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Norma Coombs Elementary

Q: Is Norma Coombs Elementary a good school?

Norma Coombs Elementary ranks 2565 th of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

2565^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 56% of California elementary schools

Summary

Norma Coombs Elementary is a public K-5 school serving about 370 students in the Pasadena Unified district, performing solidly within the middle range of California schools while serving a community where many families face economic challenges.

When compared to other local schools, Norma Coombs stands out for its effectiveness with specific groups of students, such as English Language Learners and Hispanic students, often outperforming schools with similar demographics like Webster Elementary. However, it faces a significant hurdle with chronic student absenteeism, which is higher than both the district and state averages and may be limiting academic growth. The school's per-student spending is among the highest in the district, suggesting resources are available to support its students.

Performance can vary from year to year, but a positive trend shows that by 5th grade, students make strong gains in English. The school's results place it in the middle of a spectrum within Pasadena Unified, achieving better than some schools with higher poverty levels but not reaching the exceptional scores of lower-poverty schools in the area such as Sierra Madre Elementary or Field (Eugene) Elementary.

370

Students ?

21.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$27,532

Per pupil spending ?

64.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2600 Paloma St.
Pasadena, CA 91107-2642

(626) 396-5660

District: Pasadena Unified

Students who attend Norma Coombs Elementary usually attend:

High:

Pasadena High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

60.5%

African American:

16.2%

White:

11.6%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Norma Coombs Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 71st percentile in 2013 → 56th in 2025

Strengths

✓Above the California median (56th percentile)

Worth a look

!High chronic absenteeism (28% vs 19% California)

!Ranking has slipped — down 15 percentile points since 2013

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school42%

District avg40%

California avg41%

2,565^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Top 44%▼ down 16 pts since 2015

From top 28% (2015) to top 44% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

8^th of 14Elementary Schools in the Pasadena Unified

717^th of 1,543Pasadena Unified among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	50.4	2565 of 5857	56.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	43.3	2976 of 5869	49.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	53.8	2350 of 5859	59.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	52.9	2395 of 5883	59.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	42.1	3061 of 5789	47.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	53.1	2383 of 5662	57.9%	★★★☆☆
2017	49.6	2572 of 5692	54.8%	★★★☆☆
2016	65.2	1754 of 5614	68.8%	★★★☆☆
2015	68.3	1561 of 5611	72.2%	★★★★☆
2013	69.5	1596 of 5530	71.1%	★★★★☆
2012	51.2	2547 of 5390	52.7%	★★★☆☆
2011	66.7	1656 of 5377	69.2%	★★★☆☆
2010	76.9	1138 of 5314	78.6%	★★★★☆
2009	75.1	1204 of 5193	76.8%	★★★★☆
2008	69.1	1447 of 5113	71.7%	★★★★☆
2007	69.7	1385 of 5113	72.9%	★★★★☆
2006	73.3	1202 of 4818	75.1%	★★★★☆
2005	67.5	1437 of 4822	70.2%	★★★★☆
2004	62.0	1627 of 4809	66.2%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2019	55.0	279 of 747	62.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	62.2	204 of 700	70.9%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2019	49.8	990 of 2585	61.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	66.9	451 of 2128	78.8%	★★★★☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	60.6	740 of 3311	77.7%	★★★★☆
2019	69.1	557 of 3275	83.0%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	51.9	2348 of 5597	58.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	41.9	2930 of 5612	47.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	46.4	2607 of 5609	53.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	49.8	2419 of 5635	57.1%	★★★☆☆
2019	35.4	3381 of 5492	38.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	53.2	2314 of 5413	57.3%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	60.7	1677 of 5107	67.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	55.0	1948 of 5107	61.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	59.5	1699 of 5087	66.6%	★★★☆☆
2022	67.4	1282 of 5084	74.8%	★★★★☆
2019	52.9	2100 of 4963	57.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	55.7	1855 of 4830	61.6%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	59.8	1861 of 5460	65.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	48.3	2505 of 5517	54.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	61.0	1687 of 5363	68.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	64.4	1445 of 5264	72.5%	★★★★☆
2019	44.6	2769 of 5173	46.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	45.3	2662 of 5084	47.6%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	48.5	2596 of 5628	53.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	43.6	2845 of 5643	49.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	58.8	2004 of 5638	64.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	54.5	2218 of 5663	60.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	47.8	2570 of 5510	53.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	51.9	2342 of 5431	56.9%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	35.8	1518 of 2635	42.4%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	51.7	1409 of 2726	48.3%	★★☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

