Ocs - South, Altadena CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Ocs - South

OCS - South is a charter school serving kindergarten through eighth grade in Altadena, a foothills community north of Pasadena. The school faced a transformative disruption when the January 2025 Eaton Fire destroyed its original campus on West Palm Street, displacing students and staff into borrowed spaces at the ArtCenter College of Design and Boys & Girls Club facilities for a full academic year. In January 2026, the school reopened at a permanent leased facility on West Altadena Drive, giving families a stable home base again after twelve months of displacement.

The fire's aftermath reshaped enrollment. The school now serves a considerably smaller student body than it did before the disaster, a shift that reflects both the trauma families endured and the ongoing recovery in Altadena itself. Many families lost homes or chose to relocate outside the burn area. The school is actively rebuilding its enrollment, which means current class sizes are smaller and the peer environment is still stabilizing. For families considering enrollment now, this is a school in genuine recovery—not a crisis, but a reshaped community.

Academically, OCS - South's most recent state test results show a school with uneven performance across grades. In English language arts, the school overall shows a proficiency rate near two-thirds, with notable strength in eighth grade (above four-fifths proficient) and fifth grade (above four-fifths proficient), but weaker proficiency in sixth grade (under half). Math proficiency is lower, hovering near half overall, with sharper disparities by grade: third grade performs above three-fifths, but fourth grade drops to below half, sixth grade falls to roughly one-fifth, and eighth grade recovers to above two-thirds. Performance in science, tested in grades five and eight, shows mid-range proficiency in both grades. The pattern suggests the school's strengths lie in upper elementary and eighth grade, while middle grades four through six present softer results, particularly in math. A parent may want to discuss this grade-level variation directly with the school, especially if enrolling a child in grades four through six.

The school's student body is racially and economically mixed. About one-third of enrolled students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the racial composition is diverse: roughly one-third Latino, one-third white, one-sixth Asian, one-twelfth Black, and smaller shares of students identifying with two or more races or other groups. The school does not report data on special education enrollment or English learner enrollment, so families with students needing either service should contact the school directly about capacity and program design.

Relative to districts across Los Angeles County, OCS - South's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile—a strength worth noting. This positioning reflects the school's solid performance in reading and its peaks in eighth-grade results, even as specific grade bands trail. The school serves roughly one-quarter enrollment through eighth grade, distributed unevenly across grades with particularly small middle-grade cohorts, which affects class composition and school dynamics.

Altadena itself is a residential, unincorporated foothills community with historic single-family homes, larger lots, and mixed-race, mixed-income households—more working-class and diverse on the western side. The area has modest commercial activity, limited walkability outside a few corridors, and strong mountain and park access. The Eaton Fire destroyed more than one thousand residential structures and prompted major shifts in property ownership and community composition that are still unfolding. Families should understand that enrolling a child at OCS - South means sending them to a school and community both actively rebuilding after catastrophic loss, with all the instability and resilience that entails.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 362%

School 62% · district not reported

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 447%

School 47% · district not reported

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 559%

School 59% · district not reported

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 622%

School 22% · district not reported

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 869%

School 69% · district not reported

▲ 41 pts above state median · ▲ 40 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 367%

School 67% · district not reported

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 456%

School 56% · district not reported

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 582%

School 82% · district not reported

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

Grade 641%

School 41% · district not reported

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 885%

School 85% · district not reported

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 39 pts above county median

Science

Grade 561%

School 61% · district not reported

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Grade 846%

School 46% · district not reported

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

This schoolDistrict average, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 5Lower-income58%Higher-income100%42 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income25%Higher-income87%62 pp gap