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Baker Junior High · Baker

Baker Junior High: The scores are below where anyone wants them. Here's what they don't tell you.

Baker posts low test scores — and suspensions run below the state rate (1.3% vs 3.7%). If this is your zoned school, the numbers below are where to start a conversation, not where to end one.

72100 School House Lane, 92309 (opens in new tab)·Baker Valley Unified·Baker·Grades 6-8·35 students·69% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(760) 733-4567
2019–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
This schoolCA avg
Scope2143
% Exceeded0%17%
% Met+7%39%
Growth+1.5
Absence12.0%18.5%
Suspension1.3%3.7%
Scope Score
21
🤝 Culture First · Needs Support
ranked #2,112 statewide

Baker Junior High scores 21 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 6th percentile of 2,238 California middle schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).

Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →

🤝 Culture First — Ask whether the low absenteeism and suspension numbers come from what the school does or from the community it serves — both can produce the same numbers, and only a visit tells you which.

Most rating sites would stop at “7% proficient” and call it done. Baker deserves a closer read. The school sits in Baker, where two-thirds of students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.

Test scores are one lens, and at this school they're a rough one right now. The sections below show the fuller picture — including the parts that are working.

The seven-year arc

Percentile among 2,238 middle schools statewide

Slipped from the 19th to the 6th percentile since 2019.

CA Dashboard
ELARed(Declined Significantly)MathRed(Declined Significantly)

This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 7% meet the standard today, versus 18% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.

ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade2019202220242025
Grade 614%8%
Grade 77%13%
Grade 817%9%
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade2019202220242025
Grade 67%0%
Grade 77%7%
Grade 842%18%

The 5 things our score weighs

Exceeded standard
0.0%
State 16.8%
16.8pp below state avg
Met or exceeded
7.1%
State 39.3%
32.2pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
12.0%
State 18.5%
6.5pp below state avg
Suspension rate
1.3%
State 3.7%
2.4pp below state avg
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
12.5%
State 18.0%
5.5pp below state avg
Worth a school visit

Ask what changed in the last two years, and what the school is asking families for. Growth shows up in these numbers a year or two after it shows up in classrooms.

  • Ask whether the tour can step into a working classroom — watch how the teacher handles a student who's stuck.
  • Ask to tour while school's in session, and notice how hallways and transitions feel — culture shows up between classes, not just in them.
  • Ask how the school communicates with families when a child starts to struggle.
  • Ask what a typical day looks like for a new student in the first few weeks.

How every group of students does here

All students at this school: 7% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 7%, district —, state 39%7%
Hispanic/LatinoHispanic/Latino: this school 5%, district 2%, state 32%5% · −3 vs school
Socioeconomically DisadvantagedSocioeconomically Disadvantaged: this school 13%, district 8%, state 32%13% · +5 vs school

6 of 9 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.

this school district, same group California, same group
Subgroup growth by grade

Change in proficiency from the lowest tested grade — which groups gain ground the longer they stay. Groups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.

Showing up, and staying in class

Chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeism: this school 12.0%, district 18.4%, state 18.5%12.0% · −6.5pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 1.3%, district —, state 3.7%1.3% · −2.4pp vs state
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 4–67.1%
Grades 7–89.1%

Where the path goes

The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.

K-12 Feeder Path

Feeder patterns derived from NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries are approximate and may have changed — verify with your school district for current assignments.

The people teaching here

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Student : teacherStudent to teacher ratio: this school 18:1, district 16:118:1
Teaching staff4 teachers
Avg. experience7.8 years
Fully credentialed64%
Salary Schedule
Teacher salary schedule$55,507 – $100,254
Principal salary$126,094 – $126,094
Superintendent salary$174,510

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

What gets spent here

Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $45,214, CA average $14,815$45,214 · spent at this school
Federal share$3,307 per student

$3,307 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.

District current expense · FY 2024–25$35,606 per student

The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.

Where the district's dollars go · FY 2024–25 · CDE SACS
Instruction56%
Instruction support11%
Student services4%
Administration16%
Buildings & maintenance13%

District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.

district detail, 2016–2020 — the newest published
2020$24,843 per pupil
2019$24,746 per pupil
2018$22,888 per pupil
2017$18,755 per pupil
2016$23,323 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood it serves

Hispanic77.1%
District 82.4% · CA 56.1%
White22.9%
District 17.6% · CA 19.9%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 68.6% (5pp above CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Bachelor's degree+0% · CA 35%
ZIP population343
Median age29 years

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level

Worth Knowing

At 35 students, this school is much smaller than the typical California middle school (≈860).