English Language Learner (2022)78th percentile+18 vs school

Hispanic (2025)67th percentile+11 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)66th percentile+10 vs school

African American (2019)63rd percentile+16 vs school

Disabled (2019)62nd percentile+15 vs school

Female (2025)58th percentile~ school

Male (2025)54th percentile~ school

White (2022)48th percentile-11 vs school

Special Education (2024)42nd percentile-7 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy49%~ state avg

Mathematics37%~ state avg

Science34%~ state avg

3.7

3 ratings · 3 written reviews

5★2

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★1

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What people are saying

by a parent
Sunday, July 2, 2023

Wonderful caring school. Close Quote

by a parent
Wednesday, March 14, 2018

My child was here 3 years until we couldn’t take it anymore. My child was falling behind academically and I didn’t my child was safe.
In 2015, after an award ceremony, 3 parents got into a physical altercation. The police was called but no arrests were made. The principal did nothing despite having footage of the fight. We stayed another year in 2016 my child’s teacher had a “dumb table” which was where the teacher sent all the children that she felt weren’t learning. I expressed my concerns to the principal and asked her to keep them anonymous. The principal did not respect my wishes and the teacher began retaliating against my child. Homework came home with unclear instructions and she started giving my child extremely low grades despite my child being ahead of the class previously (according to her)
We stayed another year hoping these were isolated incidents. Our last year we noticed that our child was being treated differently by the principal. He was left out of all awards ceremonies and I was the butt of everyone’s jokes being called out of my name. Aside from the uncomfortable environment and the condescending attitude we were receiving, the things they teach the kids are not up to par compared to other schools. The kinder and first grade teachers are great. The PTA is too demanding. They want all your time and all your money. The school has tons of volunteer hours but they’re all from the same parents. Literally the same group of parents. My child is much happier now, leaving NCES was the best thing ever! Close Quote

by a parent
Saturday, March 10, 2018

NCES is the perfect school for my child. It's a diverse, warm, nurturing environment. Academics are rigorous with a lot of individual attention from teachers to help students perform. There are a lot of great enrichment opportunities accessible to all students. I highly recommend it. Close Quote

