Menlo Avenue Elementary, Los Angeles CA

Original Research by School Decision on Menlo Avenue Elementary

Menlo Avenue Elementary is a school of about five hundred students serving kindergarten through eighth grade in Los Angeles. The enrollment is heavily concentrated at the lower grade levels, with kindergarten the largest cohort and grade eight the smallest. The school sits in a neighborhood where a substantial share of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a low-income area within the city.

In terms of academic performance, the school faces significant headwinds. State test results from spring 2025 show that in English language arts, students are unevenly distributed across grades. Fourth graders are the strongest performers, while third graders and fifth graders show lower proficiency. By middle school, performance picks up again in sixth and seventh grade, with eighth grade showing the highest rate. Math proficiency is lower overall and shows more volatility by grade. Third graders perform better than fourth graders, fifth graders struggle considerably, while sixth and eighth graders show somewhat better results. In science, proficiency rates are notably low at both tested grades, with fifth grade in particular showing limited mastery. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency sits below the midpoint compared to other schools in Los Angeles County.

The school serves almost entirely Latino students, with a substantial Black student population as well. White enrollment is minimal. This reflects the neighborhood's demographics.

The surrounding Los Angeles area is in active transition. The city is undergoing significant housing development and rezoning aimed at addressing a long-standing shortage, with downtown Los Angeles a focal point of major projects ahead of the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics. Families considering a move into the district should know that Los Angeles voters approved a major school facilities bond that will raise property taxes for decades to come, funding repairs and upgrades to aging school buildings across the district. Additionally, LAUSD recently implemented a district-wide ban on student cellphone use throughout the entire school day, a substantial shift in school culture that affects daily communication between students and families.

The school operates within a district serving a sprawling, polycentric city. LAUSD is the nation's second-largest school district and employs tens of thousands across a vast geographic area. The district has also restructured its Black Student Achievement Plan to remove race as a sole eligibility factor while increasing overall funding for the program. These shifts shape the broader environment in which Menlo Avenue operates, though the school's own academic results reflect ongoing challenges in building proficiency, particularly in math and science. A parent may want to look into further detail with the school about targeted support, remediation strategies, or programs designed to address the observed performance gaps across grade levels.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 334%

School 34% · District 48% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 439%

School 39% · District 43% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 36% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 35% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 717%

School 17% · District 34% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 32% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 327%

School 27% · District 44% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 45% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 47% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 647%

School 47% · District 46% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 747%

School 47% · District 46% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 859%

School 59% · District 45% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Science

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 29% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 27% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · even with 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.