How does John Muir Middle compare to other middle schools in San Jose?

John Muir Middle has a Scope Score of 49.0/100, ranked #874 among California middle schools. 16% of students exceed standard, with a total of 1,358 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at John Muir Middle?

16.5% of students at John Muir Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 38.1% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is John Muir Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, John Muir Middle's proficiency rate increases by 4.8 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 John Muir Middle?

25.1% of students at John Muir 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.

John Muir Middle

Middle School

San Jose Unified San JoseSanta Clara County95118

📍 1260 Branham Lane

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

📈

On the Rise

On an upward trajectory — scores are improving faster than average. Worth a closer look.

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

741 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

20:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

53%

Teachers

38 full-time

Dashboard indicators

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

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased

+8.7 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased

+8.7 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

8.8%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 148 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic62.5%

White17.5%

Asian8.1%

Black3.9%

Other8.0%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for John Muir Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	16.5%
Met Standard	21.6%
Below Standard	61.9%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Growth (G6→G8): +4.8pp

Scores improve across grades (state avg +0.8pp)

15% weight

Holding Back

▼Exceeded standard: 16.5%

0.8pp below state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

▼Met or exceeded: 38.1%

1.4pp below state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

▼Chronic absenteeism: 25.1%

5.8pp above state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% weight

▼Baseline proficiency: 38.1%

Below state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

10% weight

▼Suspension rate: 7.8%

3.7pp 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 "38% proficient" for John Muir Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

16.5% of students exceeded standard while 21.6% met it. That exceeded rate is near the state average of 17.3%. That's 5.2 points below the San Jose Unified district average of 21.7%. The 3 nearby schools within ~3 miles average 30.1% exceeded — 13.6 points higher. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Students here improve by 4.8 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. 8.8% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 25.1%, 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

16.5%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

38.1%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

+4.8pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

25.1%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

7.8%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

1,358

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	218	12.8%	22.0%	25.7%	39.5%	34.9%
7th	223	15.7%	26.9%	22.9%	34.5%	42.6%
8th	231	13.8%	34.6%	25.1%	26.4%	48.5%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	225	17.8%	15.1%	23.6%	43.6%	32.9%
7th	226	21.7%	19.0%	23.0%	36.3%	40.7%
8th	235	17.0%	11.9%	21.7%	49.4%	28.9%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Reed Elementary

69.7# in state

Rachel Carson Elementary

48.9# in state

Terrell Elementary

24.5# in state

Also serves area

Hacienda Science/Environmental…Magnet

▼

Middle

John Muir Middle

49.0# 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.