Laurel Elementary, Los Angeles CA

Original Research by School Decision on Laurel Elementary

Laurel Elementary is a public alternative school serving kindergarten through eighth grade in Los Angeles, operating as part of the Los Angeles Unified School District. The school enrolls a small student body, with enrollment concentrated in the middle grades (sixth and seventh) and more modest numbers in primary grades. The student population is diverse economically and ethnically: a substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is plurality Hispanic, with meaningful representation across white, Black, and Asian students as well.

Academic performance at Laurel is uneven across subjects and grades. In English language arts, the school shows a wide spread. Third-grade results are quite weak, but performance strengthens moving upward, with seventh and eighth grade students reaching levels closer to or at proficiency. Math proficiency is generally lower than ELA across the school. Third, fifth, and eighth graders show somewhat better results, while fourth, sixth, and seventh grades fall well below that range. Science proficiency, assessed in fifth and eighth grades, sits below half of students demonstrating proficiency. Overall, the school's proficiency index places it below the midpoint relative to other schools and districts in Los Angeles County, meaning academic attainment lags the median performance in the region.

The pattern of results—stronger in the upper grades and in English language arts compared to math—may reflect the school's alternative model and student population. A parent may want to look into this further with the school directly: alternative schools often serve students who have struggled in traditional settings or entered partway through their schooling, and proficiency rates can rise as students progress and stabilize in a smaller, different learning environment. The school's small size and alternative designation suggest an intentional approach to school design, though data on the specific instructional model, class sizes, or supports offered was not available.

Los Angeles is a sprawling, car-dependent city with sharp neighborhood contrasts: family-oriented residential areas in the San Fernando Valley, dense vertical neighborhoods like Koreatown with apartments stacked above storefronts, revitalized downtown with cultural institutions and mixed-use projects, and quieter coastal neighborhoods. Laurel's location in the 90046 zip code places it in West Los Angeles, an area marked by a mix of single-family and multifamily housing. Housing costs in the area are high; median home values sit well above state and national benchmarks, and rental costs are substantial. The neighborhood is in an active phase of housing development driven by state housing policy, with the city having recently adopted new zoning and incentive ordinances to increase residential unit production ahead of infrastructure investments tied to the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics.

The broader district context includes two recent shifts. LAUSD voters approved a substantial bond measure for school facility repairs and upgrades, financed through property tax increases that could extend over several decades. Families considering the area or the school should understand this long-term tax commitment. Additionally, the district implemented an all-day cellphone ban district-wide in February 2025, affecting daily school experience and student-parent communication. State testing data prior to 2024-25 was not available for this school, so whether academic performance has been stable, improving, or declining over multiple years cannot be determined from the data on hand.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 341%

School 41% · District 48% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 432%

School 32% · District 43% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 36% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 623%

School 23% · District 35% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 725%

School 25% · District 34% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 837%

School 37% · District 32% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 36%

School 6% · District 44% · ▼ 38 pts below district

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

Grade 439%

School 39% · District 45% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 47% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 650%

School 50% · District 46% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 756%

School 56% · District 46% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 863%

School 63% · District 45% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Science

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 29% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 27% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 819%

School 19% · District 43% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

This schoolLos Angeles Unified, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.