Emilie J. Ross Middle, Hughson CA

Original Research by School Decision on Emilie J. Ross Middle

Emilie J. Ross Middle is a regular public middle school serving grades six through eight in Hughson, a small agricultural community in the Central Valley southeast of Modesto. The school sits on a suburban campus on the east side of town along East Whitmore Avenue, part of a district that operates five sites across the area.

The school enrolls a modest population for a middle school, with roughly equal cohorts across the three grades. The student body reflects the community's composition: just over half the students identify as Hispanic, with white students making up most of the remainder. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing many families in the lower-to-middle income range. Data on students with individualized education plans and English learners was not available.

Academic performance on California state tests shows mixed terrain. In English language arts across all grades, proficiency sits in the mid-range, with seventh grade performing modestly better than sixth and eighth. Math proficiency lags ELA noticeably, running a few percentage points below ELA at each grade level. Eighth grade science proficiency is notably low. The school's overall proficiency index—the mean across tested subjects and grades—places it above the midpoint among the county's district schools, a positioning that reflects some strength relative to peers, though the underlying numbers show substantial room for growth across all subjects.

State testing data shows only the current year, so no trend line is available to see whether performance is moving, stable, or changing direction. Social studies results from an older assessment cycle are not current enough to characterize the school's present standing in that subject.

Hughson itself is a place in transition. Founded as a farming community and still rooted in agriculture, the town has roughly doubled in population in recent years and is planning significant new residential development. Housing values in the zip code are moderate for the state. The area has a compact historic downtown with some street life centered on local restaurants and shops, though most daily activity is car-dependent. Schools sit apart from the downtown core. The district recently passed a major facilities bond, approved by voters in late 2024, to address aging infrastructure—replacing roofs, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems; improving security; adding classrooms to relieve overcrowding; and replacing an over-fifty-year-old agricultural science building at the high school. That bond will raise local property taxes for families in the district over the repayment period.

The school offers at least one athletic program, track and field. Beyond that, program details and course offerings were not available in the accessible data. A parent or resident wanting to understand the full range of extracurricular options, academic pathways, or support services would benefit from visiting the school's website or contacting the district directly.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 634%

School 34% · District 33% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 743%

School 43% · District 43%

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 33%

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 637%

School 37% · District 36% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 749%

School 49% · District 48%

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

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 48%

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

Science

Grade 819%

School 19% · District 19%

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

Social studies

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 55%

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

This schoolHughson 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-income30%Higher-income50%20 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income39%Higher-income68%29 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income42%Higher-income56%14 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income24%Higher-income52%28 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income31%Higher-income67%36 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income26%Higher-income41%15 pp gap