How does William B. Bristow Middle compare to other middle schools in Brentwood?

William B. Bristow Middle has a Scope Score of 47.5/100, ranked #920 among California middle schools. 14% of students exceed standard, with a total of 2,317 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at William B. Bristow Middle?

13.8% of students at William B. Bristow Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 41.1% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is William B. Bristow Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, William B. Bristow Middle's proficiency rate decreases by 3.9 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 William B. Bristow Middle?

14.3% of students at William B. Bristow 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.

William B. Bristow Middle

Middle School

Brentwood Union BrentwoodContra Costa County94513

📍 855 Minnesota Avenue

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

1,236 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

24:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

19%

Teachers

52 full-time

Dashboard indicators

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

ELA Year-over-Year

Maintained

-1.5 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Declined

-7.0 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

19.7%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 71 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic33.2%

White35.2%

Asian7.8%

Black6.4%

Other17.5%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for William B. Bristow Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	13.8%
Met Standard	27.4%
Below Standard	58.9%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Met or exceeded: 41.1%

1.6pp above state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

✓Chronic absenteeism: 14.3%

5.0pp below state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% weight

✓Baseline proficiency: 41.1%

Above state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

10% weight

Holding Back

▼Exceeded standard: 13.8%

3.6pp below state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

▼Growth (G6→G8): -3.9pp

Scores decline across grades (state avg +0.8pp)

15% weight

▼Suspension rate: 8.0%

3.9pp above state avg (state avg 4.1%)

10% 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 "41% proficient" for William B. Bristow Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

13.8% of students exceeded standard while 27.4% met it. That exceeded rate is 3.6 points below the state average of 17.3%. That's 10.0 points below the Brentwood Union district average of 23.8%. The 1 nearby schools within ~3 miles average 21.3% exceeded — 7.5 points higher. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Proficiency drops by 3.9 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 declined year-over-year. 19.7% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 14.3%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

13.8%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

41.1%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

-3.9pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

14.3%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

8.0%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

2,317

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	374	15.0%	35.3%	24.1%	25.7%	50.3%
7th	388	12.9%	37.4%	25.8%	24.0%	50.3%
8th	396	13.1%	34.1%	30.6%	22.2%	47.2%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	374	15.2%	19.0%	35.0%	30.8%	34.2%
7th	388	13.1%	22.2%	28.4%	36.3%	35.3%
8th	397	13.1%	16.4%	21.4%	49.1%	29.5%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Marsh Creek Elementary

53.1# in state

Also serves area

Loma Vista Elementary

▼

Middle

William B. Bristow Middle

47.5# in state

This school

▼

High School

No feeder data available for this level

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