Every school has strengths the data doesn’t fully capture. Visit and see for yourself.
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
Dashboard indicators
How this school's scores changed from last year to this year
Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024
Student demographics
Performance breakdown
| Category | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Exceeded Standard | 11.3% |
| Met Standard | 16.9% |
| Below Standard | 71.8% |
Score Factors
What other rankings don't show you
Most rating sites report "28% proficient" for Denman (James) Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:
11.3% of students exceeded standard while 16.9% met it. That exceeded rate is 6.1 points below the state average of 17.3%. That's 11.9 points below the San Francisco Unified district average of 23.2%. The 8 nearby schools within ~3 miles average 16.2% exceeded — 4.9 points higher. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.
Students here improve by 2.5 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 maintained and Math increased year-over-year. 26.0% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.
Chronic absenteeism is 31.2%, above the state average of 19.3%.
A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means
Key metrics
Grade trajectory
How proficiency compares across grade levels this year (different students, same test year)
ELA scores by grade
| Grade | Tested | Exceeded | Met | Met+Above |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6th | 251 | 8.8% | 20.3% | 29.1% |
| 7th | 245 | 15.5% | 21.2% | 36.7% |
| 8th | 231 | 10.4% | 20.8% | 31.2% |
Math scores by grade
| Grade | Tested | Exceeded | Met | Met+Above |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6th | 248 | 8.1% | 12.5% | 20.6% |
| 7th | 242 | 14.5% | 13.6% | 28.1% |
| 8th | 243 | 10.3% | 13.2% | 23.5% |
K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data
Feeder patterns derived from 2015-16 NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries may have changed. Contact your school district for current information.
Nearby schools
Nearby Middle Schools
8 within ~3 mi · avg 49.2
Nearby Elementary Schools
40 within ~3 mi · avg 49.6
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
Data source: California Department of Education (2025 test year) · How we score · Explore all schools · Blog