Malabar Street Elementary vs Third Street Elementary

Third Street Elementary ranks #8 of 9,533 California schools, placing it in the top 0.1% statewide. Malabar Street Elementary earns a strong #287 of 9,533 — top 3% in California — but that 279-rank gap translates to a concrete overall rating difference: Third Street Elementary scores 9.6/10 versus Malabar Street Elementary's 8.9/10, a 0.7-point gap driven almost entirely by academic performance rather than growth or environment.

On academics, the delta is sharp: Third Street Elementary scores 10.0/10 compared to Malabar Street Elementary's 7.7/10 — a 2.3-point difference. Growth scores, however, are nearly identical. Malabar Street Elementary earns a 9.5/10 growth score versus Third Street Elementary's 9.9/10, a gap of only 0.4 points. That tight growth comparison signals that students at Malabar Street Elementary are progressing at a rate that closely tracks one of the top-performing schools in the state — a meaningful indicator of instructional quality relative to the student population served.

The demographic picture at these two schools diverges significantly. Malabar Street Elementary enrolls 420 students with 97% qualifying for free or reduced lunch, indicating a predominantly low-income community. Third Street Elementary serves 691 students with 43% on free or reduced lunch. The student-teacher ratio at Malabar Street Elementary is 19.1:1 versus 22.3:1 at Third Street Elementary — meaning Malabar Street Elementary students get more individual teacher attention despite the school serving a population with substantially greater economic need.

One structural difference affects longer-term planning: Malabar Street Elementary serves grades KG–06, covering students through sixth grade, while Third Street Elementary serves KG–05, requiring families to transition to a new school one year earlier. The two schools sit 8.2 miles apart within Los Angeles, meaning they draw from distinct neighborhoods and are not realistically interchangeable for most families without a deliberate commute.