School Profile · La Mesa
The Learning Choice Academy - East County: The score is middle of the pack. The trajectory isn't.
The Learning Choice Academy - East County sits mid-pack on raw proficiency — and it's climbing faster than most schools anywhere near it — and that holds when you follow the same students across grades.
4215 Spring Street Suite 104, 91941 (opens in new tab)·Grossmont Union High·La Mesa·Grades K-12·466 students·59% low-income·Charter·2024–25 CAASPP·(619) 463-8811·Website
Charter school — publicly funded, independently operated, open enrollment via lottery. Learn more
Scope Score
42
📈 On the Rise · Developing
ranked #2,645 statewide
The Learning Choice Academy - East County scores 42 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 54th percentile of 5,744 California elementary 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 “34% proficient” and call it done. The Learning Choice Academy - East County deserves a closer read. The school sits in La Mesa, where more than half of students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
The headline number: 3.0% chronic absenteeism — versus 17.9% statewide. Attendance is the quietest strong signal a school can post.
As a charter, The Learning Choice Academy - East County enrolls by application, not address — the score reads the same, the enrollment path doesn't.
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.
17%
14%
69%
Grade 3 · 31% proficient
20%
20%
60%
Grade 4 · 40% proficient
15%
26%
59%
Grade 5 · 41% proficient
The honest read: the share exceeding falls 2.4pp across grades; the floor rises 9.7pp. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
The 5 things our score weighs
Exceeded standard
18.2%
State 21.3%
3.1pp below state avg
Met or exceeded
34.0%
State 42.7%
8.7pp below state avg
Growth (G3→G5)
+7.7pp
State -2.9pp
Scores improve across grades
Chronic absenteeism
3.0%
State 17.9%
14.9pp below state avg
Suspension rate
0.9%
State 1.6%
0.7pp below state avg
Worth a school visit
Ask what changed — new curriculum, new principal, new program. Momentum has a cause, and a visit will find it.
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
Estimated K-12 Path
Elementary
The Learning Choice Acade…
42
This school
→
High
Helix High
76
Estimated K-12 path based on district and proximity. Actual attendance zones may differ. Contact your school district for official feeder information.
Planning ahead? 9 licensed preschools near this school →
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 57
Benchley/Weinberger Elementary
San Diego Unified · 2.9 mi
Solid
68/100
Murdock Elementary
La Mesa-Spring Valley · 1.7 mi
Solid
52/100
Murray Manor Elementary
La Mesa-Spring Valley · 2.3 mi
Solid
51/100
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
Hispanic61.8%
White25.1%
Asian0.9%
Black4.7%
Other7.5%
GenderFemale 52.6%Male 47.2%Non-binary 0.2%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 58.6% (5pp below CA avg)
Resources & Access
Enrollment
466
734 below CA avg (~1,200)
Transitional Kindergarten
TK status unconfirmed
No TK enrollment is on file with the state for this school — that isn't the same as “no TK.” Confirm directly with the district.
Student-Teacher Ratio
21:1
0 more students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$15,094
CA avg: $14,815 · District avg · NCES F-33
Teacher Salary Range
$60,339 – $126,286
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
At The Learning Choice Academy - East County in La Mesa, 36.8% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 43.3% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. The Learning Choice Academy - East County trails its district average for low-income students by 6.5 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (23.9% Math proficient); Hispanic students (40.6% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 6.1 percentage points for low-income students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 156 students tested.
Equity Gaps
ELA · Low-Income−6.1pp
36.2% vs 42.3% overall · n=156
3 more gaps by subject
ELA Exceeded · Low-Income−3.8pp
13.8% vs 17.6% overall · n=156
Math · Low-Income−5.4pp
22.7% vs 28.1% overall · n=155
Math Exceeded · Hispanic−8.4pp
7.5% vs 15.9% overall · n=123
Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.
Subgroup Proficiency
Low-Income156 tested
ELA 36.8%·Math 23.9%· -6.5pp vs district
Hispanic136 tested
ELA 40.6%·Math 22.1%· -3.7pp vs district
White37 tested
ELA 45.9%·Math 54.1%· -12.9pp 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 20.2pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school.
