How does Fine Arts Academy compare to other middle schools in Atascadero?

Fine Arts Academy has a Scope Score of 66.5/100, ranked #460 among California middle schools. 18% of students exceed standard, with a total of 300 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Fine Arts Academy?

17.7% of students at Fine Arts Academy exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 45.6% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Fine Arts Academy improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Fine Arts Academy's proficiency rate increases by 15.2 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 Fine Arts Academy?

9.3% of students at Fine Arts Academy 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.

Fine Arts Academy

Middle School

Atascadero Unified AtascaderoSan Luis Obispo County93422

📍 6100 Olmeda Avenue

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

🚀

Growth Engine

A growth engine — students gain measurably more here than at peer schools.

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

221 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

22:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

38%

Teachers

10 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

-11.3 pts DFS change

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic19.9%

White70.1%

Asian0.9%

Black0.9%

Other8.1%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Fine Arts Academy
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	17.7%
Met Standard	27.9%
Below Standard	54.4%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Exceeded standard: 17.7%

0.4pp above state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

✓Met or exceeded: 45.6%

6.1pp above state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

✓Growth (G6→G8): +15.2pp

Scores improve across grades (state avg +0.8pp)

15% weight

✓Chronic absenteeism: 9.3%

10.0pp below state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% weight

✓Baseline proficiency: 45.6%

Above state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

10% weight

Holding Back

▼Suspension rate: 6.5%

2.4pp 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 "46% proficient" for Fine Arts Academy and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

17.7% of students exceeded standard while 27.9% met it. That exceeded rate is near the state average of 17.3%. That's near the Atascadero Unified district average of 19.2%. Nearby schools (within ~3 miles) average 18.6% exceeded — about the same. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Students here improve by 15.2 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 declined year-over-year.

Chronic absenteeism is 9.3%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

17.7%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

45.6%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

+15.2pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

9.3%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

6.5%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

300

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
4th	29	55.2%	13.8%	10.3%	20.7%	69.0%
5th	57	24.6%	40.4%	21.1%	14.0%	64.9%
6th	59	15.3%	32.2%	28.8%	23.7%	47.5%
7th	50	22.0%	46.0%	12.0%	20.0%	68.0%
8th	41	19.5%	46.3%	26.8%	7.3%	65.8%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
4th	29	24.1%	34.5%	27.6%	13.8%	58.6%
5th	57	29.8%	31.6%	22.8%	15.8%	61.4%
6th	59	13.6%	13.6%	28.8%	44.1%	27.1%
7th	50	14.0%	12.0%	44.0%	30.0%	26.0%
8th	41	21.9%	17.1%	36.6%	24.4%	39.0%