El Sereno Middle
Los Angeles Unified
80
SolidScope Score · 73rd percentile
Compare · middle
El Sereno and South Pasadena Middle
South Pasadena Middle scores 97 and El Sereno 80 among California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests). South Pasadena Middle’s English (reading and writing) and math results are clearly higher.
South Pasadena Middle
South Pasadena Unified
97
StrongScope Score · 99th percentile
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Biggest differences
What are the biggest differences?
The biggest difference in test results is in math. South Pasadena Middle has the highest share and El Sereno has the lowest.
Biggest difference
36points
in math. 81% of South Pasadena Middle students scored Proficient or Advanced. At El Sereno it was 45%.
Lowest absence
4in 100
students at South Pasadena Middle missed 10% or more of school days. It was 24 in 100 at El Sereno.
Low-income families
92%
of El Sereno’s students are from low-income families. At South Pasadena Middle it is 15%.
Each tile is read from the figures below, for the schools scored among California middle schools. Chronic absence is the 2025–26 school year. Students from low-income families are students eligible for free or reduced-price meals, 2024–25.
Test results
How do their test results compare?
The dark part of each bar is students who scored Advanced. The light part is students who scored Proficient. The dashed line is California for the same grades.
English: Proficient or Advanced
Reading and writing
El Sereno49%Advanced: 19%
South Pasadena Middle84%Clearly aheadAdvanced: 53%, clearly ahead
California49%Advanced: 19%
Math: Proficient or Advanced
Share of students tested
El Sereno45%Advanced: 27%
South Pasadena Middle81%Clearly aheadAdvanced: 67%, clearly ahead
California37%Advanced: 21%
Grades 6–8, spring 2026. From spring 2026, the state calls its top two levels “Proficient or Advanced” (formerly “Met or Exceeded”). Source: California’s state tests (CAASPP), California Department of Education.
Year by year
How have their results changed?
El Sereno’s English results changed the most. In 2017, 29% of its students were in the state’s top two test levels. In 2026 it was 49%.
Share of students in the state’s top two test levels, 2017 to 2026
Grades 6–8. Each year is a different group of students.
English
25%50%75%No comparable tests2017201820192022202320242025202649%El Sereno84%South Pasadena Middle49%California
Math
25%50%75%No comparable tests2017201820192022202320242025202645%El Sereno81%South Pasadena Middle37%California
The lines break across the COVID years, when state testing was waived or optional. Each figure is our combination of the grades’ published results, weighted by students tested. Source: California’s state tests (CAASPP), California Department of Education.
Life at school
Do students show up and stay in class?
A shorter bar is better here. The dashed line is the average California middle school we score.
Chronically absent
Students in 100 who missed 10% or more of school days
El Sereno24 in 100213 of 877 students
South Pasadena Middle4 in 100Clearly ahead50 of 1,150 students
Average school18 in 100
Suspended at least once
Share of students enrolled at any point in the year
El Sereno0%0 of 895 students
South Pasadena Middle1.2%14 of 1,176 students
Average school3.7%
2025–26 school year. Average school: the average California middle school we score. Source: California Department of Education.
State growth measure
How did results compare with what the state expected?
The state sets an expected score for each student from that student’s earlier scores. A bar to the right means students scored above it.
English
Points against the expected score
El Sereno+1point
South Pasadena Middle+6points
Math
Points against the expected score
El Sereno+13points
South Pasadena Middle+30points
- El SerenoThe state calls the English result Average and the math result Accelerated. 762 students in English, 759 in math.
- South Pasadena MiddleThe state calls the English result Accelerated and the math result Exceptional. 1,032 students in English, 1,029 in math.
Grades 6–8, spring 2025. Students with scores in both years. The measure describes results, not causes. Source: California Department of Education growth model.
Culture
How does each school describe itself?
Each school in its own words, with the outside list behind a named approach.
El Sereno
International Baccalaureate (Middle Years)Whole school, listed by International Baccalaureate Organization ↗
South Pasadena Middle
We have not read this school’s website yet.
Culture, side by side
What do the school, its families and the records say?