Subgroups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
Funding Breakdown
Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$115K
$30K above CA median
Median Home Value
$929K
$270K above CA median
Bachelor's+
47%
12pp 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
5.5 years avg experience
24 teachers · 33% first-year · 17% second-year
Teacher Credentials
54% fully credentialed
4.0% 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%
18.2%
↓ vs CA 21.3% · 47th pctile
Met or exceeded · 22%
34.0%
↓ vs CA 42.7% · 43th pctile
Growth (G3→G5) · 15%
+7.7pp
↑ vs CA -2.9pp · 44th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 10%
3.0%
↑ vs CA 17.9% · 74th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
0.9%
↑ vs CA 1.6% · 56th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 29 | 17% | 14% | 28% | 41% | 31% | −12 |
| Grade 4 | 30 | 20% | 20% | 20% | 40% | 40% | −5 |
| Grade 5 | 27 | 15% | 26% | 19% | 41% | 41% | −7 |
| Grade 6 | 38 | 29% | 24% | 16% | 32% | 53% | +6 |
| Grade 7 | 37 | 16% | 27% | 30% | 27% | 43% | −4 |
| Grade 8 | 50 | 10% | 30% | 24% | 36% | 40% | −6 |
| Grade 11 | 31 | 16% | 32% | 35% | 16% | 48% | +1 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 29 | 10% | 17% | 31% | 41% | 28% | −18 |
| Grade 4 | 29 | 17% | 14% | 28% | 41% | 31% | −11 |
| Grade 5 | 27 | 30% | 4% | 33% | 33% | 33% | −2 |
| Grade 6 | 38 | 8% | 16% | 26% | 50% | 24% | −11 |
| Grade 7 | 36 | 19% | 17% | 25% | 39% | 36% | +2 |
| Grade 8 | 51 | 24% | 12% | 27% | 37% | 35% | +3 |
| Grade 11 | 33 | 3% | 6% | 45% | 45% | 9% | −14 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 110 | 15% | 25% | 50% | 10% |
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 | 156 | 36.8% | −6 | −1 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 134 | 40.6% | −4 | +2 |
| White | 37 | 45.9% | −13 | −16 |
03Peer comparison · nearest elementary schoolssorted by Scope Score
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Learning Choice Academy - East County ← | — | 42 | 18.2% | 34.0% | +7.7 | 0.9% |
| Benchley/Weinberger Elementary | 2.9 mi | 68 | 45.2% | 73.2% | −6.6 | 0.3% |
| Murdock Elementary | 1.7 mi | 52 | 33.2% | 58.3% | −18.3 | 1.2% |
| Murray Manor Elementary | 2.3 mi | 51 | 35.2% | 59.8% | −11.4 | 0.6% |
| California average | — | 43 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Scope Score history
2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · rank #1268 → #1614 → #1847 → #2645
What we can't show
- — Scored here as an elementary school — other grade spans appear in the data appendix.
Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=5,744 elementary schools · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue
Frequently asked questions
Is The Learning Choice Academy - East County a good elementary school?
The Learning Choice Academy - East County has a Scope Score of 42 out of 100, placing it in the 54th percentile of California elementary schools and ranked #2,645 statewide. 18.2% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 3.1 percentage points below the California average of 21.3%. The Scope Score weights six dimensions for elementary 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 The Learning Choice Academy - East County's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 34.0% of students at The Learning Choice Academy - East County met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 18.2% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 15.7% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 18.2% 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. 171 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does The Learning Choice Academy - East County rank in California?
The Learning Choice Academy - East County ranks #2,645 among California elementary schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 54th percentile. This ranking is based on a weighted composite of 2025 CAASPP test performance (exceeded and met rates), grade-level growth (Grade 3 to grade 5 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 The Learning Choice Academy - East County getting better or worse?
Based on 2025 CAASPP data, proficiency at The Learning Choice Academy - East County increases by 7.7 percentage points from Grade 3 to grade 5 growth. This upward trajectory suggests the school is adding measurable value — students leave with higher proficiency rates than they entered with. Growth trajectory is weighted at 15% in the elementary 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 The Learning Choice Academy - East County?
3.0% of students at The Learning Choice Academy - East County are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), which is better than the California average of 17.9%. The suspension rate is 0.9%, 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 The Learning Choice Academy - East County compare to other schools in La Mesa?
The Learning Choice Academy - East County scores 42/100 (54th percentile) among California elementary 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 466 students. Use the schools in La Mesa page or the map view to compare all elementary schools nearby.
How does The Learning Choice Academy - East County serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At The Learning Choice Academy - East County in La Mesa, 36.8% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 43.3% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. The Learning Choice Academy - East County trails its district average for low-income students by 6.5 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (23.9% Math proficient); Hispanic students (40.6% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 6.1 percentage points for low-income students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 156 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.