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South Pasadena Middle

Public Grades 6-8

53^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 98% of California middle schools

Summary

South Pasadena Middle is a top-performing public school serving about 1,100 students in grades 6-8 within the highly-ranked South Pasadena Unified district, consistently placing in the top 2-3% of all California middle schools.

The school's academic results are exceptional, with over 83% of students proficient in English and 79% in Math—figures that are roughly double the state average and significantly higher than most nearby schools. It forms a notable "excellence corridor" with the similarly elite Huntington Middle in San Marino Unified, while nearby schools in the Los Angeles Unified district, like Florence Nightingale Middle and Octavia E. Butler Magnet, show much lower proficiency rates despite often having higher per-student spending.

Key strengths include remarkably low chronic absenteeism (6.1%) and outstanding support for all student groups, with special education and English Language Learner programs ranking in the state's top 1%. This consistent, decade-long excellence suggests effective teaching and stable leadership, making it a model of high achievement within the public school system.

1,096

Students ?

23.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,684

Per pupil spending ?

14.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1500 Fair Oaks
South Pasadena, CA 91030-4126

(626) 441-5830

District: South Pasadena Unified

Students who attend South Pasadena Middle usually attend:

High:

South Pasadena Senior High

Feeder schools for South Pasadena Middle:

Elementary:	Arroyo Vista Elementary
	Marengo Elementary
	Monterey Hills Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Asian:

39.1%

White:

21.6%

Hispanic:

20.3%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare South Pasadena Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 94th percentile in 2013 → 98th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (80% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 2% of California middle schools

Worth a look

!Large classes — about 24 students per teacher

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school80%

District avg80%

California avg41%

53^rd of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Top 2%▲ up 1 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

29^th of 1,543South Pasadena 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	97.9	53 of 2761	98.1%	★★★★★
2024	98.1	46 of 2783	98.3%	★★★★★
2023	98.0	52 of 2781	98.1%	★★★★★
2022	97.5	72 of 2740	97.4%	★★★★★
2019	97.3	60 of 2715	97.8%	★★★★★
2018	97.3	46 of 2480	98.1%	★★★★★
2017	97.8	37 of 2508	98.5%	★★★★★
2016	96.1	67 of 2497	97.3%	★★★★★
2015	96.0	78 of 2477	96.9%	★★★★★
2013	87.3	141 of 2379	94.1%	★★★★★
2012	87.3	140 of 2259	93.8%	★★★★★
2011	88.2	133 of 2236	94.1%	★★★★★
2010	90.5	93 of 2179	95.7%	★★★★★
2009	90.5	100 of 2063	95.2%	★★★★★
2008	91.9	78 of 2005	96.1%	★★★★★
2007	90.1	124 of 1999	93.8%	★★★★★
2006	91.9	88 of 1804	95.1%	★★★★★
2005	92.1	80 of 1777	95.5%	★★★★★
2004	89.1	135 of 1769	92.4%	★★★★★

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	81.3	100 of 739	86.5%	★★★★☆
2024	82.0	86 of 743	88.4%	★★★★☆
2023	82.5	72 of 715	89.9%	★★★★★
2022	79.5	121 of 733	83.5%	★★★★☆
2019	83.4	58 of 745	92.2%	★★★★★
2018	84.7	44 of 700	93.7%	★★★★★

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	94.9	53 of 1531	96.5%	★★★★★
2019	96.6	37 of 1491	97.5%	★★★★★
2018	98.0	21 of 1369	98.5%	★★★★★

