Math
24%Grades 6 & 8 · Proficient or Advanced
Public middle school
Byron Institute for Independent Study
The scores are below where anyone wants them. Here's what they don't tell you.
18% of tested students are Proficient or Advanced in English and 24% in math. Explore the evidence alongside the opportunities your child would use.
SchoolScope archetype
Building Momentum
What this means for your family
This label means the data doesn't clearly sort the school one way or the other — ask what the school is proud of, and what it's working on.
How archetypes are assigned →Data sources · Methodology · State tests: 2025
Contact
Phone(925) 809-7550
DistrictByron Union Elementary
PrincipalKyle Anderson
GradesK-8
Enrollment26 students
English
18%Grades 6 & 8 · Proficient or Advanced
Students
26Total enrollment
Chronic absence
18%Students absent 10% or more of school days
What are you trying to decide?
The overall score is a starting point.
Look at subject results, trends and student groups, then consider the opportunities your child would use.
View school performance →Start with your child’s daily experience.
Explore teaching, coursework and student-group results. A schoolwide average cannot predict an individual experience.
Explore student experience →Confirm the enrollment route.
Check the address, grade and enrollment requirements directly with the district or school.
Check attendance and enrollment →Compare the options you can access.
Use comparable evidence alongside entry requirements, cost and location.
Compare nearby schools →Academic performance
What do the results tell us?
2025 results · Grades 6 & 8 · weighted by students tested within each subject.
Proficient or Advanced combines Levels 3 and 4, formerly Standard Met and Standard Exceeded. California changed the names for 2025–26; the cut scores did not. About the labels →
Share at Proficient or Advanced
● Math┄ English
Gaps in the lines mark years without annual results.
Exact annual results
| Year | Math | English |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | — | — |
| 2023 | — | — |
| 2024 | — | — |
| 2025 | 24% | 18% |
Each year describes that year’s tested students. Changes between years do not follow the same children over time. Cohort-growth evidence, when available, is labeled separately below.
How achievement is distributed
AdvancedStandard Exceeded
12%ProficientStandard Met
12%DevelopingStandard Nearly Met
6%MinimalStandard Not Met
71%AdvancedStandard Exceeded
0%ProficientStandard Met
18%DevelopingStandard Nearly Met
29%MinimalStandard Not Met
53%Achievement-level percentages are not percentiles. “Developing” here is a test achievement level, separate from the SchoolScope performance band with the same name.
Annual results and the full academic record
Is it getting better · CAASPP 2024 to 2025
Has stayed near the 24th percentile since 2024.
Most rating sites would stop at “21% proficient” and call it done. Byron Institute for Independent Study deserves a closer read. Two in five of its students qualify for free or reduced lunch (California: 64%) — 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.
31 tested · 1 of 3 grades published · no cohort tracked
Byron Institute for Independent Study scores 25 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 24th percentile of 2,177 California middle schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).
Percentile among 2,177 middle schools statewide
Where students land · CAASPP 2024–25
One in five of students here meet the standard. 6% clear it by a lot.
ELA13% met or exceeded
Exceeded 0%Met 13%Nearly Met 39%Not Met 48%
Math23% met or exceeded
Exceeded 10%Met 13%Nearly Met 19%Not Met 58%
Exceeded Met Nearly Met Not Met
California middle schools · average17% exceeded · 40% met or exceeded
This school against the California average
2024–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 25 | 6% | 21% | — | 17.9% | 1.7% |
| CA average · Middle School | 39 | 17% | 40% | — | 18.1% | 3.6% |
This schoolCA avg
Scope2539
% Exceeded6%17%
% Met+21%40%
Growth——
Absence17.9%18.1%
Suspension1.7%3.6%
California’s growth results and student groups
State growth model · CDE growth model 2024–25
California's own growth model splits here — the 7th percentile in reading against the 65th in math, among middle schools.
Context — never part of the Scope Score
California runs its own growth model — it follows individual children in grades 4 through 8 and compares each one against a prediction from their own prior scores. On that measure this school sits a little below the middle of California middle schools in reading, and the 65th in math. We show it; we don't score it.
— pts vs expected is scale-score points above or below what California's model predicted for these same children from their own prior-year scores. It is not a percentage and not a percent of anything. A typical California middle school lands at −1 in reading, and the middle half of them fall between −8 and +6 — the spread is wide, so read the rank, not the sign. CDE blends two consecutive years into each published figure, so adjacent years share input data and no year-over-year trend can honestly be drawn from them. It covers grades 4-8 only, and it is not part of the Scope Score — we assessed it and left it out: it tracks school demographics roughly three times as strongly as our own growth measure does, and one published year is not enough to test how stable it is.
