Olive Middle, Baldwin Park CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Olive Middle

Olive Middle sits in Baldwin Park, a densely populated working-class neighborhood in the San Gabriel Valley, serving students grades 6 through 8. The school draws from a community that is predominantly Hispanic, economically vulnerable, and reliant on public transportation. A substantial majority of the school's families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The community itself has seen slow population decline, though recent mixed-income housing development and a new greenway path reflect the city's effort to revitalize its downtown core around the Metrolink transit station.

The school's academic performance, based on recent state testing, shows proficiency rates that fall below the midpoint relative to other districts in Los Angeles County. In English language arts, students across the three grades show proficiency ranging from the mid-thirties to low forties. Math proficiency is notably lower, with eighth grade showing particularly weak results in the late teens, sixth grade in the mid-twenties, and seventh grade somewhat higher at around mid-thirties. Science testing in eighth grade yields proficiency near a quarter. These numbers paint a picture of an early adolescent population with significant academic gaps, especially in mathematics. A parent may want to look into what supports the school offers in these areas, how closely the middle school works with its feeder elementary schools to identify and address learning needs, and what supplemental resources or tutoring are available.

The school is part of Baldwin Park Unified, a district navigating substantial enrollment decline. Over the past several years, the district has closed four elementary schools and consolidated its middle school offerings, merging Santa Fe and Holland Middle Schools into the BP STEM Academy, which itself faced consolidation. These changes reflect the broader demographic and fiscal pressures the district faces, and a family considering Olive Middle should understand that the school operates in a context of ongoing restructuring. On the positive side, the district has invested in facility modernization through a voter-approved bond, completing a new high school gymnasium and rolling out air conditioning and safety upgrades across campuses. The district has also built a distinctive Dual Language Immersion pathway, available from elementary through high school, allowing Spanish-English bilingual students to earn a state seal of biliteracy.

The housing market in Baldwin Park shows mid-range values and rents for the region, with monthly rents representing a significant share of household income. Growth is largely infill-oriented, concentrated in transit-adjacent mixed-use development along downtown corridors. The economic base includes Kaiser Permanente, UPS, the school district, and major retail. The Metrolink station, transit center, and downtown civic cluster sit within a manageable walk of the school's neighborhood.

For families choosing a middle school here, Olive Middle offers a regular public school pathway in a high-need, working-class community with substantial language diversity. The academic performance data signals that students will encounter rigorous grade-level expectations and that the school will need strong academic support systems in place. The school's role as a transition point in a consolidating district means that enrollment, program offerings, and campus configuration may continue to shift in the coming years. A parent considering this school should speak directly with administrators about remediation and intervention pathways, especially in math, and about how the school coordinates with the elementary schools feeding into it and the high schools receiving its graduates.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 626%

School 26% · District 28% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 736%

School 36% · District 29% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Grade 819%

School 19% · District 24% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 637%

School 37% · District 39% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 742%

School 42% · District 41% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 40% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 823%

School 23% · District 28% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 50% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

This schoolBaldwin Park Unified, 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 6Lower-income33%Higher-income69%36 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income39%Higher-income62%23 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income38%Higher-income37%2 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income23%Higher-income56%34 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income34%Higher-income48%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income17%Higher-income37%20 pp gap