Walnut Park Mid B Sci Tech Engr and Math Acad, Walnut Park CA

Original Research by School Decision on Walnut Park Mid B Sci Tech Engr and Math Acad

Walnut Park Mid B Sci Tech Engr and Math Acad is a middle school serving grades 6 through 8 in Los Angeles Unified, located in Walnut Park, a small densely populated unincorporated community south of downtown Los Angeles. The school enrolls a small cohort for its grade band, with a student body that is overwhelmingly Hispanic and economically disadvantaged, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

Academically, the school faces significant challenges in both math and English language arts. In math, proficiency rates are low across all three grades, with eighth graders posting the highest rate but still below one in three students meeting standards. In English language arts, performance is notably stronger, with more than two in five sixth graders demonstrating proficiency and nearly half of eighth graders doing so. The school's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quartile compared to other schools within Los Angeles County.

The school's performance in science testing, administered only at eighth grade, shows proficiency rates similar to those in mathematics. No recent data was available for social studies performance.

The school sits in a community characterized by stable, dense residential neighborhoods with tree-lined streets, multicultural retail activity, and recent investments in public space and affordable housing. Walnut Park has opened its first dedicated park space in recent years and is gaining new affordable housing units. The area's commercial life centers on nearby Huntington Park's Pacific Avenue district. Bus transit serves the edges of the community, and the Metro A Line light rail is accessible.

Housing costs in the broader area are substantial relative to incomes, with monthly rent consuming a notable share of household income. Homeownership requires a significant down payment and monthly mortgage payment. The school's enrollment reflects the community's deep economic constraints.

Within Los Angeles Unified, the district recently implemented a campuswide cellphone ban during the entire school day, a change affecting daily school culture and student-parent communication that took effect in February 2025. The district also passed Measure US, a major school facilities bond that will raise property taxes over an extended period to fund repairs and upgrades of aging school buildings, a long-term cost any family considering the district would face. Families with students at this school may want to look into further detail on the school's math programming and support structures, given the proficiency gaps that are most pronounced there.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 620%

School 20% · District 35% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

Grade 721%

School 21% · District 34% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Grade 826%

School 26% · District 32% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 46% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 740%

School 40% · District 46% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 45% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Science

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 27% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 829%

School 29% · District 43% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 19 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.