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School Profile · Arcata

Sunny Brae Middle: No single number tells this school's story. Here's the honest picture.

Sunny Brae posts 39% meeting the standard and 16.5% exceeding it, against 40% and 17.3% statewide. The gaps and the bright spots below are the real read.

1430 Buttermilk Lane, 95521 (opens in new tab)·Arcata Elementary·Arcata·Grades 6-8·232 students·54% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(707) 822-5988·Website
Scope Score
33
📈 On the Rise · Developing
ranked #1,055 statewide

Sunny Brae Middle scores 33 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 38th 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 →

CDE CAASPP 2025

Most rating sites would stop at “39% proficient” and call it done. Sunny Brae deserves a closer read. The school sits in Arcata, where more than half of students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.

The story this school is actually telling

The school, grade by grade

ELA · CAASPP 2024–25

Different students, same year — each bar is one grade's proficiency mix.

26%
67%
Grade 6 · 33% proficient
21%
41%
38%
Grade 7 · 62% proficient
19%
26%
55%
Grade 8 · 45% proficient

The honest read: the share exceeding rises 11.8pp across grades; the floor rises 11.7pp. The state average falls 0.5pp over the same span. Kids here gain ground the longer they stay — the pattern you want to see. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.

The 5 things our score weighs

Exceeded standard
16.5%
State 17.3%
0.8pp below state avg
Met or exceeded
39.5%
State 39.5%
0.1pp below state avg
Growth (G6→G8)
+3.6pp
State +0.8pp
Scores improve across grades
Chronic absenteeism
38.8%
State 19.1%
19.7pp above state avg
Suspension rate
18.6%
State 4.2%
14.4pp above state avg
Worth a school visit

Ask what the school is working on next. Strong numbers tell you where a school is, not where it's going.

Where the path goes

The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.

K-12 Feeder Path
▼
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

All schools in Arcata →

Private alternatives nearby

Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.

The community around it

Community Profile
Context — not part of the Scope Score

Student demographics

Hispanic23.7%
White55.2%
Asian2.6%
Black0.9%
Other17.7%
GenderFemale 47.0%Male 51.7%Non-binary 1.3%
Resources & Access
Enrollment
232
628 below CA avg (~860)
Free/Reduced Lunch
54%
9pp below CA avg (64%)
Student-Teacher Ratio
18:1
3 fewer students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$21,739
District avg: $12,782 · CA avg: $14,815 · School-level · CDE ESSA
Teacher Salary Range
$50,829 – $96,295
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
At Sunny Brae Middle in Arcata, 34.6% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 29.1% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Sunny Brae Middle outperforms its district average for low-income students by 5.5 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (23.5% Math proficient); White students (43.8% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 11.8 percentage points for low-income students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 120 students tested.
Equity Gaps
Absenteeism · Low-Income+8.1pp
46.9% vs 38.8% overall · n=145
Suspension · Disabilities+6.9pp
25.5% vs 18.6% overall · n=51
ELA · Low-Income−11.8pp
34.6% vs 46.4% overall · n=120
3 more gaps by subject
ELA Exceeded · Low-Income−6.5pp
9.1% vs 15.6% overall · n=120
Math · Low-Income−8.9pp
23.5% vs 32.5% overall · n=120
Math Exceeded · Low-Income−5.6pp
11.8% vs 17.4% overall · n=120

Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.

Subgroup Proficiency
Low-Income120 tested
ELA 34.6%·Math 23.5%· +5.5pp vs district
White121 tested
ELA 43.8%·Math 37.5%· -0.6pp vs district
Hispanic50 tested
ELA 58.6%·Math 30.5%· +0.0pp 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 10.3pp from grade 6 to grade 8 at this school. District average: +10.3pp.

Subgroups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.

Funding Breakdown
Instruction 63%Support 33%Other 4%

Source: NCES F-33 (2019–2020) · Full district breakdown →

Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$53K
$32K below CA median
Median Home Value
$501K
$158K below CA median
Bachelor's+
46%
11pp above 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
8.3 years avg experience
16 teachers · 6% second-year
Teacher Credentials
81% fully credentialed

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 nerds

Every number on this page

Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.

01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Exceeded standard · 43%
16.5%
↓ vs CA 17.3% · 49th pctile
Met or exceeded · 22%
39.5%
↓ vs CA 39.5% · 50th pctile
Growth (G6→G8) · 15%
+3.6pp
↑ vs CA +0.8pp · 55th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 10%
38.8%
↓ vs CA 19.1% · 22th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
18.6%
↓ vs CA 4.2% · 0th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 6707%26%27%40%33%−14
Grade 76821%41%15%24%62%+14
Grade 87419%26%26%30%45%−1
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 67016%17%31%36%33%−2
Grade 76920%16%33%30%36%+2
Grade 87416%12%24%47%28%−4
Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Grade 5/8/117519%13%55%13%

CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.

Subgroup · ELATestedMET+vs districtvs CA
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged12034.6%+5−4
White12143.8%−1−18
Hispanic/Latino4958.6%+0+20
03Peer comparison · nearest middle schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Sunny Brae Middle ←—3316.5%39.5%+3.618.6%
California average—4017.3%39.5%+0.84.2%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Scope Score history
60%33%'19'22'23'24'25
2019 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · no testing 2020–21 (COVID) · rank #567 → #1065 → #1020 → #931 → #1055
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 Sunny Brae Middle a good middle school?
Sunny Brae Middle has a Scope Score of 33 out of 100, placing it in the 38th percentile of California middle schools and ranked #1,055 statewide. 16.5% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is near 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 Sunny Brae Middle's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 39.5% of students at Sunny Brae Middle met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 16.5% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 23.0% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 16.5% 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. 425 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Sunny Brae Middle rank in California?
Sunny Brae Middle ranks #1,055 among California middle schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 38th 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 Sunny Brae Middle getting better or worse?
Based on 2025 CAASPP data, proficiency at Sunny Brae Middle increases by 3.6 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 Sunny Brae Middle?
38.8% of students at Sunny Brae Middle are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), compared to the California average of 19.1%. The suspension rate is 18.6%. 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 Sunny Brae Middle compare to other schools in Arcata?
Sunny Brae Middle scores 33/100 (38th 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 232 students. Use the schools in Arcata page or the map view to compare all middle schools nearby.
How does Sunny Brae Middle serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At Sunny Brae Middle in Arcata, 34.6% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 29.1% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Sunny Brae Middle outperforms its district average for low-income students by 5.5 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (23.5% Math proficient); White students (43.8% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 11.8 percentage points for low-income students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 120 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.
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