Short Avenue Elementary: Two in five kids exceed the standard. But the zoned next school scores lower.
Short Avenue holds its own. Scores drop at the schools it feeds into. Ask where its graduates actually enrol, and whether families stay on the zoned path.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 67 | 44% | 71% | -0.3 | 11.0% | 0.1% |
| CA average · Elementary School | 45 | 21% | 43% | -2.9 | 17.9% | 1.6% |
Short Avenue Elementary scores 67 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 89th percentile of 5,744 California elementary schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).
Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →
💪 Strong All-Around — Ask about what we don't score — class size, electives, the feel of a classroom — strong numbers everywhere on paper don't mean every classroom feels the same.
Most rating sites would stop at “71% proficient” and call it done. Short Avenue deserves a closer read. The school sits in Los Angeles, where one in four students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
Short Avenue's low-income kids hit 65.1% proficiency in ELA — a number the same group reaches at 38.2% statewide. If you're trying to read past zip-code-driven test scores, that's the signal worth weighing.
The seven-year arc
Climbed from the 65th to the 89th percentile since 2019 — past roughly 1300 elementary schools.
The pandemic drop is behind this school: 71% of students meet the standard today, above the 53% who did in 2019.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 64% | 52% | 58% | 67% | 70% |
| Grade 4 | 38% | 49% | 53% | 70% | 86% |
| Grade 5 | 70% | 69% | 58% | 53% | 75% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 64% | 52% | 67% | 51% | 60% |
| Grade 4 | 33% | 33% | 54% | 63% | 80% |
| Grade 5 | 50% | 43% | 33% | 35% | 55% |
The story this school is actually telling
of students scored in the top band on the state test. The California average is 21.3%.
the zoned path continues to Marina del Rey Middle, which scores 33 points lower — worth asking about on a tour.
The school, grade by grade
ELA · CAASPP 2024–25Different students, same year — each bar is one grade's proficiency mix.
The honest read: the share exceeding falls 11.4pp across grades; the floor rises 4.8pp. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
Short Avenue's most underrated number
65.1% of low-income students met the ELA standard — versus 38.2% for the same group statewide. That's the strongest kind of signal a school can post: it holds across income lines.
The 6 things our score weighs
Ask which schools families here actually choose next — the zoned path is only the default.
- Ask whether extra support — tutoring, counseling, small groups — reaches kids across income lines, not just the students already ahead.
- Ask which schools families here actually choose next — the zoned path is only the default.
- Ask whether the tour can step into a working classroom — watch how the teacher handles a student who's stuck.
- Ask to tour while school's in session, and notice how hallways and transitions feel — culture shows up between classes, not just in them.
- Ask how the school communicates with families when a child starts to struggle.
- Ask what a typical day looks like for a new student in the first few weeks.
How every group of students does here
At Short Avenue Elementary in Los Angeles, 65.1% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 40.9% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Short Avenue Elementary outperforms its district average for low-income students by 24.2 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (50.0% Math proficient); Hispanic students (65.5% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 14.2 percentage points for hispanic students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 63 students tested.
6 of 13 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.
Change in proficiency from the lowest tested grade — which groups gain ground the longer they stay. Groups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
Low-income student ELA proficiency rises by 16.3pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +4.5pp.
Showing up, and staying in class
TK/K students miss school at roughly one and a half times the rate of Grades 4–6 students (13.3% vs 8.5%). Chronic absence here concentrates in the earliest grades — worth asking how the school works with new families on attendance.
Where the path goes
The zoned path continues to Marina del Rey Middle, which scores 33 points lower than this school — worth weighing alongside everything above. Families here often look at charter or magnet options for middle school.
Feeder patterns derived from NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries are approximate and may have changed — verify with your school district for current assignments.
The people teaching here
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
What gets spent here
These measure different things: this figure is spending attributed to this campus, while district-wide figures also include central administration, districtwide programs, and the state's pension contributions made on the district's behalf — costs that never get assigned to a single school. The district number runs higher at nearly every school, not just this one.
$677 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.
The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.
District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.
Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →
The neighborhood it serves
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
Transitional kindergarten is offered here — confirmed by actual Census Day enrollment, not just the listed grade span.
On the state's science test (CAST), 53% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Short Avenue Elementary a good school?
