La Merced Intermediate, Montebello CA

Original Research by School Decision on La Merced Intermediate

La Merced Intermediate is a middle school in Montebello, California, serving students in grades six through eight. The school sits in a working-class, predominantly Hispanic neighborhood where about eight in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic character of the district and city.

Academically, La Merced's proficiency rates are low across all tested subjects. In English language arts, roughly one in three students in each grade met the state's proficiency standard. In math, rates are lower: roughly one in five sixth graders, one in four seventh graders, and somewhat better in eighth grade. In science, where only eighth grade is tested, about one in seven students met standard. These results place the school in the bottom quartile of schools across Los Angeles County when proficiency is measured as a whole. A parent considering La Merced should be clear-eyed about this: the pathway here is one where most students are not meeting grade-level benchmarks, and catch-up support would be essential for any student arriving below grade level.

The student body is almost entirely Hispanic, with a small share of students from other backgrounds. Enrollment is roughly stable across the middle grades, though the eighth-grade cohort is somewhat larger. English learner status and special education enrollment data were not available, so a parent seeking those details should ask the school directly.

Montebello itself is a mid-sized Los Angeles County city with mixed residential and light-industrial character. Housing is largely single-family, with older postwar stock alongside newer master-planned communities like Metro Heights in the hills. The area is known as a logistics and trucking hub for the Gateway Cities. The downtown core along Whittier Boulevard is walkable with shops, restaurants, and strong community presence, and the city runs its own bus system with frequent service on main corridors. Schools in the district are described as walkable community institutions embedded in neighborhoods rather than remote campuses.

The Montebello Unified School District has recently secured a multi-year state grant to expand extended learning time, integrated student support, and culturally relevant instruction across several schools. This signals a district-wide focus on closing gaps and building support infrastructure, though such grants take time to reach full implementation.

For a family considering La Merced, the reality is straightforward: this is a school serving a high-poverty, high-need population with proficiency rates well below state and county averages. Students here will need strong in-school support, tutoring, and family engagement to move toward grade-level performance. The school's context is urban, walkable, and embedded in a real neighborhood, which are assets. But the academic pathway requires eyes wide open about the magnitude of learning gaps and a realistic commitment to supplemental help at home and in the community.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 619%

School 19% · District 22% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Grade 724%

School 24% · District 24%

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

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 26% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 631%

School 31% · District 36% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 39% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 829%

School 29% · District 40% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Science

Grade 815%

School 15% · District 21% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 33% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

This schoolMontebello 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 5Lower-income38%Higher-income47%9 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income31%Higher-income28%3 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income27%Higher-income58%31 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income29%Higher-income39%10 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income47%Higher-income58%11 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income19%Higher-income27%8 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income22%Higher-income46%24 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income26%Higher-income42%15 pp gap