SLO Reporter

Paulding Middle School students ranked 179th in California among middle schools, with 3.4 percent of all students meeting English requirements in the 2018-2019 school year, according to the California Department of Education (CDE).

CDE data shows that public school test scores in the state are improving. However, they are improving at a prolonged rate. Consequently, it could take decades to close the achievement gap. The achievement gap refers to the disparities in academic performance associated with race and class. In this case, the disparities between students of the following subgroups: white, Asian, Latino and Black.

In his paper Closing Achievement Gaps, Paul E. Barton, former Director of the Policy Information Center at Educational Testing Services, highlights the importance of closing the gap. "Closing the gap must be more than a one-front operation," Barton said. "Educators must hold themselves responsible and accountable for improving schools when and where we can. We must recognize that the achievement gap has deep roots".

Elisha Smith Arrillaga, Executive Director of the Education Trust-West, states, "I'd say that these results are really a wake-up call, but the phone's been ringing unanswered on this for years. California can't be complacent with results like these".

It is apparent that systemic changes need to be made in order to overcome the achievement gap of California public schools.

Rank	CA Middle School	School District	City	English Test Results
1	Paradise Intermediate School	Paradise Unified	Paradise	100%
2	Oakland SOL Dual Language Middle School	Oakland Unified	Oakland	26.6%
3	Visitacion Valley Middle School	San Francisco Unified	San Francisco	18.3%
4	Nova Opportunity	Twin Rivers Unified	Sacramento	13%
5	Bret Harte Middle School	Oakland Unified	Oakland	12.6%
6	Westlake Middle School	Oakland Unified	Oakland	12.1%
7	Sweetwater Community Day	Sweetwater Union High	Imperial Beach	11.8%
8	Everett Middle School	San Francisco Unified	San Francisco	10.4%
9	Benicia Middle School	Benicia Unified	Benicia	9.5%
10	Cesar Chavez Middle School	Hayward Unified	Hayward	9.4%
11	Katherine Johnson STEM Academy	Los Angeles Unified	Los Angeles	9.3%
12	Lovonya DeJean Middle School	West Contra Costa Unified	Richmond	8.9%
13	Earlimart Community Day	Earlimart Elementary	Earlimart	8.3%
14	Success Academy	Sacramento City Unified	Sacramento	8%
14	Frick Middle School	Oakland Unified	Oakland	8%
16	Francisco Middle School	San Francisco Unified	San Francisco	7.9%
17	Hilliard Comstock Middle School	Santa Rosa High	Santa Rosa	7.5%
18	Mary P. Henck Intermediate School	Rim of the World Unified	Lake Arrowhead	7.4%
19	Kennedy Middle School	El Centro Elementary	El Centro	7.2%
20	Tulare City Community Day	Tulare City	Tulare	7.1%
21	Sisson	Mt. Shasta Union Elementary	Mount Shasta	7%
21	Temecula Middle School	Temecula Valley Unified	Temecula	7%
21	John Muir Middle School	Los Angeles Unified	Los Angeles	7%
21	Maxwell Middle School	Maxwell Unified	Maxwell	7%
21	Pacific Beach Middle School	San Diego Unified	San Diego	7%
26	Aurum Preparatory Academy	Alameda County Office of Education	Oakland	6.7%
27	Helms Middle School	West Contra Costa Unified	San Pablo	6.6%
27	Longfellow Arts and Technology Middle School	Berkeley Unified	Berkeley	6.6%
27	West Oakland Middle School	Oakland Unified	Oakland	6.6%
30	Alpha: Jose Hernandez	Santa Clara County Office of Education	San Jose	6.5%
30	Hillcrest Middle School	Gravenstein Union Elementary	Sebastopol	6.5%
30	Center Middle School	Azusa Unified	Azusa	6.5%
30	Montgomery Middle School	San Diego Unified	San Diego	6.5%
34	Mann Middle School	San Diego Unified	San Diego	6.4%
35	Itliong-Vera Cruz	New Haven Unified	Union City	6.3%
36	Franklin Middle School	Vallejo City Unified	Vallejo	6.2%
37	Albany Middle School	Albany City Unified	Albany	6.1%
38	James Lick Middle School	San Francisco Unified	San Francisco	6%
38	Sequoia Middle School	Conejo Valley Unified	Newbury Park	6%
38	Ridgecrest Intermediate School	Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified	Rancho Palos Verdes	6%
41	Fort Sage Middle School	Fort Sage Unified	Herlong	5.9%
41	John H. Liechty Middle School	Los Angeles Unified	Los Angeles	5.9%
41	Venado Middle School	Irvine Unified	Irvine	5.9%