California's growth model, ranked against the schools it scores
State model · readingmatched students, grades 4-8California growth model, reading: −17 scale-score points versus the state's expectation, 7th percentile of 7,519 reported schools.7th pctile · −17 pts
State model · mathmatched students, grades 4-8California growth model, math: +6 scale-score points versus the state's expectation, 65th percentile of 7,518 reported schools.65th pctile · +6 pts
this school| the tick is the middle of the California field
Students & opportunity
Who shares in the school’s results?
Who it works for · CAASPP 2024–25
How every group of students does here
Met or exceeded · reading and math combined
All students at this school: 21% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 21%, district —, state 40%21%
MaleMale: this school 21%, district 47%, state 42%21% · +0 vs school
12 of 14 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.
this school district, same group California, same group
ShowHide Student-group results by grade
Student-group results by grade
Results compare different grade groups in the same year, relative to the lowest tested grade. They do not track the same children over time. Groups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
ShowHide California's growth model by student group
The daily experience
What is it like to be a student here?
Students per teacher
Student–teacher ratio is a schoolwide staffing measure, not an average class size.
Teacher experience
Average teacher experience in the published staffing record. It does not measure individual teacher effectiveness.
Chronically absent
The share of students absent for at least 10% of their enrolled school days. Attendance reflects both school and out-of-school circumstances.
The people teaching · CDE staffing 2024–25
The people teaching here
Context — never part of the Scope Score
Teaching staff1 teachers
Avg. experience37.0 years
Fully credentialed56%
PrincipalKyle Anderson
Attendance & discipline · 2024–25
Kids here show up more, and get suspended less, than the state average.
Chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeism: this school 17.9%, district 17.0%, state 18.1%17.9% · −0.2pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 1.7%, district —, state 3.6%1.7% · −2.0pp vs state
This schoolDistrictCalifornia
ShowHide attendance by student group and by grade
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 7–823.1%
Resources & neighborhood
What sits behind the school experience?
Explore school spending and the district budget
What gets spent · FY 2024–25
It spends $5,024 per student, less than the California average.
Context — never part of the Scope Score
These measure different things: this figure is spending attributed to this campus, while district-wide figures also include central administration, districtwide programs, and the state's pension contributions made on the district's behalf — costs that never get assigned to a single school. The district number runs higher at nearly every school, not just this one.
The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.
Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $5,024, CA average $14,491$5,024 · spent at this school
District current expense · FY 2024–25$20,020 per student
This schoolDistrictCalifornia
Where the district's dollars go · FY 2024–25 · CDE SACS
Instruction 58%Instruction support 11%Student services 10%Administration 8%Buildings & maintenance 12%
District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.
ShowHide the district's spending year by year
district detail, 2016–2020 — the newest published
2020$12,174 per pupil
2019$11,123 per pupil
2018$11,896 per pupil
2017$7,932 per pupil
2016$8,635 per pupil
Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →
The neighborhood · ACS 2024
Two in five of students here qualify for free or reduced lunch, versus three in five statewide.
Context — never part of the Scope Score
Worth knowing
At 26 students, this school is much smaller than the typical California middle school (≈860).
On the state's science test (CAST), 11% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 and once in high school, and it never enters the Scope Score.
Hispanic or Latino38.5% · district 33.3% · CA 56.1%
White26.9% · district 43.3% · CA 19.9%
Asian7.7% · district 6.1% · CA 10.2%
Black15.4% · district 4.0% · CA 4.8%
Other11.5% · district 13.2% · CA 9.0%
GenderFemale 30.8% · Male 69.2%
Free or reduced lunch42.3% · CA 64%
Median income$146K · CA $85K
Median home value$831K · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+33% · CA 35%
ZIP population14,970
Median age46 years
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
Culture & philosophy
What is the school’s approach?
School-stated approach · questions for your visit
Look beyond the brochure
A source-reviewed culture summary is not available for this profile yet. Ask how teaching, student support and family communication work day to day.
Read the school’s own website ↗Family voices
What would you want another family to know about the daily experience here?
Ask a current family: “When your child needs help, how does the school respond?”
Educator voices
What should families understand about teaching, support and the school community?
