Sixty-Sixth Street Elementary vs Third Street Elementary

Sixty-Sixth Street Elementary and Third Street Elementary sit 7.3 miles apart in Los Angeles, California, yet their overall ratings diverge sharply. Third Street Elementary scores 9.6 out of 10 against Sixty-Sixth Street Elementary's 8.7 — a 0.9-point gap that understates how differently these schools rank statewide. Third Street Elementary sits at #8 of 9,533 California schools, placing it in the top 0.1 percent of the state. Sixty-Sixth Street Elementary ranks #451 of 9,533, which is still a strong top-5 percent finish but a materially different tier.

The academic score delta is the sharpest measurable difference between the two schools. Third Street Elementary earns a perfect 10.0 academic score; Sixty-Sixth Street Elementary earns an 8.3 — a 1.7-point gap that represents a concrete difference in tested proficiency outcomes. Growth scores are much closer: Sixty-Sixth Street Elementary posts a 9.5 versus Third Street Elementary's 9.9, a spread of just 0.4 points. That near-parity on growth means students at Sixty-Sixth Street Elementary are advancing at a rate that nearly matches one of the top-ranked schools in California, even if their starting achievement levels differ.

The demographic contrast between the two schools is significant. Sixty-Sixth Street Elementary serves 698 students, 98 percent of whom qualify for free or reduced-price lunch — a near-universal poverty indicator. Third Street Elementary enrolls 691 students with 43 percent qualifying for free or reduced lunch. The student-teacher ratio at Sixty-Sixth Street Elementary is 23.3 to 1 versus 22.3 to 1 at Third Street Elementary, a modest one-student-per-teacher difference that translates to slightly less individual attention at scale. Both schools are similar in total size.

One structural distinction separates the grade ranges: Sixty-Sixth Street Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade, while Third Street Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade only. Families with a rising sixth grader need to account for that extra transition year — Third Street Elementary students move on to middle school one year earlier than their Sixty-Sixth Street Elementary peers.