Animo Ellen Ochoa Charter Middle vs Washington Irving Mid Sch Math Music and Engr Magnet

Washington Irving Mid Sch Math Music and Engr Magnet ranks #106 of 9,533 California schools, placing it in the top 2% statewide. Animo Ellen Ochoa Charter Middle sits at #313 of 9,533 — still a top-4% finish — and carries a 8.9 overall rating versus Washington Irving's 9.3. That 0.4-point gap is meaningful but not dramatic; both schools clear the bar that separates good schools from great ones in a state with more than 9,500 competitors.

On academics, Washington Irving edges Animo Ellen Ochoa Charter Middle 8.6 to 8.3 — a solid but narrow margin. The growth story flips the comparison: Animo Ellen Ochoa Charter Middle posts a 9.9 growth score against Washington Irving's 9.6. That near-perfect growth figure means Animo Ellen Ochoa is accelerating student learning at an exceptional rate relative to similar students statewide, even if its absolute proficiency ceiling sits slightly lower. Families who prioritize trajectory over starting point will read those numbers differently than families chasing the highest raw academic rating.

The two schools serve meaningfully different student populations. Animo Ellen Ochoa Charter Middle enrolls 298 students with a 96% free and reduced-price lunch rate and a student-teacher ratio of 19.9:1. Washington Irving Mid Sch Math Music and Engr Magnet enrolls 815 students, has a 65% free and reduced-price lunch rate, and runs a tighter student-teacher ratio of 16.0:1. The smaller class sizes at Washington Irving, despite its larger overall enrollment, reflect additional staffing that the magnet program draws. Animo Ellen Ochoa serves a substantially higher concentration of low-income students — 31 percentage points higher — and its growth scores suggest it is doing so effectively.

Both schools cover grades 6 through 8 and sit 6.5 miles apart in Los Angeles. The structural difference is fundamental: Animo Ellen Ochoa Charter Middle operates as a charter, giving it more flexibility in curriculum and staffing. Washington Irving Mid Sch Math Music and Engr Magnet is a regular public magnet built around math, music, and engineering — a program focus that shapes both who applies and what the daily academic experience looks like.