School Profile · Van Nuys
Ararat Charter: No single number tells this school's story. Here's the honest picture.
Ararat Charter posts 32% meeting the standard and 9.4% exceeding it, against 43% and 21.3% statewide. The gaps and the bright spots below are the real read.
6555 Sylmar Avenue, 91401 (opens in new tab)·Los Angeles Unified·Van Nuys·Grades K-5·333 students·84% low-income·Charter·2024–25 CAASPP·(818) 994-2904·Website
Charter school — publicly funded, independently operated, open enrollment via lottery. Learn more
Scope Score
31
🌱 Building Momentum · Developing
ranked #4,180 statewide · #500 of 580 in Los Angeles Unified
Ararat Charter scores 31 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 27th percentile of 5,744 California elementary schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).
Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →
Most rating sites would stop at “32% proficient” and call it done. Ararat Charter deserves a closer read. The school sits in Van Nuys, where four in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
As a charter, Ararat Charter enrolls by application, not address — the score reads the same, the enrollment path doesn't.
The story this school is actually telling
The school, grade by grade
ELA · CAASPP 2024–25Different students, same year — each bar is one grade's proficiency mix.
14%
29%
57%
Grade 3 · 43% proficient
9%
19%
72%
Grade 4 · 28% proficient
35%
58%
Grade 5 · 42% proficient
The honest read: the share exceeding falls 7.0pp across grades; the proficiency floor barely moves. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
The 5 things our score weighs
Exceeded standard
9.4%
State 21.3%
12.0pp below state avg
Met or exceeded
32.4%
State 42.7%
10.3pp below state avg
Growth (G3→G5)
-9.3pp
State -2.9pp
Scores decline across grades
Chronic absenteeism
21.0%
State 17.9%
3.1pp above state avg
Suspension rate
0.1%
State 1.6%
1.5pp below state avg
Worth a school visit
Ask what the school is working on next. Strong numbers tell you where a school is, not where it's going.
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
K-12 Feeder Path
Elementary
Ararat CharterCharter
31/100
This school
▼
Middle
▼
High School
No feeder data available for this level
Estimated path based on proximity within the same district. Contact your school district for official feeder information.
Planning ahead? 10 licensed preschools near this school →
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 66
Kester Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles Unified · 1.7 mi
Strong
73/100
Hesby Oaks Leadership Charter
Los Angeles Unified · 2.4 mi
Solid
66/100
Lashon Academy
Los Angeles County Office of Education · 1.3 mi
Solid
60/100
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
The community around it
Community Profile
Context — not part of the Scope ScoreStudent demographics
Hispanic8.7%
White91.0%
Black0.3%
GenderFemale 50.8%Male 49.3%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 83.8% (20pp above CA avg)
Resources & Access
Enrollment
333
147 below CA avg (~480)
Transitional Kindergarten
TK status unconfirmed
No TK enrollment is on file with the state for this school — that isn't the same as “no TK.” Confirm directly with the district.
Student-Teacher Ratio
24:1
3 more students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$18,180
CA avg: $14,815 · District avg · NCES F-33
Teacher Salary Range
$60,420 – $122,706
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
At Ararat Charter in Van Nuys, 38.6% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 40.9% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Ararat Charter trails its district average for low-income students by 2.3 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (26.9% Math proficient); White students (37.5% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 24.0 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 145 students tested.
Equity Gaps
ELA · English Learner−24.0pp
13.5% vs 37.5% overall · n=66
3 more gaps by subject
ELA Exceeded · English Learner−10.3pp
0.0% vs 10.3% overall · n=66
Math · English Learner−17.1pp
10.1% vs 27.2% overall · n=66
Math Exceeded · English Learner−7.0pp
1.4% vs 8.5% overall · n=66
Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.
Subgroup Proficiency
Low-Income145 tested
ELA 38.6%·Math 26.9%· -2.3pp vs district
White152 tested
ELA 37.5%·Math 27.6%· -31.4pp vs district
English Learner66 tested
ELA 13.6%·Math 10.6%· +6.6pp vs district
Weighted average across tested grades. Subgroups with fewer than 15 students excluded. Data: CDE CAASPP 2024-25.
Subgroup Growth by Grade
Change in proficiency from lowest tested grade. Shows which groups are gaining ground.
Low-income student ELA proficiency falls by 7.1pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +4.5pp.
Subgroups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
Funding Breakdown
Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$80K
$5K below CA median
Median Home Value
$1.05M
$389K above CA median
Bachelor's+
39%
4pp above CA avg
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
Whole Child
Teacher experience, college/career readiness, and more. Context only — never part of the Scope Score.
