How does Central Middle compare to other middle schools in San Carlos?

Central Middle has a SchoolScope composite score of 73.2/100, placing it at the 98th percentile statewide. 54% of students exceed standard, with a total of 883 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Central Middle?

54.5% of students at Central Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 82.7% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Central Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Central Middle's proficiency rate increases by 1.6 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 Central Middle?

3.2% of students at Central 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.

Central Middle

Middle School

San Carlos Elementary San CarlosSan Mateo County94070

📍 757 Cedar Street

Composite Score

out of 100

State Percentile

of middle schools

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

⭐

High Ceiling

A high-ceiling school — students here are pushed to exceed, not just meet, the standard.

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

434 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

22:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

Teachers

20 full-time

Dashboard indicators

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased

+6.1 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased

+8.8 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

53.9%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 13 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic15.0%

White56.5%

Asian13.6%

Black0.5%

Other14.5%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Central Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	54.5%
Met Standard	28.2%
Below Standard	17.3%

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "83% proficient" for Central Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

54.5% of students exceeded standard while 28.2% met it. That exceeded rate is 37.2 points above the state average of 17.3%. That's near the San Carlos Elementary district average of 55.7%. Compared to the 2 nearby schools within ~3 miles, this exceeded rate is 24.2 points higher (vs 30.3% average). The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Students here improve by 1.6 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 year-over-year. 53.9% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 3.2%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →