1
Best kept secret at James A. Garfield Senior High?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
2,237
High
DISTRICT 676 · STATE 838
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LOS ANGELES UNIFIED·NCES 062271003037
James A. Garfield Senior High
5101 East Sixth St., Los Angeles, CA 90022 · (323) 981-5500 · Los Angeles County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL2,237 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 77% of California public high schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- CThree-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded California public high schools
Student : Teacher
17.6:1
127 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.3:1 · STATE 18.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
93%
2,076 students
DISTRICT 84% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 591 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 572 | 26% |
| Grade 11 | 543 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 531 | 24% |
Student demographics
5%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 45% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
62.3%
CA avg 49.1% . +1.3pp since 2014
Math
28.5%
CA avg 37.7% . +3.5pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 62 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 29 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 1 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 4 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 28.3% | 34.0% | 23.7% | 14.0% |
| Math | 8.8% | 19.8% | 22.8% | 48.7% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 62.3% | 28.5% |
| 2023-24 | 62.5% | 25.7% |
| 2022-23 | 67.4% | 26.6% |
| 2021-22 | 63.1% | 27.6% |
| 2020-21 | 59.4% | 31.9% |
| 2018-19 | 69.1% | 33.6% |
| 2017-18 | 64.6% | 39.5% |
| 2016-17 | 64.2% | 33.4% |
| 2015-16 | 65.0% | 36.0% |
| 2014-15 | 61.0% | 25.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of CA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
44.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
25.2%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+19.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 45% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 25% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 20 points, placing it in California's top 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like James A. Garfield Senior High
James A. Garfield Senior High's state test result (44.8% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| James A. Garfield Senior High this school | 2,237 | 92.8% | 44.8% |
| Watsonville High Watsonville | 2,215 | 91.1% | 25.4% |
| South East High South Gate | 1,990 | 92.1% | 34.9% |
| Coachella Valley High Thermal | 2,300 | 90.3% | 25.6% |
| Santa Ana High Santa Ana | 2,505 | 90.6% | 27.5% |
| Indio High Indio | 1,962 | 93.8% | 22.8% |
Matched among California high schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where James A. Garfield Senior High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Los Angeles County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 44.8% | #408 of 1,052 | #91 of 228 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 28.5% | #460 of 1,056 ▼ 11 | #112 of 229 ▼ 18 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 62.3% | #417 of 1,056 ▼ 33 | #92 of 229 ▼ 6 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +0.0pp | #661 of 1,044 | #183 of 229 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 2,237 | #177 of 2,093 | #37 of 486 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.6:1 | #249 of 1,352 | #89 of 358 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 4.8% | #1,306 of 1,351 | #337 of 359 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 92.8% | #205 of 1,575 | #119 of 396 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -11.6% | #405 of 802 | #150 of 227 |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
2,237
-266 (-11%) vs 2020
-39% since 1990-91, when it was 3,653
Student : Teacher
17.6:1
was 22.8:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 2,237 | 127.4 | 17.6:1 | 93% (2,076) |
| 2023-24 | 2,223 | 127 | 17.5:1 | 94% (2,098) |
| 2022-23 | 2,247 | 128.4 | 17.5:1 | 96% (2,147) |
| 2020-21 | 2,503 | 110 | 22.8:1 | 96% (2,391) |
| 2017-18 | 2,531 | 108.3 | 23.4:1 | 93% (2,343) |
| 2015-16 | 2,525 | 99 | 25.5:1 | 88% (2,226) |
| 2010-11 | 2,912 | N/A | N/A | 90% (2,621) |
| 2000-01 | 4,329 | 191 | 22.7:1 | 64% (2,779) |
| 1990-91 | 3,653 | 153 | 23.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for James A. Garfield Senior High.
Since 2017-18: students down 12% (2,531 to 2,237); teachers up 18% (108.3 to 127.4).
About James A. Garfield Senior High
A large high school in Los Angeles, California, James A. Garfield Senior High is part of Los Angeles Unified. It covers grades 9 through 12, with a total enrollment of 2,237 students. Statewide, high schools in California average about 838 students each.
Besides James A. Garfield Senior High, Los Angeles Unified runs 783 other schools. The district enrolls 406,887 students.
Hispanic students make up 98% of enrollment at James A. Garfield Senior High. That compares with about 48% Hispanic among all Los Angeles County residents. James A. Garfield Senior High's diversity index is 5%, against a US figure of 70%.
Teachers at James A. Garfield Senior High total 127.4 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 17.6:1. That matches the 18.2:1 average for high schools in California fairly closely. Federal records put free or reduced-price lunch eligibility at 93%. The average for public schools in Los Angeles County is 70%.
James A. Garfield Senior High is graded A- by allk12, scoring above 77% of California public high schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
On allk12's BeatsExpectations measure, James A. Garfield Senior High is among the top 10% of schools in California. Predicted: 25.2%. Actual: 44.8%.
In the county around the school, Los Angeles County, the median household income is $90,112, 36% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 10% of people live in poverty. There are 2,244 public schools in Los Angeles County, enrolling about 1,265,907 students in all.
The closest public school to James A. Garfield Senior High is Monterey Continuation, about 0.2 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles.
The NCES locale for James A. Garfield Senior High is Suburb: Large, which covers schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
2024-25 enrollment was 2,237, an 11% decrease from 2,503 in 2020-21. The school's ratio fell from 22.8:1 to 17.6:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
The discussion area below is open to posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Los Angeles County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
9,808,667
Census ACS
Median income
$90,112
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
36%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
2,244
1,265,907 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Los Angeles Unified
- Grover Cleveland Charter HighHigh · 2,719 students
- North Hollywood Senior HighHigh · 2,444 students
- Phineas Banning Senior HighHigh · 2,422 students
- San Pedro Senior HighHigh · 2,398 students
- Venice Senior HighHigh · 2,293 students
- Taft Charter HighHigh · 2,221 students
Other schools in Los Angeles
- Venice Senior HighHigh · 2,293 students
- Alexander Hamilton Senior HighHigh · 2,055 students
- Eagle Rock HighHigh · 2,031 students
- John C. Fremont Senior HighHigh · 1,889 students
- John Marshall Senior HighHigh · 1,842 students
- Paul Revere Charter MiddleMiddle · 1,715 students
Nearby schools
- Monterey Continuation0.2 mi · 32
- Fourth Street Primary Center0.2 mi · 206
- KIPP Raices Academy0.2 mi · 619
- Ednovate - Esperanza College Prep0.2 mi · 517
- Fourth Street Elementary0.3 mi · 303
- Griffith Middle0.4 mi · 1,070
Frequently asked questions
About James A. Garfield Senior HighWhat is the total enrollment at James A. Garfield Senior High?
James A. Garfield Senior High enrolls approximately 2,237 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does James A. Garfield Senior High serve?
James A. Garfield Senior High serves grades 09-12.
How many teachers does James A. Garfield Senior High have?
James A. Garfield Senior High employs 127 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.6:1.
What is the student diversity at James A. Garfield Senior High?
Student demographics at James A. Garfield Senior High are roughly 1% White, 98% Hispanic, 0% Black, 0% Asian, 0% Two or more.
What district is James A. Garfield Senior High in?
James A. Garfield Senior High is part of Los Angeles Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.