Atwater Avenue Elementary vs Canfield Avenue Elementary

Canfield Avenue Elementary ranks #17 out of 9,533 California schools, placing it in the top 0.2% statewide. Atwater Avenue Elementary earns a strong #164 in that same pool — top 2% — but the 147-position gap between the two Los Angeles schools reflects a meaningful difference in measured outcomes. On the 10-point overall scale, Canfield Avenue Elementary scores 9.5 versus Atwater Avenue Elementary's 9.1, a 0.4-point gap that understates the distance in state rank context.

The academic score is where the two schools diverge most sharply. Canfield Avenue Elementary scores 9.7 out of 10 in academics compared to Atwater Avenue Elementary's 7.7 — a 2.0-point delta that translates directly to proficiency rates in reading and math. Both schools are identical on growth, each earning a 9.8 out of 10, which means students at Atwater Avenue Elementary are making year-over-year gains that rival Canfield Avenue Elementary's; the gap is in baseline achievement, not trajectory.

Atwater Avenue Elementary enrolls 317 students across kindergarten through sixth grade, while Canfield Avenue Elementary serves 296 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The free and reduced-price lunch rate at Atwater Avenue Elementary is 56%, compared to 49% at Canfield Avenue Elementary — a 7-point difference that signals a modest but real income gap in the families each school serves. Student-teacher ratio runs 17.6:1 at Atwater Avenue Elementary versus 21.1:1 at Canfield Avenue Elementary, giving Atwater Avenue Elementary classes roughly 3.5 fewer students per teacher on average, which is a concrete structural advantage in daily instruction.

Grade span is a practical difference for families with children in the upper elementary years: Atwater Avenue Elementary covers grades K–6, keeping sixth graders in an elementary setting for one additional year before middle school. Canfield Avenue Elementary ends at fifth grade, meaning students transition to middle school one year earlier. Families with kindergartners entering today will have a longer runway at Atwater Avenue Elementary before a school change is required.