Summary:
ZIP code 90605 has two middle schools serving grades 6–8: East Whittier Middle and Richard L. Graves Middle. Their 2025–2026 results show very different achievement profiles: East was above the state in all three tested subjects, while Graves was below it in all three. The most important distinction is the sizable proficiency gap between the schools.
East Whittier stands out at the top: 58% of students were proficient in ELA, 46% in math and 40% in science, leading Graves by 23, 24 and 18 percentage points, respectively. East also exceeded state results by 8 points in ELA, 8 in math and 4 in science. Graves had proficiency rates of 35% in ELA, 22% in math and 22% in science—14, 16 and 14 points below the state. SchoolDigger rated East at the 75th percentile with 4 stars, compared with Graves at the 31st percentile with 2 stars.
Scores moved in opposite directions over the two years: East declined by about 1 point in ELA and math and 2 in science, while Graves improved by 2, 1 and 7 points, respectively; despite its largest gain in science, Graves remained 14 points below the state there. SchoolDigger rankings also dipped from the 79th to the 75th percentile for East and from the 35th to the 31st for Graves between 2023–2024 and 2025–2026. Context differs too: East enrolled 985 students and had a 22.3 student-teacher ratio, versus 484 students and 19.5 at Graves. In 2024–2025, free/reduced lunch eligible students were 69% at East and 92% at Graves. These are contextual differences, not explanations for the score gap. Graves’ grade-6 ELA and math results were suppressed by the state, so those scores are unknown.
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