Summary:
Altadena, California, is served by five public schools for the 2024-2025 school year, including four elementary schools and one middle school, educating a total of 2,447 students across three different districts.
The academic landscape here is sharply divided. Odyssey Charter stands out as the top performer, achieving test scores far above state averages in all subjects while spending the least per student. OCS - South also shows strong academic results. In contrast, the traditional public schools in the Pasadena Unified district, like Mary W. Jackson STEAM Multilingual Magnet Elementary and Altadena Elementary, have seen declining rankings, and Charles W. Eliot Middle is a significant concern, ranking in the bottom 20% of state middle schools with very low proficiency rates.
Key challenges for the area include very high chronic absenteeism, which affects most schools and hinders learning, and a dramatic drop in performance at the middle school level. Interestingly, higher per-student spending does not correlate with better outcomes in this group. For parents, this data highlights a clear performance gap between the charter and traditional public school options, with attendance and the middle school transition being critical factors to consider for their child's education in Altadena.
Thank you for your feedback!