Summary
La Merced Intermediate is a 682-student school serving grades 6–8 in Montebello, within Montebello Unified. In 2025–2026, its proficiency rates were below state results in English language arts (ELA), math and science. ELA stands out as the biggest concern: 30% of students were proficient, compared with 37% in the district and 49% statewide. Grade 8 was especially weak at 28%, below every nearby school’s grade 8 result; the next-lowest was North Park Academy of the Arts at 34%. The most important finding is that ELA—especially in grade 8—is La Merced’s clearest academic shortfall.
Compared with nearby schools serving grades 6–8, La Merced ranked second-lowest of eight in both ELA and math. Its ELA proficiency was 30%, versus a nearby-school average of 44%; its math result was 21%, versus 28% nearby, 25% in the district and 38% statewide. Science is the relative bright spot: 23% were proficient, slightly above the district’s 22%, though below the state’s 36%. Among nearby schools, La Merced ranked fifth of nine in science, around the middle of that group. These results show a subject-specific strength, but not a broad advantage over local or state performance.
Results have shifted unevenly over time. From 2022–2023 to 2025–2026, ELA proficiency fell from 33% to 30%, while the gap with the state widened from 14 to 20 percentage points. Math rose from 19% to 21%, but its state gap grew from 15 to 17 points; science increased from 17% to 23%, with year-to-year fluctuations. SchoolDigger placed La Merced at the 25th statewide percentile with 1 star in 2025–2026, down from the 37th percentile and 2 stars in 2023–2024. Its student-teacher ratio was 21.5:1 in 2024–2025, close to the nearby average of 21.4:1. Also in 2024–2025, 92% of students were reported as free/reduced lunch eligible, the highest rate among nearby schools reporting that measure. SchoolDigger’s measure of how well the school serves special education students was at the 32nd percentile in 2025–2026, down from the 55th percentile in 2023–2024, while the overall percentile fell from 37 to 25. Nearby comparisons include some schools serving grades 7–8 rather than grades 6–8.
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