Central Middle, San Carlos CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Central Middle

Central Middle is a mid-sized public middle school in San Carlos, a compact Peninsula city with a walkable downtown anchored by Laurel Street and a broader setting of residential neighborhoods. The school enrolls students from across the district's neighborhoods in grades six through eight.

Academically, Central Middle demonstrates strong proficiency across the state's tested subjects. In English language arts, students reached solid proficiency overall, with seventh and eighth graders performing particularly well. Math proficiency was also substantial, with a slight decline as students moved through sixth to eighth grade, a pattern common at the middle level. Science proficiency at eighth grade was also sound. The school's combined proficiency across all tested subjects places it in the top tier among San Mateo County districts. Only one prior year of state assessment data is available in the record, so a longer trend cannot be drawn, but the school's current position on this metric is a strength.

The student body is predominantly white, with meaningful shares of Asian, Hispanic, and multiracial students. Fewer than one in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of economic disadvantage that reflects the broader affluence of San Carlos. The school does not report enrollment data for English learners or students with individualized education programs; these gaps may reflect data collection practices or small numbers in these populations, but a parent seeking detail on these populations may want to contact the school directly.

San Carlos itself is a city of good living with a tight civic culture. Downtown is pedestrian-friendly, with locally owned restaurants and cafes rather than chain retail. The city has invested in converting a block of Laurel Street to a pedestrian mall and is undertaking broader downtown streetscape work. Transportation is anchored by the Caltrain station, which opened in its modern elevated form within the past decade, and the city has built mixed-use development around it. Housing costs are substantial, with median home values well above state and national benchmarks, and rental costs are also high relative to income. For homeowners, this matters because the school district approved a bond measure in March 2024 funded through property taxes, adding a lasting cost per assessed dollar of value.

The school district, San Carlos Elementary, is a TK-8 district operating eight schools across the city's neighborhoods rather than clustering them downtown. Central Middle and a second middle school, Tierra Linda, are sited in residential areas. After eighth grade, students transition to Sequoia Union High School District, with most attending Sequoia High School in Redwood City. The district is currently expanding transitional kindergarten and carrying out facility upgrades from the bond-funded plan. The board has also voted to place a parcel tax renewal measure on the November 2026 ballot, signaling budget pressure and ongoing operational funding challenges that families with school-age children will encounter through their property tax bills.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 683%

School 83% · District 77% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 778%

School 78% · District 81% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Grade 876%

School 76% · District 77% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 48 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 680%

School 80% · District 83% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 789%

School 89% · District 89% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 890%

School 90% · District 89% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 878%

School 78% · District 79% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 877%

School 77% · District 78% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

This schoolSan Carlos 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 7Lower-income67%Higher-income91%24 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income72%Higher-income93%21 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income67%Higher-income79%12 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income39%Higher-income81%42 pp gap