Opportunities for Learning - Baldwin Park II: Full Guide

Location: Pasadena, CA

Are you a student or parent at Opportunities for Learning - Baldwin Park II? Want to understand how to get the most out of high school?

We've written the best guide to OFL Baldwin Park II available. Here we'll cover:

  • Breakdowns of student ethnicity, gender, and family income
  • How safe OFL Baldwin Park II is to attend
  • SAT/ACT/AP scores earned by OFL Baldwin Park II students
  • Which AP/IB classes you can take at OFL Baldwin Park II
  • Every sports team you can join at OFL Baldwin Park II

Let's get started!

Basic Information

Opportunities for Learning - Baldwin Park II is a public school, supporting grades 7 to 12 . It's located in Pasadena, CA in Los Angeles County.

Based on its location, OFL Baldwin Park II is classified as a school in a midsized city. Here's the location on a map:


Contact Information

Mailing address:

Opportunities for Learning - Baldwin Park II
320 N. Halstead St.
Pasadena, CA 91107

Phone number: 6269623311

Opportunities for Learning - Baldwin Park II homepage: https://emsofl.com/

Principal: Jesus Franco
Email the principal: [email protected]


Student Demographics

Student Enrollment

The total enrollment at Opportunities for Learning - Baldwin Park II is 2839 students, making it a very large high school, in the top 10% of all California high schools by size.

Wow! Attending OFL Baldwin Park II might feel like attending a college. You'll be surrounded by a large group of students (over 500 per class) and have more options for activities and clubs to join, which can be exciting.

On the other hand, you may also find that resources like counseling are spread thin across so many students. Make sure that you can get enough teacher and counselor attention to succeed at OFL Baldwin Park II, which may require being proactive.


Growth in Student Body Size

Is Opportunities for Learning - Baldwin Park II growing or shrinking? This will help you see trends in where the school is headed.

From our calculations, the enrollment at OFL Baldwin Park II has decreased over the past few years. We calculate this by comparing enrollment in grades 9 to 12.

Male Students Female Students All Students
9th grade 267 327 594
10th grade 325 418 743
11th grade 308 376 684
12th grade 309 409 718

As you can see in the table above, the senior class is 124 students larger than the freshman class. This suggests that OFL Baldwin Park II is shrinking in size and taking on fewer students.

There are a few reasons this can happen. The population of Pasadena could be decreasing, thus sending fewer students into OFL Baldwin Park II. Alternatively, other schools (like charter or private schools) might be appearing, drawing students away.


Gender Split

Are there more boys or girls at Opportunities for Learning - Baldwin Park II?

From our statistics, OFL Baldwin Park II has a 45:55 split between male and female students in the high school grades.

OFL Baldwin Park II has a balanced male-female ratio that's largely representative of the general population in Los Angeles County. Since the student body is roughly half and half, it should feel like there are equal numbers of boys and girls in your classes.

This usually means that OFL Baldwin Park II doesn't strongly select for either males or females, unlike other schools that have a large majority of males or females.


Ethnicity Breakdown

What's the racial diversity at Opportunities for Learning - Baldwin Park II? Does one ethnicity make up most of the student body, or is it fairly balanced?

From our statistics, OFL Baldwin Park II has a homogenous student body, with the overwhelming majority of students identifying as one ethnicity. Only a third of California schools show as little diversity as OFL Baldwin Park II does. When attending class, most students will be of the same ethnicity, with some variation.

The majority of students at OFL Baldwin Park II are Hispanic. In California, Hispanic students make up the majority of all students at 51.5%, and are thus the most common ethnicity. Predominantly Hispanic schools are the most common type of homogenous school, and OFL Baldwin Park II fits within this category.

Percentage Number
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.9% 28
Asian 0.6% 19
Hispanic 73.1% 2077
Black 15.4% 438
White 6.3% 180
Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander 0.4% 14
Two or more races 2.9% 83

High schools usually reflect the population in the surrounding area, so the ethnicities of students likely resembles those of Pasadena. If you'd like to see how other nearby schools look in diversity, just google "[name of school] prepscholar" to find our guide to that specific school.


Income Level of OFL Baldwin Park II Families

What are the family incomes of students at Opportunities for Learning - Baldwin Park II? To determine this, we look at the number of students who qualify for free or reduced lunches, a classification by the US federal government.

To qualify for a reduced price meal, family income needs to be below 185% of the federal poverty guidelines. For a family of 4, this means an income of around $45,000 or below.

