Van Deene Avenue Elementary, Torrance CA

Original Research by School Decision on Van Deene Avenue Elementary

Van Deene Avenue Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Torrance, a mid-sized coastal city in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County. The school sits within Los Angeles Unified School District, one of the nation's largest urban districts, and draws a student body that is predominantly Latino with sizable Asian representation and a strong majority of students from families with limited economic resources.

The school's state test results, based on the most recent assessment cycle, show mixed performance across subjects and grades. In English language arts, results are uneven: third and fourth graders show proficiency in the low-to-mid range, while fifth graders perform substantially higher, and sixth graders return to the mid-range. Math proficiency is lower overall, ranging from the low-to-mid forties in fourth and sixth grades down to under that in sixth grade. Fifth-grade math and English language arts stand out as stronger, suggesting that particular grade may have particular instructional strengths or different student composition. Science proficiency, measured in fifth grade, falls well below the ranges in reading and math. The school's overall proficiency index positions it above the midpoint among tested schools in Los Angeles County, a meaningful distinction in a large, diverse district, though this aggregate measure masks the variation across grades and the lower science results.

The enrollment is small for an elementary school, under four hundred students across seven grades. Kindergarten is the largest single grade; enrollment tapers as students move up, with sixth grade notably small. A very large share of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating concentrated economic need. The racial composition is heavily Latino, with a smaller but substantial Asian population and very small numbers of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Torrance itself is an employment hub with a diversified economy centered on manufacturing, aerospace, technology, and healthcare, anchored by Honda, Toyota Financial Services, Robinson Helicopter, and Torrance Memorial Medical Center. The city blends industrial zones, commercial corridors, and suburban residential neighborhoods and is currently in an active redevelopment phase, with several mixed-use and higher-density housing projects underway to meet state housing requirements. Home prices in the area are substantially above national levels, and rental costs consume a sizable share of household income.

At the district level, families should be aware of two major recent changes. Voters approved Measure US, a major school facilities bond that will fund repairs and upgrades to aging buildings across LAUSD but will raise property taxes over an extended repayment period. Additionally, LAUSD implemented an all-day cellphone ban beginning in February 2025, a daily change to school culture and student-parent communication that affects how families stay in touch during the school day.

Van Deene Avenue is a small neighborhood elementary school serving a community with significant economic need and high linguistic diversity. Its mixed performance across grades suggests that academic outcomes may vary somewhat by class or grade-level team. A parent may want to connect with the school directly about specific instructional approaches, what accounts for the stronger fifth-grade results, and what the school offers in the way of support for English learners and economically disadvantaged students.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 358%

School 58% · District 48% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 43% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 556%

School 56% · District 36% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 639%

School 39% · District 35% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 44% · ▲ 11 pts above district

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

Grade 451%

School 51% · District 45% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 577%

School 77% · District 47% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 657%

School 57% · District 46% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Science

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 29% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above 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.