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Los Angeles Unified

Near Average2024–25 data725 schools · avg 44.0/100

Los Angeles Unified has 725 ranked schools across elementary, middle and high levels with an average Scope Score of 44.0/100 — 0.3 points near the California state average of 43.8. The highest-scoring school is Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor Teacher Preparation at 94/100, where 61.1% of students exceed the state standard. The district spends $18,180 per student (above the state average of $14,815). 46 schools show positive growth trajectories. Chronic absenteeism averages 25.1%, above the state average. Data source: CDE CAASPP 2025 and NCES fiscal data, analyzed by SchoolScope.

Avg Scope Score
44.0
State avg: 43.8
SchoolScope composite
Score Range
84.4
9.6 – 94.0
Avg Exceeded %
18.8%
State avg: 21.6%
Chronic Absenteeism
25.1%
State avg: 18.1%
Schools Ranked
725
With Scope Scores
Charter Schools
50
of 725 ranked schools
LevelAvg ScoreSchoolsExceededAbsent
ElementaryDeveloping
44.7/100
50021.2%21.2%
MiddleDeveloping
38.4/100
8315.1%23.9%
HighDeveloping
44.9/100
14212.7%39.5%

K–12 pipeline

The typical school path in Los Angeles Unified, top-scoring shown first.

Elementary
44.7
avg score · 500 schools
+497 more elementary schools
Middle
38.4
avg score · 83 schools
+80 more middle schools
High
44.9
avg score · 142 schools

District Analysis

Strongest level: Los Angeles Unified's high schools lead the district with an average Scope Score of 44.9.

Growth story: District-wide elementary growth averages -3.6pp (state avg: -3.0pp), a negative trend that warrants attention.

Consistency: Score range of 84.4 points — showing significant variation between schools.

Absenteeism: District chronic absenteeism averages 25.1%, 7.0pp below the state average of 18.1%.

Suspensions: District suspension rate averages 0.5%, near the state average of 1.7%.

Top school: Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor Teacher Preparation leads the district at 94 with 61.1% exceeding standard.

How we score · Scope Score methodology

School archetypes in Los Angeles Unified

94 On the Rise46 Growth Engine30 Strong All-Around28 High Ceiling494 Building Momentum

Hidden gems: 140 schools in Los Angeles Unified are classified as On the Rise (94) or Growth Engine (46) — showing positive growth trajectories that raw proficiency scores alone don't capture. These are schools where students leave with more than they arrived with.

Archetypes are data-driven labels based on Scope Score dimensions. Learn more

Student demographics

Hispanic
73.1%
White
9.1%
Asian
3.1%
Black
8.5%
Other
6.3%
Free/Reduced Lunch
82%
Economic need indicator · district avg

District averages · California Department of Education enrollment data

District Funding

Los Angeles Unified spends $18,180 per student in current expenditures — $3,366 above the state average of $14,815.

Per-Pupil Spending
$18,180
State avg: $14,815
District Enrollment
460,633
Students for funding calc
2016–2020 Trend
↑ 34.2%
$13,549 → $18,180
Spending Efficiency
2.42
Scope Score per $1K spent
Spending Breakdown
Instruction 55%Support 40%Other 5%
NCES F-33 Finance · District-level data — not school-specific

Data source: NCES Common Core of Data, Fiscal Survey (F-33) · 2019–2020

Teacher compensation

Salary Range
$60,420–$122,706
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
Teaching Staff
22,880
Full-time equivalent teachers

CDE Form J-90 salary schedule · 2024–25

Elementary Schools (500)

Los Angeles Unified has 500 ranked elementary schools averaging a Scope Score of 44.7 — 1.0 points near the state average of 43.8. 4 of 500 elementary schools have Scope Scores above 90.

Growth averages -3.6pp district-wide — a negative trend worth examining.

The highest-scoring elementary school is Wonderland Avenue Elementary with a Scope Score of 91 and 72.7% exceeding standard.

