John Dolland Elementary, Norwalk CA

Original Research by School Decision on John Dolland Elementary

John Dolland Elementary is a regular public elementary school in Norwalk, California, serving kindergarten through fifth grade. The school sits in a dense residential suburban area about seventeen miles southeast of Los Angeles, where the housing stock includes older apartment complexes and modest single-family homes. The area is car-dependent and organized around commercial corridors; daily life centers on the Norwalk Civic Center and shopping districts nearby, with transit anchored by the Metro C Line station and Metrolink commuter rail.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with nearly all students speaking Spanish at home. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school draws from a neighborhood where median home values and rental costs sit around the county median, though they have climbed modestly in recent years. Norwalk is pursuing significant housing growth, with new development concentrated downtown and near transit, though the district itself has experienced a meaningful enrollment decline over the past several years.

On state assessment results, John Dolland's proficiency sits above the midpoint among Los Angeles County's elementary schools. In math, third graders perform stronger than older grades; proficiency drops noticeably by fifth grade. In English language arts, third-grade performance is somewhat better, but fourth and fifth grades show lower rates. In science, fifth-grade proficiency is low. These results suggest the school faces a steeper academic challenge in upper elementary grades, particularly in math and science. A parent may want to discuss with the school what interventions and supports are in place for students in grades four and five.

The school has only one year of recent testing data, so no trend information is available. Data on special education rates and English learner populations was not provided, though the neighborhood composition suggests English learners are a significant part of the student body.

The Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District, which operates the school, recently expanded a Spanish dual-language immersion program to the nearby elementary level, a choice for families who want bilingual instruction. The district's enrollment has declined substantially over the past several years, a pattern that in California directly pressures budgets and staffing since state funding follows student attendance. This is a context families moving to the area should weigh, as declining enrollment can influence school consolidations and program decisions over time.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 369%

School 69% · District 51% · ▲ 18 pts above district

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

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 42% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 33%

▲ 3 pts above state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 359%

School 59% · District 46% · ▲ 13 pts above district

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

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 45% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 48% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 29% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

This schoolNorwalk-La Mirada 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income60%Higher-income59%1 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income39%Higher-income72%33 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income43%Higher-income71%28 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income68%Higher-income77%9 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income43%Higher-income67%24 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income30%Higher-income42%12 pp gap