Stella Middle Charter Academy, Los Angeles CA

Original Research by School Decision on Stella Middle Charter Academy

Stella Middle Charter Academy serves grades five through eight in Los Angeles on West Martin Luther King Boulevard. It is a small school with an enrollment distributed fairly evenly across the four grades, with the largest cohort in sixth grade.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic and Black, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Specific data on English learners and students with disabilities was not available, so a parent may want to look into the school's supports in those areas directly with the school.

The most recent state testing data reflects the 2024-25 school year. In English language arts, the school shows a clear progression by grade. Fifth and sixth graders have lower proficiency, but by seventh grade roughly half of students meet proficiency, and by eighth grade substantially more do. In math, proficiency is lower across all grades, ranging from the low teens in fifth and sixth grade to roughly a quarter by seventh and eighth grade. Science proficiency data was available only for fifth and eighth grade; the eighth-grade cohort performs better than the fifth-grade cohort.

When measured as an overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades, Stella sits in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Los Angeles County. A parent may want to understand this performance in the context of the school's student population and any recent programmatic changes. The school's website may carry information about current initiatives, but district communications about broader changes at Stella were not available in time to include here.

The school is located in Los Angeles, a sprawling polycentric city with dense central neighborhoods, suburban pocket communities, and walkable mixed-use districts. Housing values in the school's zip code are moderately elevated compared to the state benchmark. The region's job market includes aerospace, healthcare, entertainment, and public-sector anchors. Los Angeles is undergoing active housing growth and rezoning, though construction has moderated amid high interest rates and labor costs.

As a charter school, Stella operates under a different governance structure than traditional public schools. Parents should understand the charter's enrollment, admissions, and discipline policies before committing, and clarify the school's approach to special education and English learner services if those apply to their child.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 514%

School 14% · district not reported

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 614%

School 14% · district not reported

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 726%

School 26% · district not reported

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 821%

School 21% · district not reported

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 527%

School 27% · district not reported

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 628%

School 28% · district not reported

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 745%

School 45% · district not reported

even with state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 856%

School 56% · district not reported

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Science

Grade 514%

School 14% · district not reported

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 828%

School 28% · district not reported

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

This schoolDistrict average, 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.