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La Merced Intermediate

Public Grades 6-8
2063rd
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 2,740 California Middle Schools
Better than 25% of California middle schools
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.

682
Students ?
21.5
Student/teacher ratio ?
$22,663
Per pupil spending ?
92.4%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
All students in California receive free school meals.
 215 East Avenida de la Merced
       Montebello, CA  90640-2799

(323) 722-7262

District: Montebello Unified


Students who attend La Merced Intermediate usually attend:

High:    Montebello High

Feeder schools for La Merced Intermediate:

Elementary:    Fremont Elementary
    La Merced Academy
    Montebello Gardens Elementary
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
95.3%
White:
1.9%
Asian:
1.8%
more
 See top rated California middle schools

 Compare La Merced Intermediate to nearby middle schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 30th percentile in 2016 → 25th in 2026
Worth a look
!Test scores below the California average (25% vs 42% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (25th percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 5 percentile points since 2016
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school25%
District avg30%
California avg42%
2,063rd of 2,740
California public middle schools ?
Bottom 25%▼ down 5 pts since 2016
From bottom 30% (2016) to bottom 25% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
5th of 6Middle Schools in the Montebello Unified
1065th of 1,530Montebello 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202623.52063 of 274024.7%★☆☆☆☆
202525.71972 of 276128.6%★☆☆☆☆
202431.11765 of 278336.6%★★☆☆☆
202329.61819 of 278134.6%★★☆☆☆
202231.11731 of 274036.8%★★☆☆☆
202127.3651 of 89427.2%★☆☆☆☆
201917.62288 of 271515.7%★☆☆☆☆
201820.31991 of 248019.7%★☆☆☆☆
201724.21887 of 250824.8%★☆☆☆☆
201627.21749 of 249730.0%★★☆☆☆
201529.31651 of 247733.3%★★☆☆☆
201353.11076 of 237954.8%★★★☆☆
201253.21020 of 225954.8%★★★☆☆
201146.11203 of 223646.2%★★☆☆☆
201045.11164 of 217946.6%★★☆☆☆
200943.31124 of 206345.5%★★☆☆☆
200835.51282 of 200536.1%★★☆☆☆
200724.31552 of 199922.4%★☆☆☆☆
200622.01434 of 180420.5%★☆☆☆☆
200524.91336 of 177724.8%★☆☆☆☆
200419.51456 of 176917.7%★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202239.5779 of 153149.1%★★☆☆☆
202129.3265 of 35425.1%★☆☆☆☆
201936.7819 of 149145.1%★★☆☆☆
201840.4693 of 136949.4%★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202435.1945 of 147836.1%★★☆☆☆
202340.0774 of 152149.1%★★☆☆☆
202243.7635 of 154058.8%★★★☆☆
202146.6130 of 36364.2%★★★☆☆
201940.4679 of 144252.9%★★★☆☆
201834.1809 of 136440.7%★★☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202620.12052 of 251618.4%★☆☆☆☆
202525.71856 of 253326.7%★☆☆☆☆
202427.91759 of 255131.0%★★☆☆☆
202329.81655 of 253134.6%★★☆☆☆
202232.61574 of 250937.3%★★☆☆☆
202130.8505 of 73831.6%★★☆☆☆
201920.51927 of 238019.0%★☆☆☆☆
201826.11637 of 226227.6%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202630.61630 of 235730.8%★★☆☆☆
202533.51519 of 239536.6%★★☆☆☆
202442.01237 of 238848.2%★★☆☆☆
202340.31261 of 237446.9%★★☆☆☆
202242.51207 of 235948.8%★★☆☆☆
201922.91790 of 221319.1%★☆☆☆☆
201825.71597 of 207222.9%★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202369.161 of 32080.9%★★★★☆
202275.650 of 33685.1%★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202630.01760 of 252930.4%★★☆☆☆
202532.61654 of 254234.9%★★☆☆☆
202438.11453 of 257943.7%★★☆☆☆
202334.21574 of 253137.8%★★☆☆☆
202241.31286 of 245847.7%★★☆☆☆
202141.3402 of 72144.2%★★☆☆☆
201922.91928 of 236918.6%★☆☆☆☆
201826.31714 of 223023.1%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202626.61801 of 251428.4%★☆☆☆☆
202525.41852 of 253426.9%★☆☆☆☆
202433.61537 of 255239.8%★★☆☆☆
202329.41681 of 253833.8%★★☆☆☆
202230.31640 of 252735.1%★★☆☆☆
202125.4568 of 76325.6%★☆☆☆☆
201914.72169 of 24079.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201815.52034 of 227310.5%★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202225.3506 of 66523.9%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202631.31095 of 160531.8%★★☆☆☆
202529.91104 of 156629.5%★☆☆☆☆
202443.3695 of 155255.2%★★★☆☆
202334.9915 of 153140.2%★★☆☆☆
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)
Homeless (2023)81st percentile+46 vs school
Disabled (2022)49th percentile+12 vs school
English Language Learner (2024)36th percentile~ school
Special Education (2026)32nd percentile+7 vs school
Hispanic (2026)31st percentile+6 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)30th percentile+6 vs school
Male (2026)28th percentile+4 vs school
Multi-racial (2022)24th percentile-13 vs school
Female (2026)18th percentile-6 vs school
By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts/Literacy30%-20 vs state
Science23%-13 vs state
Mathematics21%-17 vs state

★
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Frequently Asked Questions about La Merced Intermediate

La Merced Intermediate ranks in the bottom 24.7% of California middle schools.

Students at La Merced Intermediate are 95% Hispanic, 2% White, 2% Asian.

Students who attend La Merced Intermediate usually go on to attend Montebello High

In the 2024-25 school year, 682 students attended La Merced Intermediate.

Rate La Merced Intermediate!



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Latest California data All new data »
2024–25 school spending data (updated)NewNov 2, 2026
2013–14 through 2024–25 immunization rates (updated)Oct 19, 2026
2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesOct 15, 2026
2025–26 CAST, CSA Spanish & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresOct 15, 2026


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.

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