The top reported proficiency rate is 38% in English language arts. The lowest is 20% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Richard E. Byrd Middle
Richard E. Byrd Middle School is a sixth-through-eighth grade public school on Arleta Avenue in Sun Valley, a neighborhood in the northeastern San Fernando Valley that blends suburban residential streets with industrial parks, warehousing operations, and some equestrian properties in its eastern reaches. The school is part of Los Angeles Unified, one of the largest urban districts in the country.
The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a smaller share of Asian and white students and very few students of other racial backgrounds. A very large proportion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the working-class, middle-income character of the surrounding neighborhood, where manufacturing and laborer occupations are among the leading employment sectors. IEP and English learner counts were not available in the data.
On the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, Byrd's proficiency rates across all three middle grades sit in a range that tells a consistent story: reading and writing results are somewhat stronger than math, with eighth graders showing the highest ELA attainment among the three grade levels, but none of the results reach what you would call broad mastery. Science scores from the eighth-grade California Science Test are lower still. Placed against districts in Los Angeles County, the school's overall proficiency index lands in the bottom quartile of that group. That is a meaningful gap from the county median. Trend data was limited to a single testing year, so it is not possible to say from this data alone whether scores have been moving in any direction. A parent who wants to understand what's happening grade by grade, and what interventions or acceleration pathways exist, would do well to ask the school directly.
No program or course access data was available for Byrd, so it is not possible to characterize enrichment offerings, electives, or academic support structures from this profile. Similarly, chronic absenteeism and discipline data were absent. The school is not a magnet or charter; it is a regular neighborhood public school.
Because Byrd serves only middle grades, graduation rate data does not apply here.
The surrounding Sun Valley community gives some context to what families living nearby are navigating. Publicly reported information describes a neighborhood in active transition: multiple affordable and transit-oriented housing projects are in various stages of approval or construction near the Metrolink station, alongside a long-delayed wetlands park conversion on a former landfill. Home values in the zip code sit well above the California statewide benchmark and substantially above the national median, and rents consume a high share of a typical household's income, making Sun Valley an expensive place to live despite its working-class economic character. Year-over-year, both home values and rents have edged slightly downward in recent data.
At the district level, LAUSD voters recently approved a large school facilities bond, publicly reported as the district's largest ever, to be repaid over a long period through property tax increases. Families purchasing property in LAUSD boundaries are taking on that added long-term tax obligation. The district also implemented a full school-day cellphone ban beginning in early 2025, covering lunch and breaks, with storage pouches used at most middle and high schools. That policy changes daily student culture in a concrete way and affects how parents reach their children during school hours. LAUSD's Black Student Achievement Plan, which funds counselors, climate advocates, and culturally responsive curriculum at targeted campuses, was restructured in 2024 and received a funding boost for the 2025-26 school year; whether Byrd is among the targeted campuses is not specified in the available data.
For a family making decisions about middle school, Byrd is a neighborhood school serving a high-need student population in a community with real economic pressures. Academic proficiency results are well below where many families would want them, and the absence of program, enrichment, and support-staffing data makes it hard to evaluate what the school offers beyond the test scores. Visiting the school, reviewing its specific course offerings, and asking about tutoring and intervention supports would give a fuller picture than this data alone can provide.
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