How does Sussman (Edward A.) Middle compare to other middle schools in Downey?

Sussman (Edward A.) Middle has a Scope Score of 41.1/100, ranked #1078 among California middle schools. 14% of students exceed standard, with a total of 2,381 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Sussman (Edward A.) Middle?

14.0% of students at Sussman (Edward A.) Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 39.3% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Sussman (Edward A.) Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Sussman (Edward A.) Middle's proficiency rate decreases by 15.4 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth. This pattern in test scores may reflect a variety of factors beyond the school itself.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at Sussman (Edward A.) Middle?

22.4% of students at Sussman (Edward A.) 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 the Scope Score.

Sussman (Edward A.) Middle

Middle School

Downey Unified DowneyLos Angeles County90242

📍 12500 Birchdale Avenue

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

🌱

Building Momentum

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Scope Scores are SchoolScope's analysis of public data from the California Dept. of Education (CAASPP, chronic absenteeism, suspension rates). They are not official CDE ratings and should not be the sole basis for school decisions. See methodology.

School overview

Enrollment

1,218 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

23:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

75%

Teachers

54 full-time

Dashboard indicators

How this school's scores changed from last year to this year

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased

+7.1 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased

+8.6 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

21.3%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 160 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic90.4%

White2.8%

Asian1.5%

Black3.1%

Other2.2%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Sussman (Edward A.) Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	14.0%
Met Standard	25.3%
Below Standard	60.7%

Score Factors

Holding Back

▼Exceeded standard: 14.0%

3.3pp below state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

▼Met or exceeded: 39.3%

0.2pp below state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

▼Growth (G6→G8): -15.4pp

Scores decline across grades (state avg +0.8pp)

15% weight

▼Chronic absenteeism: 22.4%

3.1pp above state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% weight

▼Baseline proficiency: 39.3%

Below state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

10% weight

▼Suspension rate: 5.1%

1.0pp above state avg (state avg 4.1%)

10% weight

Unlike traditional school ratings, we show our work. Every factor, its weight, and how this school compares to the state average — so you can decide what matters most to your family. The middle school Scope Score is weighted across 6 dimensions. See full methodology →

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "39% proficient" for Sussman (Edward A.) Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

14.0% of students exceeded standard while 25.3% met it. That exceeded rate is 3.3 points below the state average of 17.3%. That's 7.5 points below the Downey Unified district average of 21.5%. Nearby schools (within ~3 miles) average 14.1% exceeded — about the same. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Proficiency drops by 15.4 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 and Math increased year-over-year. 21.3% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 22.4%, above 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

14.0%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

39.3%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

-15.4pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

22.4%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

5.1%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

2,381

Across all grades & subjects

Grade trajectory

How proficiency compares across grade levels this year (different students, same test year)

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	403	19.4%	32.0%	26.1%	22.6%	51.4%
7th	416	15.4%	37.3%	23.6%	23.8%	52.6%
8th	372	8.3%	27.1%	29.8%	34.7%	35.5%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	403	18.1%	19.4%	30.5%	32.0%	37.5%
7th	419	13.1%	23.4%	29.6%	33.9%	36.5%
8th	368	9.8%	12.8%	26.4%	51.1%	22.6%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Lewis (Ed C.) Elementary

58.8# in state

Alameda Elementary

54.7# in state

Also serves area

Ward (E. W.) Elementary

54.1# in state

▼

Middle

Sussman (Edward A.) Middle

41.1# in state

This school

▼

High School

Downey High

70.4# in state

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