How does First Avenue Middle compare to other middle schools in Arcadia?

First Avenue Middle has a SchoolScope composite score of 65.3/100, placing it at the 93rd percentile statewide. 39% of students exceed standard, with a total of 1,534 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at First Avenue Middle?

38.6% of students at First Avenue Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 69.3% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is First Avenue Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, First Avenue Middle's proficiency rate increases by 6.9 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth. This suggests the school may be adding value over time.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at First Avenue Middle?

4.4% of students at First Avenue Middle are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days). This metric reflects school culture and family engagement, and is weighted at 15% in our composite score.

First Avenue Middle

Middle School

Arcadia Unified ArcadiaLos Angeles County91006

Composite Score

out of 100

State Percentile

of middle schools

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

Composite scores are SchoolScope's analysis of public data from the California Dept. of Education (CAASPP, chronic absenteeism, suspension rates). They are not official CDE ratings and should not be the sole basis for school decisions. See methodology.

School overview

Enrollment

707 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

25:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

36%

Teachers

28 full-time

Dashboard indicators

ELA Year-over-Year

Declined

-7.5 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Declined

-4.3 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

10.5%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 76 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic14.8%

White6.8%

Asian68.2%

Black2.5%

Other7.6%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for First Avenue Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	38.6%
Met Standard	30.7%
Below Standard	30.7%

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "69% proficient" for First Avenue Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

38.6% of students exceeded standard while 30.7% met it. That exceeded rate is 21.3 points above the state average of 17.3%. That's 6.0 points below the Arcadia Unified district average of 44.6%. Compared to the 5 nearby schools within ~3 miles, this exceeded rate is 3.3 points higher (vs 35.3% average). The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Students here improve by 6.9 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth, suggesting the school is adding value beyond what students arrive with.

California's Dashboard shows ELA performance declined and Math declined year-over-year. 10.5% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 4.4%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

38.6%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

69.3%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

+6.9pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

4.4%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

0.6%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

1,534

Across all grades & subjects

Grade trajectory

ELA Trajectory

G6 → G7 → G8

Math Trajectory

G6 → G7 → G8

ELA scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	246	29.7%	41.5%	15.0%	13.8%	71.1%
7th	265	35.5%	37.0%	13.6%	14.0%	72.5%
8th	243	38.3%	39.1%	14.8%	7.8%	77.4%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	255	39.2%	23.5%	20.4%	16.9%	62.8%
7th	279	37.6%	24.4%	19.4%	18.6%	62.0%
8th	246	51.6%	18.7%	15.4%	14.2%	70.3%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Baldwin Stocker Elementary

66.491st pctile

Holly Avenue Elementary

66.090th pctile

▼

Middle

First Avenue Middle

65.393rd pctile

This school

▼

High School

Arcadia High

76.196th pctile

Feeder patterns derived from 2015-16 NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries may have changed. Contact your school district for current information.