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Los Angeles Unified

Near Average2024–25 data725 schools · avg 44.0/100

Los Angeles Unified has 725 ranked schools across elementary, middle and high levels with an average Scope Score of 44.0/100 — 0.3 points near the California state average of 43.8. The highest-scoring school is Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor Teacher Preparation at 94/100, where 61.1% of students exceed the state standard. The district spends $18,180 per student (above the state average of $14,815). 46 schools show positive growth trajectories. Chronic absenteeism averages 25.1%, above the state average. Data source: CDE CAASPP 2025 and NCES fiscal data, analyzed by SchoolScope.

Avg Scope Score
44.0
State avg: 43.8
SchoolScope composite
Score Range
84.4
9.6 – 94.0
Avg Exceeded %
18.8%
State avg: 21.6%
Chronic Absenteeism
25.1%
State avg: 18.1%
Schools Ranked
725
With Scope Scores
Charter Schools
50
of 725 ranked schools
LevelAvg ScoreSchoolsExceededAbsent
Elementary44.750021.2%21.2%
Middle38.48315.1%23.9%
High44.914212.7%39.5%

K–12 pipeline

The typical school path in Los Angeles Unified, top-scoring shown first.

Elementary
44.7
avg score · 500 schools
Middle
38.4
avg score · 83 schools

District Analysis

Strongest level: Los Angeles Unified's high schools lead the district with an average Scope Score of 44.9.

Growth story: District-wide elementary growth averages -3.6pp (state avg: -3.0pp), a negative trend that warrants attention.

Consistency: Score range of 84.4 points — showing significant variation between schools.

Absenteeism: District chronic absenteeism averages 25.1%, 7.0pp below the state average of 18.1%.

Suspensions: District suspension rate averages 0.5%, near the state average of 1.7%.

Top school: Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor Teacher Preparation leads the district at 94 with 61.1% exceeding standard.

How we score · Scope Score methodology

School archetypes in Los Angeles Unified

94 On the Rise46 Growth Engine30 Strong All-Around28 High Ceiling494 Building Momentum

Hidden gems: 140 schools in Los Angeles Unified are classified as On the Rise (94) or Growth Engine (46) — showing positive growth trajectories that raw proficiency scores alone don't capture. These are schools where students leave with more than they arrived with.

Archetypes are data-driven labels based on Scope Score dimensions. Learn more

Student demographics

Hispanic
73.1%
White
9.1%
Asian
3.1%
Black
8.5%
Other
6.3%
Free/Reduced Lunch
82%
Economic need indicator · district avg

District averages · California Department of Education enrollment data

District Funding

Los Angeles Unified spends $18,180 per student in current expenditures — $3,366 above the state average of $14,815.

Per-Pupil Spending
$18,180
State avg: $14,815
District Enrollment
460,633
Students for funding calc
2016–2020 Trend
↑ 34.2%
$13,549 → $18,180
Spending Efficiency
2.42
Scope Score per $1K spent
Spending Breakdown
Instruction 55%Support 40%Other 5%
NCES F-33 Finance · District-level data — not school-specific

Data source: NCES Common Core of Data, Fiscal Survey (F-33) · 2019–2020

Teacher compensation

Salary Range
$60,420–$122,706
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
Teaching Staff
22,880
Full-time equivalent teachers

CDE Form J-90 salary schedule · 2024–25

Elementary Schools (500)

Los Angeles Unified has 500 ranked elementary schools averaging a Scope Score of 44.7 — 1.0 points near the state average of 43.8. 4 of 500 elementary schools have Scope Scores above 90.

Growth averages -3.6pp district-wide — a negative trend worth examining.

The highest-scoring elementary school is Wonderland Avenue Elementary with a Scope Score of 91 and 72.7% exceeding standard.