A school’s words are its claims. The district’s survey and the staffing records are evidence.
| Measure | El Sereno | South Pasadena Middle |
|---|---|---|
| LAUSD School Experience Survey, 2025–26The share of students, families and staff who agreed. The mark on each bar is the district. | ||
| Students: Safety | El Sereno66%LAUSD 64% · 821 answers | South Pasadena MiddleNo survey on file |
| Students: Belonging | El Sereno59%LAUSD 55% · 626 to 818 answers | South Pasadena MiddleNo survey on file |
| Students: Caring adults | El Sereno64%LAUSD 61% · 805 to 817 answers | South Pasadena MiddleNo survey on file |
| Families: Safety | El Sereno84%LAUSD 82% · 443 answers | South Pasadena MiddleNo survey on file |
| Families: Belonging | El Sereno86%LAUSD 89% · 446 to 461 answers | South Pasadena MiddleNo survey on file |
| Staff: Safety | El Sereno99%LAUSD 94% · 109 answers | South Pasadena MiddleNo survey on file |
| From the staffing records | ||
| Average years of teaching experience2024–25 school year | El Sereno16 | South Pasadena Middle10 |
| Teachers in their first year2024–25 school year | El Sereno6% | South Pasadena Middle2% |
Show every subject in the survey
| Measure | El Sereno | South Pasadena Middle |
|---|---|---|
| LAUSD School Experience Survey, 2025–26 | ||
| Students: Engagement | El Sereno62%LAUSD 58% · 808 to 818 answers | South Pasadena MiddleNo survey on file |
| Students: High expectations | El Sereno77%LAUSD 73% · 815 to 817 answers | South Pasadena MiddleNo survey on file |
| Students: Bullied 2 or more times in the past 30 daysLower is better | El Sereno21%LAUSD 19% · 624 to 816 answers | South Pasadena MiddleNo survey on file |
| Families: Caring adults | El Sereno89%LAUSD 87% · 454 answers | South Pasadena MiddleNo survey on file |
| Families: Engagement | El Sereno80%LAUSD 84% · 454 to 460 answers | South Pasadena MiddleNo survey on file |
| Families: High expectations | El Sereno86%LAUSD 84% · 420 to 429 answers | South Pasadena MiddleNo survey on file |
| Families: Bullying reports taken seriously | El Sereno74%LAUSD 74% · 450 answers | South Pasadena MiddleNo survey on file |
| Staff: Caring adults | El Sereno92%LAUSD 84% · 109 answers | South Pasadena MiddleNo survey on file |
| Staff: High expectations | El Sereno95%LAUSD 92% · 108 to 109 answers | South Pasadena MiddleNo survey on file |
| Staff: Bullying called a mild or insignificant problem | El Sereno79%LAUSD 71% · 109 answers | South Pasadena MiddleNo survey on file |
School statements are from each school’s own website on the date shown. A survey figure averages the questions on that subject: the share who agreed, or for student bullying the share it happened to. Teacher records are from the California Department of Education. Nothing here is about a named person.
Who attends
Who attends, and how big are they?
The table shows how many students each school has and how many are from low-income families.
| Measure | El Sereno | South Pasadena Middle |
|---|---|---|
| StudentsFederal school directory, 2024–25 | El Sereno857 | South Pasadena Middle1,096 |
| Students from low-income familiesEligible for free or reduced-price meals, 2024–25. California: 63% | El Sereno92%787 of 857 students | South Pasadena Middle15%159 of 1,096 students |
| Students per teacherA staffing ratio, not class size | El Sereno17 | South Pasadena Middle24 |
Show grades and who runs each school
| Measure | El Sereno | South Pasadena Middle |
|---|---|---|
| Grades | El Sereno6–8 | South Pasadena Middle6–8 |
| Who runs the school | El SerenoLos Angeles Unified | South Pasadena MiddleSouth Pasadena Unified |
Sources
Sources and definitions
75 is the typical California school. 100 is the best result in the state. How we score schools
Test results are from California’s state tests (CAASPP), spring 2026. Each figure is the share of students tested in the level’s grades who scored Proficient or Advanced, for one subject. California’s figure is our combination of the state’s published rows for the same grades.
“Clearly ahead” marks a figure that is ahead of the others by more than twice the margin of error. On chronic absence, ahead means lower.
Chronic absence and suspensions are the California Department of Education’s 2025–26 counts. “Chronically absent” means a student missed 10% or more of school days. The average school is the average California school we score at these schools’ level, with each school counted once.
The state growth measure is points above or below what the state expected from these students’ earlier scores. It covers grades 4–8 and comes from the state’s spring 2025 release.
The year-by-year chart shows each spring’s results for grades 6–8. Each year is a different group of students, so the chart does not show how the same students changed.
Students and students per teacher are from the federal school directory, 2024–25. Students from low-income families are students counted as eligible for free or reduced-price meals in the California Department of Education’s 2024–25 count.
Teacher experience is the California Department of Education’s staffing file for the school year shown (teachers only).