The top reported proficiency rate is 24% in English language arts. The lowest is 0% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Boys Academic Leadership Academy
Boys Academic Leadership Academy serves grades six through twelve on the South Los Angeles campus of Los Angeles Unified. The school is small, with an enrollment of about a couple dozen students per grade level and a total population well below most schools in its size class. The vast majority of enrolled students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a community of high economic need. The student body is predominantly Black, with a meaningful Hispanic minority, reflecting the South Los Angeles neighborhood where it sits.
State testing data from the most recent year show proficiency rates that are very low across all tested subjects and grades. In English language arts, about a quarter of students overall reached proficiency, with middle grades showing single-digit rates. Mathematics proficiency was lower still, with a school-wide rate in the low teens and grades seven and eight both below one in ten. On the California science assessment, no students achieved proficiency. These results place the school at the very bottom of measured performance among the county's school districts. A parent examining this data should engage directly with the school about what is driving these outcomes, what intervention and support are underway, and whether the instructional environment addresses the foundational needs these numbers suggest.
The school's name signals an intentional focus on leadership development for boys, though the data provided does not detail what curricular or co-curricular elements embody that mission or how they complement or relate to the academic results. No information is available on graduation rate, attendance, discipline, staffing, or program breadth that would round out a picture of the school environment beyond test scores. The school operates within LAUSD, which in early 2025 implemented a district-wide cellphone ban during the entire school day and has adopted housing-development policies and a school facilities bond that shape the broader district context any family would navigate.
The neighborhood itself sits in South Los Angeles, a historically under-resourced area of the city experiencing active patterns of disinvestment and gentrification pressure. Housing costs in the area have moderated somewhat from peaks, and the community faces the economic and social challenges that high concentrations of poverty create. The school is one anchor in a neighborhood that families will need to understand holistically: transportation access, safety, community services, and intergenerational stability all matter alongside what happens inside the building.
For a parent considering enrollment or transfer, the central question is not whether this school is performing at a high level, but rather what kind of support, intervention, and instructional redesign is actively underway to address profound proficiency gaps, and whether the school's leadership focus translates into a peer environment and academic pathway that will move students toward college and career readiness despite the current data. The extremely small cohorts in each grade also raise questions about stability, staffing, and the consistency of program delivery year to year. A direct conversation with the school leadership about recovery strategy, staff expertise, and the school's plans for the next academic year is the next step any family should take.
See more original research from School Decision →