Joe Baca, Bloomington CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Joe Baca

Joe Baca is a middle school serving grades 7 and 8 in Bloomington, an unincorporated community in the Inland Empire region of San Bernardino County. The school is part of Colton Joint Unified School District.

The school enrolls a mix of students that is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial share qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body reflects the economic circumstances of Bloomington itself, a place where warehouse logistics have become the dominant employer and housing remains more affordable than elsewhere in California, drawing working families to the area.

On state testing, Joe Baca's proficiency rates are low. In mathematics, fewer than one in six seventh graders and roughly one in eight eighth graders met proficiency standards on the 2024-25 CAASPP assessment. English language arts performance was somewhat higher, with roughly one in four seventh graders and about one in four eighth graders proficient. Science proficiency for eighth graders was similarly low. When these results are combined into an overall proficiency measure across tested subjects and grades, the school ranks in the bottom quartile among schools in San Bernardino County. A parent may want to look into the school's instructional strategies and support systems, particularly in mathematics, to understand what specific supports exist for students who are not meeting grade-level standards and what the pathway looks like for academic growth.

State assessment data for social studies comes from 2012-13, too old to paint a current picture. No data was available on chronic absenteeism, which can be an important indicator of school engagement. English learner enrollment data was not reported.

The district has recently undertaken a significant long-term investment. In November 2024 voters approved a bond measure to fund repairs, modernization, and facility upgrades across aging neighborhood schools. This is the district's first new bond authorization in more than a decade, reflecting the age of many school buildings. For families, this means both a property-tax increase linked to the bond and multi-year improvements to school infrastructure.

Bloomington itself is in transition. The community sits at the center of the nation's largest logistics hub, with Amazon and FedEx facilities anchoring employment along with dozens of distribution warehouses. Simultaneously, major new housing development is underway, and the county has invested in civic amenities including a rebuilt community park and a new library. A large warehouse development project has generated legal challenge, but residential growth continues. For families weighing the school, understanding Joe Baca means understanding that the community is becoming denser and more developed, with housing that remains comparatively affordable and employment centered in logistics and transportation.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 717%

School 17% · District 15% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 812%

School 12% · District 13%

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

English language arts

Grade 722%

School 22% · District 23% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 826%

School 26% · District 27% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Science

Grade 815%

School 15% · District 13% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 837%

School 37% · District 40% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

This schoolColton Joint 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 7Lower-income21%Higher-income35%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income25%Higher-income37%12 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income16%Higher-income25%9 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income12%Higher-income13%1 pp gap