Glen Alta Elementary, Los Angeles CA

Original Research by School Decision on Glen Alta Elementary

Glen Alta Elementary serves kindergarten through eighth grade in the Lincoln Heights area of Los Angeles as a regular public school within the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school enrolls a small population of students across a wide grade span, drawing almost entirely from an economically disadvantaged neighborhood. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a small share of Asian and Black students. Spanish is the home language for the vast majority of families.

On California's 2024-25 state assessments in English Language Arts and Mathematics, the school's results show uneven performance across grades. In ELA, fourth and sixth graders showed proficiency levels around the middle range, but seventh graders achieved a notably high proficiency rate while eighth graders fell back to below-average performance. Math proficiency was weaker across the board, ranging from around one-quarter to one-half of students meeting state standards in most tested grades, with the steepest drops in grades seven and eight. Science testing, administered in eighth grade, showed about one-third of students meeting proficiency. These patterns suggest that students struggle more with mathematical reasoning as they move into middle school, a common challenge in many schools but one a parent may want to explore further with the school's staff to understand what supports are in place.

The school's overall proficiency index, averaging across tested subjects and grades, places it above the midpoint among the schools in Los Angeles County's comparison group. This positioning reflects stronger ELA performance offsetting weakness in math, a profile that warrants a parent conversation about what intervention or enrichment the school offers in mathematics.

Glen Alta operates in a dense urban neighborhood where housing costs are substantial and rents have risen. The area is served by public transit, and families typically balance the school's free and reduced lunch eligibility—nearly all students—against the costs of living in the broader Los Angeles region. The school is part of LAUSD, which in 2024 adopted a districtwide cellphone ban during the school day and voters approved a major school facilities bond that will raise property taxes over the coming decades. LAUSD also funds culturally responsive curriculum and targeted student support through its Black Student Achievement Plan, which the district expanded in its 2025-26 budget.

State testing data for grades three and five was suppressed, likely due to small tested group sizes, so a full picture of achievement across all grades cannot be drawn from the available results. Special education and English learner participation rates were not reported. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate. These gaps reflect the data limitations rather than areas of weakness, though a parent seeking detailed information about services for English learners or students with disabilities should ask the school directly.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 450%

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

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

Grade 655%

School 55% · District 35% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 725%

School 25% · District 34% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 829%

School 29% · District 32% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 45% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 664%

School 64% · District 46% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 792%

School 92% · District 46% · ▲ 46 pts above district

▲ 46 pts above state median · ▲ 46 pts above county median

Grade 847%

School 47% · District 45% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 27% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 820%

School 20% · District 43% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

This schoolLos Angeles 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.