Ask an educator: “How do you adapt a typical day for children with different needs?”
Compare nearby schools
What are the alternatives?
Compare schools serving the same grade stage. Private schools have no comparable state-test score.
2025 · middle schools · combined reading and math measures. Percentiles compare schools within their enrollment group.
No nearby schools in this category are listed. The school being viewed stays visible for reference.
| School | Type | Performance band | Advanced | Proficient or Advanced | Distance | Select |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Byron Institute for Independent Study | Public | Needs Support | 6% | 21% | School being viewed | |
| Excelsior Middle | Public | Developing | 14% | 42% | 2.4 mi |
More nearby public and private options
Your other options
Your other options
Nearby public schools across grade levels, plus private options within 10 miles.
Private schools do not receive a Scope Score or statewide ranking on SchoolScope.
1 private school within 10 miles
Not scored
What should I check before applying?
- District public
- Confirm the attendance boundary and any permit options.
- Charter
- Check applications, priorities and deadlines with each school.
- Private
- Confirm admission requirements, tuition and financial aid.
Moving & enrollment
Which schools could serve my child?
Check your address with the district
School location and nearby schools do not establish attendance eligibility. Confirm boundaries and permit requirements with Byron Union Elementary.
District information →School website →Schools across the K–12 journey
Elementary · K–5
Middle · 6–8
High school · 9–12
No school established for this stage.
Source: proximity. Schools are grouped by grade stage. Nearby schools are not confirmed feeder links or address assignments. Verify the current path and eligibility with the district.
Plan your next step
What should I do next?
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.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Is Byron Institute for Independent Study a good middle school?
Byron Institute for Independent Study has a Scope Score of 25 out of 100, placing it in the 24th percentile of California middle schools and ranked #1,648 statewide. 5.9% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 11.3 percentage points below the California average of 17.2%. The Scope Score weights 6 dimensions for middle schools: exceeded standard (42%), met or exceeded (proficient) (23%), grade 6-to-8 growth (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 Byron Institute for Independent Study's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 20.6% of students at Byron Institute for Independent Study met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 5.9% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 14.7% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 5.9% went beyond it. Most rating sites report only the combined "proficient" number. SchoolScope surfaces the exceeded-vs-met split because it shows how many students go beyond the standard rather than only meeting it. 34 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Byron Institute for Independent Study rank in California?
Byron Institute for Independent Study ranks #1,648 among California middle schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 24th 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 Byron Institute for Independent Study?
17.9% of students at Byron Institute for Independent Study are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), which is better than the California average of 18.1%. The suspension rate is 1.7%, 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 Byron Institute for Independent Study compare to other schools in Discovery Bay?
Byron Institute for Independent Study scores 25/100 (24th 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 26 students. Use the schools in Discovery Bay page or the map view to compare all middle schools nearby.
A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means
Use the published evidence to prepare questions, then verify fit and access with the school.
Behind the evidence
Inspect the full record
Public sources, visible methods and the underlying school record. Source years and limitations stay attached to the evidence.
How the Scope Score is calculated
On a narrow screen, scroll the table sideways to see the state comparison and weights.
What the score weighs · CAASPP 2024–25
The 4 things our score weighs
| What we weigh | Here | State | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exceeded standard | 5.9% | 17.2% | 42% |
| Met or exceeded | 20.6% | 40.0% | 23% |
| Chronic absenteeism | 17.9% | 18.1% | 5% |
| Suspension rate | 1.7% | 3.6% | 5% |
Source CAASPP 2025 · California Department of Education. Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How the score is built
A closer look at the evidence
Byron Institute for Independent Study: reading the evidence
Byron Institute for Independent Study posts low test scores — and suspensions run below the state rate (1.7% vs 3.6%). If this is your zoned school, the numbers below are where to start a conversation, not where to end one.
Subject proficiency describes tested students, while graduation describes a graduating cohort. These figures are not successive stages followed by the same students.
This label means the data doesn't clearly sort the school one way or the other — ask what the school is proud of, and what it's working on.
Explore the underlying data →Every number: score factors, grades, student groups and downloads
Every number · For the data nerds
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and nearest schools.
Byron Institute for Independent Study is ranked #1,648 statewide · #3 of 3 in Byron Union Elementary.
