How does Wangenheim Middle compare to other middle schools in San Diego?

Wangenheim Middle has a Scope Score of 53.3/100, ranked #774 among California middle schools. 19% of students exceed standard, with a total of 1,378 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Wangenheim Middle?

19.4% of students at Wangenheim Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 43.2% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Wangenheim Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Wangenheim Middle's proficiency rate decreases by 2.3 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth. This pattern in test scores may reflect a variety of factors beyond the school itself.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at Wangenheim Middle?

21.6% of students at Wangenheim 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.

Wangenheim Middle

Middle School

San Diego Unified San DiegoSan Diego County92126

📍 9230 Gold Coast Drive

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

🌱

Building Momentum

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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

716 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

25:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

60%

Teachers

29 full-time

Dashboard indicators

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

ELA Year-over-Year

Maintained

+0.5 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased

+6.8 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

30.3%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 99 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic36.0%

White11.0%

Asian18.0%

Black5.0%

Other29.9%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Wangenheim Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	19.4%
Met Standard	23.7%
Below Standard	56.8%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Exceeded standard: 19.4%

2.1pp above state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

✓Met or exceeded: 43.2%

3.7pp above state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

✓Baseline proficiency: 43.2%

Above state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

10% weight

✓Suspension rate: 3.5%

0.6pp below state avg (state avg 4.1%)

10% weight

Holding Back

▼Growth (G6→G8): -2.3pp

Scores decline across grades (state avg +0.8pp)

15% weight

▼Chronic absenteeism: 21.6%

2.3pp above state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% 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 "43% proficient" for Wangenheim Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

19.4% of students exceeded standard while 23.7% met it. That exceeded rate is 2.1 points above the state average of 17.3%. That's 5.0 points below the San Diego Unified district average of 24.4%. The 2 nearby schools within ~3 miles average 44.5% exceeded — 25.0 points higher. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Proficiency drops by 2.3 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth — a signal that the school may not be sustaining early gains.

California's Dashboard shows ELA performance maintained and Math increased year-over-year. 30.3% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 21.6%, above the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

19.4%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

43.2%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

-2.3pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

21.6%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

3.5%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

1,378

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	233	20.2%	31.8%	19.7%	28.3%	51.9%
7th	256	23.4%	32.4%	18.0%	26.2%	55.9%
8th	200	17.0%	32.0%	23.0%	28.0%	49.0%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	233	17.2%	15.4%	27.0%	40.3%	32.6%
7th	256	21.9%	16.8%	22.3%	39.1%	38.7%
8th	200	17.0%	14.0%	22.5%	46.5%	31.0%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

▼

Middle

Wangenheim Middle

53.3# in state

This school

▼

High School

Mira Mesa High

78.3# in state

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