Aragon Avenue Elementary vs Fifty-Fourth Street Elementary

Fifty-Fourth Street Elementary ranks #18 out of 9,533 California schools, placing it in the top 0.2% statewide. Aragon Avenue Elementary sits at #276 — still a strong top-3% performer — but that 258-position gap represents a meaningful difference in overall quality. The overall rating delta is 0.6 points, with Fifty-Fourth Street Elementary at 9.5/10 versus Aragon Avenue Elementary's 8.9/10, making Fifty-Fourth Street one of the highest-rated elementary schools in the entire state.

The academic score is where the gap is most concrete: Fifty-Fourth Street Elementary scores 8.7/10 versus Aragon Avenue Elementary's 7.4/10 — a 1.3-point difference that reflects stronger measured proficiency outcomes. Neither school has an edge in growth, however. Both Aragon Avenue Elementary and Fifty-Fourth Street Elementary earn a perfect 10.0/10 growth score, meaning students at both schools make exceptional year-over-year academic progress regardless of starting point. Parents weighing raw proficiency against growth trajectory will find Fifty-Fourth Street ahead on the former, tied on the latter.

Both schools serve nearly identical student populations. Free and reduced lunch eligibility is 94% at both Aragon Avenue Elementary and Fifty-Fourth Street Elementary, signaling comparable socioeconomic demographics. Enrollment is close — 216 at Aragon Avenue versus 232 at Fifty-Fourth Street. The most tangible structural difference is student-teacher ratio: Fifty-Fourth Street Elementary's 17.8:1 is meaningfully lower than Aragon Avenue Elementary's 21.6:1, a nearly four-student-per-teacher advantage that translates directly to more individual attention in the classroom.

Grade span adds one practical distinction: Fifty-Fourth Street Elementary serves students through sixth grade, while Aragon Avenue Elementary tops out at fifth. Families who prefer keeping a child in the same building through the end of middle-elementary transition have a structural reason to favor Fifty-Fourth Street. The two schools sit 9.8 miles apart within Los Angeles, so the choice is genuinely geographic as much as academic.