How does Canyon Middle compare to other middle schools in Castro Valley?

Canyon Middle has a Scope Score of 65.6/100, ranked #483 among California middle schools. 27% of students exceed standard, with a total of 2,774 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Canyon Middle?

27.0% of students at Canyon Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 55.5% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Canyon Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Canyon Middle's proficiency rate decreases by 2.4 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth. This pattern in test scores may reflect a variety of factors beyond the school itself.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at Canyon Middle?

13.4% of students at Canyon 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.

Canyon Middle

Middle School

Castro Valley Unified Castro ValleyAlameda County94552

📍 19600 Cull Canyon Road

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

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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

1,432 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

23:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

43%

Teachers

61 full-time

Dashboard indicators

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

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased

+7.5 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased

+7.8 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

25.9%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 135 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic29.5%

White17.9%

Asian27.1%

Black6.5%

Other19.0%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Canyon Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	27.0%
Met Standard	28.5%
Below Standard	44.5%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Exceeded standard: 27.0%

9.6pp above state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

✓Met or exceeded: 55.5%

16.0pp above state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

✓Chronic absenteeism: 13.4%

5.9pp below state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% weight

✓Baseline proficiency: 55.5%

Above state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

10% weight

Holding Back

▼Growth (G6→G8): -2.4pp

Scores decline across grades (state avg +0.8pp)

15% weight

▼Suspension rate: 4.8%

0.7pp 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 "56% proficient" for Canyon Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

27.0% of students exceeded standard while 28.5% met it. That exceeded rate is 9.6 points above the state average of 17.3%. That's 8.6 points below the Castro Valley Unified district average of 35.5%. The 1 nearby schools within ~3 miles average 40.4% exceeded — 13.4 points higher. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Proficiency drops by 2.4 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth — a signal that the school may not be sustaining early gains.

California's Dashboard shows ELA performance increased and Math increased year-over-year. 25.9% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 13.4%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →