Summary:
ZIP code 90242 has two middle schools, Stauffer (Mary R.) Middle and Sussman (Edward A.) Middle, both serving grades 5–8 in Downey Unified. In 2025–2026, the schools’ average proficiency was above the state result in all three subjects: 53% in ELA, 41% in math, and 38% in science, compared with statewide results of 49%, 38%, and 36%, respectively. The clearest area-wide takeaway is that the two schools’ combined results now exceed state results across ELA, math, and science.
Stauffer stands out in ELA and math, while Sussman leads in science, so neither is strongest in every subject. All-grades ELA proficiency was 54% at Stauffer and 53% at Sussman; Stauffer’s lead rounds to 1 percentage point. In math, Stauffer scored 43% versus 38%, a 5-point lead. Sussman scored 40% in science versus Stauffer’s 35%, a 5-point advantage. Stauffer’s math edge is especially clear in grades 7 and 8, where it leads by 7 and 6 points; Sussman, by contrast, leads grade 6 ELA by 2 points. There is no single lowest-performing school across all subjects: Stauffer’s weakest result is science, while Sussman’s is math.
Both schools improved in ELA and math from 2024–2025, and the two-school average rose more than the state result in every subject. Sussman had the standout change: its science proficiency increased 15 points, from 26% to 40%, while Stauffer’s dipped by less than 1 point, from 35% to 35%. SchoolDigger rated both schools three stars in 2025–2026; its percentile rankings were 69th for Stauffer and 66th for Sussman, with Sussman gaining 11 percentile points over three years while Stauffer declined by 1. As context, 2024–2025 free/reduced lunch eligible figures were 83% at Stauffer and 85% at Sussman. Stauffer’s student-teacher ratio was 23.6 compared with 20.9 at Sussman, but the school with the higher ratio leads in two subjects; these contextual measures do not explain the score differences.
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