Yes, by the numbers this is a Strong school — a Scope Score putting it at the 89.31 percentile statewide, with 71.2% of students meeting or exceeding standard on CAASPP (CDE CAASPP, 2024-25). But that school-wide number hides real unevenness. Grade 5 math sits at only 55.0% met or exceeded, far below grade 4 ELA's 86.3%, and Hispanic/Latino students score 13.4 points below the school average. A strong average can still leave specific grades and groups behind, so the verdict depends partly on which grade and which student you're asking about.
Does Short Avenue live up to what it says about itself?
Mostly, yes, with one real gap. The school describes an IB, inquiry-based program built around 'student agency and international mindedness,' and the CAASPP numbers back that up in aggregate — 71.2% met or exceeded, 44.5% exceeded standard, a Strong band overall. The school's 'Whole Child' motto also lines up with a calm daily record: 0.1% suspension and 11.0% chronic absenteeism. Where it gets more complicated is the mission's language about 'all students' learning 'together.' The Hispanic/Latino subgroup gap (13.4 points below average) and the English Learner Level 4 rate (23.5%) show the experience isn't the same for every student. Worth asking directly on a visit: how does the IB approach get adapted for English Learners and for the students behind the average, specifically?
Does this school work for kids like mine?
It depends on which group your child belongs to. Hispanic/Latino students here score 13.4 points below the school average on CAASPP, the largest subgroup gap on record for this school. This describes an outcome gap; it says nothing about the students' effort or ability. If your child is an English Learner, it's also worth knowing that 23.5% reach ELPAC Level 4. Neither number tells you why the gap exists — that's a fair thing to ask a teacher or principal about directly.
How do English Learners do at Short Avenue?
23.5% of English Learners reach ELPAC Level 4 in the most recent data. That's just under a quarter — worth asking what language support looks like for the other three-quarters, and how the school tracks progress toward Level 4 year over year.
Who is actually teaching at Short Avenue?
Teachers here average 6.9 years of experience, only 5.3% are in their first year, and 100% are fully credentialed. This describes staffing stability. It doesn't tell you anything about how any individual teacher performs in the classroom.
What does Short Avenue spend per student?
$21,126 per student, below the state average of $23,518. Spending below the state average reflects district allocation and doesn't by itself indicate under-resourcing. It also doesn't explain any specific test score here.
Are some grades stronger than others at Short Avenue?
Yes. Grade 4 ELA is the strongest tested grade-subject at 86.3% met or exceeded, while grade 5 math is the weakest at 55.0% (CDE CAASPP, 2024-25). If your child is entering a specific grade, that gap matters more than the school-wide average. We can't tell from this record what's behind the grade 5 math dip — curriculum sequencing or something specific to that cohort — and that's a good question for a classroom visit.
What's daily life like at Short Avenue?
Attendance and behavior data point to a calm campus: suspension rate of 0.1% and chronic absenteeism of 11.0%. Those numbers can't tell you about classroom engagement or how kids feel about being there day to day, but they're a real, low-friction baseline to start from.
Where do Short Avenue students go after this school?
The school has 6 feeder schools on record. This is a count of destinations, with no quality data attached — worth looking up separately if middle school placement matters to your decision.
What we found when we looked closer
Short Avenue Elementary is a Strong school — a Scope Score at the 89.31 state percentile, driven by 71.2% of students meeting or exceeding standard on CAASPP (current-year data). That's a genuinely good number. It's also an average, and averages hide things. Grade 5 math sits at 55.0% met or exceeded, well behind grade 4 ELA's 86.3%. Hispanic/Latino students score 13.4 points below the school's own average, the largest subgroup gap on record here. Both facts are true at once: a school can post a strong aggregate percentile while one grade-subject combination and one subgroup pull the mean down underneath it.
The school describes itself as an IB campus built on inquiry, student agency, and international mindedness. The aggregate scores back that description up: 71.2% met or exceeded standard, and 44.5% exceeded it outright. What the data can't do is confirm the program is the reason the scores are strong. Staffing and community resources could be contributing too, and this record doesn't let you separate them.
The school also calls itself 'Focused on the Whole Child,' and the climate numbers are consistent with that: a 0.1% suspension rate and 11.0% chronic absenteeism describe a calm, low-disruption campus. But those numbers only speak to attendance and behavior. They say nothing about enrichment, belonging, or whether a given child feels seen in class.
