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How has First Avenue Middle changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
771
Middle
DISTRICT 710 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ARCADIA UNIFIED·NCES 060297000228
First Avenue Middle
301 South First Ave., Arcadia, CA 91006 · (626) 821-8362 · Los Angeles County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE13-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL771 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
24.8:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 24.1:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
33%
252 students
DISTRICT 31% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 252 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 270 | 35% |
| Grade 8 | 249 | 32% |
Student demographics
48%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 51% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
First Avenue Middle→Arcadia High
Based on grade levels within Arcadia Unified. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
73.6%
CA avg 49.1% . -0.4pp since 2014
Math
64.9%
CA avg 37.7% . -9.1pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 74 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 65 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2014, while math scores are down about 9 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 34.5% | 39.1% | 14.5% | 11.9% |
| Math | 42.6% | 22.3% | 18.5% | 16.7% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 73.6% | 64.9% |
| 2023-24 | 75.8% | 65.9% |
| 2022-23 | 77.9% | 65.4% |
| 2021-22 | 77.0% | 61.9% |
| 2018-19 | 78.5% | 74.2% |
| 2017-18 | 79.0% | 72.8% |
| 2016-17 | 81.0% | 73.0% |
| 2015-16 | 75.0% | 73.0% |
| 2014-15 | 74.0% | 74.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
70.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
60.4%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+9.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 70% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 60% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like First Avenue Middle
First Avenue Middle's state test result (70.1% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Avenue Middle this school | 771 | 32.7% | 70.1% |
| Richard Henry Dana Middle Arcadia | 710 | 29.4% | 70.2% |
| Thomas Russell Middle Milpitas | 761 | 38.8% | 72.9% |
| Quimby Oak Middle San Jose | 857 | 30.5% | 65.5% |
| Oak Avenue Intermediate Temple City | 839 | 38.7% | 68.0% |
| Warren E. Hyde Middle Cupertino | 800 | 26.3% | 79.8% |
Matched among California middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where First Avenue Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Los Angeles County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 70.1% | #119 of 1,224 | #21 of 248 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 64.9% | #136 of 1,227 ▼ 26 | #25 of 248 ▼ 5 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 73.6% | #141 of 1,227 ▼ 37 | #26 of 248 ▼ 10 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -0.2pp | #351 of 1,214 | #47 of 247 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 771 | #471 of 1,377 | #111 of 317 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 24.8:1 | #1,156 of 1,279 | #259 of 301 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 47.9% | #700 of 1,278 | #111 of 301 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 32.7% | #1,121 of 1,329 | #278 of 312 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -3.6% | #841 of 930 | #197 of 213 |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
771
+15 (+2%) vs 2020
+8% since 1990-91, when it was 711
Student : Teacher
24.8:1
was 23.6:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 771 | 31.1 | 24.8:1 | 33% (252) |
| 2023-24 | 707 | 28 | 25.2:1 | 36% (254) |
| 2022-23 | 679 | 28.9 | 23.5:1 | 34% (232) |
| 2020-21 | 756 | 32 | 23.6:1 | 31% (235) |
| 2017-18 | 800 | 32.8 | 24.4:1 | 26% (208) |
| 2015-16 | 754 | 29 | 26.0:1 | 24% (180) |
| 2010-11 | 806 | N/A | N/A | 23% (187) |
| 2000-01 | 734 | 31 | 23.7:1 | 10% (76) |
| 1990-91 | 711 | 30 | 23.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for First Avenue Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 4% (800 to 771); teachers down 5% (32.8 to 31.1).
About First Avenue Middle
The public middle school First Avenue Middle is located in Arcadia, California. It enrolls 771 students in 2024-25. The grades offered are 6 through 8.
First Avenue Middle is a school in Arcadia Unified. The district has 11 schools and 9,061 students.
The share of Asian students at First Avenue Middle is 70%, a majority. Smaller groups are 17% Hispanic, 8% White, 3% multiracial, and 2% Black. For comparison, the population of Los Angeles County is roughly 15% Asian. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 48, compared with 70 nationally.
First Avenue Middle lists 31.1 full-time-equivalent teachers; that is about 24.8 students per teacher. By comparison, the average for middle schools in California is 20.7:1. About 33% of students at First Avenue Middle are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The rate at public schools in Los Angeles County averages 70%, higher than here.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, First Avenue Middle is 9.7 points above its prediction. Actual: 70.1%. Predicted: 60.4%.
In Los Angeles County, where the school is located, median household income comes to about $90,112, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 36%, and roughly 10% of residents are in poverty. The county has 2,244 public schools and about 1,265,907 students.
Measured in a straight line, Rancho Learning Center (Alternative) is about 0.4 miles from First Avenue Middle. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. First Avenue Middle comes in 5th of 8 nearby schools on average proficiency.
The school's federal locale classification is City: Small.
In 2020-21, First Avenue Middle enrolled 756; in 2024-25, 771. In 2020-21, the student-to-teacher ratio was 23.6:1; by 2024-25 it was 24.8:1.
Use the discussion section to ask about homework, tutoring, and testing dates at First Avenue Middle. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Los Angeles County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
9,808,667
Census ACS
Median income
$90,112
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
36%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
2,244
1,265,907 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Arcadia Unified
- Arcadia HighHigh · 2,939 students
- Holly Avenue ElementaryElementary · 789 students
- Richard Henry Dana MiddleMiddle · 710 students
- Camino Grove ElementaryElementary · 695 students
- Baldwin Stocker ElementaryElementary · 664 students
- Highland Oaks ElementaryElementary · 655 students
Other schools in Arcadia
- Arcadia HighHigh · 2,939 students
- Holly Avenue ElementaryElementary · 789 students
- Richard Henry Dana MiddleMiddle · 710 students
- Camino Grove ElementaryElementary · 695 students
- Baldwin Stocker ElementaryElementary · 664 students
- Highland Oaks ElementaryElementary · 655 students
Nearby schools
- Rancho Learning Center (Alternative)0.4 mi · 64
- Arcadia High0.7 mi · 2,939
- Richard Henry Dana Middle0.8 mi · 710
- Monrovia High1.0 mi · 1,455
- Camino Grove Elementary1.0 mi · 695
- Holly Avenue Elementary1.1 mi · 789
Frequently asked questions
About First Avenue MiddleWhat is the total enrollment at First Avenue Middle?
First Avenue Middle enrolls approximately 771 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does First Avenue Middle serve?
First Avenue Middle serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at First Avenue Middle?
The student-to-teacher ratio at First Avenue Middle is approximately 24.8:1 (31 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at First Avenue Middle?
At First Avenue Middle, the student body is approximately 8% White, 17% Hispanic, 2% Black, 70% Asian, 3% Two or more.
What district is First Avenue Middle in?
First Avenue Middle is part of Arcadia Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.