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KIPP Philosophers Academy

Public, Charter Grades 5-8

2393^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 13% of California middle schools

Summary

KIPP Philosophers Academy is a public charter middle school serving 398 students in grades 5-8 in South Los Angeles, where it operates as its own small district and serves a predominantly low-income community.

Academically, the school is currently struggling, ranking in the bottom 15% of all California schools, which is a significant drop from the previous year. A major factor appears to be a severe attendance problem, with nearly half of all students chronically absent—a rate more than double the state average. While its math and English scores are generally lower than most nearby schools, including Alliance Jack H. Skirball Middle and Animo Florence-Firestone Charter Middle, science is a relative strength, outperforming several local peers like Bunche Middle.

The school spends less per student than several close neighbors, such as Edwin Markham Middle, and has a higher student-teacher ratio. However, it has shown historical strengths in supporting specific groups of students, particularly English Language Learners. For parents, the school's sharp decline and high absenteeism are clear concerns, though its isolated KIPP Philosophers Academy District structure and performance compared to other local charters are important context when evaluating options.

398

Students ?

20.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$20,825

Per pupil spending ?

92%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1999 East 102nd St.
Los Angeles, CA 90002

(323) 584-6664

District: KIPP Philosophers Academy District

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

52.0%

African American:

43.5%

White:

2.3%

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Compare KIPP Philosophers Academy to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 7th percentile in 2023 → 13th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 13th (2025) from a 7th-percentile low (2023)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (17% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (13th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (45% vs 19% California)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school17%

California avg41%

2,393^rd of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 13%▼ down 17 pts since 2019

From bottom 30% (2019) to bottom 13% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1448^th of 1,543KIPP Philosophers Academy 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)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	16.2	2393 of 2761	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.6	1972 of 2783	29.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	12.6	2592 of 2781	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.8	2540 of 2740	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	27.3	1903 of 2715	29.9%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	34.1	398 of 609	34.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	47.8	289 of 627	53.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	29.9	439 of 613	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.2	467 of 637	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	60.9	218 of 643	66.1%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	26.1	1220 of 1531	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.0	1208 of 1491	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	70.4	156 of 1478	89.4%	★★★★☆
2023	49.2	464 of 1521	69.5%	★★★☆☆
2019	38.9	717 of 1442	50.3%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	14.5	2281 of 2533	9.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	23.0	1976 of 2551	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	12.1	2395 of 2531	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.5	2361 of 2509	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	41.4	1277 of 2380	46.3%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	22.2	1937 of 2395	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	38.9	1345 of 2388	43.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	16.6	2138 of 2374	9.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	19.7	2021 of 2359	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	35.9	1373 of 2213	38.0%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	20.1	2135 of 2542	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	34.2	1605 of 2579	37.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	15.5	2329 of 2531	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	18.1	2177 of 2458	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	35.0	1491 of 2369	37.1%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	17.5	2171 of 2534	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.9	1683 of 2552	34.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	15.3	2288 of 2538	9.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.7	2309 of 2527	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	17.2	2087 of 2407	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	30.7	1076 of 1566	31.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	49.1	581 of 1552	62.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	35.1	907 of 1531	40.8%	★★☆☆☆

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)

English Language Learner (2024)89th percentile+60 vs school

African American (2025)35th percentile+21 vs school

Special Education (2025)31st percentile+18 vs school

Disabled (2022)20th percentile+13 vs school

Hispanic (2025)19th percentile+6 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)16th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2025)14th percentile~ school

Female (2025)10th percentile-3 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy23%-26 vs state

Science16%-16 vs state

Mathematics12%-25 vs state

★

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Schools Near KIPP Philosophers Academy