Frequently asked questions

Is Baker Junior High a good middle school?

Baker Junior High has a Scope Score of 21 out of 100, placing it in the 6th percentile of California middle schools and ranked #2,112 statewide. 0.0% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 16.8 percentage points below the California average of 16.8%. The Scope Score weights 6 dimensions for middle schools: exceeded standard (38%), grade 6-to-8 growth (27%), met or exceeded (proficient) (20%), chronic absenteeism (5%), suspension rate (5%), and ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.

What are Baker Junior High's CAASPP test scores?

On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 7.1% of students at Baker Junior High met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 0.0% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 7.1% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 0.0% pushed past it. Most rating sites report only the combined "proficient" number. SchoolScope surfaces the exceeded-vs-met split because it reveals whether a school's curriculum challenges students beyond minimum proficiency or paces toward it. 54 student-subject combinations were assessed.

How does Baker Junior High rank in California?

Baker Junior High ranks #2,112 among California middle schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 6th percentile. This ranking is based on a weighted composite of 2025 CAASPP test performance (exceeded and met rates), grade-level growth (Grade 6 to grade 8 growth), chronic absenteeism, and suspension rate. Unlike single-number ratings, the Scope Score shows what drives the ranking so parents can decide what matters most to their family. See full methodology.

What is the attendance and school culture like at Baker Junior High?

12.0% of students at Baker Junior High are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), which is better than the California average of 18.5%. The suspension rate is 1.3%, indicating a low-discipline-incident environment. SchoolScope includes these culture metrics in the Scope Score because they reflect day-to-day school experience in ways test scores alone cannot.

How does Baker Junior High compare to other schools in Baker?

Baker Junior High scores 21/100 (6th percentile) among California middle schools. To compare with nearby schools, SchoolScope shows the same metrics side by side: exceeded rate, proficiency, growth trajectory, and school culture indicators. The school serves 35 students. Use the schools in Baker page or the map view to compare all middle schools nearby.

Your other options


For the data nerds

Every number on this page

Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.

01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Exceeded standard · 38%
0.0%
↓ vs CA 16.8% · 31th pctile
Met or exceeded · 20%
7.1%
↓ vs CA 39.3% · 24th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
12.0%
↑ vs CA 18.5% · 59th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
1.3%
↑ vs CA 3.7% · 60th pctile
EL proficiency (ELPAC) · 5%
12.5%
↓ vs CA 18.0% · 42th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 6120%8%33%58%8%−38
Grade 7150%13%20%67%13%−34
Grade 87
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 6120%0%25%75%0%−35
Grade 7150%7%27%67%7%−27
Grade 87
03Peer comparison · nearest middle schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Baker Junior High ←210.0%7.1%1.3%
California average4316.8%39.3%+1.53.7%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
YearScopePctileRankExcMet+AbsentSuspGrowth
20192719#16346.3%17.9%4.3%0.8%
2022196#20260.0%13.6%22.4%1.5%
2024154#21180.0%10.7%13.1%12.3%
2025216#21120.0%7.1%12.0%1.3%
NO STATEWIDE TESTING 2020–21 (COVID) · SCORE AND PERCENTILE ARE RELATIVE TO EACH YEAR'S FIELD
What we can't show
  • — Growth data isn't available — the state needs matched grades across years to compute it.
  • — Subgroup results are suppressed for small student counts (fewer than 15 tested), following CDE privacy rules.
05Climate by student groupchronic absenteeism · 2019 vs 2025 — the two years CDE publishes at subgroup level
Group20192025Δ
Female5.0%0.0%-5.0pp
Male0.0%18.8%+18.8pp
Hispanic/Latino2.9%10.7%+7.8pp
English Learners0.0%5.6%+5.6pp
Homeless3.8%11.8%+8.0pp
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged2.9%7.1%+4.2pp
All Students2.7%8.3%+5.6pp
EXC = exceeded standard · MET+ = met or exceeded ("proficient") · Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=2,238 middle schools · Vintages: climate subgroups 2019+2025 · district finance per its label · ACS 2022 · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue

SchoolScope scores and verdicts are our interpretation of public California Department of Education data — independent analysis, not an official rating. How we analyze · Request a correction