The top reported proficiency rate is 67% in English language arts. The lowest is 38% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Lakeside Middle
Lakeside Middle sits on Kenney Street in Norwalk, a dense residential suburb roughly seventeen miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The school serves sixth through eighth graders in the Little Lake City Elementary School District and enrolls a modest number of students for a three-grade middle school.
The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller shares of Asian and white students and very small numbers across other groups. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places Lakeside in high-economic-need territory. Data on English learner and special education rates were not reported in the available records, so those dimensions of the student support picture are gaps a parent may want to ask the school about directly.
On California's CAASPP assessments for the 2024-25 school year, Lakeside's English language arts results are a genuine strength relative to its math performance. Across all three grade levels, a solid majority of students tested as meeting or exceeding standards in ELA, with eighth grade coming in a shade higher than seventh and sixth between them. Math tells a different story: fewer than four in ten students reached proficiency at each grade level, a pattern that is consistent across sixth, seventh, and eighth grade and sits below where most families would hope to see their child's school. On the eighth-grade California Science Test, results land roughly between the ELA and math figures, with fewer than half reaching proficiency. Social studies data is available only from a much earlier testing era and is too dated to carry weight here. Trend data is limited to a single reported year, so it is not possible to say whether these results reflect improvement, decline, or stability over time.
Placed against districts in Los Angeles County, Lakeside's overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint of the schools in that comparison set. That is a meaningful data point given the high concentration of economic need in its enrollment, though the math figures remain an area where families with strong academic ambitions for their children may want to explore what acceleration or support pathways the school offers. Chronic absenteeism and graduation rate data were not available or applicable given the grade band.
Two district-level developments are worth knowing. Voters approved a general obligation bond in June 2022 to fund repairs across the district's aging campuses, covering roofs, bathrooms, plumbing, electrical systems, air filtration, and removal of asbestos and lead. That bond carries a property tax levy for homeowners in the district for as long as the bonds remain outstanding, and it represents a publicly reported long-term investment in campus conditions. More recently, in April 2026, roughly the district's teacher workforce staged a strike lasting about two weeks over mid-year healthcare changes, class sizes, and special education support. The strike ended with a publicly reported tentative agreement in which the district committed to cover a substantial share of health benefit costs, hold class sizes steady, and expand special education support. A superintendent departure coincided with this period, meaning the district is also navigating a leadership transition.
Norwalk itself is a car-oriented suburb anchored by retail corridors and connected to greater Los Angeles via the Metro C Line and Metrolink commuter rail, though the two stations are not within easy walking distance of each other. The city is in the middle of a significant growth push, with multiple specific plans adopted in late 2024 and 2025 that rezone commercial corridors for denser housing and convert a former state youth facility into residential and commercial space. Families looking at housing near Lakeside Middle will find a market priced well above both the state and national medians, with rents that consume a substantial share of a typical household's income at the national benchmark level. Year-over-year home values in the zip code have moved only modestly upward, and rents have climbed at a slightly faster pace.
Programs data for Lakeside was not available in the records reviewed, so extracurricular offerings, electives, and any enrichment pathways are questions best taken directly to the school.
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