School Profile · Los Angeles
Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet: No single number tells this school's story. Here's the honest picture.
Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet posts 36% meeting the standard and 9.2% exceeding it, against 40% and 17.3% statewide. The gaps and the bright spots below are the real read.
2050 San Fernando Road, 90065 (opens in new tab)·Los Angeles Unified·Los Angeles·Grades 6-12·517 students·95% low-income·Magnet·2024–25 CAASPP·(323) 276-5402·Website
Magnet program — specialized public school with themed curriculum. Enrollment via district lottery, not neighborhood-based.
Alternative school — serves students who benefit from a non-traditional educational setting. Scores are not directly comparable to comprehensive schools.
Scope Score
35
🌱 Building Momentum · Developing
ranked #970 statewide · #75 of 129 in Los Angeles Unified
Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet scores 35 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 43rd percentile of 1,714 California middle schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).
Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →
Most rating sites would stop at “36% proficient” and call it done. Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet deserves a closer read. The school sits in Los Angeles, where nearly all students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
The headline number: 40.6% of English learners reached the top ELPAC level, versus 18.0% statewide.
The story this school is actually telling
The school, grade by grade
ELA · CAASPP 2024–25Different students, same year — each bar is one grade's proficiency mix.
14%
27%
59%
Grade 6 · 41% proficient
10%
29%
61%
Grade 7 · 39% proficient
40%
54%
Grade 8 · 46% proficient
The honest read: the share exceeding falls 7.6pp across grades; the floor rises 5.0pp. The state average falls 0.5pp over the same span. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
The 6 things our score weighs
Exceeded standard
9.2%
State 17.3%
8.1pp below state avg
Met or exceeded
35.6%
State 39.5%
3.9pp below state avg
Growth (G6→G8)
-3.1pp
State +0.8pp
Scores decline across grades
Chronic absenteeism
23.8%
State 19.1%
4.8pp above state avg
Suspension rate
0.7%
State 4.2%
3.5pp below state avg
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
40.6%
State 18.0%
22.7pp above state avg
Worth a school visit
Ask what the school is working on next. Strong numbers tell you where a school is, not where it's going.
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
K-12 Path
Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet serves grades K-12 — students can complete their entire K-12 education here.
Your other options
Nearby Middle Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 41
George K. Porter Middle
Los Angeles Unified · 2.5 mi
Solid
57/100
Olive Vista Middle
Los Angeles Unified · 1.5 mi
Developing
38/100
San Fernando Institute of Applied Media
Los Angeles Unified · 0.9 mi
Needs Support
27/100
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
The community around it
Community Profile
Context — not part of the Scope ScoreStudent demographics
Hispanic91.9%
White2.7%
Asian1.7%
Black1.4%
Other2.3%
GenderFemale 54.5%Male 45.5%
Resources & Access
Enrollment
517
683 below CA avg (~1,200)
Transitional Kindergarten
No TK reported, 2025-26
California requires the district to offer TK, but not every site has a room — ask the district which campuses do.
Free/Reduced Lunch
95%
32pp above CA avg (64%)
Student-Teacher Ratio
16:1
5 fewer students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$28,570
District avg: $18,180 · CA avg: $14,815 · School-level · CDE ESSA
EL Proficiency (ELPAC)
40.6% Level 4
Share of English Learners reaching full proficiency
Teacher Salary Range
$60,420 – $122,706
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
At Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet in Los Angeles, 47.2% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 40.9% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet outperforms its district average for low-income students by 6.3 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (28.6% Math proficient); Hispanic students (46.8% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 20.0 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 254 students tested.
Equity Gaps
Absenteeism · Homeless+28.8pp
52.6% vs 23.8% overall · n=19
Math · Disabilities−22.3pp
6.7% vs 29.0% overall · n=15
1 more gap by subject
ELA · Disabilities−20.0pp
26.7% vs 46.7% overall · n=15
Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.
Subgroup Proficiency
Low-Income255 tested
ELA 47.2%·Math 28.6%· +6.3pp vs district
Hispanic249 tested
ELA 46.8%·Math 27.7%· +5.7pp vs district
Disabilities40 tested
ELA 20.0%·Math 7.5%· +3.9pp vs district
Weighted average across tested grades. Subgroups with fewer than 15 students excluded. Data: CDE CAASPP 2024-25.
Subgroup Growth by Grade
Change in proficiency from lowest tested grade. Shows which groups are gaining ground.
Low-income student ELA proficiency rises by 5.9pp from grade 6 to grade 8 at this school. District average: -0.3pp.
Subgroups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
Funding Breakdown
Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$95K
$10K above CA median
Median Home Value
$1.09M
$426K above CA median
Bachelor's+
42%
7pp above CA avg
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
Whole Child
Teacher experience, college/career readiness, and more. Context only — never part of the Scope Score.