#SchoolScoreExceededMet+GrowthAbsentSusp.
1Wonderland Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
9172.7%90.7%-0.1pp11.3%0.1%
2Balboa Gifted/High Ability Magnet Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
9172.2%92.4%-1.2pp3.6%0.1%
3Third Street Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
9168.3%88.9%+1.1pp5.9%0.1%
4Overland Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
9070.4%90.4%+3.3pp6.6%0.5%
5Roscomare Road Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
8562.2%84.1%-1.9pp8.7%0.1%
6Carpenter Community Charter
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
8459.8%82.6%-2.2pp6.7%0.3%
7Welby Way Charter Elementary School And Gifted-Hig
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
8462.6%81.4%+0.6pp6.9%0.1%
8Clover Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
8365.6%86.3%-3.9pp8.9%0.5%
9Canyon Charter Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
8261.1%85.6%+6.1pp8.5%0.2%
10Community Magnet Charter Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
8159.6%84.3%-13.5pp9.9%0.1%
11Broadway Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
8164.0%82.2%-6.2pp18.2%0.1%
12Kentwood Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
8063.2%80.7%-14.8pp10.3%0.4%
13Beckford Charter for Enriched Studies
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
7961.0%82.6%-9.8pp5.9%0.1%
14Academy for Enriched Sciences
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
7958.0%80.0%-11.9pp7.9%0.4%
15Mar Vista Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
7855.0%83.1%-1.1pp7.4%0.1%
16Warner Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
7858.6%82.7%-6.9pp8.9%0.1%
17Franklin Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
7856.5%81.7%-8.1pp8.1%0.1%
18Castle Heights Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
7753.2%80.2%-2.7pp9.6%0.3%
19Porter Ranch Community
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
7755.3%78.5%+2.7pp10.4%0.3%
20Kenter Canyon Elementary Charter
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
7654.8%80.7%-1.3pp18.4%0.1%
21Colfax Charter Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
7554.3%80.3%-3.0pp10.0%0.1%
22Coeur D'Alene Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
7451.0%76.1%-10.9pp18.2%0.1%
23Richland Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
7446.2%79.0%-11.7pp9.4%0.2%
24Ivanhoe Elementary
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
7448.7%80.2%-8.2pp11.6%0.1%
25Lanai Road Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
7353.8%82.3%-14.9pp11.5%0.3%
26Kester Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
7353.8%75.4%+2.0pp12.7%0.3%
27Canfield Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
7354.1%72.1%-5.4pp12.5%0.2%
28Westwood Charter Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
7251.3%76.6%-13.7pp12.2%0.4%
29Melrose Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
7247.5%71.5%+4.7pp10.5%0.3%
30Palisades Charter Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
7251.4%83.7%+1.2pp29.9%0.1%

Middle Schools (83)

Los Angeles Unified has 83 ranked middle schools averaging a Scope Score of 38.4 — 2.1 points below the state average of 40.5.

Growth is essentially flat at -0.5pp.

The highest-scoring middle school is Alfred B. Nobel Charter Middle with a Scope Score of 68 and 41.6% exceeding standard.

#SchoolScoreExceededMet+GrowthAbsentSusp.
1Alfred B. Nobel Charter Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
6841.6%69.9%-2.9pp11.9%1.1%
2Gaspar De Portola Charter Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
6843.3%64.0%-6.9pp16.0%0.8%
3Robert Frost Middle
Los Angeles Unified Solid Base
6536.6%67.9%-5.8pp10.0%0.6%
4Paul Revere Charter Middle
Los Angeles Unified Solid Base
6442.7%69.3%-3.0pp31.2%0.6%
5Oliver Wendell Holmes Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
6336.0%64.6%-9.6pp13.8%0.1%
6Rudecinda Sepulveda Dodson Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
6135.7%63.8%-2.8pp18.0%0.1%
7Walter Reed Middle
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
6036.3%60.8%+0.5pp16.6%0.2%
8Washington Irving Middle School Math, Music and En
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
5733.6%59.2%-17.6pp18.2%1.7%
9George Ellery Hale Charter Academy
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
5730.9%58.9%+4.0pp16.9%1.2%
10George K. Porter Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
5731.1%54.8%-3.0pp16.7%0.8%
11Mark Twain Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
5429.7%52.5%-16.4pp16.5%0.7%
12John Burroughs Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
5428.8%55.9%-1.6pp17.2%1.6%
13Thomas Starr King Middle School Film and Media Mag
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
5127.1%50.0%+2.3pp19.6%0.6%
14Emerson Community Charter
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
5126.8%52.4%-7.9pp23.9%0.7%
15Palms Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
5026.0%49.5%-0.3pp16.6%1.5%
16Patrick Henry Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
4820.1%45.7%-8.8pp16.6%0.3%
17Louis Armstrong Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
4623.0%47.0%+0.9pp21.0%1.0%
18Luther Burbank Middle
Los Angeles Unified Growth Engine
4617.6%43.3%+15.4pp20.5%1.6%
19Mt. Gleason Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
4618.4%42.4%+1.6pp22.1%0.7%
20Ernest Lawrence Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
4523.3%44.3%-5.8pp24.6%2.6%
21Katherine Johnson STEM Academy
Los Angeles Unified Growth Engine
4418.6%41.9%+9.4pp20.6%4.7%
22Stephen M. White Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
4319.2%43.8%+0.7pp19.6%0.0%
23Virgil Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
4321.5%42.5%-8.5pp20.6%0.6%
24Alexander Fleming Middle
Los Angeles Unified On the Rise
4317.7%41.5%+8.9pp22.4%0.3%
25Andrew Carnegie Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
4315.4%39.6%+1.0pp16.5%0.2%
26Florence Nightingale Middle
Los Angeles Unified On the Rise
4218.4%39.5%+3.2pp20.5%0.3%
27Hollenbeck Middle
Los Angeles Unified On the Rise
4215.0%39.5%+3.6pp20.7%0.2%
28Wilmington Middle Science, Technology, Engineering
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
4113.4%35.7%-1.5pp23.6%0.2%
29John Adams Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
4115.8%39.2%+1.3pp21.0%3.1%
30El Sereno Middle
Los Angeles Unified On the Rise
4120.2%42.8%+3.7pp32.1%0.1%

High Schools (142)

Los Angeles Unified has 142 ranked high schools averaging a Scope Score of 44.9 — 2.6 points below the state average of 47.5. 1 of 142 high schools have Scope Scores above 90.