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	98.4	11 of 1478	99.3%	★★★★★
2023	99.8	4 of 1521	99.7%	★★★★★
2022	98.7	9 of 1540	99.4%	★★★★★
2019	96.9	31 of 1442	97.9%	★★★★★
2018	90.1	75 of 1364	94.5%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	96.9	59 of 2533	97.7%	★★★★★
2024	96.7	76 of 2551	97.0%	★★★★★
2023	97.0	72 of 2531	97.2%	★★★★★
2022	97.6	52 of 2509	97.9%	★★★★★
2019	96.4	56 of 2380	97.6%	★★★★★
2018	96.8	41 of 2262	98.2%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	96.5	53 of 2395	97.8%	★★★★★
2024	96.7	49 of 2388	97.9%	★★★★★
2023	96.1	53 of 2374	97.8%	★★★★★
2022	96.2	53 of 2359	97.8%	★★★★★
2019	96.2	53 of 2213	97.6%	★★★★★
2018	96.7	41 of 2072	98.0%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	94.3	98 of 2542	96.1%	★★★★★
2024	96.0	79 of 2579	96.9%	★★★★★
2023	98.6	26 of 2531	99.0%	★★★★★
2022	97.7	38 of 2458	98.5%	★★★★★
2019	95.5	61 of 2369	97.4%	★★★★★
2018	98.0	29 of 2230	98.7%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	98.0	42 of 2534	98.3%	★★★★★
2024	98.5	35 of 2552	98.6%	★★★★★
2023	98.2	39 of 2538	98.5%	★★★★★
2022	96.8	83 of 2527	96.7%	★★★★★
2019	97.4	64 of 2407	97.3%	★★★★★
2018	97.2	57 of 2273	97.5%	★★★★★

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	93.0	15 of 726	97.9%	★★★★★
2024	91.7	19 of 701	97.3%	★★★★★
2023	90.7	27 of 677	96.0%	★★★★★
2022	87.6	41 of 665	93.8%	★★★★★
2019	90.5	17 of 554	96.9%	★★★★★
2018	86.8	30 of 462	93.5%	★★★★★

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	98.4	19 of 1566	98.8%	★★★★★
2024	99.3	18 of 1552	98.8%	★★★★★
2023	91.5	77 of 1531	95.0%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	90.0	68 of 1520	95.5%	★★★★★
2024	91.0	61 of 1537	96.0%	★★★★★
2023	92.8	29 of 1543	98.1%	★★★★★
2022	92.5	42 of 1555	97.3%	★★★★★
2019	89.3	97 of 1602	93.9%	★★★★★
2018	90.6	59 of 1496	96.1%	★★★★★

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 (2024)99th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)99th percentile~ school

Male (2025)98th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2025)98th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)98th percentile~ school

Female (2025)98th percentile~ school

Disabled (2022)97th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)96th percentile~ school

White (2025)96th percentile-3 vs school

Asian (2025)86th percentile-12 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy83%+34 vs state

Mathematics79%+42 vs state

Science73%+40 vs state

5.0

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What people are saying

by a student on FaceBook
Wednesday, January 4, 2012

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Schools Near South Pasadena Middle

