Dr. Julian Nava Learning Academy, Los Angeles CA

Original Research by School Decision on Dr. Julian Nava Learning Academy

Dr. Julian Nava Learning Academy is a middle school serving grades six through eight in Los Angeles. The enrollment is small, distributed fairly evenly across the three grades. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with a much smaller population of Black students and very few students of other backgrounds.

The school's recent state test results show math proficiency that is markedly low. In grade six, proficiency in math sits in the low single digits. Seventh grade math is somewhat stronger but remains below one in four students. Eighth grade falls between the two. English language arts shows more variation: sixth grade ELA proficiency is also low, seventh grade jumps substantially higher, and eighth grade sits in between. Science proficiency in eighth grade is similarly low. The data available does not include information on the school's English learner population, students with IEPs, or chronic absenteeism, so a parent may want to look into those details directly with the school.

When the school's overall proficiency is measured alongside other schools in Los Angeles County, Dr. Julian Nava Learning Academy falls into the bottom quartile. This reflects a school facing genuine academic challenges across the tested subjects and grade levels.

Los Angeles itself is a sprawling, car-dependent city where neighborhoods vary sharply. The area around the school in Central Los Angeles is dense and urban, shaped by zoning that mixes residential and commercial uses. The housing market is expensive; home values and rents in the immediate zip code reflect the county's broader affordability squeeze, where housing costs absorb a substantial portion of household income. Downtown Los Angeles has undergone significant revitalization in recent years and offers walkable districts, cultural anchors like the Central Library and Grand Park, and extensive Metro rail and bus service. However, the city is polycentric, and most daily life and work happens locally across many neighborhoods rather than in one concentrated center.

The broader Los Angeles Unified School District has moved forward on several changes relevant to families. The district recently adopted a cellphone ban during the entire school day, including lunch and breaks, implemented with storage pouches at most middle and high schools. Voters also approved a major school facilities bond to repair aging buildings, funded through a long-term property tax increase. The district's Black Student Achievement Plan, which funds culturally responsive curriculum and added counseling staff at targeted schools, was restructured in 2024 and received increased funding for 2025-26.

Dr. Julian Nava Learning Academy serves a student population with substantial economic need and high concentration among one ethnic group. The academic performance data shows the school is working with students who are not yet proficient in the tested subjects at the rates expected for their grades. A parent considering this school should look closely at what specific supports the school offers in math, what the school's approach is to ELA and why proficiency varies by grade, and what the actual student body experience is like day to day, beyond the test numbers.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 69%

School 9% · District 35% · ▼ 26 pts below district

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

Grade 720%

School 20% · District 34% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 10 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 623%

School 23% · District 46% · ▼ 23 pts below district

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

Grade 742%

School 42% · District 46% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 832%

School 32% · District 45% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 815%

School 15% · District 27% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 828%

School 28% · District 43% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 20 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.