Glen Alta Elementary vs Third Street Elementary

Glen Alta Elementary and Third Street Elementary sit 7.8 miles apart in Los Angeles, yet their state standings tell sharply different stories. Third Street Elementary ranks #8 of 9,533 California schools against Glen Alta Elementary's #41 — a gap that places both schools in the state's top fraction of a percent, but puts Third Street in a category very few schools reach. The overall rating difference is narrow at 9.4 versus 9.6 out of 10 in favor of Third Street, but that slim margin conceals meaningful variation across individual performance dimensions.

Academically, the delta is substantial. Third Street Elementary scores a perfect 10.0 in academics compared to Glen Alta Elementary's 8.6 — a 1.4-point spread that reflects a measurable difference in tested proficiency outcomes. Growth scores are closer: Glen Alta Elementary earns a 9.7 and Third Street Elementary a 9.9, meaning both schools drive strong year-over-year progress regardless of where students start. Parents prioritizing raw academic achievement will find a clear edge at Third Street; parents weighting growth trajectory will see both schools performing at a similarly elite level.

The demographic and structural differences between the two schools are stark. Glen Alta Elementary enrolls 116 students — a genuinely small-school environment — while Third Street Elementary serves 691, nearly six times as many. Glen Alta's free and reduced-price lunch rate stands at 97% versus Third Street's 43%, indicating the two schools serve economically distinct communities. Glen Alta also operates with a student-teacher ratio of 14.5:1 compared to Third Street's 22.3:1, giving Glen Alta students substantially more individual access to their teachers despite the school's higher poverty concentration.

The grade structures diverge as well. Glen Alta Elementary runs from kindergarten through 8th grade, keeping students in one building through middle school and avoiding a transition during early adolescence. Third Street Elementary is a true elementary school, serving only kindergarten through 5th grade, after which families must navigate a separate middle school placement. For families weighing continuity of environment against peer-group scale, this structural difference is worth weighing alongside the academic numbers.