Lick (James) Middle · San Francisco
Lick (James) Middle: No single number tells this school's story. Here's the honest picture.
Lick (James) posts 19% meeting the standard and 7.9% exceeding it, against 39% and 16.8% statewide. The gaps and the bright spots below are the real read.
1220 Noe Street, 94114 (opens in new tab)·San Francisco Unified·San Francisco·Grades 6-8·479 students·62% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(415) 695-5675
2019–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 31 | 8% | 19% | -6.1 | 34.1% | 6.7% |
| CA average · Middle School | 43 | 17% | 39% | +1.5 | 18.5% | 3.7% |
This schoolCA avg
Scope3143
% Exceeded8%17%
% Met+19%39%
Growth-6.1+1.5
Absence34.1%18.5%
Suspension6.7%3.7%
Scope Score
31
🌱 Building Momentum · Developing
ranked #1,646 statewide · #20 of 27 in San Francisco Unified
Lick (James) Middle scores 31 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 26th percentile of 2,238 California middle schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).
Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →
🌱 Building Momentum — This label means the data doesn't clearly sort the school one way or the other — ask what the school is proud of, and what it's working on.
Most rating sites would stop at “19% proficient” and call it done. Lick (James) deserves a closer read. The school sits in San Francisco, where three in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
The seven-year arc
Percentile among 2,238 middle schools statewide
Has stayed near the 26th percentile since 2019.
CA Dashboard
ELAGreen(Increased Significantly)MathGreen(Increased Significantly)
Proficiency here is back to its pre-pandemic level — 19% meet the standard, about where the school stood in 2019.
ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 23% | 22% | 21% | 12% | 31% |
| Grade 7 | 26% | 27% | 22% | 28% | 14% |
| Grade 8 | 25% | 23% | 22% | 24% | 26% |
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 15% | 13% | 12% | 8% | 21% |
| Grade 7 | 14% | 10% | 17% | 12% | 11% |
| Grade 8 | 18% | 11% | 9% | 12% | 13% |
The story this school is actually telling
The school, grade by grade
ELA · CAASPP 2024–25Different students, same year — each bar is one grade's proficiency mix.
13%
18%
69%
Grade 6 · 31% proficient
10%
86%
Grade 7 · 14% proficient
10%
17%
73%
Grade 8 · 27% proficient
The honest read: the share exceeding falls 3.1pp across grades; the floor slips 4.3pp. The state average falls 0.5pp over the same span. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
The 6 things our score weighs
Exceeded standard
7.9%
State 16.8%
8.9pp below state avg
Growth (G6→G8)
-6.1pp
State +1.5pp
Scores decline across grades
Met or exceeded
19.3%
State 39.3%
20.0pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
34.1%
State 18.5%
15.5pp above state avg
Suspension rate
6.7%
State 3.7%
3.0pp above state avg
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
11.5%
State 18.0%
6.5pp below state avg
Worth a school visit
Ask what the school is working on next. Strong numbers tell you where a school is, not where it's going.
- Ask how the school follows up when a student starts missing days — chronic absence often starts outside the classroom, not inside it.
- Ask what changes between grade 6 and grade 8 here, and who teaches the older kids.
- Ask whether the tour can step into a working classroom — watch how the teacher handles a student who's stuck.
- Ask to tour while school's in session, and notice how hallways and transitions feel — culture shows up between classes, not just in them.
- Ask how the school communicates with families when a child starts to struggle.
- Ask what a typical day looks like for a new student in the first few weeks.
How every group of students does here
At Lick (James) Middle in San Francisco, 12.3% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 38.8% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Lick (James) Middle trails its district average for low-income students by 26.5 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (6.8% Math proficient); Hispanic students (15.6% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 23.0 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 244 students tested.
