The top reported proficiency rate is 78% in Social studies. The lowest is 67% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Oliver Wendell Holmes Junior High
Oliver Wendell Holmes Junior High serves students in seventh through ninth grade in Davis, a university-oriented city anchored by UC Davis. The school enrolls a student body drawn from Davis's population of highly educated residents and families linked to the university. About half the students are white, roughly a quarter are Asian, and the rest represent a mix of Hispanic, multiracial, and Black backgrounds. A relatively small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the broader composition of the city.
On state assessments in 2024-25, Holmes's overall proficiency across tested subjects placed it in the top quartile when compared to other districts in Yolo County. In math, the school's results rose sharply from seventh to eighth grade, with eighth graders showing stronger proficiency than their younger peers. English language arts proficiency was consistent across seventh and eighth grades. Science proficiency in eighth grade was lower than both math and English, though still a substantial share of students reached proficiency. No trend data across multiple years is available, so whether these results represent recent improvement, stability, or change cannot be determined from the available information.
The school itself is a traditional public junior high of moderate size for its grade band, located on Drexel Drive in Davis. Course access data and detailed program offerings were not available. State assessment data for ninth grade was not included in the reporting, which is typical for ninth-grade coursework that does not align with the state's Smarter Balanced testing window.
Davis as a community is compact, car-light (defined by bicycle infrastructure and walking rather than cars alone), and tightly connected to UC Davis, which drives the local economy and shapes the city's culture of civic engagement and environmental stewardship. The downtown sits immediately adjacent to campus, and most civic and cultural anchors, including Central Park with its year-round farmers market, are walkable or bikeable from residential neighborhoods. Housing values in Davis are well above state and national medians, reflecting the community's desirability and the limited housing supply created by decades of slow-growth policies designed to preserve farmland and agricultural character.
The Davis Joint Unified School District has faced a sustained enrollment decline for more than a decade, with projections of continued loss over the next ten years. This is putting significant pressure on the district's finances, since state funding follows enrollment. In response, the district is actively planning to close or consolidate schools. Under one proposed concept, Patwin Elementary would close in 2028-29, and the district expects a Board decision in spring 2027. Because the city has also pursued slow growth and has limited new single-family housing in recent years, this enrollment pressure extends beyond school budgets: proposed major residential developments are being advanced partly as a means to stabilize student enrollment in the district. For families considering Holmes or weighing where to live in Davis, the potential for school consolidation is a real factor worth discussing directly with the district as plans develop.
In March 2024, voters approved Measure N, a parcel tax that permanently locks in local education funding rather than requiring renewal campaigns every few years. This provides the district with more stable revenue and protects against the cycle of threatened cuts and teacher layoffs that had characterized prior renewals.
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