Summary:
Zip code 90029 has three middle schools: Thomas Starr King Middle School Film and Media Magnet serves grades 6–8, while Valor Academy Middle and Stella Middle Charter Academy serve grades 5–8. In 2024–2025, the schools’ average proficiency was 43% in English language arts (ELA), 27% in mathematics and 29% in science, compared with state rates of 49%, 37% and 33%. Mathematics was the weakest subject on average, and the schools’ math results spanned 29 percentage points. The most important takeaway is that performance varies widely across these schools, with King well ahead of its two peers.
King led in all three subjects in 2024–2025, with 54% proficiency in ELA, 46% in mathematics and 42% in science—16, 28 and 19 points above the average of the other two schools. Its results were also 5, 9 and 9 points above state rates, respectively. Valor had the lowest ELA and math results, at 36% and 17%; those were 13 and 20 points below state rates. Stella had the lowest science result, 22%, or 10 points below the state. SchoolDigger’s 2024–2025 rankings also placed King higher, at the 75th percentile, compared with Stella at the 44th and Valor at the 34th.
King’s 2025–2026 results rose to 61% in ELA, 47% in mathematics and 44% in science, all above state rates; its advantages over Los Angeles Unified were 12, 7 and 12 points. A grade-specific exception may matter to families: Stella’s eighth-grade ELA proficiency was 56%, 8 points above the state, despite its lower all-grade result. School characteristics also differ: in 2024–2025, King had 1,547 students, a 19.2 student–teacher ratio and 75% free/reduced lunch eligible; Valor had 510 students, a 27.7 ratio and 92% eligible; Stella had 474 students, a 26 ratio and 95% eligible. These are descriptive differences, not explanations for test results. Only King has 2025–2026 assessment results, so newer results do not show how the whole area is changing.
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