All students at this school: 19% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 19%, district —, state 39%19%
Hispanic/LatinoHispanic/Latino: this school 12%, district 22%, state 32%12% · −8 vs school
Socioeconomically DisadvantagedSocioeconomically Disadvantaged: this school 10%, district 36%, state 32%10% · −10 vs school
FemaleFemale: this school 22%, district 50%, state 44%22% · +3 vs school
MaleMale: this school 16%, district 49%, state 42%16% · −3 vs school
English LearnersEnglish Learners: this school 1%, district 10%, state 11%1% · −18 vs school
Students with DisabilitiesStudents with Disabilities: this school 8%, district 19%, state 15%8% · −12 vs school
WhiteWhite: this school 63%, district 71%, state 56%63% · +44 vs school
HomelessHomeless: this school 9%, district 22%, state 22%9% · −10 vs school
Black/African AmericanBlack/African American: this school 8%, district 15%, state 26%8% · −11 vs school
6 of 16 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.
this school district, same group California, same group
Subgroup growth by grade
Change in proficiency from the lowest tested grade — which groups gain ground the longer they stay. Groups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
Low-income student ELA proficiency rises by 3.3pp from grade 6 to grade 8 at this school. District average: +1.2pp.
Showing up, and staying in class
Chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeism: this school 34.1%, district 27.1%, state 18.5%34.1% · +15.5pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 6.7%, district —, state 3.7%6.7% · +3.0pp vs state
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 4–630.4%
Grades 7–836.5%
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
K-12 Feeder Path
Elementary
Stevenson (Robert Louis) Eleme…
77/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Peabody (George) Elementary
76/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Sunset Elementary
74/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Alamo Elementary
72/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Grattan Elementary
70/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
New Traditions Elementary
69/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Key (Francis Scott) Elementary
67/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Argonne Elementary
65/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
King (Thomas Starr) Elementary
64/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary
63/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Chin (John Yehall) Elementary
61/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Ulloa Elementary
60/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Lafayette Elementary
60/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Sutro Elementary
58/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Miraloma Elementary
57/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Yick Wo Elementary
56/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Ortega (Jose) Elementary
56/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Alvarado Elementary
54/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Feinstein (Dianne) Elementary
51/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Sloat (Commodore) Elementary
51/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Jefferson Elementary
51/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
McKinley Elementary
51/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
West Portal Elementary
51/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Monroe Elementary
50/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Webster (Daniel) Elementary
48/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Garfield Elementary
47/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Sunnyside Elementary
47/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
McCoppin (Frank) Elementary
46/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Sherman Elementary
46/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Milk (Harvey) Civil Rights Ele…
43/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Parker (Jean) Elementary
43/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Flynn (Leonard R.) Elementary
41/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Taylor (Edward R.) Elementary
40/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Glen Park Elementary
40/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Longfellow Elementary
37/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Muir (John) Elementary
37/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Drew (Charles) College Prepara…
35/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Bryant Elementary
35/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Parks (Rosa) Elementary
33/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Spring Valley Elementary
32/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Chavez (Cesar) Elementary
32/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Guadalupe Elementary
31/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Cleveland Elementary
30/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Moscone (George R.) Elementary
28/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Malcolm X Academy
28/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Sheridan Elementary
27/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Tenderloin Community
25/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Hillcrest Elementary
24/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Sanchez Elementary
22/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Redding Elementary
22/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Serra (Junipero) Elementary
20/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Visitacion Valley Elementary
19/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Cobb (William L.) Elementary
18/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Carver (George Washington) Ele…
17/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
El Dorado Elementary
16/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Harte (Bret) Elementary
13/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
▼
Middle
Lick (James) Middle
31/100
This school
▼
High School
Lowell High
78/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Washington (George) High
62/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Lincoln (Abraham) High
60/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Balboa High
55/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Wallenberg (Raoul) Traditional…
54/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Galileo High
53/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Burton (Phillip and Sala) Acad…
51/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Mission High
31/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
O'Connell (John) High
27/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Marshall (Thurgood) High
23/100
100% of this boundary feeds here
Feeder patterns derived from NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries are approximate and may have changed — verify with your school district for current assignments.
The people teaching here
Context — never part of the Scope Score
Student : teacherStudent to teacher ratio: this school 17:1, district 22:117:1
Teaching staff31 teachers
Avg. experience8.6 years
Fully credentialed73%
First-year teachers13%
Intern / emergency permit1.5%
Salary Schedule
Teacher salary schedule$69,525 – $131,654
Principal salary$150,963 – $163,648
Superintendent salary$328,879
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
What gets spent here
Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $26,968, CA average $14,815$26,968 · spent at this school
Federal share$294 per student
$294 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.
