Malabar Street Elementary vs Charles H. Kim Elementary

Charles H. Kim Elementary sits at #9 of 9,533 California schools, placing it in the top 0.1% statewide. Malabar Street Elementary ranks #287 of 9,533 — a strong result in its own right, landing in the top 3% — but that 278-position gap reflects a meaningful difference in how the two schools perform against the full state field. The overall rating gap between them is 0.7 points, with Charles H. Kim Elementary scoring 9.6/10 against Malabar Street Elementary's 8.9/10.

The sharpest contrast between the two schools is academic proficiency. Charles H. Kim Elementary scores 9.5/10 in academics versus Malabar Street Elementary's 7.7/10 — a 1.8-point gap that represents the primary driver of the overall rating difference. Growth tells a very different story: both schools perform at near-ceiling levels, with Malabar Street Elementary scoring 9.5/10 and Charles H. Kim Elementary scoring 9.8/10 in student growth. That near-identical growth performance signals that teachers at Malabar Street Elementary are advancing students effectively relative to peers, even though baseline proficiency scores remain lower.

Malabar Street Elementary serves 420 students against Charles H. Kim Elementary's 472, and both schools are comparable in classroom size — Malabar Street Elementary at a 19.1:1 student-teacher ratio, Charles H. Kim Elementary at 18.2:1. The starkest demographic difference is free and reduced-price lunch eligibility: 97% of Malabar Street Elementary students qualify, compared to 88% at Charles H. Kim Elementary. That 9-point gap signals a higher concentration of economic disadvantage at Malabar Street Elementary, which makes its 9.5/10 growth score particularly notable — the school is generating strong academic progress in a high-need population.

Both campuses serve kindergarten through grade five or six, with Malabar Street Elementary extending one additional year through sixth grade while Charles H. Kim Elementary caps at fifth. The two schools sit 6.8 miles apart within Los Angeles Unified, meaning families outside each school's attendance boundary would face a deliberate crosstown choice rather than a casual comparison.