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Mary McLeod Bethune Middle

Public Grades 6-8

2289^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 17% of California middle schools

Summary

Mary McLeod Bethune Middle is a public middle school serving 843 students in grades 6-8 in South Los Angeles, operating within the Los Angeles Unified school district, and it faces significant academic challenges with a statewide ranking in the bottom quartile.

The school's academic performance, with about a quarter of students proficient in English and fewer in math and science, is similar to other struggling traditional public schools in the area like Charles Drew Middle and John Muir Middle. However, it consistently underperforms compared to nearby charter schools such as Alliance Kory Hunter Middle and Vox Collegiate, which show higher proficiency and much lower chronic absenteeism. A notable finding is that the school spends less per student than most comparable Los Angeles Unified schools, yet achieves comparable results, and it has a slightly better student-teacher ratio than some higher-performing charters.

Key areas of concern include a high chronic absenteeism rate of 34.4%, which is above district and state averages, and particularly low proficiency in science. Performance varies significantly among different student groups, with English Language Learners and homeless students showing the greatest need for support. While the school has maintained a low ranking, a potential bright spot is its 6th-grade English performance, which is stronger than in later grades, suggesting challenges in sustaining progress through the middle school years.

843

Students ?

17.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$23,839

Per pupil spending ?

97.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

155 West 69th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90003-1823

(323) 541-1800

District: Los Angeles Unified

Students who attend Mary McLeod Bethune Middle usually attend:

High:	Communication and Technical at Diego Rivera Learning Complex
	Diego Rivera Learning Complex Green Design STEAM Academy
	John C. Fremont Senior High
	Mervyn M. Dymally High
	More...
	Performing Arts Community at Diego Rivera Learning Complex
	Public Service Community at Diego Rivera Learning Complex

Feeder schools for Mary McLeod Bethune Middle:

Elementary:	Dr. Owen Lloyd Knox Elementary
	Gil Garcetti Learning Academy
	Loren Miller Elementary
	Seventy-Fifth Street Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

85.8%

African American:

12.0%

White:

1.2%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Mary McLeod Bethune Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 13th percentile in 2013 → 17th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (20% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (17th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (34% vs 19% California)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school20%

District avg39%

California avg41%

2,289^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 17%▲ up 7 pts since 2015

From bottom 10% (2015) to bottom 17% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

75^th of 83Middle Schools in the Los Angeles Unified

791^st of 1,543Los Angeles Unified 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	18.5	2289 of 2761	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.0	2297 of 2783	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.1	2156 of 2781	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.8	2276 of 2740	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	17.5	2293 of 2715	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	16.2	2142 of 2480	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	19.8	2036 of 2508	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	18.9	2063 of 2497	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	13.7	2233 of 2477	9.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	17.9	2061 of 2379	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	19.4	1927 of 2259	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	18.1	1943 of 2236	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	13.9	1983 of 2179	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	12.6	1884 of 2063	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	11.7	1853 of 2005	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	11.4	1852 of 1999	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	9.9	1692 of 1804	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	6.7	1727 of 1777	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2004	8.3	1711 of 1769	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	27.6	453 of 609	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.2	474 of 627	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.7	488 of 613	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	25.1	497 of 637	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.8	539 of 643	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.3	520 of 600	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	22.2	1380 of 1531	9.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	22.3	1325 of 1491	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.1	1278 of 1369	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	29.9	1225 of 1478	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.7	1412 of 1521	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	26.9	1392 of 1540	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	27.6	1255 of 1442	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	30.3	983 of 1364	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	19.4	2106 of 2533	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.0	2137 of 2551	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.2	2035 of 2531	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.4	2011 of 2509	19.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	15.9	2079 of 2380	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	16.3	1960 of 2262	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	26.5	1768 of 2395	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.6	1731 of 2388	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	32.4	1536 of 2374	35.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	28.1	1701 of 2359	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.7	1688 of 2213	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	24.8	1629 of 2072	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	26.4	382 of 477	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.1	290 of 320	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	24.7	1976 of 2542	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.9	1952 of 2579	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	31.6	1687 of 2531	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	27.3	1796 of 2458	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.8	1876 of 2369	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.6	1814 of 2230	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	17.6	2166 of 2534	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.8	2142 of 2552	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.5	1964 of 2538	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.0	2216 of 2527	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.1	2056 of 2407	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.8	2025 of 2273	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	27.6	1185 of 1566	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.2	1346 of 1552	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.1	1258 of 1531	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	6.4	1484 of 1543	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Hispanic (2025)26th percentile+9 vs school

African American (2025)26th percentile+9 vs school

Special Education (2025)24th percentile+7 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)22nd percentile+5 vs school

Homeless (2025)20th percentile+3 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)17th percentile~ school

Female (2025)17th percentile~ school

Male (2025)15th percentile-3 vs school

Disabled (2022)10th percentile-7 vs school

White (2023)4th percentile-19 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy24%-24 vs state

Mathematics19%-19 vs state

Science12%-21 vs state

★

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Schools Near Mary McLeod Bethune Middle

