Second Street Elementary vs Charles H. Kim Elementary

Charles H. Kim Elementary holds a 9.6/10 overall rating versus Second Street Elementary's 8.6/10 — a one-point gap that translates to a stark difference in state rank. Charles H. Kim Elementary sits at #9 of 9,533 California schools, placing it in the top 0.1 percent statewide. Second Street Elementary ranks #550 of 9,533, which is still a top-six-percent finish, but the distance between these two Los Angeles elementaries is not close.

The academic score delta drives most of that gap. Charles H. Kim Elementary scores 9.5/10 on academics versus Second Street Elementary's 7.6/10 — a 1.9-point difference that reflects meaningfully higher tested proficiency. Growth scores are closer but still favor Kim: 9.8/10 compared to Second Street Elementary's 8.7/10. Both schools show strong student growth year over year, but Kim's margin above grade-level performance compounds over a child's elementary years.

The two schools serve meaningfully different populations. Second Street Elementary enrolls 202 students with 96 percent qualifying for free or reduced lunch. Charles H. Kim Elementary enrolls 472 students — more than double — with 88 percent on free or reduced lunch. Both schools serve high-need communities, but Second Street Elementary's smaller enrollment and lower student-teacher ratio (15.5:1 versus Kim's 18.2:1) mean each student gets more direct teacher contact time. For families weighing class size against raw academic outcomes, that 2.7-student-per-teacher difference is a concrete trade-off.

Grade span separates them at the top end: Second Street Elementary runs kindergarten through sixth grade, while Charles H. Kim Elementary tops out at fifth grade. A family with a rising sixth-grader would face a school transition one year earlier with Kim. Both schools are in Los Angeles, California, 5.5 miles apart — close enough that the decision is genuinely about fit rather than geography.