How does Cooper Middle compare to other middle schools in Fresno?

Cooper Middle has a Scope Score of 35.4/100, ranked #1214 among California middle schools. 10% of students exceed standard, with a total of 1,029 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Cooper Middle?

10.4% of students at Cooper Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 30.7% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Cooper Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Cooper Middle's proficiency rate decreases by 3.7 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 Cooper Middle?

19.6% of students at Cooper 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.

Cooper Middle

Middle School

Fresno Unified FresnoFresno County93705

📍 2277 West Bellaire Way

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

552 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

19:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

86%

Teachers

29 full-time

Dashboard indicators

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

ELA Year-over-Year

Declined

-5.7 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased

+6.1 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

9.8%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 61 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic78.3%

White6.9%

Asian3.1%

Black7.4%

Other4.3%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Cooper Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	10.4%
Met Standard	20.3%
Below Standard	69.3%

Score Factors

Holding Back

▼Exceeded standard: 10.4%

6.9pp below state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

▼Met or exceeded: 30.7%

8.8pp below state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

▼Growth (G6→G8): -3.7pp

Scores decline across grades (state avg +0.8pp)

15% weight

▼Chronic absenteeism: 19.6%

0.3pp above state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% weight

▼Baseline proficiency: 30.7%

Below state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

10% weight

▼Suspension rate: 9.1%

5.0pp 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 "31% proficient" for Cooper Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

10.4% of students exceeded standard while 20.3% met it. That exceeded rate is 6.9 points below the state average of 17.3%. That's 3.7 points below the Fresno Unified district average of 14.1%. The 1 nearby schools within ~3 miles average 26.7% exceeded — 16.3 points higher. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Proficiency drops by 3.7 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 declined and Math increased year-over-year. 9.8% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 19.6%, 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