#SchoolExceededScore
1Wonderland Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
72.7%Strong
91/100
2Balboa Gifted/High Ability Magnet Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
72.2%Strong
91/100
3Third Street Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
68.3%Strong
91/100
4Overland Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
70.4%Strong
90/100
5Roscomare Road Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
62.2%Strong
85/100
6Carpenter Community Charter
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
59.8%Strong
84/100
7Welby Way Charter Elementary School And Gifted-Hig
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
62.6%Strong
84/100
8Clover Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
65.6%Strong
83/100
9Canyon Charter Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
61.1%Strong
82/100
10Community Magnet Charter Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
59.6%Strong
81/100
11Broadway Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
64.0%Strong
81/100
12Kentwood Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
63.2%Strong
80/100
13Beckford Charter for Enriched Studies
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
61.0%Strong
79/100
14Academy for Enriched Sciences
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
58.0%Strong
79/100
15Mar Vista Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
55.0%Strong
78/100
16Warner Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
58.6%Strong
78/100
17Franklin Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
56.5%Strong
78/100
18Castle Heights Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
53.2%Strong
77/100
19Porter Ranch Community
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
55.3%Strong
77/100
20Kenter Canyon Elementary Charter
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
54.8%Strong
76/100
21Colfax Charter Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
54.3%Strong
75/100
22Coeur D'Alene Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
51.0%Strong
74/100
23Richland Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
46.2%Strong
74/100
24Ivanhoe Elementary
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
48.7%Strong
74/100
25Lanai Road Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
53.8%Strong
73/100
26Kester Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
53.8%Strong
73/100
27Canfield Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
54.1%Strong
73/100
28Westwood Charter Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
51.3%Strong
72/100
29Melrose Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
47.5%Strong
72/100
30Palisades Charter Elementary
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
51.4%Strong
72/100

Middle Schools (83)

Los Angeles Unified has 83 ranked middle schools averaging a Scope Score of 38.4 — 2.1 points below the state average of 40.5.

Growth is essentially flat at -0.5pp.

The highest-scoring middle school is Alfred B. Nobel Charter Middle with a Scope Score of 68 and 41.6% exceeding standard.

#SchoolExceededScore
1Alfred B. Nobel Charter Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
41.6%Solid
68/100
2Gaspar De Portola Charter Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
43.3%Solid
68/100
3Robert Frost Middle
Los Angeles Unified Solid Base
36.6%Solid
65/100
4Paul Revere Charter Middle
Los Angeles Unified Solid Base
42.7%Solid
64/100
5Oliver Wendell Holmes Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
36.0%Solid
63/100
6Rudecinda Sepulveda Dodson Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
35.7%Solid
61/100
7Walter Reed Middle
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
36.3%Solid
60/100
8Washington Irving Middle School Math, Music and En
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
33.6%Solid
57/100
9George Ellery Hale Charter Academy
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
30.9%Solid
57/100
10George K. Porter Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
31.1%Solid
57/100
11Mark Twain Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
29.7%Solid
54/100
12John Burroughs Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
28.8%Solid
54/100
13Thomas Starr King Middle School Film and Media Mag
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
27.1%Solid
51/100
14Emerson Community Charter
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
26.8%Solid
51/100
15Palms Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
26.0%Solid
50/100
16Patrick Henry Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
20.1%Developing
48/100
17Louis Armstrong Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
23.0%Developing
46/100
18Luther Burbank Middle
Los Angeles Unified Growth Engine
17.6%Developing
46/100
19Mt. Gleason Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
18.4%Developing
46/100
20Ernest Lawrence Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
23.3%Developing
45/100
21Katherine Johnson STEM Academy
Los Angeles Unified Growth Engine
18.6%Developing
44/100
22Stephen M. White Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
19.2%Developing
43/100
23Virgil Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
21.5%Developing
43/100
24Alexander Fleming Middle
Los Angeles Unified On the Rise
17.7%Developing
43/100
25Andrew Carnegie Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
15.4%Developing
43/100
26Florence Nightingale Middle
Los Angeles Unified On the Rise
18.4%Developing
42/100
27Hollenbeck Middle
Los Angeles Unified On the Rise
15.0%Developing
42/100
28Wilmington Middle Science, Technology, Engineering
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
13.4%Developing
41/100
29John Adams Middle
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
15.8%Developing
41/100
30El Sereno Middle
Los Angeles Unified On the Rise
20.2%Developing
41/100

High Schools (142)

Los Angeles Unified has 142 ranked high schools averaging a Scope Score of 44.9 — 2.6 points below the state average of 47.5. 1 of 142 high schools have Scope Scores above 90.

The highest-scoring high school is Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor Teacher Preparation with a Scope Score of 94 and 61.1% exceeding standard.

