Ralston Intermediate, Belmont CA

Original Research by School Decision on Ralston Intermediate

Ralston Intermediate is a public middle school serving grades six through eight in Belmont, a residential suburb on the San Francisco Peninsula. The school sits on Ralston Avenue, within the Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary School District, which also serves surrounding communities.

Academic performance across math, English language arts, and science is strong. In English language arts, all three grade levels show proficiency above the range most districts aim for, with the highest performance in grade eight. Math proficiency is solid across grades seven and eight, though sixth-grade performance is notably lower than the upper grades, a pattern that may reflect typical middle school transition challenges or curriculum sequencing. Science proficiency in grade eighth is within a healthy range. Overall, the school's proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to other districts in San Mateo County, indicating that Ralston's test results are among the stronger outcomes the county offers. Only one year of data is available, so trends over time cannot yet be shown.

The school serves about one thousand students across three grades, distributed evenly. The student body is economically advantaged: only a small share qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment is racially diverse, with strong Asian and white representation and meaningful populations of multiracial students and Hispanic students. Data on students with individualized education plans and English learners were not available.

Belmont is a quiet, wooded residential community shaped by topography. The flatter neighborhoods have regular street grids and reasonable walkability, while hillside areas are more scenic and private but less conducive to foot traffic. Downtown life clusters around Belmont Village at the Caltrain station, which provides commuter rail to San Francisco and San Jose. Twin Pines Park, the library, and the station itself anchor civic life. The housing market is expensive: home values and rents are well above state and national benchmarks, reflecting the Peninsula's broader real estate dynamics. Renters spend a substantial share of income on housing.

The district is in the midst of a significant curriculum shift. New math materials aligned with California's 2023 revised mathematics framework were piloted at Ralston beginning in early 2026, with a final adoption decision targeted for spring. Because textbook adoptions typically remain in place for many years, this change will shape the math experience of current and future students. The district also benefits from a voter-approved parcel tax that funds core academic programs, reading specialists, counselors, and libraries, providing a stable local funding source through the coming years.

A parent considering Ralston should expect a school where test results are solid to strong, a student body that skews affluent and diverse, and an academic setting undergoing planned curriculum change in mathematics. The surrounding community is suburban and car-dependent, though transit access exists via Caltrain. Housing costs in the area are substantial, a material factor for any family relocating to Belmont.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 680%

School 80% · District 75% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 50 pts above state median · ▲ 39 pts above county median

Grade 788%

School 88% · District 81% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 58 pts above state median · ▲ 42 pts above county median

Grade 887%

School 87% · District 80% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 59 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 684%

School 84% · District 79% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Grade 789%

School 89% · District 85% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 891%

School 91% · District 86% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 880%

School 80% · District 74% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 54 pts above state median · ▲ 42 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 874%

School 74% · District 74%

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

This schoolBelmont-Redwood Shores 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-income54%Higher-income87%33 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income65%Higher-income91%25 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income71%Higher-income93%22 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income44%Higher-income83%39 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income54%Higher-income91%37 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income65%Higher-income89%24 pp gap