White Hill Middle, Fairfax CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on White Hill Middle

White Hill Middle serves grades six through eight in Fairfax, a small incorporated town in central Marin County with an artistic character, walkable downtown, and strong outdoor culture. The school sits within Ross Valley Elementary School District, a K-8 district shared across Fairfax, San Anselmo, and Sleepy Hollow. White Hill is the only middle school in this configuration, making it the sole option for sixth through eighth graders across the valley's three towns.

The school's enrollment is moderate for its grade band, distributed evenly across three grades. Demographically, the student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Hispanic, multiracial, and Asian students; a small fraction of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, reflecting the broader affluence of the Ross Valley communities. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not available.

Academic proficiency shows a clear strength in English language arts, where students across all three grades perform solidly. Seventh graders stand out particularly in this domain. Math proficiency is lower, hovering in the low-to-mid range across grades six through eight, with performance declining slightly from sixth to eighth grade. Eighth grade science proficiency is moderate. A legacy social studies result from over a decade ago showed strong performance, though current social studies data was not reported. On overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades, White Hill ranks above the midpoint relative to other districts in Marin County. Without multi-year trend data, the stability or direction of these results cannot be assessed.

The broader district context shapes what families should understand about White Hill. Ross Valley faces significant financial pressure. The district ran substantial deficits in recent years after one-time pandemic funding ended and enrollment protections expired, and it receives among the lowest per-pupil funding in Marin County and the state. This fiscal strain directly affects class sizes, elective offerings, and teacher retention. A parcel tax measure failed in May 2025, leaving the funding gap unaddressed. In June 2026, the district placed Measure H on the ballot, seeking both a renewal and increase of local parcel tax support; without it, the district warned of steep cuts including the elimination of middle-school electives, layoffs of physical education teachers, and closure of elementary schools. The outcome of that measure will materially shape what programs and services White Hill can sustain. The district has also adopted a Racial Equity Mission Statement embedded in its board policy, developed collaboratively with staff and parent members.

Housing in the Fairfax zip code is expensive relative to national and state benchmarks. Families considering the area should weigh both the school's academic profile and the district's ongoing financial uncertainty when assessing long-term fit.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 667%

School 67% · District 66%

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 762%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 861%

School 61% · District 61%

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 671%

School 71% · District 71%

▲ 28 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 784%

School 84% · District 84%

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 875%

School 75% · District 75%

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Science

Grade 868%

School 68% · District 68%

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 879%

School 79% · District 78% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

This schoolRoss Valley Elementary, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income46%Higher-income75%29 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income58%Higher-income87%29 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income30%Higher-income82%53 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income71%38 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income29%Higher-income66%37 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income22%Higher-income68%46 pp gap