To qualify for a free meal, family income needs to be below 130% of the federal poverty guidelines. For a family of 4, this means an income of around $32,000 or below.

The lower the percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced price meals, the higher the income levels are likely to be.

At OFL Baldwin Park II, 9.6% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 74.7% qualify for free lunches.

This means OFL Baldwin Park II has a high percentage of students at or near poverty. Almost a third of all schools in California show this level of poverty, and by National Center for Education Statistics standards, OFL Baldwin Park II can be classified as a high poverty school. The income level of families in Pasadena is thus likely to be low.

Number Percent
Reduced-price lunches 274 9.6%
Free lunches 2122 74.7%
Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches 443 15.6%

As with ethnicity, this likely reflects the surrounding community in Pasadena and doesn't speak much about the school itself.

Unfortunately, schools in areas of lower income levels are likely to be more poorly funded. As a result, they might feature less advanced coursework like AP/IB classes, and you may not have a full range of sports and extracurriculars to draw from. Because OFL Baldwin Park II is an especially high poverty-level school, it might not have the resources you need to meet your full potential.

You definitely don't have control over the city, the school, or other families, but you can structure your own learning to be more productive. If you'd like to open yourself to more opportunities, you can look into whether it's possible to transfer to a nearby school with higher income levels.

If not, don't be alarmed - it's possible that OFL Baldwin Park II has all that you need for your ambition. And you can definitely be proactive about learning outside of your school, looking to your community or to the Internet to find more resources.

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School Safety

How safe is Opportunities for Learning - Baldwin Park II to attend? Can you expect a lot of conflict as a student here?

To study this, we look at disciplinary data for two types of incidents at OFL Baldwin Park II: referrals to law enforcement (when incidents are reported to police), and arrests.

These are the most serious disciplinary actions available to school administration and are more severe than suspensions or expulsions. Suspensions are often discretionary and can be given just for being disruptive in class. In contrast, law enforcement referrals and arrests often indicate incidents that put the safety of other OFL Baldwin Park II students at risk.

In the school year of 2011-2012, there were 0 referrals to law enforcement, and 0 school-related arrests. This is out of a total enrollment of 2080 students.

To put this into perspective, most California schools (59% of them) reported 0 law enforcement referrals and arrests.

Compare this school with other high schools in the same school district, using the following table:

Baldwin Park Unified School District Safety

School Name Total Referred Total Arrests Enrollment
Baldwin Park High 116 116 2323
North Park Continuation High 31 31 329
Sierra Vista High 66 66 2108
Opportunities For Learning - Baldwin Park 0 0 1957

Academic Performance


Now we get to a major aspect of assessing a high school: academic performance. How good of an education will you get at Opportunities for Learning - Baldwin Park II? Will you be competitive for college? Will you have access to advanced classes?

We've compiled everything we could find about OFL Baldwin Park II's academics here.


Graduation Rate

To start off, an important benchmark of academic achievement is graduation rate. For all students who start high school at OFL Baldwin Park II, the state of California wants as many students to graduate as possible, since a high school diploma can mean a big difference in getting a job.

At OFL Baldwin Park II, 11% (of 849) OFL Baldwin Park II students graduated within four years of starting high school.

Here's how this stacks up to other schools. The California state government has defined 90% as a target rate. The state average is around 80-85%.

OFL Baldwin Park II is in the 25th percentile of all public high schools in California for graduation rate. This is well below average. Generally, a graduation rate of above 90% is considered good and well above average, and below 75% is well below average.

Note: This data comes from a few years back, but the trends are likely to stay the same, since schools don't get significantly better or worse within a short period of time.

Standardized Testing


Next, we'll look at another major piece of high school academics: standardized testing performance for Opportunities for Learning - Baldwin Park II students. These are tests that are administered to large populations of students for comparison purposes.

Let’s start by taking a look at the data for nationally administered standardized tests.

SAT Scores

As you probably know, the SAT is a critical test used for college admissions. The higher the score you get, the better your academic performance compared to students nationwide, and the easier it is to get into top colleges.

We did in-depth research and found the average Opportunities for Learning - Baldwin Park II SAT scores.

The average composite SAT score is a 1280 out of 2400, compared to a national average of 1500. Each year, roughly 59 at OFL Baldwin Park II take the SAT.

This is a very low SAT score, putting OFL Baldwin Park II in the bottom 25% of all California schools, and well below the national average. Only 20% of SAT takers here score above the national average. Unfortunately, this suggests that most students attending OFL Baldwin Park II are not high-achieving, and may find it difficult to be admitted to a good college.

