D. D. Johnston Elementary, Norwalk CA

Original Research by School Decision on D. D. Johnston Elementary

D. D. Johnston Elementary is a small elementary school in Norwalk, serving students from kindergarten through fifth grade. The school sits in a residential neighborhood in the central part of Los Angeles County, roughly midway between downtown Los Angeles and the more car-oriented developments further inland.

The school serves a student body that is predominantly Hispanic, with a majority of students from lower-income households. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school's enrollment is small, distributed fairly evenly across its grade bands. Specific data on students with disabilities or English learners was not available.

On state testing, the school's performance is mixed grade to grade. In English language arts, third graders showed solid grounding in reading and writing fundamentals, while fifth graders showed stronger proficiency. Fourth graders lagged in ELA. Math proficiency follows a dip pattern, with third grade at a workable baseline, fourth grade notably weaker, and fifth grade recovering to around half of students meeting standards. Science proficiency in fifth grade was moderate. Overall, the school's proficiency rate across all tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint when compared to schools in other districts across Los Angeles County, a position that reflects the school's work but also indicates room for growth, particularly in math at the fourth-grade level.

Since only one year of state assessment data is available, no trend information exists to show whether proficiency has been rising, holding steady, or declining.

Norwalk itself is a mid-sized residential suburb southeast of downtown Los Angeles, shaped around automobile travel and served by multiple freeways. Housing in the zip code ranges from apartment complexes and townhomes to single-family ranch, mid-century, and Mediterranean-style homes. Home values are moderate to high for the region, and rental housing is available across price points. The city is pursuing significant mixed-use development concentrated near its downtown and transit stations, with zoning changes adopted in late 2024 and early 2025 that could reshape the residential landscape toward denser housing over the coming decade.

The school belongs to the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District. The district has expanded its Spanish dual-language immersion program into the La Mirada part of its territory, launching at Escalona Elementary in 2024-25, offering families who want that pathway an option to enroll. At the same time, the district has experienced substantial enrollment decline over recent years, from a much larger student count in 2020-21 down to roughly a third of that figure in 2025-26. In California, where state funding follows student attendance, declining enrollment creates budget and staffing pressures that can reshape programs and staffing decisions over time, something a family considering this school may want to monitor.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 349%

School 49% · District 51% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 432%

School 32% · District 42% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 33% · ▲ 19 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 353%

School 53% · District 46% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 45% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 567%

School 67% · District 48% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Science

Grade 556%

School 56% · District 29% · ▲ 27 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above 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 4Lower-income33%Higher-income71%39 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income61%Higher-income83%22 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income20%Higher-income64%44 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income50%Higher-income58%8 pp gap