Charles W. Eliot Middle

Charles W. Eliot Middle is a public middle school serving about 407 students in grades 6-8 in Altadena, California, within the Pasadena Unified school district, and it faces significant academic and attendance challenges compared to other schools in the region.

Academically, the school is in the bottom quarter of all California middle schools, with only about 30% of students proficient in English and 16% in math, which is much lower than nearby schools like Huntington Middle or South Pasadena Middle. A major concern is chronic absenteeism, with nearly 32% of students missing too much school, a rate far higher than the district and state averages and more than double that of many neighboring schools such as First Avenue Middle. Interestingly, Eliot Middle has a lower student-teacher ratio and receives significantly more funding per student than these higher-performing schools, yet these advantages have not translated into better test scores.

When compared to other schools with similar student populations, like Jefferson Middle, Eliot Middle still lags behind in academic performance. Performance for students in special education programs has also varied widely from year to year. While the school has shown some slow improvement from its lowest point, the data indicates it continues to struggle with systemic issues that go beyond funding, particularly with student attendance and effectively turning resources into classroom success.