Note, however, that an average is just an average - you still have the potential to rise above expectations. If you work hard and earn an SAT score well above OFL Baldwin Park II's average, you'll have a great shot at entering a good college.

Keep in mind, however, that only 2% of all students at OFL Baldwin Park II took the SAT, so the results could be skewed by the small sample size.

Here's a breakdown of SAT scores by section:

Average SAT Scores (2013-2014)

Source Critical Reading Math Writing Composite
OFL Baldwin Park II 429 413 442 1280
California 498 510 496 1504
United States 495 511 484 1490

Note that the SAT has since changed to a 1600 scale, but the trends above for your high school are likely to continue. Just use this guide to convert between the old 2400 scale and the new 1600 scale.

To learn more about SAT percentile rankings, read our guide on what SAT percentiles really mean.

How good is 1280 as an SAT score? Find out with our complete 1280 SAT score guide, including which colleges you can get into with a 1280 or any other SAT score!

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Download our free guide on the top 5 strategies you must be using to improve your score. This guide was written by Harvard graduates and SAT perfect scorers. If you apply the strategies in this guide, you'll study smarter and make huge score improvements.

Get eBook: 5 Tips for 240+ Points

Advanced Placement (AP)

Advanced Placement (AP) classes are college-level courses that are an additional academic challenge may give Opportunities for Learning - Baldwin Park II students credit for college.

Here's what we're looking for: high average AP test scores as well as high AP passing rates.

AP Scores

Every year, roughly 11 students in grades 9-12 at OFL Baldwin Park II take 11 AP exams. It's important to understand how students score on the AP - earning a 3, 4, or 5 on the AP test means passing the test and often earning college credit.

The average score of all AP exams taken at OFL Baldwin Park II is 2.6 out of 5.

This score puts OFL Baldwin Park II at average performance. For AP tests, the passing score is considered a 3, and the number of students who pass and don't pass are roughly even. This performance places Opportunities for Learning - Baldwin Park II in the top 50% of schools for AP tests.

It's great that OFL Baldwin Park II offers an AP program so you have the opportunity to take courses at a college level. Even though roughly half of all AP students here don't get a passing grade, half do - so with motivated studying throughout the year, you'll be able to beat the average.

We have specific data on how many students got a 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 (out of 5) on AP exams in the chart below:


To find out the passing rates for specific AP courses at Opportunities for Learning - Baldwin Park II, you'll have to talk to your guidance counselor (who can then help you find that information). For instance, one AP Calculus teacher may have an above-90% passing rate, while another might only have a 50% passing rate. If you can, you'll want to take the class with the teacher who has more students get a 3 or above on the AP exam.

Find out more about the average score for each AP subject here.


State Tests

As of 2014, eleventh graders attending Opportunities for Learning - Baldwin Park II must take standardized tests in English/Language Arts and Math as part of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP). These align with the new Common Core standards and are called the "Smarter Balanced" tests.

If OFL Baldwin Park II students meet or exceed state standards, they're academically prepared to graduate high school and go to college. Specifically, we care about the percentage of students who meet or exceed state standards. The larger this number, the higher the preparation of students at OFL Baldwin Park II.

English/Language Arts

At Opportunities for Learning - Baldwin Park II, 36% of students meet or exceed state standards in English/Language Arts.

This is considered below average and puts OFL Baldwin Park II in the bottom 50% of all high schools in California for English/Language Arts. The majority of OFL Baldwin Park II students do not pass state standards, and only a small percentage pass.

This specific percentage isn't much cause for concern - because the Common Core is new, the pass rate at OFL Baldwin Park II will likely rise over time. But it still reflects OFL Baldwin Park II's below average standing among California high schools.

English/Language Arts Test Results (2015)

 

Read more about what’s measured in each ELA area score here.


Math

The other major test taken for state assessments is Math. Across the state, Math performance is generally lower than English/Language Arts performance, so it's natural for this number to be lower.

At Opportunities for Learning - Baldwin Park II, 4% of students meet or exceed state standards in Math. This is considered well below average and puts OFL Baldwin Park II in the bottom 25% of all high schools in California. The vast majority of OFL Baldwin Park II students don't meet state standards, and only a small percentage pass.

Math Test Results (2015)

 

Read more about what’s measured in each Math area score, go here.


Sports Teams


What’s Next?


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Sources

The data on this page is drawn from a variety of sources, including (but not limited to):