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Best Public Schools in Zip Code 90249

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its California rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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At a glance

Schools

1,586

Students

Districts

Top rankedOne Hundred Fifty-Sixth Street Elementary779^th of 5,817 California elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Chapman Elementary up 447 spots statewide this year

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Summary:

Schools in ZIP code 90249 include three elementary schools serving kindergarten through grade 5 or 6 and one high school serving grades 9–12, with 1,586 students in all. The elementary schools’ 2025–2026 averages were above the state in ELA (57% versus 49%), math (53% versus 38%) and science (46% versus 36%), but those averages hide large differences between schools. The most important finding is that elementary results are far from uniform: the gap between the highest- and lowest-scoring school was 39 percentage points in ELA, 39 in math and 53 in science.

One Hundred Fifty-Sixth Street Elementary was the strongest all-around elementary performer, leading in ELA at 72% and science at 66%, and placing second in math at 64%; it was above the state in all three subjects. Chapman Elementary led in math at 67% and was also above the state in ELA and science. At the other end, Purche Avenue Elementary scored 32% in ELA, 28% in math and 13% in science—below the state in each subject. Environmental Charter High - Gardena, the only high school in the list, had a mixed profile in 2024–2025: ELA was 71% and science 36%, both above the state, while math was 26%, below it.

Elementary results mostly improved from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, but not at every school: Chapman rose 5 points in ELA, 11 in math and 7 in science; One Hundred Fifty-Sixth Street rose 3, 1 and 10 points, respectively. Purche’s ELA rose 4 points, while math fell 2 and science fell 8. SchoolDigger ranked One Hundred Fifty-Sixth Street in the 87th percentile and Chapman in the 86th, compared with Purche in the 26th; the high school was in the 77th percentile. In 2024–2025, free/reduced lunch eligible rates were 63% at Chapman, 68% at One Hundred Fifty-Sixth Street and 90% at Purche; these are context, not an explanation of results. Student-teacher ratios were 20.3 at Chapman, 20.7 at One Hundred Fifty-Sixth Street and 17.7 at Purche. Elementary results are from 2025–2026, while the high-school results are from 2024–2025, so they are not directly comparable.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				CAST Science (2026)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2026)					Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2026)					Vaccination (2024-25)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Vaccination: Kindergartners with all required immunizations	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Environmental Charter High - Gardena	Public, Charter	9-12	2818 Manhattan Beach Blvd.	Gardena	90249	Los Angeles County	Environmental Charter High - Gardena District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(424) 295-9898	454	28	16.4	87.2%	0 (0.0%)	75 (16.5%)	347 (76.4%)	6 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.9%)	22 (4.8%)								(n/a)															$19,677	$762	$18,915
Chapman Elementary	Public	K-5	1947 Marine Ave.	Gardena	90249	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 324-2275	406	20	20.3	63.1%	5 (1.2%)	71 (17.5%)	205 (50.5%)	74 (18.2%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.7%)	47 (11.6%)	86.4	839^th of 5817 public elementary schools	85.6%		76.9	1286^th of 5857 public elementary schools	78.0%	447	57.4	57.4	63.6	60.3	74.1		65.7	72.7	59.3	68.5		67.0	95%	0%	$22,887	$1,859	$21,028
One Hundred Fifty-Sixth Street Elementary	Public	K-6	2100 West 156th St.	Gardena	90249	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 324-6639	353	17	20.7	68.0%	26 (7.4%)	98 (27.8%)	146 (41.4%)	39 (11.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (12.5%)	87.4	779^th of 5817 public elementary schools	86.6%		86.8	830^th of 5857 public elementary schools	85.8%	51	66.0	66.0	58.5	84.0	76.0	62.5	71.7	61.0	72.0	70.0	43.8	63.6	97%	0%	$23,810	$2,183	$21,627
Purche Avenue Elementary	Public	K-5	13210 Purche Ave.	Gardena	90249	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 323-3184	373	21	17.7	90.1%	2 (0.5%)	175 (46.9%)	138 (37.0%)	7 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	50 (13.4%)	25.7	4323^rd of 5817 public elementary schools	25.7%		25.9	4319^th of 5857 public elementary schools	26.3%	4	13.2	13.2	42.4	27.9	27.9		32.5	40.7	29.5	14.7		27.7	94%	0%	$34,065	$4,495	$29,570

Cities Near Zip Code 90249

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Gardena	0.34 mi	18	457^th
Hawthorne	0.84 mi	32	377^th
Lawndale	0.93 mi	15	441^st
Torrance	1.31 mi	36	135^th
El Segundo	1.5 mi	10	138^th

See the top CA California cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.