District current expense · FY 2024–25$26,762 per student
The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.
Where the district's dollars go · FY 2024–25 · CDE SACS
Instruction60%
Instruction support12%
Student services15%
Administration6%
Buildings & maintenance7%
Other1%
District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.
district detail, 2016–2020 — the newest published
2020$17,416 per pupil
2019$17,139 per pupil
2018$17,228 per pupil
2017$13,640 per pupil
2016$11,532 per pupil
Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →
The neighborhood it serves
Hispanic73.7%
District 36.7% · CA 56.1%
White9.6%
District 13.1% · CA 19.9%
Other8.6%
District 15.1% · CA 9.0%
Black6.7%
District 7.3% · CA 4.8%
Asian1.5%
District 27.7% · CA 10.2%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 61.8% (2pp below CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Median income$204K · CA $85K
Median home value$1.74M · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+82% · CA 35%
ZIP population33,020
Median age42 years
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
Worth Knowing
On the state's science test (CAST), 13% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Lick (James) Middle a good middle school?
Lick (James) Middle has a Scope Score of 31 out of 100, placing it in the 26th percentile of California middle schools and ranked #1,646 statewide. 7.9% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 8.9 percentage points below the California average of 16.8%. The Scope Score weights 6 dimensions for middle schools: exceeded standard (38%), grade 6-to-8 growth (27%), met or exceeded (proficient) (20%), chronic absenteeism (5%), suspension rate (5%), and ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.
What are Lick (James) Middle's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 19.3% of students at Lick (James) Middle met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 7.9% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 11.3% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 7.9% pushed past it. Most rating sites report only the combined "proficient" number. SchoolScope surfaces the exceeded-vs-met split because it reveals whether a school's curriculum challenges students beyond minimum proficiency or paces toward it. 844 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Lick (James) Middle rank in California?
Lick (James) Middle ranks #1,646 among California middle schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 26th percentile. This ranking is based on a weighted composite of 2025 CAASPP test performance (exceeded and met rates), grade-level growth (Grade 6 to grade 8 growth), chronic absenteeism, and suspension rate. Unlike single-number ratings, the Scope Score shows what drives the ranking so parents can decide what matters most to their family. See full methodology.
Is Lick (James) Middle getting better or worse?
Based on 2025 CAASPP data, proficiency at Lick (James) Middle decreases by 6.1 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth. This downward pattern doesn't necessarily mean the school is failing — it can reflect cohort differences, demographic shifts, or curriculum changes. A campus visit and conversation with teachers can reveal what the numbers can't. Growth trajectory is weighted at 15% in the middle Scope Score because it measures what the school does, not just who walks in the door.
What is the attendance and school culture like at Lick (James) Middle?
34.1% of students at Lick (James) Middle are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), compared to the California average of 18.5%. The suspension rate is 6.7%. SchoolScope includes these culture metrics in the Scope Score because they reflect day-to-day school experience in ways test scores alone cannot.
How does Lick (James) Middle compare to other schools in San Francisco?
Lick (James) Middle scores 31/100 (26th percentile) among California middle schools. To compare with nearby schools, SchoolScope shows the same metrics side by side: exceeded rate, proficiency, growth trajectory, and school culture indicators. The school serves 479 students. Use the schools in San Francisco page or the map view to compare all middle schools nearby.
How does Lick (James) Middle serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At Lick (James) Middle in San Francisco, 12.3% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 38.8% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Lick (James) Middle trails its district average for low-income students by 26.5 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (6.8% Math proficient); Hispanic students (15.6% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 23.0 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 244 students tested. SchoolScope shows disaggregated test scores by demographic subgroup so you can see how a school performs for your child's specific group — not just the school-wide average. Subgroup data is context, not part of the Scope Score: we don't penalize schools for who they serve. See our equity approach.
