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

Sal Castro Middle has a SchoolScope composite score of 38.9/100, placing it at the 41st percentile statewide. 10% of students exceed standard, with a total of 525 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Sal Castro Middle?

9.6% of students at Sal Castro Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 27.3% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Sal Castro Middle improving or declining?

Sal Castro Middle's proficiency rate decreases by 4.5 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 Sal Castro Middle?

15.8% of students at Sal Castro 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.

Sal Castro Middle

Middle School

Los Angeles Unified Los AngelesLos Angeles County90026

Composite Score

out of 100

State Percentile

of middle schools

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

School overview

Enrollment

311 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

16:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

98%

Teachers

19 full-time

Dashboard indicators

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased Significantly

+31.4 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased Significantly

+15.0 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

15.4%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 91 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic92.6%

White0.6%

Asian0.3%

Black5.1%

Other1.3%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Sal Castro Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	9.6%
Met Standard	17.7%
Below Standard	72.7%

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "27% proficient" for Sal Castro Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

9.6% of students exceeded standard while 17.7% merely met it. That exceeded rate is 7.7 points below the state average of 17.3%. That's 9.2 points below the Los Angeles Unified district average of 18.8%. The 6 nearby schools within ~3 miles average 14.9% exceeded — 5.3 points higher. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" is the difference between a school that clears the bar and one that raises it.

Proficiency drops by 4.5 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 increased significantly and Math increased significantly year-over-year. 15.4% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 15.8%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

9.6%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

27.3%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

-4.5pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

15.8%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

0.0%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

525

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	80	10.0%	26.3%	23.8%	40.0%	36.3%
7th	82	11.0%	18.3%	21.9%	48.8%	29.3%
8th	95	12.6%	24.2%	33.7%	29.5%	36.8%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	86	10.5%	18.6%	31.4%	39.5%	29.1%
7th	84	3.6%	9.5%	26.2%	60.7%	13.1%
8th	98	10.2%	9.2%	26.5%	54.1%	19.4%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Betty Plasencia Elementary

40.038th pctile

Zoned

Union Avenue Elementary

42.345th pctile

Also serves area

Gratts Learning Academy for Yo…

37.128th pctile

Also serves area

Rosemont Avenue Elementary

42.646th pctile

Also serves area

▼

Middle

Sal Castro Middle

38.941st pctile

This school

▼

High School

Belmont Senior High

41.132nd pctile

Zoned

Edward R. Roybal Learning Cent…

52.355th pctile

Zoned

Contreras Learning Center-Scho…

43.835th 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.