How does Marsh (Harry M.) Junior High compare to other middle schools in Chico?

Marsh (Harry M.) Junior High has a Scope Score of 68.2/100, ranked #422 among California middle schools. 26% of students exceed standard, with a total of 1,345 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Marsh (Harry M.) Junior High?

25.7% of students at Marsh (Harry M.) Junior High exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 53.7% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Marsh (Harry M.) Junior High improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Marsh (Harry M.) Junior High's proficiency rate increases by 10.3 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 Marsh (Harry M.) Junior High?

16.9% of students at Marsh (Harry M.) Junior High 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.

Marsh (Harry M.) Junior High

Middle School

Chico Unified ChicoButte County95928

📍 2253 Humboldt Road

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

764 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

21:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

45%

Teachers

37 full-time

Dashboard indicators

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

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased

+5.7 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Maintained

-0.1 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

22.6%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 31 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic22.6%

White54.1%

Asian6.5%

Black2.8%

Other14.0%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Marsh (Harry M.) Junior High
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	25.7%
Met Standard	28.0%
Below Standard	46.3%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Exceeded standard: 25.7%

8.4pp above state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

✓Met or exceeded: 53.7%

14.2pp above state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

✓Growth (G6→G8): +10.3pp

Scores improve across grades (state avg +0.8pp)

15% weight

✓Chronic absenteeism: 16.9%

2.4pp below state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% weight

✓Baseline proficiency: 53.7%

Above state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

10% weight

Holding Back

▼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 "54% proficient" for Marsh (Harry M.) Junior High and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

25.7% of students exceeded standard while 28.0% met it. That exceeded rate is 8.4 points above the state average of 17.3%. That's 4.6 points above the Chico Unified district average of 21.1%. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Students here improve by 10.3 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 maintained year-over-year. 22.6% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 16.9%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

25.7%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

53.7%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

+10.3pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

16.9%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

7.8%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

1,345

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	230	22.6%	34.4%	21.7%	21.3%	57.0%
7th	233	22.8%	42.9%	14.6%	19.7%	65.7%
8th	208	31.7%	38.9%	18.8%	10.6%	70.7%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	230	23.5%	15.7%	30.9%	30.0%	39.1%
7th	233	26.2%	17.6%	23.2%	33.0%	43.8%
8th	211	27.5%	18.5%	24.6%	29.4%	46.0%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Sierra View Elementary

75.7# in state

Little Chico Creek Elementary

Also serves area

▼

Middle

Marsh (Harry M.) Junior High

68.2# in state

This school

▼

High School

Chico High

69.5# in state

Feeder patterns derived from 2015-16 NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries may have changed. Contact your school district for current information.