How does Willard Middle compare to other middle schools in Berkeley?

Willard Middle has a SchoolScope composite score of 68.5/100, placing it at the 95th percentile statewide. 50% of students exceed standard, with a total of 1,122 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Willard Middle?

50.1% of students at Willard Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 76.5% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at Willard Middle?

8.9% of students at Willard 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.

Willard Middle

Q: Is Willard Middle improving or declining?

Willard Middle's proficiency rate increases by 6.5 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth, suggesting the school is adding value over time.

Middle School

Berkeley Unified BerkeleyAlameda County94705

Composite Score

out of 100

State Percentile

of middle schools

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

School overview

Enrollment

578 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

17:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

25%

Teachers

35 full-time

Dashboard indicators

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased Significantly

+19.2 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased

+11.8 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

27.8%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 18 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic19.4%

White43.4%

Asian10.0%

Black10.7%

Other16.4%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Willard Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	50.1%
Met Standard	26.4%
Below Standard	23.5%

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "77% proficient" for Willard Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

50.1% of students exceeded standard while 26.4% merely met it. That exceeded rate is 32.8 points above the state average of 17.3%. That's 7.2 points above the Berkeley Unified district average of 42.9%. Compared to the 5 nearby schools within ~3 miles, this exceeded rate is 9.5 points higher (vs 40.6% average). The gap between "met" and "exceeded" is the difference between a school that clears the bar and one that raises it.

Students here improve by 6.5 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 significantly and Math increased year-over-year. 27.8% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 8.9%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

50.1%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

76.5%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

+6.5pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

8.9%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

3.3%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

1,122

Across all grades & subjects

Grade trajectory

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	186	44.6%	33.9%	11.3%	10.2%	78.5%
7th	170	45.3%	32.9%	14.1%	7.7%	78.2%
8th	207	53.1%	30.4%	9.2%	7.3%	83.6%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	185	48.6%	21.1%	16.2%	14.1%	69.7%
7th	168	50.0%	21.4%	17.3%	11.3%	71.4%
8th	206	59.2%	18.4%	11.2%	11.2%	77.7%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Zoned

Zoned

Sylvia Mendez Elementary

58.080th pctile

Zoned

Malcolm X Elementary

57.279th pctile

Zoned

Oxford Elementary at West Camp…

67.091st pctile

Zoned

Thousand Oaks Elementary

61.885th pctile

Zoned

Washington Elementary

63.988th pctile

Zoned

Rosa Parks Environmental Scien…

Zoned

Zoned

Zoned

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Middle

Willard Middle

68.595th pctile

This school

▼

High School

Berkeley High

73.794th pctile

Zoned

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