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Welcome to the Jessie Nelson Academy community. What's one thing that would make Jessie Nelson Academy even better?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
832
Middle
DISTRICT 807 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LONG BEACH UNIFIED·NCES 062250002708
Jessie Nelson Academy
1951 Cherry Ave., Signal Hill, CA 90755 · (562) 591-6041 · Los Angeles County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL832 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 33% of California public middle schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C+Three-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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
26.0:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 23.2:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
81%
670 students
DISTRICT 62% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 286 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 274 | 33% |
| Grade 8 | 272 | 33% |
Student demographics
58%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · 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
36.1%
CA avg 49.1% . +1.1pp since 2014
Math
22.7%
CA avg 37.7% . -0.3pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 36 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 23 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 have held steady.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 12.2% | 23.9% | 27.6% | 36.4% |
| Math | 10.2% | 12.5% | 27.1% | 50.1% |
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 | 36.1% | 22.7% |
| 2023-24 | 32.9% | 19.5% |
| 2022-23 | 36.3% | 20.0% |
| 2021-22 | 34.0% | 22.1% |
| 2020-21 | 33.5% | 25.2% |
| 2018-19 | 47.2% | 42.9% |
| 2017-18 | 47.5% | 39.6% |
| 2016-17 | 42.4% | 35.4% |
| 2015-16 | 38.0% | 27.0% |
| 2014-15 | 35.0% | 23.0% |
% 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
27.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
32.4%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 28% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 32% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 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 Jessie Nelson Academy
Jessie Nelson Academy's state test result (27.8% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jessie Nelson Academy this school | 832 | 80.5% | 27.8% |
| Bell Middle San Diego | 700 | 81.1% | 23.8% |
| Stephens Middle Long Beach | 658 | 76.9% | 43.5% |
| Bancroft Middle San Leandro | 948 | 79.0% | 26.0% |
| John Muir Middle San Leandro | 969 | 79.4% | 32.5% |
| Glacier Point Middle Fresno | 947 | 86.9% | 24.7% |
Matched among California middle 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 Jessie Nelson Academy ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Los Angeles County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 27.8% | #805 of 1,224 | #170 of 248 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 22.7% | #776 of 1,227 ▲ 31 | #174 of 248 ▼ 4 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 36.1% | #822 of 1,227 ▲ 25 | #176 of 248 ▲ 2 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +1.4pp | #700 of 1,214 | #175 of 247 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 832 | #396 of 1,377 | #93 of 317 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 26.0:1 | #1,217 of 1,279 | #278 of 301 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.6% | #488 of 1,278 | #65 of 301 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 80.5% | #533 of 1,329 | #179 of 312 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +4.1% | #156 of 257 | #32 of 38 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
832
+11 (+1%) vs 2020
+195% since 1990-91, when it was 282
Student : Teacher
26.0:1
was 24.9:1
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 | 832 | 32 | 26.0:1 | 81% (670) |
| 2023-24 | 818 | 36 | 22.7:1 | 79% (647) |
| 2022-23 | 834 | 33.8 | 24.7:1 | 70% (586) |
| 2020-21 | 821 | 33 | 24.9:1 | 86% (706) |
| 2017-18 | 799 | 30.3 | 26.3:1 | 88% (700) |
| 2015-16 | 798 | 28 | 28.5:1 | 86% (689) |
| 2010-11 | 632 | N/A | N/A | 96% (604) |
| 2000-01 | 915 | 45 | 20.3:1 | 91% (835) |
| 1990-91 | 282 | 10 | 28.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Jessie Nelson Academy.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (799 to 832); teachers up 6% (30.3 to 32).
About Jessie Nelson Academy
Jessie Nelson Academy is a medium-sized middle school in Signal Hill, California. It educates 832 students in grades 6 through 8. The school's enrollment is 26% above the 659 average for middle schools in California.
Long Beach Unified is made up of 82 schools with 62,255 students in all.
A majority of students at Jessie Nelson Academy, 60%, are Hispanic. The rest of enrollment is 22% Asian, 13% Black, and 3% multiracial. Among all residents of Los Angeles County, the Hispanic share is about 48%. By the diversity index, Jessie Nelson Academy comes in at 58%.
The school's student-to-teacher ratio is about 26.0:1, with 32 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average ratio among middle schools in California is 20.7:1, lower than at this school. Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch make up 81% of enrollment. Public schools in Los Angeles County average 70%.
The allk12 Grade for Jessie Nelson Academy is C. Compared with California public middle schools, the school scored higher than 33% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Compared with California schools that have similar shares of low-income students, Jessie Nelson Academy's results are 4.5 points below predicted: 27.8% against 32.4%.
Los Angeles County has about 9,808,667 residents, and median household income is about $90,112, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 36%, and roughly 10% of residents are in poverty. The public schools of Los Angeles County number 2,244 and enroll about 1,265,907.
The nearest other public school, Alvarado Elementary, is about 0.1 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Jessie Nelson Academy ranks 5th of 8 on average proficiency.
Locale data from NCES put Jessie Nelson Academy in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more (Suburb: Large).
In 2020-21, Jessie Nelson Academy enrolled 821; in 2024-25, 832. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio rose to 26.0:1, from 24.9:1.
Threads on this page can be about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
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 Long Beach Unified
- Polytechnic HighHigh · 3,890 students
- Millikan HighHigh · 3,408 students
- Wilson HighHigh · 3,349 students
- Lakewood HighHigh · 2,305 students
- Jordan HighHigh · 2,272 students
- Cabrillo HighHigh · 1,652 students
Other schools in Signal Hill
- Signal Hill ElementaryElementary · 599 students
- Alvarado ElementaryElementary · 390 students
Nearby schools
- Alvarado Elementary0.1 mi · 390
- Washington Middle0.3 mi · 849
- Whittier Elementary0.3 mi · 526
- Signal Hill Elementary0.4 mi · 599
- Olivia Nieto Herrera Elementary0.7 mi · 615
- Clear Passage Educational Center0.9 mi · 59
Frequently asked questions
About Jessie Nelson AcademyWhat is the total enrollment at Jessie Nelson Academy?
Jessie Nelson Academy enrolls approximately 832 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Jessie Nelson Academy serve?
Jessie Nelson Academy serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Jessie Nelson Academy?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Jessie Nelson Academy is approximately 26.0:1 (32 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Jessie Nelson Academy?
At Jessie Nelson Academy, the student body is approximately 2% White, 60% Hispanic, 13% Black, 22% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is Jessie Nelson Academy public or private?
Jessie Nelson Academy is a public K-12 school, overseen by Long Beach Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.