Aragon Avenue Elementary vs Arroyo Seco Museum Science

Arroyo Seco Museum Science outranks Aragon Avenue Elementary by a significant margin in California's statewide standings — #169 versus #438 out of 9,533 schools — giving it a top-2% position compared to Aragon Avenue's top-5%. That 269-rank gap is the sharpest single signal separating these two Los Angeles schools, which sit just 1.3 miles apart. Arroyo Seco Museum Science's overall rating of 9.2/10 edges Aragon Avenue Elementary's 8.8/10, but the more meaningful difference lies in the underlying components that drive those numbers.

On academic proficiency, Arroyo Seco Museum Science scores a 9.0/10 versus Aragon Avenue Elementary's 7.4/10 — a 1.6-point gap that reflects meaningfully higher tested subject mastery. The growth picture reverses: Aragon Avenue Elementary earns a perfect 10.0/10 growth score against Arroyo Seco Museum Science's 9.4/10. That 0.6-point edge means students at Aragon Avenue are making faster academic progress relative to their starting points, a metric that matters most for families evaluating year-over-year improvement rather than absolute proficiency levels.

Aragon Avenue Elementary serves 216 students, roughly half the enrollment of Arroyo Seco Museum Science's 428. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility runs 94% at Aragon Avenue versus 72% at Arroyo Seco, indicating a substantially higher-need population at the smaller school. Student-teacher ratios are close — 21.6:1 at Aragon Avenue versus 20.4:1 at Arroyo Seco — meaning neither school holds a notable classroom-size advantage, though Arroyo Seco's ratio is modestly lower across a larger student body.

Arroyo Seco Museum Science extends through eighth grade, while Aragon Avenue Elementary tops out at fifth, meaning families choosing Arroyo Seco can avoid a middle school transition entirely through grade 8. The museum science identity also implies a program-level emphasis on science and inquiry-based learning that Aragon Avenue's traditional K–5 structure does not replicate. Both schools serve Los Angeles Unified and operate within the same district framework, making the grade span and programmatic focus the most practical differentiators for families whose children will age past elementary years within the next few years.