Los Angeles Unified

Los Angeles Unified includes 782 schools—505 elementary, 85 middle, 173 high, and 19 alternative schools—with students served across different grade spans in the Los Angeles area. Results vary sharply even between schools serving the same grade: in grade 5, Third Street Elementary had 94% proficiency in ELA and 91% in math, compared with 12% and 7% at Trinity Street Elementary. The gaps were 82 points in ELA and 84 in math, making school-to-school differences—not the districtwide picture—the most important finding for families.

Some schools stand out across subjects, while other results are much lower. In 2025–26, Science Academy STEM Magnet had all-grades proficiency of 99% in ELA, 99% in math, and 100% in science—49, 61, and 64 points above California, respectively. SchoolDigger ranked it second of 2,137 high schools and gave it five stars. Third Street Elementary also stood out, with 91% ELA, 94% math, and 81% science proficiency; SchoolDigger ranked it sixth of 5,804 elementary schools and gave it five stars. Among the defined 16-school set of full-grade-span 9–12 high schools, North Hollywood Senior High led in ELA and science, while Cleveland led in math. At the lower end, James Monroe High had the set’s lowest ELA and math rates, and Theodore Roosevelt Senior High its lowest science rate—about 24, 21, and 22 points below the corresponding group averages.

Average proficiency increased from 2024–25 to 2025–26 in the 16-school set: about 3 points in ELA, 2 in math, and 7 in science. The ELA advantage over California widened from about 9 to 12 points, the math shortfall narrowed from about 8 to 6, and science moved from about 2 points below the state to 1 point above it. Individual schools differed: Banning improved in all three subjects, while Venice fell in ELA and science but gained in math. North Hollywood and Cleveland offer another reminder that similar context does not mean identical results: their 2024–25 free/reduced lunch eligible shares were 72.0% and 71.5%, and student-teacher ratios were 20.5 and 22.5, yet their strongest subjects differed. Trend averages describe only the defined 16-school comparison set, not all district schools.