How does Tierra Linda Middle compare to other middle schools in San Carlos?

Tierra Linda Middle has a SchoolScope composite score of 73.8/100, placing it at the 99th percentile statewide. 57% of students exceed standard, with a total of 888 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Tierra Linda Middle?

56.9% of students at Tierra Linda Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 82.5% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Tierra Linda Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Tierra Linda Middle's proficiency rate increases by 5.3 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 Tierra Linda Middle?

7.1% of students at Tierra Linda 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 our composite score.

Tierra Linda Middle

Middle School

San Carlos Elementary San CarlosSan Mateo County94070

📍 750 Dartmouth Avenue

Composite Score

out of 100

State Percentile

of middle schools

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

⭐

High Ceiling

A high-ceiling school — students here are pushed to exceed, not just meet, the standard.

Composite 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

458 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

20:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

10%

Teachers

23 full-time

Dashboard indicators

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased

+14.6 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased Significantly

+15.5 pts DFS change

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic14.8%

White40.0%

Asian28.8%

Black0.4%

Other15.9%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Tierra Linda Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	56.9%
Met Standard	25.6%
Below Standard	17.5%

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "82% proficient" for Tierra Linda Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

56.9% of students exceeded standard while 25.6% met it. That exceeded rate is 39.5 points above the state average of 17.3%. That's near the San Carlos Elementary district average of 55.7%. Compared to the 3 nearby schools within ~3 miles, this exceeded rate is 11.9 points higher (vs 45.0% average). The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Students here improve by 5.3 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 significantly year-over-year.

Chronic absenteeism is 7.1%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →