Magee Academy of Arts & Sciences, Pico Rivera CA

Original Research by School Decision on Magee Academy of Arts & Sciences

Magee Academy of Arts & Sciences is a public elementary school in Pico Rivera, California, serving kindergarten through fifth grade. The school is part of El Rancho Unified, a district that has recently expanded college and career pathways for its students, including a partnership with the University of La Verne that guarantees admission to El Rancho High School graduates who meet criteria.

Magee's enrollment is small and concentrated in Pico Rivera's predominantly Hispanic/Latino working- and middle-income community. The vast majority of students come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds; a substantial share qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school's peer group is largely consistent across all tested grades in terms of demographic composition.

On California's standardized assessments, proficiency in English language arts and math sits below the midpoint relative to districts across Los Angeles County. In ELA, results vary by grade: fourth graders show stronger performance while third and fifth graders show lower rates. Math proficiency is similarly mixed, with third graders at about midpoint performance, fourth graders near midpoint, and fifth graders notably lower. In science, fifth-grade proficiency is below half. These results reflect a school where reading and math fundamentals remain an academic priority. A parent may want to look into what supports and interventions the school is deploying to build proficiency, particularly in the upper elementary grades.

The school name references arts and sciences, though the data provided does not detail program offerings, course breadth, or how those subject areas are woven into daily instruction. The school's website was not accessible to us, so specific program detail is not available here; learning more directly from the school about its curriculum approach, any special emphases, and academic support structures would be valuable.

Pico Rivera itself is a city shaped by postwar residential development mixed with commercial and industrial uses along the Rio Hondo and San Gabriel rivers. It sits about midway between downtown Los Angeles and the region's inland communities. The local economy centers on healthcare, retail, and manufacturing; the city is actively working on pedestrian infrastructure and is pursuing transit-oriented growth around planned light rail and bus rapid transit corridors on Washington and Rosemead Boulevards, a change that may reshape the city's development over the coming decade. Housing in the area is moderately expensive and has shown modest appreciation recently; rent-to-income ratios and mortgage affordability remain a real household constraint for working families.

Magee serves a population that reflects the city's character. The school's academic performance shows room for growth, and a family considering enrollment would benefit from understanding the school's specific academic model, staffing depth, intervention practices, and any enrichment or specialist support available to students. State data on English learner enrollment, special education population, and chronic absenteeism were not available, so direct conversation with the school about how it serves students with those needs would also be prudent.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 348%

School 48% · District 41% · ▲ 8 pts above district

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

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 43% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 538%

School 38% · District 25% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 343%

School 43% · District 37% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 459%

School 59% · District 46% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 42% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 28% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

This schoolEl Rancho 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

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income36%Higher-income46%10 pp gap