Summary:
The Pasadena Unified School District serves approximately 4,364 high school students across five diverse schools, including four comprehensive high schools and one continuation school, with grades typically spanning 9-12, though some schools also include middle grades.
Among these schools, Marshall Fundamental stands out as the district's top performer, boasting the highest statewide ranking, an exceptional 98.6% graduation rate, and the strongest math scores. Blair High shows the most significant recent improvement in its state ranking. Pasadena High presents an interesting profile with the highest English proficiency in the district but much lower math scores, while John Muir High generally performs below the other comprehensive schools. Rose City High (Continuation) serves a specialized at-risk population with very different metrics, including significantly higher per-student funding and a much lower student-teacher ratio.
Overall, the Pasadena Unified high schools perform slightly below state averages in core subjects, but this masks considerable variation between schools. Key factors like chronic absenteeism vary widely, from a low of 13.6% at Marshall to over 90% at Rose City, and this strongly correlates with academic outcomes. Notably, higher per-student spending does not directly correlate with better academic performance in this district, as the highest-performing school has the lowest spending.
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