01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
| Factor | School | State | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exceeded standard | 5.9% | 17.2% | 42% |
| Met or exceeded | 20.6% | 40.0% | 23% |
| Chronic absenteeism | 17.9% | 18.1% | 5% |
| Suspension rate | 1.7% | 3.6% | 5% |
- Exceeded standard
- ↓ vs CA 17.2% · index 39 · 50 = CA middle-school midpoint
- Met or exceeded
- ↓ vs CA 40.0% · index 37 · 50 = CA middle-school midpoint
- Chronic absenteeism
- ↑ vs CA 18.1% · index 51 · 50 = CA middle-school midpoint · ▲ 1.7pp higher vs 2024
- Suspension rate
- ↑ vs CA 3.6% · index 58 · 50 = CA middle-school midpoint · ▼ 0.5pp lower vs 2024
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ShowHide table 02 — By grade & subgroup
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 7 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 8 | 17 | 0% | 18% | 29% | 53% | 18% | −29 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 7 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 8 | 17 | 12% | 12% | 6% | 71% | 24% | −9 |
We show the grade rows CDE publishes for this school. A missing grade or dash can mean the school does not serve that grade, that we hold no valid result for it, or that the tested group was too small to report. It does not mean zero.
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schoolwide | 19 | 0% | 11% | 89% | 0% |
CAST is tested in grades 5 and 8, then once in grade 10, 11, or 12. This row is the school's all-student aggregate. Not part of the Scope Score.
03Nearest middle schoolssorted by Scope Score · Grade gap = grade 3 vs grade 5, this year, different students; Cohort growth = one school's returning cohort tracked across grades (mostly, not exactly, the same kids), in scale-score points — that's the measurement the Scope Score weights
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Grade gap | Cohort growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Byron Institute for Independent Study ← | — | 25 | 5.9% | 20.6% | — | — | 1.7% |
| Excelsior Middle | 2.4 mi | 29 | 14.3% | 41.8% | −8.0pp | — | 12.4% |
| California average | — | 39 | 17.2% | 40.0% | +1.5pp | — | 3.6% |
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
ShowHide table 04 — More measures
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Grade gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 27 | 27 | #1566 | 3.9% | 23.1% | 16.1% | 2.1% | — |
| 2025 | 25 | 24 | #1648 | 5.9% | 20.6% | 17.9% | 1.7% | — |
Grade gap = this year's grade 3 vs grade 5 result, two different sets of students, not a trend for any one child — it is not the measurement the Scope Score's growth dimension uses. See §01 above and /methodology#verdicts for the school's actual scored (cohort) growth.
What we can't show
- — Growth data isn't available — the state needs matched grades across years to compute it.
- — No subgroup comparison could be shown for this school this year — either its group sizes fall under CDE's 15-student reporting floor, or district/state comparison data wasn't available for its groups.
- — Scored here as a middle school — other grade spans appear in the data appendix.
05Climate by student groupchronic absenteeism · 2019 vs 2025 — the two years CDE publishes at subgroup level
ShowHide table 05 — Climate by student group
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Male | — | 20.0% | — |
| Hispanic/Latino | — | 7.7% | — |
| White | — | 9.1% | — |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | — | 38.5% | — |
| All Students | — | 17.1% | — |
06California growth model, by student group2025 · scale-score points vs the state's prediction · shown, never scored
ShowHide table 06 — California growth model, by student group
| Group | Reading | n | CDE band | Math | n | CDE band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Students | −17 | 20 | Moderate | +6 | 20 | Accelerated |
| English Only | −10 | 17 | not categorised | +13 | 17 | not categorised |
Whole scale-score points above or below what CDE's model predicted for these same children from their own prior-year scores — not a percentage, not a percentile. Statewide a typical school lands near +1 with a spread of about 13 points either side, so read a figure against its group's own typical value, not against zero. Muted rows have fewer than 30 students with a growth score — published by CDE, held back from the narrative sections above because at that size the figure swings about 17 points on its own. “Not categorised” is CDE assigning no band — English Only, Recently Reclassified, and English Learners Only receive a value and no band, for every school in the state. It is not a missing number. Most figures blend two consecutive years, so adjacent published years share input data and no trend line can honestly be drawn across them. A group absent from this table had fewer than 11 students with a growth score and was never published. Grades 4-8 only. None of this enters the Scope Score — it is more strongly correlated with school demographics than our own growth measure, and one published year is not enough to test its reliability.
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EXC = exceeded standard · MET+ = met or exceeded ("proficient") · Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=2,177 middle schools · Vintages: climate subgroups 2019+2025 · district finance per its label · ACS 2022 · Data updated 2026-09-18
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