Charles White Elementary vs Charles H. Kim Elementary

Charles H. Kim Elementary ranks #9 out of 9,533 California schools, placing it in the top 0.1% statewide. Charles White Elementary holds a strong position at #182 in that same pool — top 2% — but the gap between them is substantial. Kim's overall rating of 9.6/10 sits 0.5 points above White's 9.1/10, a difference that reflects a meaningful academic performance spread rather than marginal variation between two comparable schools.

That academic gap is where the two schools diverge most sharply. Charles H. Kim Elementary scores 9.5/10 on academics against Charles White Elementary's 7.4/10 — a 2.1-point delta that translates directly to proficiency rates on California state assessments. Growth tells a different story: Charles White Elementary scores 9.9/10 on its growth metric, fractionally above Kim's 9.8/10. White is producing exceptional year-over-year learning gains from its student body, which matters considerably given its demographics.

Charles White Elementary serves 248 students compared to Charles H. Kim Elementary's 472, making White the smaller campus by nearly half. White's student-teacher ratio of 17.7:1 offers slightly more individual attention than Kim's 18.2:1. The most striking demographic difference is economic: 98% of Charles White Elementary students qualify for free or reduced lunch versus 88% at Charles H. Kim Elementary. That 10-point gap signals meaningfully different family income profiles across two schools just 1.8 miles apart in Los Angeles.

One structural difference worth noting for families with kindergartners: Charles H. Kim Elementary serves grades KG through 5, while Charles White Elementary begins at grade 1. Families with kindergarten-age children would need alternative placement for that year if they choose White, then transition. Kim eliminates that decision entirely by offering a single campus from kindergarten through fifth grade.