Making Waves Academy: No single number tells this school's story. Here's the honest picture.
Making Waves Academy posts 36% meeting the standard and 10.8% exceeding it, against 39% and 16.8% statewide. The gaps and the bright spots below are the real read.
Making Waves Academy scores 34 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 34th 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 →
Most rating sites would stop at “36% proficient” and call it done. Making Waves Academy deserves a closer read. The school sits in Richmond, where three in four students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
As a charter, Making Waves Academy enrolls by application, not address — the score reads the same, the enrollment path doesn't.
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.
The honest read: the share exceeding holds steady across grades; the proficiency floor barely moves. 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 5 things our score weighs
Ask what the school is working on next. Strong numbers tell you where a school is, not where it's going.
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
K-12 Path
Making Waves Academy serves grades K-12 — students can complete their entire K-12 education here.
Your other options
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
The community around it
Student demographics
3 more gaps by subject
Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.
Weighted average across tested grades. Subgroups with fewer than 15 students excluded. Data: CDE CAASPP 2024-25.
Subgroup Growth by Grade
Low-income student ELA proficiency falls by 6.0pp from grade 6 to grade 8 at this school.
Subgroups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
Funding Breakdown
Neighborhood Context
Whole Child
Source: CDE SARC, 2024-25
Frequently asked questions
Is Making Waves Academy a good middle school?
What are Making Waves Academy's CAASPP test scores?
How does Making Waves Academy rank in California?
Is Making Waves Academy getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Making Waves Academy?
How does Making Waves Academy compare to other schools in Richmond?
How does Making Waves Academy serve low-income and underrepresented students?
A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means
For the data nerdsEvery number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5 | 106 | 17% | 25% | 24% | 34% | 42% | −5 |
| Grade 6 | 111 | 10% | 28% | 34% | 28% | 38% | −9 |
| Grade 7 | 150 | 14% | 39% | 26% | 21% | 53% | +5 |
| Grade 8 | 152 | 11% | 26% | 31% | 32% | 37% | −9 |
| Grade 11 | 112 | 24% | 44% | 21% | 11% | 68% | +21 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5 | 105 | 5% | 24% | 35% | 36% | 29% | −7 |
| Grade 6 | 110 | 5% | 16% | 44% | 35% | 22% | −13 |
| Grade 7 | 150 | 13% | 25% | 33% | 29% | 38% | +4 |
| Grade 8 | 151 | 11% | 15% | 26% | 48% | 26% | −6 |
| Grade 11 | 112 | 4% | 16% | 25% | 55% | 20% | −4 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 371 | 4% | 29% | 58% | 9% |
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 | 531 | 47.8% | +32 | +10 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 555 | 46.3% | +46 | +7 |
| English Learners | 163 | 15.3% | — | +5 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Making Waves Academy ← | — | 34 | 10.8% | 35.5% | +1.5 | 11.8% |
| California average | — | 43 | 16.8% | 39.3% | +1.5 | 3.7% |
- — Scored here as a middle school — other grade spans appear in the data appendix.