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 (2024)
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	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 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	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 All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
KIPP Philosophers Academy	Public, Charter	5-8	1999 East 102nd St.	Los Angeles	90002	Los Angeles County	KIPP Philosophers Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 584-6664	398	19	20.9	92.0%	9 (2.3%)	173 (43.5%)	207 (52.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	7 (1.8%)	16.2	2393^rd of 2761 public middle schools	13.3%		26.6	1972^nd of 2783 public middle schools	29.1%	421	13.2	18.0	16.5	23.1	14.0	26.4	27.9	23.2	13.2	8.6	11.6	15.0	12.1	$20,825	$1,285	$19,540
Edwin Markham Middle	Public	6-8	1650 East 104th St.	Los Angeles	90002	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 568-5500	618	41	15.0	98.4%	7 (1.1%)	130 (21.0%)	471 (76.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.6%)	12.8	2524^th of 2761 public middle schools	8.6%		12	2586^th of 2783 public middle schools	7.1%	62		10.5	10.5		20.2	18.1	17.0	18.3		19.9	11.1	9.1	13.0	$27,120	$4,771	$22,349
Southeast Middle	Public	6-8	2560 Tweedy Blvd.	South Gate	90280	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 568-3100	1,215	64	18.9	94.7%	25 (2.1%)	15 (1.2%)	1,167 (96.0%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (0.5%)	22.6	2126^th of 2761 public middle schools	23.0%		24	2085^th of 2783 public middle schools	25.1%	41		13.6	13.6		34.4	33.4	34.9	34.2		18.3	17.0	11.7	15.4	$21,415	$4,431	$16,984
Animo Florence-Firestone Charter Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	8255 Beach St.	Los Angeles	90001	Los Angeles County	Animo Florence-Firestone Charter Middle District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 565-3280	437	21	20.4	97.3%	3 (0.7%)	5 (1.1%)	428 (97.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	34.1	1673^rd of 2761 public middle schools	39.4%		42.1	1392^nd of 2783 public middle schools	50.0%	281		17.7	17.7		24.1	43.0	39.5	35.9		18.2	28.6	34.5	27.4	$24,887	$3,078	$21,809
Charles Drew Middle	Public	7-8	8511 Compton Ave.	Los Angeles	90001	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 826-1700	607	34	17.7	99.2%	6 (1.0%)	109 (18.0%)	483 (79.6%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.2%)	15.1	2436^th of 2761 public middle schools	11.8%		14	2513^th of 2783 public middle schools	9.7%	77		12.2	12.2			26.5	18.7	22.6			15.9	11.2	13.5	$26,932	$5,233	$21,699
Animo James B. Taylor Charter Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	810 East 111th Pl.	Los Angeles	90059	Los Angeles County	Animo James B. Taylor Charter Middle District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 568-8613	464	25	18.7	96.8%	14 (3.0%)	72 (15.5%)	377 (81.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21.2	2176^th of 2761 public middle schools	21.2%		22.7	2141^st of 2783 public middle schools	23.1%	35		17.0	17.0		27.1	29.9	29.3	28.9		13.1	13.5	23.3	16.9	$24,235	$2,343	$21,892
PREPA TEC - Los Angeles	Public, Charter	6-8	8001 Santa Fe Ave.	Walnut Park	90255	Los Angeles County	PREPA TEC - Los Angeles District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 800-2739	319	16	19.4	90.9%	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	316 (99.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	12.5	2534^th of 2761 public middle schools	8.2%		15.8	2445^th of 2783 public middle schools	12.1%	89		3.6	3.6		27.7	29.4	23.9	26.9		8.6	7.5	5.5	7.1	$22,652	$3,755	$18,897
Bunche Middle	Public	6-8	12338 Mona Blvd.	Compton	90222	Los Angeles County	Compton Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 898-6010	286	11	25.2	93.4%	1 (0.3%)	46 (16.1%)	233 (81.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	4 (1.4%)	38.9	1523^rd of 2761 public middle schools	44.8%		24.1	2079^th of 2783 public middle schools	25.3%	556		8.3	8.3		35.9	46.7	45.2	43.3		23.1	39.4	26.1	30.0	$25,914	$4,477	$21,437
Alliance Jack H. Skirball Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	603 East 115th St.	Los Angeles	90059	Los Angeles County	Alliance Jack H. Skirball Middle District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 905-1377	390	17	22.8	96.9%	0 (0.0%)	91 (23.3%)	286 (73.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	12 (3.1%)	42.5	1407^th of 2761 public middle schools	49.0%		44.3	1333^rd of 2783 public middle schools	52.1%	74		33.8	33.8		38.3	42.5	41.7	40.9		32.0	30.7	21.4	27.8	$19,234	$3,064	$16,170
Walnut Park Mid B Sci Technical Engr and Math Academy	Public	6-8	7500 Marbrisa Ave.	Walnut Park	90255	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 277-2600	365	18	20.5	94.8%	8 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	354 (97.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	37.5	1557^th of 2761 public middle schools	43.6%		36.3	1586^th of 2783 public middle schools	43.0%	29		25.0	25.0		42.9	39.8	47.7	43.5		19.6	20.8	25.8	22.2	$20,405	$3,562	$16,843

Frequently Asked Questions about KIPP Philosophers Academy

How many students attend KIPP Philosophers Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 398 students attended KIPP Philosophers Academy.

What district is KIPP Philosophers Academy in?

KIPP Philosophers Academy District

What is the racial makeup of KIPP Philosophers Academy?

Students at KIPP Philosophers Academy are 52% Hispanic, 43% African American, 2% White, 2% Two or more races.

Is KIPP Philosophers Academy a good school?

KIPP Philosophers Academy ranks in the bottom 13.3% of California middle schools.

Rate KIPP Philosophers Academy!

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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.