#SchoolExceededScore
1Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor Teacher Preparation
Los Angeles Unified High Ceiling
61.1%Strong
94/100
2Middle College High
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
42.9%Strong
77/100
3Downtown Business High
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
43.7%Strong
77/100
4Math, Science, & Technology Magnet Academy at Roos
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
31.7%Strong
73/100
5Iovine and Young Center
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
30.8%Strong
72/100
6Orthopaedic Hospital
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
24.1%Strong
71/100
7North Hollywood Senior High
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
36.2%Strong
70/100
8Taft Charter High
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
28.4%Solid
69/100
9Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
28.8%Solid
69/100
10King/Drew Medical Magnet High
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
24.4%Solid
67/100
11John Marshall Senior High
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
28.1%Solid
66/100
12Early College Academy-LA Trade Tech College
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
26.8%Solid
66/100
13Venice Senior High
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
27.3%Solid
66/100
14Sylmar Biotech Health and Engineering Magnet
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
19.1%Solid
65/100
15Grover Cleveland Charter High
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
26.7%Solid
65/100
16Eagle Rock High
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
21.4%Solid
65/100
17Hollywood Senior High
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
26.4%Solid
64/100
18Linda Esperanza Marquez High A Huntington Park Ins
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
16.6%Solid
64/100
19Social Justice Leadership Academy Magnet at Esteba
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
27.8%Solid
63/100
20Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
21.2%Solid
63/100
21Academies of Education and Empowerment at Carson H
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
12.9%Solid
63/100
22Humanities and Arts (HARTS) Academy of Los Angeles
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
24.6%Solid
62/100
23Abraham Lincoln Senior High
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
23.8%Solid
61/100
24John F. Kennedy High
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
19.3%Solid
61/100
25Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathema
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
28.6%Solid
61/100
26Bell Senior High
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
23.6%Solid
60/100
27University High School Charter
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
17.3%Solid
60/100
28San Pedro Senior High
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
19.5%Solid
60/100
29Linda Esperanza Marquez High B LIBRA Academy
Los Angeles Unified Building Momentum
16.2%Solid
60/100
30Academy of Medical Arts at Carson High
Los Angeles Unified Strong All-Around
17.9%Solid
60/100

Data source: California Department of Education · CAASPP 2024-25 · Methodology

Scores are SchoolScope's analysis of public data, not official CDE ratings. They represent one way of interpreting test results and should not be the sole basis for school decisions.

What Scope Scores can't tell you about Los Angeles Unified

  • Class sizes and student-teacher interaction quality
  • Quality of arts, music, athletics, and enrichment programs
  • Teacher experience, turnover, and professional development
  • Campus safety, bullying climate, and social-emotional support
  • Parent and community engagement levels
  • Quality of special education and gifted programs
  • How resources are distributed across schools within the district

Scope Scores measure academic performance and school climate using public data. They are one lens among many. Full methodology

Frequently asked questions

Is Los Angeles Unified a good school district?
Los Angeles Unified has 725 ranked schools averaging a Scope Score of 44.0/100, which is 0.3 points near the California state average of 43.8. 18.8% of students exceed the state standard on average. The Scope Score measures academic performance and school climate across six dimensions. Data source: CDE CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.
What is the best school in Los Angeles Unified?
The highest-scoring school in Los Angeles Unified is Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor Teacher Preparation with a Scope Score of 94/100 and 61.1% exceeding standard. See methodology.
How much does Los Angeles Unified spend per student?
Los Angeles Unified spends $18,180 per student in current expenditures. The state average is $14,815. Spending data comes from the NCES Common Core of Data Fiscal Survey (F-33). Higher spending does not automatically mean better outcomes — the Scope Score measures what happens in the classroom regardless of budget.
What is the teacher salary range in Los Angeles Unified?
Teacher salaries in Los Angeles Unified range from $60,420–$122,706 based on the district's salary schedule (CDE Form J-90). The California statewide median teacher salary is approximately $98,000.
What does the Scope Score measure?
The Scope Score is SchoolScope's proprietary composite rating (0–100) based on six dimensions of publicly available California school data: the exceeded-vs-met standard split, overall proficiency, grade-level growth, chronic absenteeism, suspension rate, and ELPAC English Learner proficiency. Full methodology and weights.