Ninety-Second Street Elementary vs Richland Avenue Elementary

Richland Avenue Elementary ranks #76 of 9,533 California schools, placing it in the top 1% statewide, while Ninety-Second Street Elementary ranks #290 — still elite, sitting in the top 3% of the state. The overall rating gap is 0.4 points, with Richland Avenue Elementary at 9.3/10 against Ninety-Second Street Elementary's 8.9/10. Both schools clear the bar most parents would consider exceptional, but Richland Avenue's state rank advantage is substantial in absolute terms, separating the two by more than 200 positions in a field of over 9,500 schools.

On academics, Richland Avenue Elementary scores 9.0/10 versus 8.0/10 at Ninety-Second Street Elementary — a full point gap that reflects measurably higher tested proficiency. Growth tells a tighter story: Ninety-Second Street Elementary earns a 9.4/10 growth score compared to Richland Avenue Elementary's 9.8/10, a difference of just 0.4 points. That near-parity on growth is meaningful — it signals that students at Ninety-Second Street Elementary are advancing at a pace comparable to one of California's top-ranked elementary schools, even as their absolute proficiency scores start from a different baseline.

The demographic and structural differences between these two schools are stark. Ninety-Second Street Elementary enrolls 633 students with 99% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a student body that is almost entirely from low-income households. Richland Avenue Elementary enrolls 252 students, with just 15% on free or reduced lunch — less than one-sixth the rate. Student-teacher ratios run 19.2:1 at Ninety-Second Street Elementary versus 21.0:1 at Richland Avenue Elementary, giving Ninety-Second Street Elementary a slight structural edge on classroom size despite its much larger total enrollment.

Richland Avenue Elementary extends one grade further, serving students through 7th grade (KG–07) versus Ninety-Second Street Elementary's KG–06 range. For families with older elementary-age children, that extra year at Richland Avenue delays a school transition. The two schools sit 12.8 miles apart within Los Angeles, making cross-enrollment impractical for most families — this is a choice driven by neighborhood assignment or active school selection, not proximity.