Original Research by School Decision on Jordan High
Jordan High sits in South Los Angeles, a neighborhood with a very high cost of living and home values that are well above the national average, though declining modestly. The area is heavily Hispanic and Black, with a strong tradition of family-oriented, working-class residential life. LAUSD, the nation's second-largest school district, covers the entire city and surrounding areas, and operates under two major shifts: the passage of a large school facilities bond that will increase property taxes for years to come, and a district-wide cellphone ban implemented in early 2025 that affects daily school operations and student-parent communication.
The school itself serves a high-poverty enrollment. Nearly every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with smaller Black and white populations. Enrollment is stable and modest in size for a traditional high school, with relatively even distribution across grades nine through twelve.
State assessment data reveals a school in real academic distress. In English language arts, about half of students met proficiency standards on the most recent test. In mathematics, roughly one in four students reached proficiency. In science, the proficiency rate drops sharply to around one in ten. These are the only state testing results available; no multi-year trend data exists, so it is unclear whether performance is improving, declining, or flat. A parent may want to ask the school directly about recent academic initiatives and what data the school itself tracks year to year.
The school's graduation rate was not available. Neither was enrollment data on students with individualized education plans or English learners, two populations that often signal the school's support capacity and the range of student needs being served.
The Los Angeles region is in active housing and development growth, with ongoing rezoning aimed at housing production and major infrastructure projects tied to the 2028 Olympics. The area around Jordan, however, sits in a well-established residential neighborhood with long-standing community ties, not in a newly developing zone. Housing costs are high relative to median incomes in the region, a factor that shapes the economic stability of families in the school's attendance area.
Within the context of Los Angeles County's districts, no comparison metrics were available for Jordan, so how the school's proficiency results stack against neighboring schools cannot be stated here. A parent exploring this school should seek the school's own climate and safety data, ask about the range of honors and AP offerings, inquire about counseling ratios and college-going support, and request whatever graduation and college-enrollment data the school tracks internally, as state-level metrics do not tell the full story of what comes after high school.
See more original research from School Decision →