Rockdale Visual & Performing Arts Magnet vs Charles H. Kim Elementary

Charles H. Kim Elementary ranks #9 of 9,533 California schools, placing it in the top 0.1 percent statewide. Rockdale Visual & Performing Arts Magnet holds a strong #172 of 9,533 in California — top 2 percent — but that 163-position gap is substantial when families are weighing schools at this tier. On the 10-point overall scale, Charles H. Kim Elementary scores 9.6 versus Rockdale Visual & Performing Arts Magnet's 9.1, a 0.5-point difference that, at the top of the scale, reflects a meaningful performance edge.

Academically, Charles H. Kim Elementary scores 9.5/10 against Rockdale Visual & Performing Arts Magnet's 9.0/10 — a half-point delta that aligns with the overall rating gap. Both schools are genuinely competitive on growth: Rockdale Visual & Performing Arts Magnet posts a 9.7/10 growth score while Charles H. Kim Elementary reaches 9.8/10. That near-identical growth performance means both schools are pushing students forward at an elite pace regardless of entry level, but Charles H. Kim Elementary converts that momentum into higher absolute academic outcomes.

The demographic and resource profiles of these two schools diverge sharply. Charles H. Kim Elementary enrolls 472 students — 49 percent more than Rockdale Visual & Performing Arts Magnet's 316 — yet achieves a student-teacher ratio of 18.2:1 compared to Rockdale's 22.6:1, meaning Kim students get meaningfully more individual teacher attention. The free and reduced-price lunch rate tells an equally striking story: Rockdale Visual & Performing Arts Magnet serves 47 percent FRL-eligible students, while Charles H. Kim Elementary serves 88 percent. Charles H. Kim Elementary's top-decile performance with a high-need population represents a particularly strong equity outcome.

One structural distinction separates these schools at the grade level: Rockdale Visual & Performing Arts Magnet runs KG through 6th grade, giving families one additional year before the middle school transition, while Charles H. Kim Elementary serves KG through 5th grade. Rockdale's defining programmatic identity is its visual and performing arts magnet designation — a school-wide curricular focus that Charles H. Kim Elementary does not offer. Families must apply and be selected for Rockdale's magnet program, making access a variable that does not apply to Charles H. Kim Elementary.