School Profile · Tulare
Mulcahy Middle: The scores are below where anyone wants them. Here's what they don't tell you.
Mulcahy posts low test scores — and scores are climbing 1.1pp from grade 6 to grade 8. If this is your zoned school, the numbers below are where to start a conversation, not where to end one.
1001 West Sonora Avenue, 93274·Tulare City·Tulare·Grades 5-8·745 students·93% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(559) 685-7250·Website
Scope Score
20
🌱 Building Momentum · Needs Support
ranked #1,568 statewide · #3 of 3 in Tulare City
Mulcahy Middle scores 20 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 9th percentile of 1,714 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 “14% proficient” and call it done. Mulcahy deserves a closer read. The school sits in Tulare, where four in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
Test scores are one lens, and at this school they're a rough one right now. The sections below show the fuller picture — including the parts that are working.
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.
16%
80%
Grade 6 · 20% proficient
20%
78%
Grade 7 · 22% proficient
18%
77%
Grade 8 · 23% proficient
The 6 things our score weighs
Exceeded standard
3.0%
State 17.3%
14.3pp below state avg
Met or exceeded
14.1%
State 39.5%
25.4pp below state avg
Growth (G6→G8)
+1.1pp
State +0.8pp
Scores improve across grades
Chronic absenteeism
15.4%
State 19.1%
3.7pp below state avg
Suspension rate
5.2%
State 4.2%
1.0pp above state avg
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
10.1%
State 17.7%
7.6pp below state avg
Worth a school visit
Ask what changed in the last two years, and what the school is asking families for. Growth shows up in these numbers a year or two after it shows up in classrooms.
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
K-12 Feeder Path
Elementary
▼
High School
No feeder data available for this level
Feeder patterns derived from NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries are approximate and may have changed — verify with your school district for current assignments.
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 42
Pleasant Elementary
Tulare City · 1.4 mi
Developing
44/100
Mission Valley Elementary
Tulare City · 3.2 mi
Developing
42/100
Heritage Elementary
Tulare City · 2 mi
Developing
39/100
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
Visalia Montessori School
S Linwood St · Nonsectarian · Grades 1-6 · 42 students
9:1Private6.9 mi
St. Pauls School
W Goshen Ave · Brethren · Grades Pre-K-8 · 349 students
13:1Private9.7 mi
George Mccann Memorial Catholic School
E Race Ave · Roman Catholic · Grades Pre-K-8 · 183 students
18:1Private10.1 mi
Grace Christian School
S Conyer St · Greek Orthodox · Grades Pre-K-8 · 67 students
13:1Private8.9 mi
The community around it
Community Profile
Context — not part of the Scope ScoreStudent demographics
Hispanic91.1%
White4.6%
Asian0.7%
Black2.1%
Other1.5%
GenderFemale 47.8%Male 52.2%Non-binary 0.1%
Resources & Access
Enrollment
745
Near CA avg (~860)
Free/Reduced Lunch
93%
29pp above CA avg (64%)
Student-Teacher Ratio
23:1
2 more students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$17,529
District avg: $12,996 · CA avg: $14,815 · School-level · CDE ESSA
EL Proficiency (ELPAC)
10.1% Level 4
Share of English Learners reaching full proficiency
Teacher Salary Range
$67,304 – $131,180
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
At Mulcahy Middle in Tulare, 21.4% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 30.2% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Mulcahy Middle trails its district average for low-income students by 8.8 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (5.9% Math proficient); Hispanic students (21.3% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 17.2 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 682 students tested.
Equity Gaps
Absenteeism · Black+14.0pp
29.4% vs 15.4% overall · n=17
Suspension · RW+18.3pp
23.5% vs 5.2% overall · n=34
ELA · English Learner−17.2pp
3.9% vs 21.1% overall · n=224
2 more gaps by subject
ELA Exceeded · English Learner−3.7pp
0.0% vs 3.7% overall · n=224
Math · English Learner−5.5pp
0.0% vs 5.5% overall · n=222
Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.
Subgroup Proficiency
Low-Income682 tested
ELA 21.4%·Math 5.9%· -8.8pp vs district
Hispanic661 tested
ELA 21.3%·Math 5.3%· -11.1pp vs district
English Learner224 tested
ELA 3.6%·Math 0.0%· -7.7pp vs district
Weighted average across tested grades. Subgroups with fewer than 15 students excluded. Data: CDE CAASPP 2024-25.
Subgroup Growth by Grade
Change in proficiency from lowest tested grade. Shows which groups are gaining ground.