Where the school's language gets harder to square with the record is its mission statement, which talks about 'all students' learning 'together.' The Hispanic/Latino subgroup gap and an English Learner Level-4 rate of 23.5% suggest the experience isn't uniform. These numbers measure an outcome gap. What's driving it is unclear from this record alone — it could be language support structure or instructional practice, and test data alone can't say which.
Staffing looks stable: teachers average 6.9 years of experience, just 5.3% are in their first year, and all are fully credentialed. Per-pupil spending, at $21,126, runs below the state average of $23,518, though that's a resourcing fact about the district, not a cause you can pin any specific score to.
For a family deciding whether to enroll a five-year-old here, the honest version is this: the school-wide numbers are strong enough to take seriously, and the climate data suggests a calm place to spend a school day. If your child is Hispanic/Latino, an English Learner, or will land in grade 5 for math, the school-wide average won't tell you what their actual experience looks like. That's worth asking about directly on a tour — specifically, what happens differently in grade 5 math, and what support looks like for the students currently below the average.
Written by SchoolScope from Short Avenue Elementary’s own website and California Department of Education data, checked 2026-08-08· How we do this · Who we are
Sources (5)
- shortavenueelementary.org — home
- shortavenueelementary.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?pREC_ID=2570425&type=d&uREC_ID=4369019 — academics
- shortavenueelementary.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?pREC_ID=2570431&type=d&uREC_ID=4369019 — principal
- shortavenueelementary.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?pREC_ID=2570444&type=d&uREC_ID=4369025 — enrollment
- shortavenueelementary.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?pREC_ID=2570461&type=d&uREC_ID=4369036 — academics
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 79
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 57 | 44% | 26% | 21% | 9% | 70% | +27 |
| Grade 4 | 51 | 67% | 20% | 8% | 6% | 86% | +41 |
| Grade 5 | 40 | 33% | 43% | 20% | 5% | 75% | +27 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 58 | 40% | 21% | 26% | 14% | 60% | +15 |
| Grade 4 | 51 | 49% | 31% | 18% | 2% | 80% | +39 |
| Grade 5 | 40 | 35% | 20% | 25% | 20% | 55% | +20 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 40 | 15% | 38% | 43% | 5% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| Subgroup · ELA | Tested | MET+ | vs district | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 63 | 65.1% | +24 | +27 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 58 | 65.5% | +24 | +27 |
| White | 56 | 91.1% | +22 | +29 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short Avenue Elementary ← | — | 67 | 44.5% | 71.2% | −0.3 | 0.1% |
| Clover Avenue Elementary | 2.5 mi | 81 | 65.6% | 86.3% | −3.9 | 0.5% |
| Edison Elementary | 3 mi | 80 | 50.4% | 81.3% | −10.8 | 0.1% |
| Kentwood Elementary | 2.5 mi | 77 | 63.2% | 80.7% | −14.8 | 0.4% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 49 | 65 | #1923 | 27.8% | 53.0% | 22.4% | 0.3% | -3.7pp |
| 2022 | 47 | 72 | #1594 | 24.0% | 49.5% | 29.4% | 0.1% | +3.5pp |
| 2023 | 44 | 61 | #2234 | 27.4% | 53.8% | 29.8% | 0.1% | -17.4pp |
| 2024 | 55 | 77 | #1333 | 33.5% | 56.4% | 15.2% | 0.2% | -15.4pp |
| 2025 | 67 | 89 | #614 | 44.5% | 71.2% | 11.0% | 0.1% | -0.3pp |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 22.4% | 12.3% | -10.1pp |
| Male | 23.1% | 8.1% | -15.0pp |
| Asian | 0.0% | — | — |
| Black/African American | 26.8% | 7.7% | -19.1pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 26.6% | 13.9% | -12.7pp |
| Two or More Races | 17.2% | 12.5% | -4.7pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 28.3% | 19.5% | -8.8pp |
| English Learners | 32.1% | 13.6% | -18.5pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 24.5% | 19.8% | -4.7pp |
| All Students | 22.8% | 10.3% | -12.5pp |
| Filipino | — | 7.1% | — |
SchoolScope scores and verdicts are our interpretation of public California Department of Education data — independent analysis, not an official rating. How we analyze · Request a correction