English language arts, roughly nine in ten students met grade-level standards; fourth and fifth grades showed slightly lower rates in the mid-to-high eighties. Fifth-grade English language arts was the standout subject, with more than nine in ten students proficient. Science proficiency in fifth grade, measured by California's science assessment, stood at about seventy-eight percent, somewhat lower than the school's performance in reading and math. Across the tested subjects and grades where data was available, Carver's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile when compared against schools in Los Angeles County.

The student body is predominantly Asian, making up roughly two-thirds of enrollment. White students comprise a smaller share, and Hispanic students and students of two or more races together account for the remainder. Fewer than one in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a largely affluent population. Data on English learners and students with individualized education plans was not available.

San Marino is a high-value housing market in the Los Angeles area. Home prices are substantially above both California and national benchmarks, and monthly rent estimates are high as well. Most households pay more in rent than in estimated mortgage costs, a common pattern in expensive coastal markets. This economic profile aligns with the school's student composition and low rate of students in economic need.

The school is part of San Marino Unified, a district of four campuses serving the town. In November 2024, voters approved a school facilities bond, the district's first in years, funding classroom modernization, science and engineering labs, and facility repairs across all schools. That same year, voters renewed a parcel tax that has supported roughly eleven teaching and counseling positions and other services. At the high school level, the district recently launched a medical-arts dual-enrollment pathway with Pasadena City College, offering career-focused coursework and college credit on campus. These investments reflect community commitment to the schools and signal sustained capacity for academic and facility quality.

Carver is a neighborhood elementary school in a small, affluent district. It serves a student population with strong academic preparation and strong baseline results. A parent considering Carver would encounter a school with above-average proficiency, a mostly affluent and Asian-American peer group, and a community prepared to fund both facilities and staff. The school sits within a district making visible investments in college pathways and building maintenance, though specific program offerings at the elementary level were not available in the data provided.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 388%

School 88% · District 86% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 488%

School 88% · District 87% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 50 pts above state median · ▲ 47 pts above county median

Grade 586%

School 86% · District 85% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 56 pts above state median · ▲ 53 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 389%

School 89% · District 87% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 48 pts above state median · ▲ 47 pts above county median

Grade 486%

School 86% · District 87% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 591%

School 91% · District 92%

▲ 46 pts above state median · ▲ 44 pts above county median

Science

Grade 578%

School 78% · District 79% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 50 pts above state median · ▲ 51 pts above county median

This schoolSan Marino 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-income94%Higher-income88%5 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income75%Higher-income87%12 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income92%Higher-income91%1 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income100%Higher-income87%13 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income69%Higher-income90%21 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income73%Higher-income89%16 pp gap