San Elijo Middle: English learners reach fluency faster than the state rate. But this year's 8th graders test below its 6th graders.
San Elijo has real strengths and one number that complicates them. Most rating sites show you one or the other. Both belong on the same page.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52 | 29% | 58% | -3.6 | 12.9% | 1.3% |
| CA average · Middle School | 43 | 17% | 39% | +1.5 | 18.5% | 3.7% |
San Elijo Middle scores 52 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 75th 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 →
🤝 Culture First — Ask whether the low absenteeism and suspension numbers come from what the school does or from the community it serves — both can produce the same numbers, and only a visit tells you which.
Most rating sites would stop at “58% proficient” and call it done. San Elijo deserves a closer read. It sits at the 75th percentile of 2,238 California middle schools — but the ranking is the least interesting thing on this page.
San Elijo's low-income kids hit 50.0% proficiency in ELA — a number the same group reaches at 38.2% statewide. If you're trying to read past zip-code-driven test scores, that's the signal worth weighing.
The seven-year arc
Slipped from the 89th to the 75th percentile since 2019.
This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 58% meet the standard today, versus 71% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 79% | 70% | 68% | 67% | 68% |
| Grade 7 | 76% | 76% | 71% | 70% | 68% |
| Grade 8 | 79% | 69% | 70% | 58% | 66% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 64% | 54% | 57% | 54% | 52% |
| Grade 7 | 65% | 58% | 54% | 52% | 48% |
| Grade 8 | 62% | 46% | 41% | 44% | 48% |
The story this school is actually telling
of English learners reached the top ELPAC level, versus 18.0% statewide.
proficiency runs 60% in this year's grade 6 against 57% in its grade 8. The state average falls by −0.5pp over the same span.
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 falls 3.8pp across grades; the floor slips 2.5pp. The state average falls 0.5pp over the same span. The school's 8th graders aren't posting a wider lead than its 6th graders. One question worth asking on a tour: are the strongest students being pushed, or coasting? A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
San Elijo's most underrated number
50.0% of low-income students met the ELA standard — versus 38.2% for the same group statewide. That's the strongest kind of signal a school can post: it holds across income lines.
The 6 things our score weighs
Ask the principal what changes between grade 6 and grade 8. Ask who teaches the older grades, and what the school does when a child starts falling behind.
- Ask what changes between grade 6 and grade 8 here, and who teaches the older kids.
- Ask whether extra support — tutoring, counseling, small groups — reaches kids across income lines, not just the students already ahead.
- Ask whether the tour can step into a working classroom — watch how the teacher handles a student who's stuck.
- Ask to tour while school's in session, and notice how hallways and transitions feel — culture shows up between classes, not just in them.
- Ask how the school communicates with families when a child starts to struggle.
- Ask what a typical day looks like for a new student in the first few weeks.
How every group of students does here
At San Elijo Middle in San Marcos, 50.0% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 37.2% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. San Elijo Middle outperforms its district average for low-income students by 12.8 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (26.3% Math proficient); White students (70.2% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 42.3 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 258 students tested.
7 of 17 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.
Change in proficiency from the lowest tested grade — which groups gain ground the longer they stay. Groups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
Low-income student ELA proficiency falls by 6.6pp from grade 6 to grade 8 at this school. District average: +0.8pp.
Showing up, and staying in class
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
Feeder patterns derived from NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries are approximate and may have changed — verify with your school district for current assignments.
The people teaching here
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
What gets spent here
$266 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.
The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.
District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.
Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →
The neighborhood it serves
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
At 1,395 students, this school is well above the typical California middle school (≈860).
On the state's science test (CAST), 42% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is San Elijo Middle a good middle school?
What are San Elijo Middle's CAASPP test scores?
How does San Elijo Middle rank in California?
Is San Elijo Middle getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at San Elijo Middle?
How does San Elijo Middle compare to other schools in San Marcos?
How does San Elijo Middle serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 75
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 412 | 31% | 37% | 20% | 12% | 68% | +22 |
| Grade 7 | 440 | 33% | 35% | 17% | 15% | 68% | +20 |
| Grade 8 | 484 | 27% | 38% | 18% | 16% | 66% | +20 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 408 | 26% | 26% | 29% | 18% | 52% | +17 |
| Grade 7 | 435 | 28% | 20% | 26% | 26% | 48% | +14 |
| Grade 8 | 475 | 29% | 18% | 22% | 30% | 48% | +16 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 474 | 15% | 27% | 50% | 7% |
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 | 258 | 50.0% | +13 | +12 |
| White | 754 | 70.2% | −1 | +8 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 316 | 53.5% | +13 | +15 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Elijo Middle ← | — | 52 | 29.0% | 58.3% | −3.6 | 1.3% |
| High Tech Middle North County | 2.3 mi | 55 | 24.3% | 56.2% | −2.2 | 0.4% |
| California average | — | 43 | 16.8% | 39.3% | +1.5 | 3.7% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 62 | 89 | #216 | 39.0% | 70.8% | 6.2% | 2.4% | -0.7pp |
| 2022 | 55 | 84 | #349 | 30.3% | 62.3% | 16.8% | 1.2% | -4.3pp |
| 2023 | 60 | 85 | #332 | 30.9% | 60.1% | 16.5% | 2.0% | -6.7pp |
| 2024 | 48 | 71 | #631 | 27.4% | 57.5% | 13.5% | 1.5% | -9.6pp |
| 2025 | 52 | 75 | #558 | 29.0% | 58.3% | 12.9% | 1.3% | -3.6pp |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 5.2% | 14.1% | +8.9pp |
| Male | 7.2% | 11.7% | +4.5pp |
| Asian | 1.9% | 5.1% | +3.2pp |
| Black/African American | 9.6% | 12.5% | +2.9pp |
| White | 5.3% | 23.1% | +17.8pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 9.1% | 16.5% | +7.4pp |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 7.1% | — | — |
| Pacific Islander | 7.1% | — | — |
| Students with Disabilities | 8.5% | 20.9% | +12.4pp |
| English Learners | 14.6% | 15.6% | +1.0pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 9.7% | 26.4% | +16.7pp |
| All Students | 6.2% | 12.8% | +6.6pp |
| Two or More Races | — | 15.2% | — |
| Homeless | — | 38.9% | — |
SchoolScope scores and verdicts are our interpretation of public California Department of Education data — independent analysis, not an official rating. How we analyze · Request a correction