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
Mary McLeod Bethune Middle	Public	6-8	155 West 69th St.	Los Angeles	90003	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 541-1800	843	49	17.2	97.6%	10 (1.2%)	101 (12.0%)	723 (85.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (1.1%)	18.5	2289^th of 2761 public middle schools	17.1%		19	2297^th of 2783 public middle schools	17.5%	8		11.5	11.5		29.4	25.0	23.4	24.4		23.5	21.3	16.0	18.8	$23,839	$4,546	$19,293
KIPP Scholar Academy	Public, Charter	5-8	6100 S. Hoover St	Los Angeles	90044	Los Angeles County	KIPP Scholar Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 292-2272	434	19	22.9	83.6%	2 (0.5%)	173 (39.9%)	246 (56.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.8%)	34.6	1657^th of 2761 public middle schools	40.0%		34.5	1651^st of 2783 public middle schools	40.7%	6	13.8	17.4	15.6	29.5	39.3	39.6	40.2	37.3	16.0	23.4	26.4	26.7	23.2	$25,528	$1,731	$23,797
Los Angeles Academy Middle	Public	6-8	644 East 56th St.	Los Angeles	90011	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 238-1800	829	49	17.0	97.7%	7 (0.8%)	66 (8.0%)	742 (89.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (1.6%)	24.4	2040^th of 2761 public middle schools	26.1%		20.5	2245^th of 2783 public middle schools	19.3%	205		13.8	13.8		23.9	36.3	35.6	32.8		20.5	23.0	14.4	19.2	$26,590	$5,145	$21,445
John Muir Middle	Public	6-8	5929 South Vermont Ave.	Los Angeles	90044	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 565-2200	624	34	18.3	98.7%	7 (1.1%)	102 (16.3%)	509 (81.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.8%)	16.3	2389^th of 2761 public middle schools	13.5%		10.9	2635^th of 2783 public middle schools	5.3%	246		9.6	9.6		18.8	27.0	27.5	25.0		17.0	13.4	14.7	14.9	$25,731	$5,437	$20,294
KIPP Academy of Opportunity	Public, Charter	5-8	8500 South Figueroa St.	Los Angeles	90003	Los Angeles County	KIPP Academy of Opportunity District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 778-0125	466	20	23.7	83.0%	1 (0.2%)	185 (39.7%)	269 (57.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	10 (2.1%)	21.7	2160^th of 2761 public middle schools	21.8%		24.9	2037^th of 2783 public middle schools	26.8%	123	15.7	12.3	14.0	21.9	28.2	27.4	28.1	26.4	13.9	21.4	23.1	17.5	19.0	$18,514	$1,384	$17,130
Alliance College-Ready Middle Academy 12	Public, Charter	6-8	131 East 50th St.	Los Angeles	90011	Los Angeles County	Alliance College-Ready Middle Academy 12 District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 238-7270	496	19	25.6	91.9%	3 (0.6%)	7 (1.4%)	474 (95.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.4%)	33.8	1684^th of 2761 public middle schools	39.0%		24.2	2073^rd of 2783 public middle schools	25.5%	389		21.5	21.5		34.8	39.5	42.6	38.9		22.0	19.4	29.2	23.5	$18,867	$2,720	$16,147
Thomas A. Edison Middle	Public	6-8	6500 Hooper Ave.	Los Angeles	90001	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 826-2500	837	48	17.4	98.7%	5 (0.6%)	39 (4.7%)	787 (94.0%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.5%)	25.1	1998^th of 2761 public middle schools	27.6%		24	2084^th of 2783 public middle schools	25.1%	86		14.8	14.8		24.1	25.6	32.6	28.4		21.4	21.1	27.2	23.8	$25,229	$4,948	$20,281
Watts Learning Center Charter Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	8800 South San Pedro St.	Los Angeles	90003	Los Angeles County	Watts Learning Center Charter Middle District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 565-4800	400	16	25.0	100.0%	2 (0.5%)	65 (16.3%)	332 (83.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	27.9	1901^st of 2761 public middle schools	31.1%		39.9	1469^th of 2783 public middle schools	47.2%	432		19.9	19.9		29.4	29.0	51.1	37.5		12.9	17.2	17.0	16.2	$18,219	$3,607	$14,612
Vox Collegiate of Los Angeles	Public, Charter	6-10	1100 West Manchester Ave.	Los Angeles	90044	Los Angeles County	Vox Collegiate of Los Angeles District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 570-2915	224	9	24.6	77.2%	1 (0.4%)	36 (16.1%)	186 (83.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	37.3	1564^th of 2761 public middle schools	43.4%		48.9	1199^th of 2783 public middle schools	56.9%	365		26.2	26.2		30.9	35.0	46.4	38.4		20.0	27.2	29.8	26.4	$15,357	$1,352	$14,005
Alliance Kory Hunter Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	5886 Compton Ave.	Los Angeles	90001	Los Angeles County	Alliance Kory Hunter Middle District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 484-0450	470	26	18.3	97.0%	6 (1.3%)	12 (2.6%)	449 (95.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.6%)	41.5	1449^th of 2761 public middle schools	47.5%		29.5	1828^th of 2783 public middle schools	34.3%	379		25.5	25.5		44.0	38.3	55.0	45.7		25.2	24.7	25.5	25.1	$18,991	$3,274	$15,717

Frequently Asked Questions about Mary McLeod Bethune Middle

What district is Mary McLeod Bethune Middle in?

Los Angeles Unified

What is the racial makeup of Mary McLeod Bethune Middle?

Students at Mary McLeod Bethune Middle are 86% Hispanic, 12% African American, 1% White, 1% Two or more races.

How many students attend Mary McLeod Bethune Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 843 students attended Mary McLeod Bethune Middle.

Is Mary McLeod Bethune Middle a good school?

Mary McLeod Bethune Middle ranks in the bottom 17.1% of California middle schools.

What high school do graduates of Mary McLeod Bethune Middle attend?

Students who attend Mary McLeod Bethune Middle usually go on to attend Communication and Technical at Diego Rivera Learning Complex

Rate Mary McLeod Bethune Middle!

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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.