How does Palms Middle compare to other middle schools in Los Angeles?

Palms Middle has a SchoolScope composite score of 50.6/100, placing it at the 73rd percentile statewide. 26% of students exceed standard, with a total of 2,083 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Palms Middle?

26.0% of students at Palms Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 49.5% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Palms Middle improving or declining?

Palms Middle's proficiency rate decreases by 0.3 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth, suggesting the school is not sustaining early academic gains.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at Palms Middle?

16.6% of students at Palms Middle are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days). This metric reflects school culture and family engagement, and is weighted at 15% in our composite score.

Palms Middle

Middle School

Los Angeles Unified Los AngelesLos Angeles County90034

Composite Score

out of 100

State Percentile

of middle schools

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

School overview

Enrollment

1,195 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

21:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

69%

Teachers

57 full-time

Dashboard indicators

ELA Year-over-Year

Declined

-6.8 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased

+5.6 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

28.0%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 50 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic44.5%

White14.4%

Asian7.5%

Black26.0%

Other7.6%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Palms Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	26.0%
Met Standard	23.5%
Below Standard	50.5%

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "49% proficient" for Palms Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

26.0% of students exceeded standard while 23.5% merely met it. That exceeded rate is 8.7 points above the state average of 17.3%. That's 7.1 points above the Los Angeles Unified district average of 18.8%. Compared to the 5 nearby schools within ~3 miles, this exceeded rate is 5.5 points higher (vs 20.4% average). The gap between "met" and "exceeded" is the difference between a school that clears the bar and one that raises it.

Proficiency drops by 0.3 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth — a signal that the school may not be sustaining early gains.

California's Dashboard shows ELA performance declined and Math increased year-over-year. 28.0% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 16.6%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

26.0%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

49.5%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

-0.3pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

16.6%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

1.5%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

2,083

Across all grades & subjects

Grade trajectory

ELA Trajectory

G6 → G7 → G8

Math Trajectory

G6 → G7 → G8

ELA scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	328	30.2%	24.7%	22.6%	22.6%	54.9%
7th	353	21.0%	30.0%	25.2%	23.8%	51.0%
8th	356	25.8%	36.0%	22.2%	16.0%	61.8%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	331	29.9%	16.6%	23.6%	29.9%	46.5%
7th	357	24.1%	19.3%	26.6%	30.0%	43.4%
8th	358	24.9%	14.3%	20.9%	39.9%	39.1%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Castle Heights Elementary

69.794th pctile

Zoned

Palms Elementary

33.315th pctile

Zoned

Overland Avenue Elementary

80.099th pctile

Zoned

Charnock Road Elementary

49.364th pctile

Zoned

Canfield Avenue Elementary

66.491st pctile

Also serves area

Clover Avenue Elementary

75.198th pctile

Also serves area

Shenandoah Street Elementary

47.159th pctile

Also serves area

▼

Middle

Palms Middle

50.673rd pctile

This school

▼

High School

Alexander Hamilton Senior High

58.872nd pctile

Zoned

Middle College High

72.593rd pctile

Also serves area

Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor…

89.099th pctile

Also serves area

Valley Academy of Arts and Sci…

62.680th pctile

Also serves area

Feeder patterns derived from 2015-16 NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries may have changed. Contact your school district for current information.