Blair High, Pasadena CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Blair High

Blair High is a mid-sized middle and high school serving students in grades six through twelve in Pasadena. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting an economically diverse and working-class enrollment. The school draws from a city that mixes historic residential neighborhoods, active commercial corridors centered on Old Pasadena's walkable downtown, and major institutional anchors including Caltech and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Academic performance at Blair is below the midpoint among Los Angeles County districts on a proficiency index that averages results across tested subjects and grades. In English language arts, students show modest proficiency overall, with results varying modestly by grade level. Math proficiency is notably weaker, sitting roughly in the low-to-mid range across all tested grades. Science proficiency similarly sits below state-wide averages. The school has one year of recent state assessment data, so trend comparisons are not available; a parent may want to ask the school directly about performance trajectories over time.

The school serves a broad grade span from middle through high school, which means families are choosing it for either early secondary or traditional high school entry. The enrollment is distributed across seven grades, with slightly smaller cohorts in grades six and nine than in grades seven, eight, and ten. The district has been through substantial turmoil. The January 2025 Eaton Fire destroyed or severely damaged five district campuses and displaced thousands of students; rebuilding is expected to take years. The district was also in a school-consolidation process that would have merged Blair with Thurgood Marshall High School, though that process was halted in June 2026 when the board ended the closure consultant contract after an advisory committee declined to recommend any closure scenario. No specific information about the school's program offerings, staffing, or extracurricular breadth was available in the data provided.

Pasadena itself is experiencing significant multifamily housing growth concentrated in its central core, with many projects in planning or early stages. Housing values are well above state benchmarks, and rental costs are similarly elevated; the housing market remains a substantial commitment for families with school-age children, though it is not appreciating sharply year-over-year at present. Pasadena Unified passed two major funding measures in November 2024—a general obligation bond and the district's first parcel tax—though the same district faces a substantial structural budget deficit and approved major budget cuts in November 2025 that will eliminate dozens of positions and reduce arts, science, and athletics programs. These fiscal and programmatic changes carry real weight for families considering where their children will attend school.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

75-79%Cohort of 132 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

2,394 schools plotted. 142 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 620%

School 20% · District 34% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 732%

School 32% · District 34% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 30% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 639%

School 39% · District 46% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 744%

School 44% · District 47% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 41% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 29% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 36% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

This schoolPasadena 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-income28%Higher-income64%36 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income21%Higher-income81%59 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income27%Higher-income68%42 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income8%Higher-income52%45 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income17%Higher-income58%41 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income9%Higher-income51%42 pp gap