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Coming soon: This year's test scores are expected from the California Department of Education any day now — new rankings will follow the moment they're released!

New Designs Charter School-Watts

Q: Is New Designs Charter School-Watts a good school?

New Designs Charter School-Watts ranks 792 nd of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public, Charter Grades 6-12

792^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California High Schools

Better than 63% of California high schools

Summary

New Designs Charter School-Watts is a public charter high school serving grades 6-12 with about 194 students in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, and it stands out for its remarkable and rapid improvement from a low to an above-average state ranking over the past few years.

The school's story is one of impressive turnaround, now ranking solidly above many nearby schools like Animo Compton Charter and Alain Leroy Locke College Preparatory Academy. It excels in getting students to show up, maintaining a chronic absenteeism rate much lower than the state average and far better than neighbors such as Dorothy V. Johnson Community Day. Academically, it achieves these gains efficiently, spending less per student than several surrounding schools while its graduation rates now exceed the state average.

Notably, the school shows particular strength in supporting specific student groups and in science, where its proficiency beats the state average. While test scores in English and math are still catching up, students make strong progress by 11th grade. Compared to the highest-performing school in the area, Compton Early College High, there is room to grow, but New Designs Charter School-Watts demonstrates that significant progress is possible with effective practices and leadership in the New Designs Charter School-Watts District.

194

Students ?

17.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

93.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

12714 South Avalon Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90061-2730

(323) 418-0600

District: New Designs Charter School-Watts District

Racial breakdown:

African American:

55.7%

Hispanic:

31.4%

Two or more races:

8.2%

See top rated California high schools

Compare New Designs Charter School-Watts to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 33rd percentile in 2019 → 63rd in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 30 percentile points since 2019

✓Above the California median (63rd percentile)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (26% vs 41% meeting standards)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

!English Language Arts/Literacy scores 20 pts below the California average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school26%

California avg41%

Middle school

1,918^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 31%▲ up 22 pts since 2019

From bottom 9% (2019) to bottom 31% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

High school

792^nd of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Top 37%▲ up 30 pts since 2019

From bottom 33% (2019) to top 37% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

828^th of 1,543New Designs Charter School-Watts District among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	27.3	1918 of 2761	30.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	14.9	2483 of 2783	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	11.5	2632 of 2781	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.6	2470 of 2740	9.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.1	2480 of 2715	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	51.6	262 of 609	57.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	35.5	387 of 627	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	25.0	485 of 613	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	34.4	403 of 637	36.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	23.3	525 of 643	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	22.3	2006 of 2551	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	9.0	2477 of 2531	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.7	2178 of 2380	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	19.4	2039 of 2374	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.4	1878 of 2213	15.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	40.0	1416 of 2542	44.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	20.5	2164 of 2579	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	14.7	2349 of 2531	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	26.3	1845 of 2458	24.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	16.2	2136 of 2369	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.1	2143 of 2534	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	9.7	2483 of 2552	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.9	2304 of 2538	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	20.5	2025 of 2527	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	12.2	2242 of 2407	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

High school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	61.2	792 of 2162	63.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	42.2	1187 of 2159	45.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	34.5	1361 of 2170	37.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	19.2	1678 of 2123	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	22.4	999 of 1290	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.2	1426 of 2133	33.1%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	60.3	170 of 523	67.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	47.5	225 of 517	56.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	28.1	364 of 521	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	15.7	464 of 522	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	47.8	282 of 592	52.4%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	32.0	773 of 1161	33.4%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	50.0	888 of 1915	53.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	34.3	1220 of 1915	36.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	15.5	1595 of 1858	14.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.2	891 of 1054	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.2	1358 of 1833	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	92.7	96 of 1900	94.9%	★★★★★
2024	60.3	673 of 1902	64.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	61.5	636 of 1917	66.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	43.3	1005 of 1861	46.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	33.7	1203 of 1814	33.7%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	70.0	532 of 2013	73.6%	★★★★☆
2024	50.9	930 of 2026	54.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	36.9	1258 of 2030	38.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	23.4	1478 of 1943	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	27.7	849 of 1126	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	37.5	1222 of 1937	36.9%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	62.3	668 of 1942	65.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	30.1	1327 of 1948	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	32.1	1285 of 1963	34.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	20.0	1503 of 1916	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	23.7	873 of 1122	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	31.4	1253 of 1880	33.4%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	94.2	59 of 1252	95.3%	★★★★★

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Middle school

African American (2025)57th percentile+26 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)44th percentile+14 vs school

Female (2024)21st percentile+11 vs school

Male (2025)15th percentile-15 vs school

Hispanic (2023)14th percentile+9 vs school

High school

Special Education (2025)95th percentile+32 vs school

Hispanic (2025)95th percentile+32 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)74th percentile+10 vs school

African American (2025)67th percentile+4 vs school

Male (2025)66th percentile~ school

Female (2024)54th percentile+9 vs school

Disabled (2022)33rd percentile+12 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

Science34%~ state avg

English Language Arts/Literacy29%-20 vs state

Mathematics19%-18 vs state

★

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Schools Near New Designs Charter School-Watts