41	Martin Luther King Jr. Technology Academy	Twin Rivers Unified	Sacramento	5.9%
45	Berendo Middle School	Los Angeles Unified	Los Angeles	5.8%
45	Sal Castro Middle School	Los Angeles Unified	Los Angeles	5.8%
47	Bridges Academy	Franklin-McKinley Elementary	San Jose	5.7%
47	Bernardo Yorba Middle School	Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified	Yorba Linda	5.7%
47	Solano Middle School	Vallejo City Unified	Vallejo	5.7%
50	John F. Kennedy Middle School	Redwood City Elementary	Redwood City	5.6%
50	San Ysidro Middle School	San Ysidro Elementary	San Ysidro	5.6%
50	Baechtel Grove Middle School	Willits Unified	Willits	5.6%
…
1132	Bartlett Middle School	Porterville Unified	Porterville	0.4%
1132	Dean L. Shively	Valle Lindo Elementary	South El Monte	0.4%
1132	Muscatel Middle School	Rosemead Elementary	Rosemead	0.4%
1132	Chaboya Middle School	Evergreen Elementary	San Jose	0.4%
1132	Leona Jackson	Paramount Unified	Paramount	0.4%
1132	Cooper Middle School	Fresno Unified	Fresno	0.4%
1132	Carmenita Middle School	ABC Unified	Cerritos	0.4%
1132	Ralston Intermediate School	Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary	Belmont	0.4%
1132	Stanford Middle School	Long Beach Unified	Long Beach	0.4%
1132	Paramount Park Middle School	Paramount Unified	Paramount	0.4%
1132	Pinon Mesa Middle School	Snowline Joint Unified	Phelan	0.4%
1132	Folsom Middle School	Folsom-Cordova Unified	Folsom	0.4%
1132	Windemere Ranch Middle School	San Ramon Valley Unified	San Ramon	0.4%
1132	Pioneer Middle School	Pioneer Union Elementary	Hanford	0.4%
1132	Harry C. Fulton Middle School	Fountain Valley Elementary	Fountain Valley	0.4%
1132	Harry S. Truman Middle School	Fontana Unified	Fontana	0.4%
1132	Ethel Kucera Middle School	Rialto Unified	Rialto	0.4%
1132	Desert Willow Fine Arts Science and Technology Magnet Academy	Palmdale Elementary	Palmdale	0.4%
1132	Lakeside Middle School	Little Lake City Elementary	Norwalk	0.4%
1132	Firebaugh Middle School	Firebaugh-Las Deltas Unified	Firebaugh	0.4%
1132	Walton Middle School	Compton Unified	Compton	0.4%
1132	Davis Middle School	Compton Unified	Compton	0.4%
1154	Raymond A. Villa Fundamental Intermediate School	Santa Ana Unified	Santa Ana	0.3%
1154	San Jacinto Leadership Academy - Magnet	San Jacinto Unified	San Jacinto	0.3%
1154	Hans Christensen Middle School	Menifee Union Elementary	Menifee	0.3%
1154	Discovery Charter School	Tracy Joint Unified	Tracy	0.3%
1154	Orville Wright Engineering and Design Magnet	Los Angeles Unified	Los Angeles	0.3%
1154	Sequoia Middle School	Fontana Unified	Fontana	0.3%
1154	Richard Henry Dana Middle School	Wiseburn Unified	Hawthorne	0.3%
1154	Southridge Middle School	Fontana Unified	Fontana	0.3%
1154	Environmental Charter Middle - Inglewood	Los Angeles County Office of Education	Inglewood	0.3%
1154	Borel Middle School	San Mateo-Foster City	San Mateo	0.3%
1154	Gerald P. Carr Intermediate School	Santa Ana Unified	Santa Ana	0.3%
1154	Mountain View Middle School	Columbia Elementary	Redding	0.3%
1154	Helen Keller Middle School	Long Beach Unified	Long Beach	0.3%
1154	Westside Preparatory Charter School	Twin Rivers Unified	Rio Linda	0.3%
1154	Jessie Nelson Academy	Long Beach Unified	Signal Hill	0.3%
1154	Slauson Intermediate School	Azusa Unified	Azusa	0.3%
1170	Alliance College-Ready Middle Academy 12	Los Angeles Unified	Los Angeles	0.2%
1170	Serrano Middle School	Ontario-Montclair	Montclair	0.2%
1170	Synergy Kinetic Academy	Los Angeles Unified	Los Angeles	0.2%
1170	Animo Florence-Firestone Charter Middle School	Los Angeles Unified	Los Angeles	0.2%
1170	Crown Preparatory Academy	Los Angeles Unified	Los Angeles	0.2%
1170	Aspire Centennial College Preparatory Academy	Los Angeles Unified	Huntington Park	0.2%
1170	Challenger Middle School	Wilsona Elementary	Lancaster	0.2%
1170	Arcade Fundamental Middle School	San Juan Unified	Sacramento	0.2%
1170	Parkview Middle School	Armona Union Elementary	Armona	0.2%
1170	Fulton and Alsbury Academy of Arts and Engineering	Lancaster Elementary	Lancaster	0.2%
1170	KIPP Sol Academy	Los Angeles Unified	Los Angeles	0.2%
1170	Alliance College-Ready Middle Academy 4	Los Angeles Unified	Los Angeles	0.2%
1182	Melva Davis Academy of Excellence	Adelanto Elementary	Victorville	0.1%