Thornton Middle: More than half of kids exceed the standard. But suspensions run 2× the state rate.
Thornton 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 | 74 | 53% | 77% | +1.7 | 6.1% | 7.7% |
| CA average · Middle School | 43 | 17% | 39% | +1.5 | 18.5% | 3.7% |
Thornton Middle scores 74 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 96th 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 →
⭐ High Ceiling — Ask what happens for a kid who shows up behind — a high ceiling for the top can sit right next to thin support at the bottom, and the score alone won't show you which.
Most rating sites would stop at “77% proficient” and call it done. Thornton deserves a closer read. It sits at the 96th percentile of 2,238 California middle schools — but the ranking is the least interesting thing on this page.
Thornton's low-income kids hit 55.9% 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
Has held the 96th-percentile line every tested year since 2024.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | — | — | — | 77% | 78% |
| Grade 7 | 81% | 84% | 85% | 82% | 79% |
| Grade 8 | 74% | 78% | 80% | 78% | 80% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | — | — | — | 72% | 75% |
| Grade 7 | 78% | 72% | 75% | 74% | 73% |
| Grade 8 | 72% | 64% | 70% | 72% | 76% |
The story this school is actually telling
of students scored in the top band on the state test. The California average is 16.8%.
of students were suspended, versus 3.7% statewide — a school visit will tell you more than this number.
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 holds steady across grades; the floor rises 2.2pp. The state average falls 0.5pp over the same span. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
Thornton's most underrated number
55.9% 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 about the discipline philosophy and what a typical suspension is for. Numbers can't tell you whether a campus feels strict or chaotic — a visit can.
- Ask what typically leads to a suspension, and what happens before it gets there.
- 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 Thornton Middle in Fremont, 55.9% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 48.4% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Thornton Middle outperforms its district average for low-income students by 7.5 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (46.6% Math proficient); Asian students (87.7% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 70.8 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 472 students tested.
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 rises by 5.8pp from grade 6 to grade 8 at this school. District average: +5.3pp.
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
These measure different things: this figure is spending attributed to this campus, while district-wide figures also include central administration, districtwide programs, and the state's pension contributions made on the district's behalf — costs that never get assigned to a single school. The district number runs higher at nearly every school, not just this one.
$135 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 1,972 students, this school is well above the typical California middle school (≈860).
On the state's science test (CAST), 65% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Thornton Middle a good middle school?
What are Thornton Middle's CAASPP test scores?
How does Thornton Middle rank in California?
Is Thornton Middle getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Thornton Middle?
How does Thornton Middle compare to other schools in Fremont?
How does Thornton Middle serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby Middle Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 48
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 69
Nearby High Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 66
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 | 711 | 47% | 31% | 12% | 10% | 78% | +32 |
| Grade 7 | 597 | 50% | 29% | 10% | 11% | 79% | +31 |
| Grade 8 | 664 | 48% | 33% | 10% | 9% | 80% | +34 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 708 | 57% | 19% | 12% | 13% | 75% | +40 |
| Grade 7 | 596 | 59% | 14% | 11% | 16% | 73% | +39 |
| Grade 8 | 662 | 60% | 16% | 11% | 13% | 76% | +44 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 664 | 32% | 33% | 29% | 6% |
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 | 472 | 55.9% | +7 | +18 |
| Asian | 1,400 | 87.7% | +3 | +13 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 208 | 40.9% | +3 | +2 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thornton Middle ← | — | 74 | 53.4% | 76.9% | +1.7 | 7.7% |
| Centerville Middle | 0.7 mi | 59 | 37.9% | 60.9% | −1.6 | 7.3% |
| G. M. Walters Middle | 2.1 mi | 47 | 28.6% | 50.9% | +2.5 | 6.3% |
| Newark Middle | 1.6 mi | 38 | 20.4% | 43.5% | −12.6 | 8.3% |
| California average | — | 43 | 16.8% | 39.3% | +1.5 | 3.7% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 77 | 96 | #87 | 53.3% | 75.7% | 7.3% | 7.7% | +0.6pp |
| 2025 | 74 | 96 | #98 | 53.4% | 76.9% | 6.1% | 7.7% | +1.7pp |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 4.5% | 4.9% | +0.4pp |
| Male | 5.7% | 7.1% | +1.4pp |
| Asian | 1.9% | 2.6% | +0.7pp |
| Black/African American | 15.8% | 17.2% | +1.4pp |
| White | 2.1% | 3.1% | +1.0pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 14.5% | 20.6% | +6.1pp |
| Pacific Islander | 46.7% | 18.8% | -27.9pp |
| Two or More Races | 6.4% | 16.9% | +10.5pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 14.8% | 17.6% | +2.8pp |
| English Learners | 5.3% | 16.1% | +10.8pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 16.3% | 13.8% | -2.5pp |
| All Students | 5.1% | 6.0% | +0.9pp |
| Filipino | — | 4.5% | — |
| Homeless | — | 33.3% | — |
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