Leona Jackson, Paramount CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Leona Jackson

Leona Jackson is a middle school serving grades five through eight in Paramount, a working-class city in southeast Los Angeles County with a family-oriented suburban character and a history of industrial manufacturing. The school enrolls a small student body, nearly all of whom qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student population is predominantly Hispanic, with substantial Black enrollment and small representation from Asian and multiracial students.

State testing results from 2024-25 show academic performance well below state proficiency benchmarks across tested subjects. In English language arts, students attain proficiency at rates in the low-to-mid range across sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. Math proficiency is considerably lower, with sixth-grade results particularly soft. Eighth-grade science results are in the low range. When proficiency rates across all tested subjects and grades are averaged into a single index, the school falls into the bottom quartile among districts in Los Angeles County. The school's performance reflects concentrated poverty and the academic support needs of its student population, a parent may want to look into further with the school regarding available intervention pathways and reading or math support programs.

Paramount Unified, the district housing Leona Jackson, passed a school facilities bond in November 2024, funded through a local property-tax increase. The measure directs resources toward repairing aging infrastructure, upgrading security and safety systems, improving accessibility, and enhancing classroom and career-training facilities. Most district schools, including this one, date from decades past and had not undergone substantial facility updates. That investment will reshape the physical environment over time, though it will also raise property-tax bills for homeowners for the life of the bonds.

The district has also launched a Spanish dual-language immersion program starting in kindergarten at two elementary schools, with plans to extend into middle school as cohorts advance. This is a district-level curricular initiative but does not directly affect Leona Jackson's current middle-grade population unless the district expands the pathway upward.

Housing in Paramount is notably more affordable than county and state benchmarks, making the community accessible to families priced out of Los Angeles proper. The locale itself is built out and emphasizing infill development and public amenities such as library renovation and recreational parks rather than suburban sprawl. Walkability is moderate for a Los Angeles suburb, with central areas within reach of bus transit and the Metro C Line, and the city is promoting pedestrian and e-bike infrastructure.

The school sits within a community defined by working families, industrial employment, and public investment in revitalization. Leona Jackson's academic profile reflects significant student need, and a prospective family would want to discuss with the school what tutoring, after-school support, or instructional strategies are in place to address the learning gaps evident in the testing data.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 613%

School 13% · District 17% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Grade 727%

School 27% · District 27%

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

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 26% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 42% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 746%

School 46% · District 46%

even with state median · even with county median

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 47% · ▼ 3 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Science

Grade 828%

School 28% · District 27% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Social studies

Grade 851%

School 51% · District 44% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

This schoolParamount 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.