The highest-scoring high school is Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor Teacher Preparation with a Scope Score of 94 and 61.1% exceeding standard.

#SchoolScoreExceededMet+AbsentSusp.
1Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor Teacher Preparation
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
9461.1%88.4%8.0%0.5%
2Middle College High
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
7742.9%79.9%22.1%0.6%
3Downtown Business High
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
7743.7%71.9%16.5%0.3%
4Math, Science, & Technology Magnet Academy at Roos
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
7331.7%63.4%16.7%0.8%
5Iovine and Young Center
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
7230.8%67.3%27.6%1.5%
6Orthopaedic Hospital
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
7124.1%54.6%13.8%0.4%
7North Hollywood Senior High
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
7036.2%56.9%31.5%0.6%
8Taft Charter High
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
6928.4%52.8%24.8%0.8%
9Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
6928.8%59.3%16.9%0.2%
10King/Drew Medical Magnet High
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
6724.4%57.0%21.2%0.3%
11John Marshall Senior High
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
6628.1%52.5%32.7%0.3%
12Early College Academy-LA Trade Tech College
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
6626.8%50.0%11.5%0.7%
13Venice Senior High
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
6627.3%52.0%30.4%0.1%
14Sylmar Biotech Health and Engineering Magnet
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
6519.1%54.0%26.6%0.8%
15Grover Cleveland Charter High
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
6526.7%53.0%25.5%0.3%
16Eagle Rock High
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
6521.4%48.6%18.5%0.3%
17Hollywood Senior High
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
6426.4%54.4%42.5%0.7%
18Linda Esperanza Marquez High A Huntington Park Ins
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
6416.6%52.0%10.1%0.4%
19Social Justice Leadership Academy Magnet at Esteba
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
6327.8%48.1%25.1%1.5%
20Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
6321.2%46.6%25.3%0.9%
21Academies of Education and Empowerment at Carson H
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
6312.9%37.5%19.7%0.8%
22Humanities and Arts (HARTS) Academy of Los Angeles
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
6224.6%49.2%29.5%0.8%
23Abraham Lincoln Senior High
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
6123.8%55.7%27.5%0.3%
24John F. Kennedy High
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
6119.3%46.3%20.0%0.5%
25Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathema
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
6128.6%51.8%15.3%1.6%
26Bell Senior High
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
6023.6%46.0%29.1%0.2%
27University High School Charter
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
6017.3%40.6%32.6%0.4%
28San Pedro Senior High
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
6019.5%46.2%25.3%0.1%
29Linda Esperanza Marquez High B LIBRA Academy
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
6016.2%43.2%19.7%0.8%
30Academy of Medical Arts at Carson High
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
6017.9%52.8%19.8%0.5%

Data source: California Department of Education · CAASPP 2024-25 · Methodology

Scores are SchoolScope's analysis of public data, not official CDE ratings. They represent one way of interpreting test results and should not be the sole basis for school decisions.

What Scope Scores can't tell you about Los Angeles Unified

  • Class sizes and student-teacher interaction quality
  • Quality of arts, music, athletics, and enrichment programs
  • Teacher experience, turnover, and professional development
  • Campus safety, bullying climate, and social-emotional support
  • Parent and community engagement levels
  • Quality of special education and gifted programs
  • How resources are distributed across schools within the district

Scope Scores measure academic performance and school climate using public data. They are one lens among many. Full methodology

Frequently asked questions

Is Los Angeles Unified a good school district?
Los Angeles Unified has 725 ranked schools averaging a Scope Score of 44.0/100, which is 0.3 points near the California state average of 43.8. 18.8% of students exceed the state standard on average. The Scope Score measures academic performance and school climate across six dimensions. Data source: CDE CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.
What is the best school in Los Angeles Unified?
The highest-scoring school in Los Angeles Unified is Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor Teacher Preparation with a Scope Score of 94/100 and 61.1% exceeding standard. See methodology.
How much does Los Angeles Unified spend per student?
Los Angeles Unified spends $18,180 per student in current expenditures. The state average is $14,815. Spending data comes from the NCES Common Core of Data Fiscal Survey (F-33). Higher spending does not automatically mean better outcomes — the Scope Score measures what happens in the classroom regardless of budget.
What is the teacher salary range in Los Angeles Unified?
Teacher salaries in Los Angeles Unified range from $60,420–$122,706 based on the district's salary schedule (CDE Form J-90). The California statewide median teacher salary is approximately $98,000.
What does the Scope Score measure?
The Scope Score is SchoolScope's proprietary composite rating (0–100) based on six dimensions of publicly available California school data: the exceeded-vs-met standard split, overall proficiency, grade-level growth, chronic absenteeism, suspension rate, and ELPAC English Learner proficiency. Full methodology and weights.