Sycamore Middle, Gridley CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Sycamore Middle

Sycamore Middle serves sixth through eighth grade in Gridley, a small agricultural town in Butte County's Sacramento Valley. The school sits within a compact community defined by farming heritage, walkable downtown blocks, and single-family residential streets shaded by mature trees. Gridley itself is in active growth, with multiple housing developments underway as families relocate to the area drawn by affordability and regional housing shortages following area disasters. The housing market reflects this modest uptick, with median home values and mortgage costs below state benchmarks. Property owners here are also carrying a lasting tax obligation from a 2022 school bond to upgrade Gridley High School facilities, a consideration for families weighing a move to the district.

The school enrolls a modest population, split nearly evenly across its three grade levels. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial white population and small representation from other racial groups. About three-quarters of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a signature feature of economic context at this school.

Sycamore Middle's state test results show mixed performance. In English language arts, students are performing near or slightly above the midpoint of what middle schools in Butte County report: sixth graders show weaker results, but seventh and eighth graders are closer to median proficiency. Mathematics tells a different story. Across all three grades, math proficiency lags the county median, with sixth grade particularly low. Eighth-grade science results are also below county medians. These gaps suggest that the school faces real instructional challenges, especially in quantitative reasoning across the grades. A parent may want to look into what supports or interventions the school has in place for students struggling with math.

The school's overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile among Butte County schools, a result lifted by stronger ELA showing. This positioning reflects uneven strengths rather than uniform excellence: the school does better with language work than with problem-solving and computation.

No data were available on chronic absenteeism, special education enrollment, or English learner populations at this school. Staffing, course offerings, and discipline records were also absent from the available records. These gaps mean a prospective parent should reach out directly to the school to understand class sizes, support staff, behavior policies, and whether the school offers any electives or enrichment programming in middle grades.

Sycamore Middle is a regular public school without charter or magnet designation, serving its community as the sole middle school in a district that includes two elementary schools and a high school. The district recently expanded Transitional Kindergarten eligibility as part of state-mandated phase-in, meaning families with young children have access to an additional year of public preschool by 2025-26. The broader Gridley community offers walkable shopping, civic anchors including parks and the library near the downtown, and connections to neighboring Chico via public transit. For families drawn to a small-town setting with affordable housing and close-knit schools, Sycamore fits that profile. For families prioritizing strong math instruction, the test results warrant a closer conversation with the school about remediation and support structures.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 624%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 735%

School 35% · District 35%

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 35%

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 44%

even with state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 753%

School 53% · District 53%

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

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 52%

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Science

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 33%

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 40%

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

This schoolGridley Unified, 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-income34%Higher-income68%34 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income48%Higher-income68%20 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income52%Higher-income55%4 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income15%Higher-income48%33 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income31%Higher-income46%15 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income32%Higher-income45%13 pp gap