La Mesa · San Diego County

Schools in La Mesa

La Mesa’s 12 public elementary schools run from the 28th to the 76th percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Elementary · 12 schools

from 28th to 76th · among 5,726 California elementary schools we score · spring 2026 tests

  • Murdock Elementary: 76th percentile, Strong
  • Lemon Avenue Elementary: 75th percentile, Strong
  • Maryland Avenue Elementary: 70th percentile, Solid
  • JCS - Manzanita: 64th percentile, Solid
  • Murray Manor Elementary: 56th percentile, Solid
  • La Mesa Dale Elementary: 53rd percentile, Solid
  • The Learning Choice Academy - East County: 53rd percentile, Solid
  • Vista La Mesa Academy: 49th percentile, Developing
  • Rolando Elementary: 47th percentile, Developing
  • Sparrow Academy: 43rd percentile, Developing
  • Northmont Elementary: 32nd percentile, Developing
  • Avocado Elementary: 28th percentile, Developing
0Needs Support
5Developing
5Solid
2Strong

One dot per school.

Middle and high school pictures

Middle · 5 schools

from 27th to 86th · among 2,529 California middle schools we score · spring 2026 tests

  • La Mesa Arts Academy: 86th percentile, Strong
  • Parkway Sports and Health Science Academy: 67th percentile, Solid
  • JCS - Manzanita: 55th percentile, Solid
  • The Learning Choice Academy - East County: 44th percentile, Developing
  • Vista La Mesa Academy: 27th percentile, Developing
0Needs Support
2Developing
2Solid
1Strong

High · 3 schools

from 18th to 95th · among 1,498 California high schools we score · spring 2025 tests

  • Helix High: 95th percentile, Strong
  • Grossmont High: 33rd percentile, Developing
  • The Learning Choice Academy - East County: 18th percentile, Needs Support
1Needs Support
1Developing
0Solid
1Strong

One dot per school. Each stage is placed only among California schools at its own level. 3 of the 16 ranked schools teach more than one level, 1 of them all three, so they appear in more than one picture.

Schools around La Mesa

16 listed public schools with mapped locations.

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Percentile among California schools at the same level

  • Strong75th+
  • Solid50–74th
  • Developing25–49th
  • Needs Supportbelow 25th
  • Not scored

The school lists on this page are also available without the map.

Elementary schools

Which elementary schools in La Mesa score highest?

Murdock Elementary is highest, at the 76th percentile.

That’s higher than 76 in 100 of the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Highest in La Mesa

Each percentile compares a school with California schools at its own level.

Show the other 9 elementary schools
Context

The average La Mesa elementary school had 13 in 100 students chronically absent (missed 10% or more of school days) in 2025–26; the average California elementary school we score had 17 in 100. Both are averages of school rates, each school counted once.

Middle schools

Which middle schools in La Mesa score highest?

La Mesa Arts Academy is highest, at the 86th percentile.

That’s higher than 86 in 100 of the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Highest in La Mesa

Each percentile compares a school with California schools at its own level.

Show the other 2 middle schools
Context

The average La Mesa middle school had 14 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California middle school we score had 18 in 100.

High schools

Which high schools in La Mesa score highest?

Helix High is highest, at the 95th percentile.

That’s higher than 95 in 100 of the 1,498 California high schools we score (spring 2025 tests).

Highest in La Mesa

Each percentile compares a school with California schools at its own level. What patterns mean

Context

The average La Mesa high school had 9 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California high school we score had 22 in 100.

9 private schools have a La Mesa address. They don’t take California’s state tests, so we don’t score them. See them in the private-school directory →

Which places nearby can you look at next?

School districts

More places (8)

ZIP codes

Before kindergarten

Common questions

Which public schools in La Mesa rank highest?

Elementary: Murdock Elementary, 76th percentile (Strong). Middle: La Mesa Arts Academy, 86th percentile (Strong). High: Helix High, 95th percentile (Strong). Each percentile is among the California schools at the same level we score. A rank doesn’t decide fit or whether a child can enroll.

Does living in La Mesa decide which school my child attends?

No. A city can hold schools from more than one district, and attendance boundaries decide which school serves an address. Confirm the school for your address with the district.
More questions (3)

Are the public schools in La Mesa good?

La Mesa’s 12 public elementary schools run from the 28th to the 76th percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 2 Strong, 5 Solid and 5 Developing. La Mesa’s 5 public middle schools run from the 27th to the 86th percentile among the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 1 Strong, 2 Solid and 2 Developing. La Mesa’s 3 public high schools run from the 18th to the 95th percentile among the 1,498 California high schools we score (spring 2025 tests). By band: 1 Strong, 1 Developing and 1 Needs Support. A percentile compares a school with California public schools at the same level that we score. How we score schools.

How does chronic absence in La Mesa compare with California?

The average La Mesa elementary school had 13 in 100 students chronically absent (missed 10% or more of school days) in 2025–26; the average California elementary school we score had 17 in 100. Both are averages of school rates, each school counted once. The average La Mesa middle school had 14 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California middle school we score had 18 in 100. The average La Mesa high school had 9 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California high school we score had 22 in 100. These are averages of school rates: each school counts once, whatever its size.

Where do these results come from?

California’s state tests (CAASPP): spring 2026 for elementary and middle schools, spring 2025 for high schools, and chronic-absence rates for 2025–26, published by the California Department of Education. Percentiles, bands and Scope Scores are SchoolScope’s calculations. How we score schools.

Sources and methodology

This page lists the public schools with a La Mesa address, which can belong to more than one school district.

Data source: California Department of Education · CAASPP 2025–26 elementary and middle school; 2024–25 high school

Percentiles, bands and Scope Scores are SchoolScope’s own calculations from these state files.

View CDE data ↗ (opens in a new tab)How Scope Scores work →

Download these schools (CSV)Free to use under CC BY 4.0 with attribution.