Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High, Davis CA

Original Research by School Decision on Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High

Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High sits in Davis, a university town where UC Davis anchors the economy and civic life. The school serves seventh through ninth grade and enrolls a student body that is majority white with a substantial Hispanic population and a notable Asian population. About a tenth of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

The school's proficiency results show uneven performance across subjects. In seventh-grade English language arts, students met proficiency at a rate above what is common, while seventh-grade math ran somewhat lower. Eighth grade tells a different story: proficiency in English language arts dropped meaningfully, and eighth-grade math fell further still. Science proficiency in eighth grade sat notably below performance in the core academic subjects. Across all grades tested, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to districts in Yolo County, though readers comparing to the state as a whole should know that county positioning reflects a particular subset of peer districts and does not speak to how the school compares statewide.

The pattern suggests a steeper academic challenge in the middle-to-upper grades of junior high, and a parent may want to investigate whether the school has identified the causes and what support structures exist for students struggling in eighth and ninth grade. The grade-level data show gains from seventh to eighth in language arts and math are not holding; understanding why and what the school's response has been would be worth discussing directly with administration.

The school operates in a town shaped by deliberate growth restraint and a car-free downtown culture built around cycling. Davis has preserved a compact feel centered on its university, and most of the city's major employers and institutions cluster there. Housing prices are higher than the state median, and rents are above the national typical, making affordability a real consideration for families. The city's civic infrastructure leans heavily on bike infrastructure, the year-round farmers market in Central Park, and the Amtrak station; most errands citywide do require a car despite bike-friendly design.

At the district level, families should know that Davis Joint Unified is navigating sustained enrollment decline and has begun formal planning for potential school consolidations or closures. The district projects losing students over the next decade and is evaluating concepts that could close or merge schools as early as the 2028-29 school year. A district decision is expected in spring 2027. The district did secure permanent local parcel tax funding through Measure N in 2024, which provides locally controlled revenue for academics and teacher retention without the renewal cycle that previously threatened periodic cuts. For families choosing where to live or which school to attend, the enrollment trajectory and consolidation planning are material factors worth monitoring.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 772%

School 72% · District 65% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

Grade 862%

School 62% · District 62%

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

English language arts

Grade 775%

School 75% · District 72% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 868%

School 68% · District 66% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 854%

School 54% · District 58% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 882%

School 82% · District 78% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

This schoolDavis 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-income47%Higher-income81%34 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income36%Higher-income80%43 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income40%Higher-income79%39 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income28%Higher-income76%48 pp gap