How does Bret Harte Middle compare to other middle schools in Oakland?

Bret Harte Middle has a SchoolScope composite score of 24.9/100, placing it at the 6th percentile statewide. 6% of students exceed standard, with a total of 628 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Bret Harte Middle?

5.5% of students at Bret Harte Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 18.3% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Bret Harte Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Bret Harte Middle's proficiency rate increases by 4.7 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 Bret Harte Middle?

40.6% of students at Bret Harte 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 our composite score.

Bret Harte Middle

Middle School

Oakland Unified OaklandAlameda County94602

📍 3700 Coolidge Avenue

Composite Score

out of 100

State Percentile

of middle schools

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.

Composite 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

417 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

15:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

89%

Teachers

27 full-time

Dashboard indicators

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased

+12.5 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased Significantly

+15.9 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

14.7%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 95 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic37.4%

White5.8%

Asian9.1%

Black33.6%

Other14.2%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Bret Harte Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	5.5%
Met Standard	12.7%
Below Standard	81.8%

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "18% proficient" for Bret Harte Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

5.5% of students exceeded standard while 12.7% met it. That exceeded rate is 11.8 points below the state average of 17.3%. That's 6.8 points below the Oakland Unified district average of 12.4%. The 7 nearby schools within ~3 miles average 16.7% exceeded — 11.2 points higher. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Students here improve by 4.7 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 increased and Math increased significantly year-over-year. 14.7% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 40.6%, above the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

5.5%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

18.3%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

+4.7pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

40.6%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

13.5%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

628

Across all grades & subjects

Grade trajectory

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	88	6.8%	17.1%	18.2%	58.0%	23.9%
7th	116	5.2%	13.8%	21.6%	59.5%	19.0%
8th	111	5.4%	22.5%	23.4%	48.6%	27.9%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	88	3.4%	6.8%	19.3%	70.5%	10.2%
7th	116	6.0%	6.9%	19.0%	68.1%	12.9%
8th	109	6.4%	9.2%	20.2%	64.2%	15.6%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Redwood Heights Elementary

Also serves area

Burckhalter Elementary

38.533rd pctile

Manzanita SEED Elementary

36.024th pctile

Manzanita Community Elementary

22.41st pctile

▼

Middle

Bret Harte Middle

24.96th pctile

This school

▼

High School

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