The top reported proficiency rate is 43% in English language arts. The lowest is 25% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Lassen Elementary
Lassen Elementary is a traditional public kindergarten-through-fifth-grade school in North Hills, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley within Los Angeles Unified School District. It sits in one of the most populous urban school systems in the country, and what happens at the district level touches every campus, including this one.
The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a smaller share of white and Asian students and a very small number of Black and multiracial students. The vast majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places Lassen firmly in the high-economic-need tier within LAUSD. Data on English learner rates and special education enrollment were not available in what was provided.
State assessment results from the most recent year show a mixed picture. In third-grade math, just over half of tested students reached proficiency, which is a relatively stronger showing compared to the other grades tested. Fourth- and fifth-grade math proficiency rates are lower, sitting in roughly the quarter-to-third range. English language arts results are somewhat more consistent across grades, clustering in the mid-thirties to mid-forties. Fifth-grade science proficiency, measured by California's CAST assessment, came in below a quarter of tested students. Across subjects and grade levels combined, Lassen's overall proficiency index lands below the midpoint relative to districts in Los Angeles County. That is a real gap, and parents who want to understand how the school is working to close it would do well to ask school leadership directly about intervention programs and support structures in place for struggling readers and math learners. Trend data was not available to show whether results are improving, which is another worthwhile question.
No information about programs, staffing ratios, attendance rates, or chronic absenteeism was available in the data provided, so those dimensions of the school's environment cannot be characterized here.
On the district side, two recent policy changes are worth knowing. LAUSD put a full school-day ban on student cellphones, smartwatches, and earbuds into effect in early 2025, a shift that affects how students and parents communicate during the day and has changed the social culture on campuses district-wide. Separately, voters approved a major school facilities bond, publicly reported as LAUSD's largest ever, funded through property tax increases that could extend for decades. Any family weighing a purchase in the attendance zone is taking on a long-term addition to their property tax bill tied to that bond.
The housing market around Lassen reflects the broader Los Angeles premium. Home values in the zip code are well above the California statewide median and substantially above the national median, though they edged slightly lower year over year. Rents are also elevated, with the rent-to-income ratio running at a level that most financial planners would flag as housing-stressed. The estimated monthly mortgage on a typical area home runs considerably higher than the typical area rent, which is itself already a heavy burden relative to income. For families already in the neighborhood this may be context; for families considering a move here specifically for this school, the affordability math deserves serious attention.
Detailed information about North Hills itself, including walkability, neighborhood character, and local civic institutions, was not available from research conducted for this profile.
Lassen is a neighborhood elementary school serving a high-need community within a large urban district. Its academic results, particularly in math, are below state and county norms, and no trend data exists in what was provided to show direction of travel. A parent choosing it will want direct conversations with the school about how it supports students who are behind grade level, and about what supplemental resources the district's various equity-focused programs bring to this campus.
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