How does Clark Middle compare to other middle schools in San Diego?

Clark Middle has a Scope Score of 26.4/100, ranked #1419 among California middle schools. 6% of students exceed standard, with a total of 1,306 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Clark Middle?

6.1% of students at Clark Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 21.9% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Clark Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Clark Middle's proficiency rate decreases by 1.8 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 Clark Middle?

23.6% of students at Clark 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.

Clark Middle

Middle School

San Diego Unified San DiegoSan Diego County92105

📍 4388 Thorn Street

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

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Building Momentum

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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

735 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

24:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

92%

Teachers

31 full-time

Dashboard indicators

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

ELA Year-over-Year

Maintained

+1.0 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Declined

-11.2 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

30.6%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 212 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic75.0%

White1.9%

Asian11.6%

Black7.8%

Other3.8%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Clark Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	6.1%
Met Standard	15.8%
Below Standard	78.1%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Suspension rate: 4.1%

0.0pp below state avg (state avg 4.1%)

10% weight

Holding Back

▼Exceeded standard: 6.1%

11.2pp below state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

▼Met or exceeded: 21.9%

17.6pp below state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

▼Growth (G6→G8): -1.8pp

Scores decline across grades (state avg +0.8pp)

15% weight

▼Chronic absenteeism: 23.6%

4.3pp above state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% weight

▼Baseline proficiency: 21.9%

Below state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

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 "22% proficient" for Clark Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

6.1% of students exceeded standard while 15.8% met it. That exceeded rate is 11.2 points below the state average of 17.3%. That's 18.3 points below the San Diego Unified district average of 24.4%. Nearby schools (within ~3 miles) average 6.4% exceeded — about the same. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Proficiency drops by 1.8 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 maintained and Math declined year-over-year. 30.6% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 23.6%, 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

6.1%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

21.9%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

-1.8pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

23.6%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

4.1%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

1,306

Across all grades & subjects

Grade trajectory

How proficiency compares across grade levels this year (different students, same test year)

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	210	8.1%	17.6%	21.4%	52.9%	25.7%
7th	226	6.6%	24.3%	22.1%	46.9%	31.0%
8th	219	5.9%	21.9%	23.7%	48.4%	27.9%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	209	5.7%	9.6%	24.9%	59.8%	15.3%
7th	224	7.6%	14.3%	30.8%	47.3%	21.9%
8th	218	2.8%	6.9%	21.6%	68.8%	9.6%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Rosa Parks Elementary

Also serves area

▼

Middle

Clark Middle

26.4# in state

This school

▼

High School

Also serves area

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