Willard Elementary: Scores climb 7.1 points from grade 3 to grade 5. But one in four miss a month of school or more.
Willard's strongest signal is real. Attendance is the number to ask about — and both belong on the same page.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 58 | 25% | 46% | +7.1 | 25.8% | 1.6% |
| CA average · Elementary School | 45 | 21% | 43% | -2.9 | 17.9% | 1.6% |
Willard Elementary scores 58 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 80th percentile of 5,744 California elementary schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).
Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →
🚀 Growth Engine — Ask how the school tracks each kid's growth year to year, and what happens when a kid stalls instead of gaining.
Most rating sites would stop at “46% proficient” and call it done. Willard deserves a closer read. The school sits in Pasadena, where three in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
The headline number: +7.1pp separates this year's grade 3 from its grade 5. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. Following the same students from 2023 G3 → 2025 G5 points the same way.
The seven-year arc
Climbed from the 68th to the 80th percentile since 2019 — past roughly 600 elementary schools.
Proficiency here is back to its pre-pandemic level — 46% meet the standard, about where the school stood in 2019.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 45% | 47% | 36% | 48% | 52% |
| Grade 4 | 47% | 46% | 54% | 46% | 54% |
| Grade 5 | 60% | 38% | 51% | 60% | 56% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 34% | 34% | 30% | 35% | 30% |
| Grade 4 | 50% | 35% | 51% | 38% | 45% |
| Grade 5 | 33% | 17% | 34% | 50% | 40% |
The story this school is actually telling
separates this year's grade 3 from its grade 5. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. Following the same students from 2023 G3 → 2025 G5 points the same way.
of students miss a month or more of school, versus 17.9% statewide. High absence often tracks community stress — a school visit will tell you more than this number.
The school, grade by grade
ELA · CAASPP 2024–25Different students, same year — each bar is one grade's proficiency mix.
The honest read: the share exceeding rises 2.9pp across grades; the floor rises 4.4pp. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. Kids here gain ground the longer they stay — the pattern you want to see. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
The 6 things our score weighs
Ask how the school tracks and follows up on attendance. High absence often reflects community stress, not classroom quality — a visit will tell you which.
- Ask how the school follows up when a student starts missing days — chronic absence often starts outside the classroom, not inside it.
- Ask how teachers track each child's growth over the year, not just where the class lands on test day.
- Ask whether the tour can step into a working classroom — watch how the teacher handles a student who's stuck.
- Ask to tour while school's in session, and notice how hallways and transitions feel — culture shows up between classes, not just in them.
- Ask how the school communicates with families when a child starts to struggle.
- Ask what a typical day looks like for a new student in the first few weeks.
How every group of students does here
At Willard Elementary in Pasadena, 43.9% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 35.5% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Willard Elementary outperforms its district average for low-income students by 8.4 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (27.2% Math proficient); Hispanic students (42.6% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 20.9 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 139 students tested.
7 of 14 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.
Change in proficiency from the lowest tested grade — which groups gain ground the longer they stay. Groups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
Low-income student ELA proficiency rises by 7.3pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +0.4pp.
Showing up, and staying in class
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
Estimated path based on proximity within the same district. Contact your school district for official feeder information.
The people teaching here
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
What gets spent here
$636 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.
The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.
District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.
Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →
The neighborhood it serves
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
Transitional kindergarten is offered here — confirmed by actual Census Day enrollment, not just the listed grade span.
On the state's science test (CAST), 39% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Willard Elementary a good elementary school?
What are Willard Elementary's CAASPP test scores?
How does Willard Elementary rank in California?
Is Willard Elementary getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Willard Elementary?
How does Willard Elementary compare to other schools in Pasadena?
How does Willard Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 80
Nearby Middle Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 67
Nearby High Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 68
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 48 | 23% | 29% | 21% | 27% | 52% | +9 |
| Grade 4 | 74 | 30% | 24% | 11% | 35% | 54% | +9 |
| Grade 5 | 62 | 26% | 31% | 19% | 24% | 56% | +9 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 46 | 15% | 15% | 24% | 46% | 30% | −15 |
| Grade 4 | 73 | 27% | 18% | 29% | 26% | 45% | +4 |
| Grade 5 | 62 | 31% | 10% | 21% | 39% | 40% | +5 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 62 | 16% | 23% | 48% | 13% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| Subgroup · ELA | Tested | MET+ | vs district | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 139 | 43.9% | +8 | +6 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 108 | 42.6% | +6 | +4 |
| Students with Disabilities | 15 | 33.3% | +17 | +16 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willard Elementary ← | — | 58 | 25.3% | 46.4% | +7.1 | 1.6% |
| Carver Elementary | 1.2 mi | 84 | 68.5% | 88.0% | −0.2 | 0.2% |
| Valentine Elementary | 2.6 mi | 82 | 63.9% | 86.5% | +3.4 | 0.1% |
| Field (Eugene) Elementary | 1.4 mi | 74 | 52.5% | 76.5% | −8.6 | 0.1% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 51 | 68 | #1742 | 21.2% | 45.1% | 11.4% | 0.1% | +6.6pp |
| 2022 | 30 | 32 | #3891 | 16.2% | 36.3% | 50.5% | 1.4% | -13.2pp |
| 2023 | 53 | 77 | #1332 | 24.6% | 42.5% | 33.1% | 2.6% | +9.5pp |
| 2024 | 56 | 77 | #1297 | 22.3% | 46.0% | 27.3% | 2.0% | +13.6pp |
| 2025 | 58 | 80 | #1155 | 25.3% | 46.4% | 25.8% | 1.6% | +7.1pp |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 11.3% | 29.0% | +17.7pp |
| Male | 11.5% | 23.7% | +12.2pp |
| Asian | 8.1% | 17.2% | +9.1pp |
| Black/African American | 20.5% | 36.7% | +16.2pp |
| White | 16.7% | 6.3% | -10.4pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 10.1% | 31.6% | +21.5pp |
| Two or More Races | 12.5% | 0.0% | -12.5pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 16.9% | 40.0% | +23.1pp |
| English Learners | 9.1% | 29.9% | +20.8pp |
| Homeless | 17.1% | 45.5% | +28.4pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 13.0% | 31.7% | +18.7pp |
| All Students | 11.4% | 26.4% | +15.0pp |
SchoolScope scores and verdicts are our interpretation of public California Department of Education data — independent analysis, not an official rating. How we analyze · Request a correction