Teacher Experience
5.7 years avg experience
18 teachers · 22% first-year
Teacher Credentials
93% fully credentialed
Source: CDE SARC, 2024-25
Community Profile provides context about who attends this school and the resources available. These factors are never part of the Scope Score. Learn why →
For the data nerdsEvery number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
For the data nerds
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Exceeded standard · 43%
9.4%
↓ vs CA 21.3% · 38th pctile
Met or exceeded · 22%
32.4%
↓ vs CA 42.7% · 42th pctile
Growth (G3→G5) · 15%
-9.3pp
↓ vs CA -2.9pp · 40th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 10%
21.0%
↓ vs CA 17.9% · 45th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
0.1%
↑ vs CA 1.6% · 62th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 56 | 14% | 29% | 25% | 32% | 43% | −1 |
| Grade 4 | 54 | 9% | 19% | 28% | 44% | 28% | −17 |
| Grade 5 | 55 | 7% | 35% | 29% | 29% | 42% | −6 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 56 | 11% | 25% | 25% | 39% | 36% | −10 |
| Grade 4 | 54 | 6% | 22% | 48% | 24% | 28% | −14 |
| Grade 5 | 55 | 9% | 9% | 36% | 45% | 18% | −17 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 55 | 4% | 13% | 71% | 13% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| Subgroup · ELA | Tested | MET+ | vs district | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 145 | 38.6% | −2 | +0 |
| White | 152 | 37.5% | −31 | −24 |
| English Learners | 66 | 13.6% | +7 | +3 |
03Peer comparison · nearest elementary schoolssorted by Scope Score
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ararat Charter ← | — | 31 | 9.4% | 32.4% | −9.3 | 0.1% |
| Kester Avenue Elementary | 1.7 mi | 73 | 53.8% | 75.4% | +2.0 | 0.3% |
| Hesby Oaks Leadership Charter | 2.4 mi | 66 | 41.6% | 71.3% | +3.6 | 0.1% |
| Lashon Academy | 1.3 mi | 60 | 27.2% | 50.8% | +5.1 | 0.1% |
| California average | — | 43 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Scope Score history
2019 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · no testing 2020–21 (COVID) · rank #2169 → #2672 → #2553 → #3813 → #4180
Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=5,744 elementary schools · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue
A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means
Frequently asked questions
Is Ararat Charter a good elementary school?
Ararat Charter has a Scope Score of 31 out of 100, placing it in the 27th percentile of California elementary schools and ranked #4,180 statewide. 9.4% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 12.0 percentage points below the California average of 21.3%. The Scope Score weights six dimensions for elementary schools: exceeded standard (43%), met or exceeded (22%), grade 3-to-5 growth (15%), chronic absenteeism (10%), ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%), and suspension rate (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.
What are Ararat Charter's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 32.4% of students at Ararat Charter met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 9.4% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 23.0% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 9.4% pushed past it. Most rating sites report only the combined "proficient" number. SchoolScope surfaces the exceeded-vs-met split because it reveals whether a school's curriculum challenges students beyond minimum proficiency or paces toward it. 330 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Ararat Charter rank in California?
Ararat Charter ranks #4,180 among California elementary schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 27th percentile. This ranking is based on a weighted composite of 2025 CAASPP test performance (exceeded and met rates), grade-level growth (Grade 3 to grade 5 growth), chronic absenteeism, and suspension rate. Unlike single-number ratings, the Scope Score shows what drives the ranking so parents can decide what matters most to their family. See full methodology.
Is Ararat Charter getting better or worse?
Based on 2025 CAASPP data, proficiency at Ararat Charter decreases by 9.3 percentage points from Grade 3 to grade 5 growth. This downward pattern doesn't necessarily mean the school is failing — it can reflect cohort differences, demographic shifts, or curriculum changes. A campus visit and conversation with teachers can reveal what the numbers can't. Growth trajectory is weighted at 15% in the elementary Scope Score because it measures what the school does, not just who walks in the door.
What is the attendance and school culture like at Ararat Charter?
21.0% of students at Ararat Charter are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), compared to the California average of 17.9%. The suspension rate is 0.1%, indicating a low-discipline-incident environment. SchoolScope includes these culture metrics in the Scope Score because they reflect day-to-day school experience in ways test scores alone cannot.
How does Ararat Charter compare to other schools in Van Nuys?
Ararat Charter scores 31/100 (27th percentile) among California elementary schools. To compare with nearby schools, SchoolScope shows the same metrics side by side: exceeded rate, proficiency, growth trajectory, and school culture indicators. The school serves 333 students. Use the schools in Van Nuys page or the map view to compare all elementary schools nearby.
How does Ararat Charter serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At Ararat Charter in Van Nuys, 38.6% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 40.9% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Ararat Charter trails its district average for low-income students by 2.3 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (26.9% Math proficient); White students (37.5% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 24.0 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 145 students tested. SchoolScope shows disaggregated test scores by demographic subgroup so you can see how a school performs for your child's specific group — not just the school-wide average. Subgroup data is context, not part of the Scope Score: we don't penalize schools for who they serve. See our equity approach.