How does Rolling Hills Middle compare to other middle schools in Watsonville?

Rolling Hills Middle has a Scope Score of 24.0/100, ranked #1468 among California middle schools. 2% of students exceed standard, with a total of 1,128 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Rolling Hills Middle?

2.2% of students at Rolling Hills Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 13.3% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Rolling Hills Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Rolling Hills Middle's proficiency rate increases by 5.4 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 Rolling Hills Middle?

15.6% of students at Rolling Hills 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 the Scope Score.

Rolling Hills Middle

Middle School

Pajaro Valley Unified WatsonvilleSanta Cruz County95076

📍 130 Herman Avenue

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

📈

On the Rise

On an upward trajectory — scores are improving faster than average. Worth a closer look.

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

610 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

22:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

98%

Teachers

28 full-time

Dashboard indicators

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

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased

+6.4 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased

+3.5 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

8.9%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 293 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic96.6%

White1.6%

Asian0.5%

Black0.2%

Other1.1%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Rolling Hills Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	2.2%
Met Standard	11.1%
Below Standard	86.8%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Growth (G6→G8): +5.4pp

Scores improve across grades (state avg +0.8pp)

15% weight

✓Chronic absenteeism: 15.6%

3.7pp below state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% weight

Holding Back

▼Exceeded standard: 2.2%

15.1pp below state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

▼Met or exceeded: 13.3%

26.3pp below state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

▼Baseline proficiency: 13.3%

Below state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

10% weight

▼Suspension rate: 7.7%

3.6pp 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 "13% proficient" for Rolling Hills Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

2.2% of students exceeded standard while 11.1% met it. That exceeded rate is 15.1 points below the state average of 17.3%. That's 4.5 points below the Pajaro Valley Unified district average of 6.7%. Nearby schools (within ~3 miles) average 1.8% exceeded — about the same. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Students here improve by 5.4 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 increased year-over-year. 8.9% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 15.6%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

2.2%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

13.3%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

+5.4pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

15.6%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

7.7%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

1,128

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	186	1.6%	9.7%	22.0%	66.7%	11.3%
7th	191	4.7%	16.8%	23.6%	55.0%	21.5%
8th	189	1.6%	21.7%	34.9%	41.8%	23.3%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	184	1.1%	6.0%	15.2%	77.7%	7.1%
7th	190	3.7%	6.8%	22.1%	67.4%	10.5%
8th	188	0.5%	5.3%	19.1%	75.0%	5.8%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

▼

Middle

Rolling Hills Middle

24.0# in state

This school

▼

High School

Also serves area

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