How does Alta Loma Middle compare to other middle schools in South San Francisco?

Alta Loma Middle has a Scope Score of 58.6/100, ranked #643 among California middle schools. 21% of students exceed standard, with a total of 1,263 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Alta Loma Middle?

21.2% of students at Alta Loma Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 42.5% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Alta Loma Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Alta Loma Middle's proficiency rate decreases by 3.1 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth. This pattern in test scores may reflect a variety of factors beyond the school itself.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at Alta Loma Middle?

14.7% of students at Alta Loma Middle are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days). This metric reflects school culture and family engagement, and is weighted at 15% in the Scope Score.

Alta Loma Middle

Middle School

South San Francisco Unified South San FranciscoSan Mateo County94080

📍 116 Romney Avenue

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

🌱

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Scope Scores are SchoolScope's analysis of public data from the California Dept. of Education (CAASPP, chronic absenteeism, suspension rates). They are not official CDE ratings and should not be the sole basis for school decisions. See methodology.

School overview

Enrollment

649 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

18:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

36%

Teachers

36 full-time

Dashboard indicators

How this school's scores changed from last year to this year

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased

+8.7 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased

+3.8 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

14.6%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 82 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic46.1%

White8.2%

Asian14.2%

Black1.1%

Other30.5%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Alta Loma Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	21.2%
Met Standard	21.3%
Below Standard	57.5%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Exceeded standard: 21.2%

3.9pp above state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

✓Met or exceeded: 42.5%

3.0pp above state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

✓Chronic absenteeism: 14.7%

4.6pp below state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% weight

✓Baseline proficiency: 42.5%

Above state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

10% weight

✓Suspension rate: 1.9%

2.2pp below state avg (state avg 4.1%)

10% weight

Holding Back

▼Growth (G6→G8): -3.1pp

Scores decline across grades (state avg +0.8pp)

15% weight

Unlike traditional school ratings, we show our work. Every factor, its weight, and how this school compares to the state average — so you can decide what matters most to your family. The middle school Scope Score is weighted across 6 dimensions. See full methodology →

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "42% proficient" for Alta Loma Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

21.2% of students exceeded standard while 21.3% met it. That exceeded rate is 3.9 points above the state average of 17.3%. That's near the South San Francisco Unified district average of 20.6%. Compared to the 5 nearby schools within ~3 miles, this exceeded rate is 6.1 points higher (vs 15.0% average). The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Proficiency drops by 3.1 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth — a signal that the school may not be sustaining early gains.

California's Dashboard shows ELA performance increased and Math increased year-over-year. 14.6% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 14.7%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

21.2%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

42.5%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

-3.1pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

14.7%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

1.9%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

1,263

Across all grades & subjects

Grade trajectory

How proficiency compares across grade levels this year (different students, same test year)

ELA Trajectory

G6 → G7 → G8

Math Trajectory

G6 → G7 → G8

ELA scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	203	22.2%	28.1%	26.6%	23.1%	50.3%
7th	205	24.9%	28.3%	21.5%	25.4%	53.2%
8th	223	14.8%	31.4%	22.9%	30.9%	46.2%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	202	20.3%	12.9%	28.2%	38.6%	33.2%
7th	204	25.0%	16.2%	23.0%	35.8%	41.2%
8th	226	19.9%	11.1%	19.0%	50.0%	31.0%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Junipero Serra Elementary

Also serves area

Sunshine Gardens Elementary

50.5# in state

▼

Middle

Alta Loma Middle

58.6# in state

This school

▼

High School

El Camino High

75.3# in state

Also serves area

South San Francisco High

54.3# in state

Feeder patterns derived from 2015-16 NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries may have changed. Contact your school district for current information.