Low-income student ELA proficiency rises by 3.1pp from grade 6 to grade 8 at this school. District average: +2.7pp.
Subgroups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
Funding Breakdown
Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$73K
$12K below CA median
Median Home Value
$330K
$329K below CA median
Bachelor's+
12%
23pp below CA avg
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
Whole Child
Teacher experience, college/career readiness, and more. Context only — never part of the Scope Score.
Teacher Experience
10.7 years avg experience
35 teachers · 9% first-year · 14% second-year
Teacher Credentials
84% fully credentialed
3.0% on intern/emergency permit
Source: CDE SARC, 2024-25
Community Profile provides context about who attends this school and the resources available. These factors are never part of the Scope Score. Learn why →
For the data nerdsEvery number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
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 · 43%
3.0%
↓ vs CA 17.3% · 35th pctile
Met or exceeded · 22%
14.1%
↓ vs CA 39.5% · 31th pctile
Growth (G6→G8) · 15%
+1.1pp
↑ vs CA +0.8pp · 26th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 10%
15.4%
↑ vs CA 19.1% · 55th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
5.2%
↓ vs CA 4.2% · 46th pctile
EL proficiency (ELPAC) · 5%
10.1%
↓ vs CA 17.7% · 42th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5 | 108 | 3% | 15% | 21% | 61% | 18% | −30 |
| Grade 6 | 191 | 4% | 16% | 29% | 51% | 20% | −27 |
| Grade 7 | 218 | 2% | 20% | 31% | 47% | 22% | −25 |
| Grade 8 | 201 | 5% | 18% | 26% | 50% | 24% | −22 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5 | 108 | 1% | 3% | 20% | 76% | 4% | −32 |
| Grade 6 | 189 | 3% | 4% | 25% | 69% | 6% | −29 |
| Grade 7 | 218 | 1% | 6% | 21% | 72% | 7% | −27 |
| Grade 8 | 199 | 2% | 3% | 19% | 76% | 5% | −28 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 308 | 2% | 8% | 58% | 32% |
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 | 682 | 21.4% | −9 | −17 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 661 | 21.3% | −11 | −18 |
| English Learners | 224 | 3.6% | −8 | −7 |
03Peer comparison · nearest middle schoolssorted by Scope Score
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mulcahy Middle ← | — | 20 | 3.0% | 14.1% | +1.1 | 5.2% |
| Los Tules Middle | 2 mi | 31 | 8.6% | 28.1% | −0.1 | 4.3% |
| California average | — | 40 | 17.3% | 39.5% | +0.8 | 4.2% |
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Scope Score history
2019 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · no testing 2020–21 (COVID) · rank #1271 → #1549 → #1240 → #1471 → #1568
What we can't show
- — Low-income students here trail the state average for their group by 17 points in ELA — worth asking how the school is closing that gap.
Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=1,714 middle schools · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue
A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means
Frequently asked questions
Is Mulcahy Middle a good middle school?
Mulcahy Middle has a Scope Score of 20 out of 100, placing it in the 9th percentile of California middle schools and ranked #1,568 statewide. 3.0% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 14.3 percentage points below the California average of 17.3%. The Scope Score weights six dimensions for middle schools: exceeded standard (43%), met or exceeded (22%), grade 3-to-5 growth (15%), chronic absenteeism (10%), ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%), and suspension rate (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.
What are Mulcahy Middle's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 14.1% of students at Mulcahy Middle met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 3.0% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 11.1% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 3.0% 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. 1,216 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Mulcahy Middle rank in California?
Mulcahy Middle ranks #1,568 among California middle schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 9th 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 Mulcahy Middle getting better or worse?
Based on 2025 CAASPP data, proficiency at Mulcahy Middle increases by 1.1 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth. This upward trajectory suggests the school is adding measurable value — students leave with higher proficiency rates than they entered with. 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 Mulcahy Middle?
15.4% of students at Mulcahy Middle are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), which is better than the California average of 19.1%. The suspension rate is 5.2%. 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 Mulcahy Middle compare to other schools in Tulare?
Mulcahy Middle scores 20/100 (9th 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 745 students. Use the schools in Tulare page or the map view to compare all middle schools nearby.
How does Mulcahy Middle serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At Mulcahy Middle in Tulare, 21.4% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 30.2% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Mulcahy Middle trails its district average for low-income students by 8.8 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (5.9% Math proficient); Hispanic students (21.3% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 17.2 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 682 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.