Bowditch Middle: High scores, real growth, strong attendance. We looked for a catch — we didn't find one.
Bowditch posts 47.4% exceeding the standard — versus 16.8% statewide — with climate numbers better than most. That doesn't make it perfect. It makes it worth a visit to find what numbers can't measure.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 69 | 47% | 74% | +2.3 | 9.3% | 2.6% |
| CA average · Middle School | 43 | 17% | 39% | +1.5 | 18.5% | 3.7% |
Bowditch Middle scores 69 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 93rd 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 →
💪 Strong All-Around — Ask about what we don't score — class size, electives, the feel of a classroom — strong numbers everywhere on paper don't mean every classroom feels the same.
Most rating sites would stop at “74% proficient” and call it done. Bowditch deserves a closer read. It sits at the 93rd percentile of 2,238 California middle schools — but the ranking is the least interesting thing on this page.
The headline number: 47.4% of students scored in the top band on the state test. The California average is 16.8%.
The seven-year arc
Has held the 93rd-percentile line every tested year since 2019.
This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 74% meet the standard today, versus 77% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 80% | 73% | 77% | 74% | 72% |
| Grade 7 | 82% | 78% | 79% | 75% | 79% |
| Grade 8 | 76% | 80% | 75% | 78% | 74% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 71% | 73% | 70% | 67% | 71% |
| Grade 7 | 84% | 75% | 79% | 73% | 77% |
| Grade 8 | 72% | 70% | 71% | 76% | 73% |
The story this school is actually telling
The school, grade by grade
ELA · CAASPP 2024–25Different students, same year — each bar is one grade's proficiency mix.
The honest read: the share exceeding holds steady across grades; the floor rises 2.8pp. The state average falls 0.5pp over the same span. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
The 6 things our score weighs
Ask what the school is working on next. Strong numbers tell you where a school is, not where it's going.
- 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
At Bowditch Middle in Foster City, 44.4% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 26.5% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Bowditch Middle outperforms its district average for low-income students by 17.9 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (47.1% Math proficient); Asian students (85.3% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 64.5 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 171 students tested.
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.
Low-income student ELA proficiency falls by 5.3pp from grade 6 to grade 8 at this school. District average: -0.7pp.
Showing up, and staying in class
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
Estimated path based on proximity within the same district. Contact your school district for official feeder information.
The people teaching here
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
What gets spent here
$285 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.
The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.
District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.
Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →
The neighborhood it serves
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
On the state's science test (CAST), 59% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Bowditch Middle a good middle school?
What are Bowditch Middle's CAASPP test scores?
How does Bowditch Middle rank in California?
Is Bowditch Middle getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Bowditch Middle?
How does Bowditch Middle compare to other schools in Foster City?
How does Bowditch Middle serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 77
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 320 | 37% | 35% | 17% | 12% | 72% | +25 |
| Grade 7 | 282 | 44% | 35% | 11% | 10% | 79% | +31 |
| Grade 8 | 285 | 36% | 39% | 15% | 11% | 74% | +28 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 322 | 55% | 16% | 13% | 16% | 71% | +36 |
| Grade 7 | 283 | 56% | 21% | 13% | 11% | 77% | +43 |
| Grade 8 | 284 | 58% | 15% | 13% | 15% | 73% | +40 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 285 | 33% | 25% | 36% | 5% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| Subgroup · ELA | Tested | MET+ | vs district | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 171 | 44.4% | +18 | +6 |
| Asian | 435 | 85.3% | +3 | +11 |
| White | 145 | 74.5% | +3 | +13 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowditch Middle ← | — | 69 | 47.4% | 74.1% | +2.3 | 2.6% |
| California average | — | 43 | 16.8% | 39.3% | +1.5 | 3.7% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 72 | 96 | #86 | 49.8% | 77.3% | 4.0% | 1.3% | -1.4pp |
| 2022 | 74 | 96 | #84 | 46.3% | 74.9% | 10.0% | 2.2% | +2.2pp |
| 2023 | 76 | 95 | #100 | 47.2% | 75.3% | 11.8% | 4.2% | -0.6pp |
| 2024 | 76 | 96 | #90 | 47.5% | 73.7% | 9.8% | 3.0% | +7.0pp |
| 2025 | 69 | 93 | #155 | 47.4% | 74.1% | 9.3% | 2.6% | +2.3pp |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 3.8% | 9.7% | +5.9pp |
| Male | 4.2% | 8.5% | +4.3pp |
| Asian | 1.6% | 4.4% | +2.8pp |
| White | 0.0% | 2.3% | +2.3pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 14.4% | 24.8% | +10.4pp |
| Two or More Races | 3.8% | 9.0% | +5.2pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 15.1% | 31.5% | +16.4pp |
| English Learners | 11.0% | 22.5% | +11.5pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 13.5% | 20.4% | +6.9pp |
| All Students | 4.0% | 9.1% | +5.1pp |
| Black/African American | — | 18.2% | — |
| Filipino | — | 18.2% | — |
| Homeless | — | 46.2% | — |
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