Schools Near Norma Coombs Elementary

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)			Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)							Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)							% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
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/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th 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 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th 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 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Norma Coombs Elementary	Public	K-5	2600 Paloma St.	Pasadena	91107	Los Angeles County	Pasadena Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 396-5660	370	17	21.7	64.1%	43 (11.6%)	60 (16.2%)	224 (60.5%)	16 (4.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (7.0%)	50.4	2565^th of 5857 public elementary schools	56.2%		43.3	2976^th of 5869 public elementary schools	49.3%	411	34.2		34.2	45.5	40.7	63.2				48.5	39.5	39.2	31.6				37.1	94.4	96.3			94.4		$27,532	$4,713	$22,819
Webster Elementary	Public	K-5	2101 East Washington Blvd.	Pasadena	91104	Los Angeles County	Pasadena Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 396-5740	277	14	19.7	76.2%	119 (43.0%)	14 (5.1%)	113 (40.8%)	12 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	18 (6.5%)	42.6	3034^th of 5857 public elementary schools	48.2%		52.2	2445^th of 5869 public elementary schools	58.3%	589	24.5		24.5	51.2	29.7	49.0				44.1	45.2	35.9	24.5				34.6	95.2	95.2		95.2	95.2	95.2	$30,189	$5,547	$24,642
Field (Eugene) Elementary	Public	K-5	3600 Sierra Madre Blvd.	Pasadena	91107	Los Angeles County	Pasadena Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 396-5860	449	18	25.5	28.7%	20 (4.5%)	4 (0.9%)	47 (10.5%)	290 (64.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	87 (19.4%)	93.9	410^th of 5857 public elementary schools	93.0%		93.5	471^st of 5869 public elementary schools	92.0%	61	61.8		61.8	73.8	73.2	82.4				76.8	86.7	82.5	60.9				75.8	97.2					97.2	$22,684	$3,304	$19,380
Hamilton Elementary	Public	K-5	2089 Rose Villa St.	Pasadena	91107	Los Angeles County	Pasadena Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 396-5730	510	21	24.8	52.2%	107 (21.0%)	41 (8.0%)	220 (43.1%)	68 (13.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	74 (14.5%)	76.6	1303^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	77.8%		78	1239^th of 5869 public elementary schools	78.9%	64	44.6		44.6	71.3	57.8	52.2				61.0	62.4	67.6	46.7				58.3							$24,673	$3,604	$21,069
Willard Elementary	Public	K-5	301 South Madre St.	Pasadena	91107	Los Angeles County	Pasadena Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 396-5690	394	18	21.9	64.2%	43 (10.9%)	29 (7.4%)	261 (66.2%)	40 (10.2%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (5.1%)	59.3	2100^th of 5857 public elementary schools	64.1%		61.8	1988^th of 5869 public elementary schools	66.1%	112	38.7		38.7	52.1	54.1	56.5				54.4	30.4	45.2	40.3				39.8	94.4	97.2	97.2	95.8	97.2	95.8	$28,733	$4,133	$24,600
Twentieth Street Elementary	Public	K-5	1358 East Walnut St.	Los Angeles	91106	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(213) 747-7151	499	22	22.6	95.6%	5 (1.0%)	24 (4.8%)	458 (91.8%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.0%)	39.6	3244^th of 5857 public elementary schools	44.6%		38.2	3292^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	43.9%	48	17.5		17.5	36.6	39.7	41.6				39.2	46.3	42.0	27.5				38.5							$25,007	$4,756	$20,251
Pasadena Rosebud Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	3700 Denair St	Pasadena	91107	Los Angeles County	Pasadena Rosebud Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 318-1261	169	10	16.9	56.2%	0 (0.0%)	84 (49.7%)	56 (33.1%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (16.6%)	23.7	4530^th of 5857 public elementary schools	22.7%		57.8	2160^th of 5869 public elementary schools	63.2%	2370	18.8	53.3	35.5	38.9	40.0	25.0	23.1	54.6	60.0	39.8	22.2	20.0	12.5	23.1	9.1	46.7	22.6	71.4	71.4	71.4	71.4	71.4	71.4
Don Benito Fundamental	Public	K-5	3700 Denair St.	Pasadena	91107	Los Angeles County	Pasadena Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 396-5870	384	17	22.6	48.2%	97 (25.3%)	34 (8.9%)	187 (48.7%)	25 (6.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (10.2%)	60.1	2064^th of 5857 public elementary schools	64.8%		62.3	1965^th of 5869 public elementary schools	66.5%	99	34.6		34.6	46.0	61.5	58.2				55.9	48.0	38.5	40.0				41.8	89.1	93.5		89.1	93.5	93.5	$25,328	$3,829	$21,499
Longfellow (Henry W.) Elementary	Public	K-5	1065 East Washington Blvd.	Pasadena	91104	Los Angeles County	Pasadena Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 396-5720	546	23	24.2	74.2%	42 (7.7%)	69 (12.6%)	396 (72.5%)	9 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	27 (4.9%)	50	2593^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	55.7%		51.4	2487^th of 5869 public elementary schools	57.6%	106	32.4		32.4	47.2	52.2	38.9				46.6	44.4	42.9	26.8				38.9	95.8	98.3	98.3		98.3		$27,809	$5,796	$22,013
Carver Elementary	Public	K-5	3100 Huntington Dr.	San Marino	91108	Los Angeles County	San Marino Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 299-7080	777	36	21.5	10.8%	103 (13.3%)	4 (0.5%)	50 (6.4%)	520 (66.9%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	98 (12.6%)	98.5	38^th of 5857 public elementary schools	99.4%		98.8	31^st of 5869 public elementary schools	99.5%	7	77.8		77.8	89.1	85.7	91.1				88.8	88.3	87.9	85.9				87.3							$15,263	$623	$14,640

Frequently Asked Questions about Norma Coombs Elementary

Is Norma Coombs Elementary a good school?

Norma Coombs Elementary ranks 2565^th of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

What schools do graduates of Norma Coombs Elementary attend?

Students who attend Norma Coombs Elementary usually go on to attend:

High : Pasadena High

What is the racial makeup of Norma Coombs Elementary?

Students at Norma Coombs Elementary are 61% Hispanic, 16% African American, 12% White, 7% Two or more races, 4% Asian.

How many students attend Norma Coombs Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 370 students attended Norma Coombs Elementary.

What district is Norma Coombs Elementary in?

Pasadena Unified

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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.