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)				Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)					Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)					Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science 11th Grade	CAST Science 12th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
New Designs Charter School-Watts	Public, Charter	6-12	12714 South Avalon Blvd.	Los Angeles	90061	Los Angeles County	New Designs Charter School-Watts District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 418-0600	194	11	17.0	93.3%	8 (4.1%)	108 (55.7%)	61 (31.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	16 (8.2%)	61.2	792^nd of 2162 public high schools	63.4%		42.2	1187^th of 2159 public high schools	45.0%	395	46.2		24.2	33.9	0.0	22.7	18.5	53.3	28.9	0.0	0.0	29.6	30.0	18.9
Animo Watts College Preparatory Academy	Public, Charter	9-12	12628 Avalon Blvd.	Los Angeles	90015	Los Angeles County	Animo Watts College Preparatory Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 756-3930	546	28	19.4	92.5%	3 (0.5%)	55 (10.1%)	471 (86.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	15 (2.7%)	63.2	736^th of 2162 public high schools	66.0%		61.1	741^st of 2159 public high schools	65.7%	5		36.7		36.2				63.6	63.6				22.5	22.5
Animo Compton Charter	Public, Charter	6-12	13305 South San Pedro St.	Los Angeles	90015	Los Angeles County	Animo Compton Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 565-1600	372	24	15.6	89.2%	7 (1.9%)	153 (41.1%)	202 (54.3%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.9%)	35.1	1379^th of 2162 public high schools	36.2%		15.8	1797^th of 2159 public high schools	16.8%	418	4.8	25.7		12.1	16.0	37.0	29.0	42.9	30.4	6.0	13.0	8.1	5.7	8.5
Centennial High	Public	9-12	2606 North Central Ave.	Compton	90222	Los Angeles County	Compton Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 635-2715	908	45	20.1	90.1%	1 (0.1%)	158 (17.4%)	734 (80.8%)	1 (0.1%)	4 (0.4%)	4 (0.4%)	5 (0.6%)	37	1328^th of 2162 public high schools	38.6%		32.4	1437^th of 2159 public high schools	33.4%	109		18.8		18.1				52.0	52.0				9.0	9.0	$21,100	$16,704	$4,396
Benjamin Banneker Career and Transition Center	Public	12	14024 South San Pedro St.	Los Angeles	90061	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 324-6668	196	19	10.1	95.4%	3 (1.5%)	36 (18.4%)	153 (78.1%)	2 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)								(n/a)
University Pathways Medical Magnet Academy	Public	9-12	11227 South San Pedro St.	Los Angeles	90061	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 241-4060	110	10	10.5	97.3%	0 (0.0%)	21 (19.1%)	87 (79.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.8%)	40.4	1250^th of 2162 public high schools	42.2%		21.6	1664^th of 2159 public high schools	22.9%	414		19.2		18.5				59.3	59.3				7.4	7.4	$57,706	$55,610	$2,096
King/Drew Medical Magnet High	Public	9-12	1601 East 120th St.	Los Angeles	90059	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 566-0420	1,381	71	19.4	90.2%	13 (0.9%)	654 (47.4%)	657 (47.6%)	4 (0.3%)	2 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (3.7%)	83	358^th of 2162 public high schools	83.4%		80.9	399^th of 2159 public high schools	81.5%	41		46.5		46.4				74.7	74.7				39.4	39.4	$37,360	$35,100	$2,260
Alain Leroy Locke College Preparatory Academy	Public, Charter	9-12	325 East 111th St.	Los Angeles	90015	Los Angeles County	Alain Leroy Locke College Preparatory Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 420-2170	1,159	67	17.3	90.9%	29 (2.5%)	243 (21.0%)	878 (75.8%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.4%)	22	1652^nd of 2162 public high schools	23.6%		17.1	1756^th of 2159 public high schools	18.7%	104		12.0	18.2	12.3				28.1	28.1				9.5	9.5
Compton Early College High	Public	9-12	1200 E Alondra Blvd.	Compton	90221	Los Angeles County	Compton Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 604-2706	556	18	30.8	85.4%	3 (0.5%)	63 (11.3%)	485 (87.2%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	94.8	100^th of 2162 public high schools	95.4%		93.3	148^th of 2159 public high schools	93.1%	48		60.0		60.0				89.2	89.2				53.1	53.1	$24,967	$21,442	$3,525
Dorothy V. Johnson Community Day	Public	9-12	10601 South Grandee Ave.	Los Angeles	90002	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 568-8400	27	3	8.9	88.9%	2 (7.4%)	9 (33.3%)	16 (59.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)				0.0

Frequently Asked Questions about New Designs Charter School-Watts

How many students attend New Designs Charter School-Watts?

In the 2024-25 school year, 194 students attended New Designs Charter School-Watts.

Is New Designs Charter School-Watts a good school?

New Designs Charter School-Watts ranks 792^nd of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

What district is New Designs Charter School-Watts in?

New Designs Charter School-Watts District

What is the racial makeup of New Designs Charter School-Watts?

Students at New Designs Charter School-Watts are 56% African American, 31% Hispanic, 8% Two or more races, 4% White.

Rate New Designs Charter School-Watts!

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Latest California data All new data »

2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026

2024–25 CSA Spanish test scoresDec 22, 2025

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 14, 2025

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.