# How low-income and non-low-income performance is distributed in California

Compare how low-income and non-low-income reading and math performance is distributed across California elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and districts.

## Methodology

This page compares recent low-income and non-low-income subgroup proficiency distributions across California elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and districts. Only entities with recent subgroup data from 2,023 or later are included. Schools need at least 20 tested students in both groups for both ELA and Math. Districts need at least 50.

## Median Subgroup Scores by School Type and District

| Type | Count | Low-Income Reading | Non-Low-Income Reading | Reading Gap | Low-Income Math | Non-Low-Income Math | Math Gap |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Elementary Schools | 3,497 | 40.5% | 63.0% | 18.3% | 34.1% | 57.0% | 18.9% |
| Middle Schools | 1,119 | 37.9% | 60.0% | 19.1% | 23.1% | 43.9% | 17.9% |
| High Schools | 930 | 53.1% | 69.1% | 13.9% | 21.5% | 37.0% | 12.9% |
| Districts | 701 | 38.8% | 60.8% | 20.1% | 25.5% | 46.0% | 18.8% |

## Reading Score Distribution by Income Group

| Score Band | Elementary Schools Low-Income | Elementary Schools Non-Low-Income | Middle Schools Low-Income | Middle Schools Non-Low-Income | High Schools Low-Income | High Schools Non-Low-Income | Districts Low-Income | Districts Non-Low-Income |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 0-10 | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.0% | 1.1% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.4% |
| 10-20 | 5.4% | 1.3% | 5.9% | 1.4% | 2.6% | 2.2% | 2.3% | 0.3% |
| 20-30 | 18.5% | 4.3% | 20.4% | 4.6% | 4.8% | 2.6% | 18.0% | 1.7% |
| 30-40 | 24.2% | 8.6% | 29.0% | 10.1% | 12.5% | 3.9% | 33.0% | 5.8% |
| 40-50 | 22.4% | 12.2% | 20.1% | 15.5% | 21.6% | 7.8% | 27.1% | 17.1% |
| 50-60 | 16.4% | 17.2% | 14.4% | 17.9% | 24.8% | 15.4% | 14.0% | 23.1% |
| 60-70 | 7.9% | 19.6% | 7.1% | 19.5% | 19.7% | 19.7% | 4.4% | 25.1% |
| 70-80 | 3.7% | 21.2% | 2.4% | 16.8% | 9.1% | 25.6% | 0.4% | 17.5% |
| 80-90 | 0.8% | 14.0% | 0.4% | 12.7% | 2.6% | 18.3% | 0.3% | 8.6% |
| 90-100 | 0.3% | 1.3% | 0.0% | 1.4% | 1.2% | 4.0% | 0.0% | 0.3% |

## Math Score Distribution by Income Group

| Score Band | Elementary Schools Low-Income | Elementary Schools Non-Low-Income | Middle Schools Low-Income | Middle Schools Non-Low-Income | High Schools Low-Income | High Schools Non-Low-Income | Districts Low-Income | Districts Non-Low-Income |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 0-10 | 1.9% | 1.0% | 8.8% | 2.3% | 14.1% | 7.7% | 2.7% | 0.7% |
| 10-20 | 14.9% | 4.0% | 31.2% | 10.6% | 31.5% | 12.0% | 26.4% | 2.6% |
| 20-30 | 23.9% | 7.7% | 26.2% | 15.8% | 24.4% | 17.4% | 35.1% | 12.0% |
| 30-40 | 21.4% | 11.6% | 16.6% | 15.0% | 15.1% | 17.6% | 20.8% | 20.3% |
| 40-50 | 17.4% | 14.4% | 9.4% | 15.7% | 8.6% | 16.0% | 9.6% | 22.0% |
| 50-60 | 11.3% | 16.1% | 4.9% | 14.6% | 3.5% | 13.7% | 4.0% | 18.7% |
| 60-70 | 6.3% | 16.8% | 1.9% | 11.4% | 1.7% | 8.9% | 1.0% | 11.7% |
| 70-80 | 1.9% | 16.4% | 0.9% | 10.1% | 0.9% | 4.2% | 0.3% | 8.7% |
| 80-90 | 0.9% | 10.7% | 0.2% | 3.9% | 0.1% | 1.9% | 0.1% | 3.4% |
| 90-100 | 0.2% | 1.3% | 0.0% | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.0% |

## Canonical URL

https://caschooltrends.com/research/california-low-income-vs-non-low-income-performance-distribution