Justin Elementary, Simi Valley CA

Original Research by School Decision on Justin Elementary

Justin Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Simi Valley, a mature residential suburb in eastern Ventura County. The school had an enrollment of about a hundred students, with a student body that is roughly balanced between White and Hispanic students, a smaller share of Asian students, and a modest free-or-reduced-price-lunch participation rate near forty percent.

The available academic data comes from 2014-15 state testing in English language arts and math, where the school's results were weak across all tested grades. Third-grade proficiency in math was in the low range; by fifth and sixth grade, proficiency in both subjects fell to very low levels. In fifth-grade science tested under an earlier assessment in 2012-13, proficiency was moderate. State testing data has not been available more recently, so these are the most current results on file. A parent may want to ask the school directly about more recent performance data and what instructional shifts have occurred since 2015.

The district made a significant structural change in 2024-25: all sixth graders moved to middle school campuses district-wide. For families with children at Justin, this means that a sixth grader will transition to middle school rather than remaining in the elementary setting. The district previously offered sixth grade at both elementary and middle schools, so this removes that option.

Simi Valley itself is a car-oriented suburb of master-planned neighborhoods developed since the 1960s, with most employment and commerce dispersed across the city rather than concentrated in a downtown core. The local economy centers on health care, manufacturing, and retail; notable employers include aerospace and high-tech firms. Housing values in the area are moderate to high relative to national benchmarks, and rental costs are substantial relative to median household income. The city is essentially built out with limited vacant land, and future growth is driven by infill and higher-density development. The district is pursuing a new facilities bond for the November 2026 ballot, which would add to two existing bonds residents are still paying off.

The district recently launched a dual-language Spanish-English immersion academy at Arroyo Elementary, starting with transitional kindergarten and kindergarten, with cohorts intending to continue into middle and high school. Justin Elementary itself offers traditional elementary instruction.

State testing data from a single year a decade ago is thin ground for assessment. The proficiency numbers that are on file are low, particularly in upper elementary grades, but without current data it is not possible to know whether that pattern has changed. A parent considering Justin should request recent performance data, ask about the school's instructional approaches and any recent program changes, and explore whether test results and school climate information from other sources in the district might offer a clearer picture.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 330%

School 30% · District 51% · ▼ 21 pts below district

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

Grade 411%

School 11% · District 48% · ▼ 37 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 54%

School 4% · District 37% · ▼ 33 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 35% · ▼ 35 pts below district

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 323%

School 23% · District 48% · ▼ 25 pts below district

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

Grade 421%

School 21% · District 50% · ▼ 29 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 55% · ▼ 36 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 46% · ▼ 46 pts below district

▼ 44 pts below state median · ▼ 41 pts below county median

Science

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 38% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

This schoolSimi Valley 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-income11%Higher-income42%31 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income19%Higher-income25%6 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income17%Higher-income50%33 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income13%Higher-income8%5 pp gap