Carmenita Middle, Cerritos CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Carmenita Middle

Carmenita Middle serves seventh and eighth grades in Cerritos, a master-planned suburb that straddles Los Angeles County between downtown L.A. and the business centers of Orange County. The school sits in a predominantly residential area where single-family homes dominate, though Cerritos itself is widely known as a retail and logistics hub anchored by large shopping centers and auto dealerships. The city's layout is intentionally car-dependent, with commercial activity concentrated along major arterials and shopping malls rather than walkable streets, and most residents commute by car.

The student body at Carmenita is diverse by race and ethnicity, with a substantial majority of Asian students and meaningful representation of Hispanic, Black, and White students. A substantial share of the student population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating economic diversity within the enrollment. The school itself is mid-sized for its grade band.

Academic performance shows a clear pattern of strength in reading and writing alongside softer performance in mathematics and science. In English language arts, students across both grades demonstrate high proficiency on California's Smarter Balanced assessment. Mathematics proficiency is notably lower, with students in eighth grade showing considerably less mastery than their seventh-grade peers. Science proficiency sits in the middle of the range. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among schools in Los Angeles County, a position driven primarily by reading performance. Trend data covers only the current year, so longer-term improvement or decline cannot be assessed from the available information.

Special population data for English learners and students with IEPs were not available, so a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand the scope and nature of support services. State testing data for social studies is older and tied to an earlier assessment system, so it does not reflect current performance. Graduation rates do not apply because the school serves only middle grades, not high school.

The wider context is a solidly middle-class suburb undergoing deliberate housing intensification. Home values are well above the state median, and monthly rent substantially exceeds the estimated cost of a mortgage with standard financing, making ownership a more efficient long-term housing path for families who can afford it. The area has moderately strong employment centered in logistics, retail, healthcare, and finance. Local transit is minimal; a city bus service connecting the town center to Cerritos College operates, though the city has announced plans to discontinue fixed-route service after mid-2026.

The school feeds into a district system where parent-relevant policy changes were not available during the research period, so a parent may want to check directly with ABC Unified for current district priorities and initiatives.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 771%

School 71% · District 51% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 41 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

Grade 863%

School 63% · District 49% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 786%

School 86% · District 66% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 41 pts above state median · ▲ 40 pts above county median

Grade 882%

School 82% · District 65% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 36 pts above county median

Science

Grade 864%

School 64% · District 47% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 40 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 886%

School 86% · District 67% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

This schoolABC Unified, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 7Lower-income83%Higher-income88%5 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income73%Higher-income88%16 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income62%Higher-income78%16 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income48%Higher-income72%24 pp gap