Micheltorena Street Elementary vs Third Street Elementary

Third Street Elementary ranks #8 out of 9,533 California schools, placing it among the top 0.1% statewide. Micheltorena Street Elementary ranks #116 — still an exceptional school, sitting in the top 1.2% of the state — but the 108-position gap between them is meaningful for families prioritizing absolute academic standing. The overall rating difference is 0.4 points, with Third Street Elementary scoring 9.6/10 versus Micheltorena Street Elementary's 9.2/10, a margin that understates the deeper divergence in academic performance.

The sharpest difference between these two schools is academic proficiency. Third Street Elementary scores a perfect 10.0/10 on academics against Micheltorena Street Elementary's 8.4/10 — a 1.6-point gap that reflects substantially higher tested proficiency levels. Growth tells a different story: both schools are nearly identical, with Micheltorena Street Elementary scoring 9.8/10 and Third Street Elementary 9.9/10 on student growth measures. This means Micheltorena Street Elementary is moving students forward at essentially the same rate as the #8 school in the state; the gap is in where students start and where tested proficiency lands, not in instructional momentum.

On demographics and classroom size, the two schools are strikingly similar. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility sits at 42% at Micheltorena Street Elementary and 43% at Third Street Elementary, indicating comparable economic diversity. Enrollment differs more substantially — Third Street Elementary serves 691 students versus Micheltorena Street Elementary's 366, making Third Street nearly twice the size. Micheltorena Street Elementary offers a slightly tighter student-teacher ratio of 20.3:1 compared to Third Street Elementary's 22.3:1, meaning roughly two fewer students per classroom on average, which may benefit families who value smaller instructional groups.

Both schools serve grades kindergarten through fifth and sit 3.7 miles apart within Los Angeles, making geography a practical factor for Silver Lake and Fairfax-area families. Neither school has a grade-level or program distinction in the available data that separates them structurally — the differentiation is purely in outcomes, with Third Street Elementary's 10.0 academic score representing the ceiling of elementary performance in California.