How does Mission Hill Middle compare to other middle schools in Santa Cruz?

Mission Hill Middle has a SchoolScope composite score of 52.2/100, placing it at the 77th percentile statewide. 25% of students exceed standard, with a total of 984 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Mission Hill Middle?

25.4% of students at Mission Hill Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 53.9% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Mission Hill Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Mission Hill Middle's proficiency rate increases by 2.8 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 Mission Hill Middle?

16.3% of students at Mission Hill 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 our composite score.

Mission Hill Middle

Middle School

Santa Cruz City High Santa CruzSanta Cruz County95060

📍 425 King Street

Composite Score

out of 100

State Percentile

of middle schools

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

🌱

Building Momentum

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Composite 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

500 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

20:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

33%

Teachers

25 full-time

Dashboard indicators

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased Significantly

+20.0 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased Significantly

+21.0 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

37.8%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 37 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic32.0%

White54.2%

Asian2.6%

Black0.8%

Other10.4%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Mission Hill Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	25.4%
Met Standard	28.5%
Below Standard	46.1%

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "54% proficient" for Mission Hill Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

25.4% of students exceeded standard while 28.5% met it. That exceeded rate is 8.0 points above the state average of 17.3%. That's 6.8 points above the Santa Cruz City High district average of 18.6%. Compared to the 1 nearby schools within ~3 miles, this exceeded rate is 4.1 points higher (vs 21.3% average). The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Students here improve by 2.8 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 significantly and Math increased significantly year-over-year. 37.8% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 16.3%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →