How does Balboa Middle compare to other middle schools in Ventura?

Balboa Middle has a Scope Score of 58.1/100, ranked #665 among California middle schools. 17% of students exceed standard, with a total of 1,638 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Balboa Middle?

17.2% of students at Balboa Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 39.8% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Balboa Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Balboa Middle's proficiency rate increases by 4.8 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth. This suggests the school may be adding value over time.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at Balboa Middle?

12.7% of students at Balboa 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.

Balboa Middle

Middle School

Ventura Unified VenturaVentura County93003

📍 247 Hill Road

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

📈

On the Rise

On an upward trajectory — scores are improving faster than average. Worth a closer look.

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

941 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

26:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

55%

Teachers

36 full-time

Dashboard indicators

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

ELA Year-over-Year

Maintained

+2.6 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Maintained

+1.1 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

10.1%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 79 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic57.4%

White33.4%

Asian2.1%

Black1.1%

Other6.1%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Balboa Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	17.2%
Met Standard	22.6%
Below Standard	60.2%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Met or exceeded: 39.8%

0.2pp above state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

✓Growth (G6→G8): +4.8pp

Scores improve across grades (state avg +0.8pp)

15% weight

✓Chronic absenteeism: 12.7%

6.6pp below state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% weight

✓Baseline proficiency: 39.8%

Above state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

10% weight

Holding Back

▼Exceeded standard: 17.2%

0.1pp below state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

▼Suspension rate: 5.2%

1.1pp above state avg (state avg 4.1%)

10% 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 "40% proficient" for Balboa Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

17.2% of students exceeded standard while 22.6% met it. That exceeded rate is near the state average of 17.3%. That's near the Ventura Unified district average of 19.0%. Compared to the 2 nearby schools within ~3 miles, this exceeded rate is 6.7 points higher (vs 10.5% average). The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Students here improve by 4.8 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth, suggesting the school is adding value beyond what students arrive with.

California's Dashboard shows ELA performance maintained and Math maintained year-over-year. 10.1% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 12.7%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

17.2%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

39.8%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

+4.8pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

12.7%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

5.2%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

1,638

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	286	18.9%	23.8%	26.6%	30.8%	42.7%
7th	249	16.5%	28.1%	25.3%	30.1%	44.6%
8th	283	18.0%	32.2%	27.6%	22.3%	50.2%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	287	20.2%	14.6%	20.9%	44.3%	34.8%
7th	249	10.8%	18.5%	32.1%	38.5%	29.3%
8th	284	18.7%	18.3%	24.3%	38.7%	37.0%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Junipero Serra Elementary

55.6# in state

Juanamaria Elementary

53.8# in state

Academy of Technology & Leader…

47.7# in state

Citrus Glen Elementary

Also serves area

▼

Middle

Balboa Middle

58.1# in state

This school

▼

High School

Buena High

57.4# in state

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