Johnnie Cochran Jr. Middle, Los Angeles CA

Original Research by School Decision on Johnnie Cochran Jr. Middle

Johnnie Cochran Jr. Middle sits within Los Angeles Unified, the nation's second-largest school district, and serves students in grades six through eight in South Los Angeles. The school is a regular public middle school with a small enrollment reflecting the size typical for that grade band in an urban setting.

The student body is heavily Latino, with a substantial Black student population and very small representation of other races. An overwhelming majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, meaning the school serves a low-income community. Enrollment data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so a parent would want to ask the school directly about those support services.

Academically, Johnnie Cochran Jr. Middle's proficiency rates across tested subjects are low. In English language arts, proficiency across the three grades averages in the low twenties. In mathematics, average proficiency falls to around twelve percent, with sixth and seventh grades in the single digits and eighth grade reaching the high teens. Science proficiency for eighth grade sits at about eleven percent. When compared against other schools in Los Angeles County, the school's overall proficiency index falls in the bottom quartile. These results indicate that most students are not meeting grade-level standards in core subjects.

The school has only one year of recent assessment data, so trend information showing whether proficiency is improving, stable, or declining is not available. A parent should ask the school about its academic interventions, support structures for students who are not yet proficient, and whether recent years have shown movement in either direction.

The surrounding Los Angeles neighborhood contains a mix of commercial, residential, and industrial zones, with dense apartment buildings and ground-floor businesses common. Housing values in the 90019 zip code are substantial, though rents are the more typical monthly housing cost for families in this area. The community is part of the sprawling Los Angeles metropolitan area, shaped historically around car travel, though bus and Metro rail connections exist. The district itself recently passed a major school facilities bond and implemented an all-day cellphone ban affecting daily school life.

Families considering this school should focus their questions on what academic supports are in place for students working below grade level, how the school approaches language development if English learners are enrolled, and what progress the school has made over recent years. The proficiency results are a floor, not a reflection of school effort or student potential; understanding the school's plan for moving proficiency higher, and what individual students who attend actually experience, matters more than the aggregate numbers alone.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 69%

School 9% · District 35% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 710%

School 10% · District 34% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 817%

School 17% · District 32% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 619%

School 19% · District 46% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 721%

School 21% · District 46% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 823%

School 23% · District 45% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Science

Grade 811%

School 11% · District 27% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 831%

School 31% · District 43% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 17 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income19%Higher-income18%1 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income9%Higher-income7%2 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income10%Higher-income9%0 pp gap