Your other options
Nearby Middle Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 59
Roosevelt Middle
San Francisco Unified · 2.7 mi
Aptos Middle
San Francisco Unified · 2.3 mi
Hoover (Herbert) Middle
San Francisco Unified · 2.1 mi
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means
For the data nerds
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Exceeded standard · 38%
7.9%
↓ vs CA 16.8% · 40th pctile
Growth (G6→G8) · 27%
-6.1pp
↓ vs CA +1.5pp · 52th pctile
Met or exceeded · 20%
19.3%
↓ vs CA 39.3% · 34th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
34.1%
↓ vs CA 18.5% · 28th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
6.7%
↓ vs CA 3.7% · 38th pctile
EL proficiency (ELPAC) · 5%
11.5%
↓ vs CA 18.0% · 37th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 140 | 13% | 18% | 14% | 55% | 31% | −16 |
| Grade 7 | 144 | 4% | 10% | 21% | 65% | 14% | −34 |
| Grade 8 | 144 | 10% | 17% | 26% | 48% | 26% | −20 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 139 | 8% | 13% | 19% | 60% | 21% | −14 |
| Grade 7 | 139 | 5% | 6% | 18% | 71% | 11% | −23 |
| Grade 8 | 138 | 8% | 5% | 17% | 70% | 13% | −19 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 136 | 5% | 7% | 43% | 45% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| Subgroup · ELA | Tested | MET+ | vs district | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 244 | 12.3% | −27 | −26 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 315 | 15.6% | −10 | −23 |
| English Learners | 152 | 0.7% | −7 | −10 |
03Peer comparison · nearest middle schoolssorted by Scope Score
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lick (James) Middle ← | — | 31 | 7.9% | 19.3% | −6.1 | 6.7% |
| Roosevelt Middle | 2.7 mi | 66 | 40.4% | 71.0% | −6.4 | 1.1% |
| Aptos Middle | 2.3 mi | 58 | 28.4% | 55.3% | +7.4 | 3.8% |
| Hoover (Herbert) Middle | 2.1 mi | 53 | 25.4% | 54.6% | +2.1 | 3.8% |
| California average | — | 43 | 16.8% | 39.3% | +1.5 | 3.7% |
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 31 | 30 | #1412 | 7.7% | 20.2% | 20.1% | 6.2% | +2.6pp |
| 2022 | 27 | 23 | #1668 | 5.0% | 17.7% | 40.9% | 10.1% | +0.1pp |
| 2023 | 30 | 21 | #1729 | 6.4% | 17.3% | 38.6% | 15.3% | -0.7pp |
| 2024 | 22 | 14 | #1912 | 5.4% | 16.0% | 35.9% | 12.1% | +7.4pp |
| 2025 | 31 | 26 | #1646 | 7.9% | 19.3% | 34.1% | 6.7% | -6.1pp |
NO STATEWIDE TESTING 2020–21 (COVID) · SCORE AND PERCENTILE ARE RELATIVE TO EACH YEAR'S FIELD
What we can't show
- — Low-income students here trail the state average for their group by 26 points in ELA — worth asking how the school is closing that gap.
05Climate by student groupchronic absenteeism · 2019 vs 2025 — the two years CDE publishes at subgroup level
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 16.9% | 34.0% | +17.1pp |
| Male | 22.7% | 35.3% | +12.6pp |
| Asian | 25.0% | — | — |
| Black/African American | 35.7% | 71.4% | +35.7pp |
| Filipino | 16.7% | 31.3% | +14.6pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 19.9% | 33.9% | +14.0pp |
| Two or More Races | 28.0% | 27.3% | -0.7pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 27.4% | 52.8% | +25.4pp |
| English Learners | 21.5% | 37.1% | +15.6pp |
| Homeless | 45.6% | 57.4% | +11.8pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 22.3% | 42.5% | +20.2pp |
| All Students | 20.2% | 34.6% | +14.4pp |
EXC = exceeded standard · MET+ = met or exceeded ("proficient") · Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=2,238 middle schools · Vintages: climate subgroups 2019+2025 · district finance per its label · ACS 2022 · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue
SchoolScope scores and verdicts are our interpretation of public California Department of Education data — independent analysis, not an official rating. How we analyze · Request a correction