Teacher Experience
9.9 years avg experience
32 teachers · 6% first-year · 3% second-year
Teacher Credentials
67% fully credentialed
6.1% on intern/emergency permit
Source: CDE SARC, 2024-25
Community Profile provides context about who attends this school and the resources available. These factors are never part of the Scope Score. Learn why →
For the data nerdsEvery number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
For the data nerds
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Exceeded standard · 43%
9.2%
↓ vs CA 17.3% · 41th pctile
Met or exceeded · 22%
35.6%
↓ vs CA 39.5% · 47th pctile
Growth (G6→G8) · 15%
-3.1pp
↓ vs CA +0.8pp · 49th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 10%
23.8%
↓ vs CA 19.1% · 43th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
0.7%
↑ vs CA 4.2% · 64th pctile
EL proficiency (ELPAC) · 5%
40.6%
↑ vs CA 18.0% · 56th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 51 | 14% | 27% | 29% | 29% | 41% | −5 |
| Grade 7 | 68 | 10% | 29% | 24% | 37% | 40% | −8 |
| Grade 8 | 65 | 6% | 40% | 34% | 20% | 46% | +0 |
| Grade 11 | 85 | 27% | 32% | 29% | 12% | 59% | +12 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 52 | 12% | 21% | 15% | 52% | 33% | −2 |
| Grade 7 | 68 | 7% | 25% | 24% | 44% | 32% | −2 |
| Grade 8 | 65 | 6% | 15% | 26% | 52% | 22% | −11 |
| Grade 11 | 85 | 7% | 22% | 21% | 49% | 29% | +6 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 150 | 4% | 18% | 69% | 9% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| Subgroup · ELA | Tested | MET+ | vs district | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 254 | 47.2% | +6 | +9 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 248 | 46.8% | +6 | +8 |
| Students with Disabilities | 40 | 20.0% | +4 | +3 |
03Peer comparison · nearest middle schoolssorted by Scope Score
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet ← | — | 35 | 9.2% | 35.6% | −3.1 | 0.7% |
| George K. Porter Middle | 2.5 mi | 57 | 31.1% | 54.8% | −3.0 | 0.8% |
| Olive Vista Middle | 1.5 mi | 38 | 15.0% | 34.2% | +3.5 | 0.4% |
| San Fernando Institute of Applied Media | 0.9 mi | 27 | 5.9% | 23.3% | +9.0 | 0.8% |
| California average | — | 40 | 17.3% | 39.5% | +0.8 | 4.2% |
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Scope Score history
2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · rank #1146 → #1235 → #1187 → #970
What we can't show
- — Scored here as a middle school — other grade spans appear in the data appendix.
Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=1,714 middle schools · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue
A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means
Frequently asked questions
Is Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet a good middle school?
Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet has a Scope Score of 35 out of 100, placing it in the 43rd percentile of California middle schools and ranked #970 statewide. 9.2% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 8.1 percentage points below the California average of 17.3%. The Scope Score weights six dimensions for middle schools: exceeded standard (43%), met or exceeded (22%), grade 3-to-5 growth (15%), chronic absenteeism (10%), ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%), and suspension rate (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.
What are Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 35.6% of students at Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 9.2% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 26.4% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 9.2% pushed past it. Most rating sites report only the combined "proficient" number. SchoolScope surfaces the exceeded-vs-met split because it reveals whether a school's curriculum challenges students beyond minimum proficiency or paces toward it. 369 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet rank in California?
Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet ranks #970 among California middle schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 43rd percentile. This ranking is based on a weighted composite of 2025 CAASPP test performance (exceeded and met rates), grade-level growth (Grade 6 to grade 8 growth), chronic absenteeism, and suspension rate. Unlike single-number ratings, the Scope Score shows what drives the ranking so parents can decide what matters most to their family. See full methodology.
Is Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet getting better or worse?
Based on 2025 CAASPP data, proficiency at Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet decreases by 3.1 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth. This downward pattern doesn't necessarily mean the school is failing — it can reflect cohort differences, demographic shifts, or curriculum changes. A campus visit and conversation with teachers can reveal what the numbers can't. Growth trajectory is weighted at 15% in the middle Scope Score because it measures what the school does, not just who walks in the door.
What is the attendance and school culture like at Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet?
23.8% of students at Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), compared to the California average of 19.1%. The suspension rate is 0.7%, indicating a low-discipline-incident environment. SchoolScope includes these culture metrics in the Scope Score because they reflect day-to-day school experience in ways test scores alone cannot.
How does Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet compare to other schools in Los Angeles?
Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet scores 35/100 (43rd percentile) among California middle schools. To compare with nearby schools, SchoolScope shows the same metrics side by side: exceeded rate, proficiency, growth trajectory, and school culture indicators. The school serves 517 students. Use the schools in Los Angeles page or the map view to compare all middle schools nearby.
How does Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet in Los Angeles, 47.2% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 40.9% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Sotomayor Arts and Sciences Magnet outperforms its district average for low-income students by 6.3 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (28.6% Math proficient); Hispanic students (46.8% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 20.0 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 254 students tested. SchoolScope shows disaggregated test scores by demographic subgroup so you can see how a school performs for your child's specific group — not just the school-wide average. Subgroup data is context, not part of the Scope Score: we don't penalize schools for who they serve. See our equity approach.