First Street Elementary vs Third Street Elementary

First Street Elementary and Third Street Elementary are both Los Angeles elementary schools, but their state rankings reveal a significant gap: Third Street Elementary sits at #8 of 9,533 California schools with an overall rating of 9.6/10, while First Street Elementary ranks #283 with an 8.9/10 — a 0.7-point difference that nonetheless places both schools in the top 3% statewide. Parents choosing between them are selecting between two high-performing campuses, but the ceiling at Third Street Elementary is meaningfully higher by this measure.

The sharpest contrast between the two schools is academic proficiency. Third Street Elementary earns a perfect 10.0/10 academic score against First Street Elementary's 7.4/10 — a 2.6-point delta that represents the largest difference across all scoring categories. On growth, however, the schools are identical: both First Street Elementary and Third Street Elementary score 9.9/10, meaning students at both campuses are advancing at an equally strong pace regardless of their starting point. Families prioritizing absolute achievement levels will find Third Street Elementary markedly stronger; those who weigh growth trajectories will see comparable momentum at either school.

The demographic profiles of the two schools differ substantially. First Street Elementary serves 353 students with 94% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, pointing to a predominantly low-income community. Third Street Elementary enrolls 691 students — nearly double — with 43% on free or reduced lunch. First Street Elementary's student-teacher ratio of 20.8:1 is slightly more favorable than Third Street Elementary's 22.3:1, meaning First Street Elementary students have marginally more individualized access to their teachers despite attending a school with a more economically concentrated population.

One structural difference is grade span: First Street Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade, while Third Street Elementary runs kindergarten through fifth grade only. Families at Third Street Elementary will need to arrange a school transition one year earlier, entering middle school after fifth grade. At 7.8 miles apart, neither school is a crosstown stretch for families evaluating both options within the Los Angeles Unified service area.