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores 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)				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 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	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 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
South Pasadena Middle	Public	6-8	1500 Fair Oaks	South Pasadena	91030	Los Angeles County	South Pasadena Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 441-5830	1,096	46	23.9	14.5%	237 (21.6%)	19 (1.7%)	223 (20.3%)	429 (39.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	186 (17.0%)	97.9	53^rd of 2761 public middle schools	98.1%		98.1	46^th of 2783 public middle schools	98.3%	7	73.1	73.1	83.7	81.8	83.9	83.1	78.3	78.7	81.1	79.3	$15,684	$507	$15,177
Luther Burbank Mid School Sci Technical Engr Arts and Math Magnet	Public	6-8	6460 North Figueroa St.	Los Angeles	90042	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 340-4400	824	49	16.9	88.6%	27 (3.3%)	8 (1.0%)	752 (91.3%)	24 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (1.6%)	54.5	1053^rd of 2761 public middle schools	61.9%		51	1142^nd of 2783 public middle schools	59.0%	89	27.7	27.7	38.7	47.9	48.7	45.0	30.0	43.8	50.8	41.4	$23,400	$4,921	$18,479
Huntington Middle	Public	6-8	1700 Huntington Dr.	San Marino	91108	Los Angeles County	San Marino Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 299-7060	709	31	23.0	14.4%	122 (17.2%)	2 (0.3%)	40 (5.6%)	467 (65.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	77 (10.9%)	98.2	41^st of 2761 public middle schools	98.5%		99	17^th of 2783 public middle schools	99.4%	24	73.1	73.1	86.9	81.3	81.3	83.1	89.0	84.5	83.4	85.6	$17,097	$287	$16,810
El Sereno Middle	Public	6-8	2839 North Eastern Ave.	Los Angeles	90032	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 224-4700	857	51	16.8	91.8%	14 (1.6%)	12 (1.4%)	787 (91.8%)	31 (3.6%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (1.3%)	54.1	1071^st of 2761 public middle schools	61.2%		51.8	1115^th of 2783 public middle schools	59.9%	44	25.3	25.3	42.0	46.8	47.4	45.9	37.1	44.0	39.2	40.6	$26,783	$4,782	$22,001
Jefferson Middle	Public	6-8	1372 East Las Tunas Dr.	San Gabriel	91776	Los Angeles County	San Gabriel Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 287-5260	1,013	47	21.6	70.0%	34 (3.4%)	7 (0.7%)	399 (39.4%)	526 (51.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	43 (4.2%)	76.7	546^th of 2761 public middle schools	80.2%		81.6	449^th of 2783 public middle schools	83.9%	97	48.3	48.3	58.9	61.2	64.9	61.5	43.5	51.1	44.4	46.5	$19,478	$2,227	$17,251
Garvey (Richard) Intermediate	Public	7-8	2720 North Jackson Ave.	Rosemead	91770	Los Angeles County	Garvey Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 307-3385	661	29	22.5	78.1%	5 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	227 (34.3%)	413 (62.5%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.3%)	12 (1.8%)	81.3	456^th of 2761 public middle schools	83.5%		87.6	331^st of 2783 public middle schools	88.1%	125	47.2	47.2		59.5	63.2	61.3		52.3	55.7	54.0	$20,932	$2,398	$18,534
Florence Nightingale Middle	Public	6-8	3311 North Figueroa St.	Los Angeles	90065	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 224-4800	773	47	16.5	87.3%	16 (2.1%)	19 (2.5%)	577 (74.6%)	148 (19.1%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (1.4%)	49	1207^th of 2761 public middle schools	56.3%		40.8	1435^th of 2783 public middle schools	48.4%	228	26.5	26.5	39.7	49.3	44.8	44.8	31.5	38.9	32.9	34.7	$26,893	$4,475	$22,418
Octavia E. Butler Magnet	Public	6-8	1505 North Marengo Ave.	Pasadena	91103	Los Angeles County	Pasadena Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 396-5830	481	26	18.4	70.3%	47 (9.8%)	45 (9.4%)	351 (73.0%)	13 (2.7%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (4.4%)	31.6	1772^nd of 2761 public middle schools	35.8%		21.3	2204^th of 2783 public middle schools	20.8%	432	21.7	21.7	39.5	41.1	31.4	36.9	30.1	18.6	18.7	22.4	$27,105	$4,089	$23,016
Muscatel Middle	Public	7-8	4201 North Ivar Ave.	Rosemead	91770	Los Angeles County	Rosemead Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 287-1139	511	24	20.9	76.7%	7 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	189 (37.0%)	296 (57.9%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (3.1%)	82.5	427^th of 2761 public middle schools	84.5%		87.8	327^th of 2783 public middle schools	88.3%	100	48.0	48.0		66.3	60.6	63.5		56.0	50.2	53.2	$20,073	$1,935	$18,138
Oak Avenue Intermediate	Public	7-8	6623 Oak Ave.	Temple City	91780	Los Angeles County	Temple City Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 548-5060	839	35	24.0	38.7%	46 (5.5%)	6 (0.7%)	170 (20.3%)	574 (68.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (5.1%)	92.4	213^th of 2761 public middle schools	92.3%		91.1	253^rd of 2783 public middle schools	90.9%	40	61.2	61.2		69.6	67.9	68.7		70.4	68.9	69.7	$17,807	$1,312	$16,495

Frequently Asked Questions about South Pasadena Middle

What high school do graduates of South Pasadena Middle attend?

Students who attend South Pasadena Middle usually go on to attend South Pasadena Senior High

Is South Pasadena Middle a good school?

Yes! South Pasadena Middle is one of the best middle schools in the state. It ranks 53^rd of 2761 California middle schools.

What is the racial makeup of South Pasadena Middle?

Students at South Pasadena Middle are 39% Asian, 22% White, 20% Hispanic, 17% Two or more races, 2% African American.

What district is South Pasadena Middle in?

South Pasadena Unified

How many students attend South Pasadena Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,096 students attended South Pasadena Middle.

Rate South Pasadena Middle!

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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.