Arden Middle, Sacramento CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Arden Middle

Arden Middle is a regular public middle school serving grades six through eight in Sacramento, part of San Juan Unified. The school enrollment is spread across the grade bands, with a student body that is roughly evenly split between white students and students of color, with Hispanic students as the largest single group. About two out of five students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a moderate level of economic need in the school's catchment.

In English language arts, Arden's students show proficiency rates that improve as they advance through the grades, reaching just above half of all students by eighth grade. Mathematics proficiency is notably lower across all three grades, with fewer than one in three students meeting state standards. Eighth grade science proficiency sits at just under one in three. These patterns place Arden in the top quartile for overall proficiency when measured against other schools in Sacramento County, a position that reflects both the school's own results and the broader performance landscape in the county.

The state testing data available covers only the most recent school year, so trends over time are not visible in the current results. The only historical data on file is social studies proficiency from 2013, which is too distant to inform a current picture of the school's trajectory.

San Juan Unified has undergone meaningful changes that affect schools like Arden. In May 2024, the district adopted a strategic plan for 2024 through 2029, placing emphasis on early literacy and mathematics in grades three through eight. This directly shapes what Arden teaches and how. More recently, the district has been implementing a new mathematics curriculum across all grades, with full rollout continuing into the 2026-27 school year. Families should understand that math instruction is in transition as the new materials take hold. Additionally, voters approved a large facilities bond in November 2024, funded through a property tax increase, with money directed toward modernizing classrooms and restrooms, removing hazardous materials, and addressing deferred maintenance through the mid-2050s. This means both a permanent property tax increase for homeowners and a multi-year construction and improvement effort at the school.

Housing in the 95864 zip code, where Arden is located, reflects prices modestly above the state median and an affordability picture where renting is considerably less expensive than buying. The local rental market is tight and rising, while home prices have remained relatively stable year over year.

The school's academic performance, particularly in mathematics, reflects challenges common to many schools in the region, but the improvement slope in English language arts across the grades suggests some instructional momentum. A parent considering Arden would benefit from asking the school directly about implementation of the new math curriculum, supports available for students below proficiency, and how the ongoing facilities improvements are being scheduled to minimize classroom disruption.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 631%

School 31% · District 27% · ▲ 3 pts above district

even with state median · even with county median

Grade 732%

School 32% · District 30% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 25% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 41% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 752%

School 52% · District 43% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 856%

School 56% · District 38% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Science

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 26% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 857%

School 57% · District 51% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

This schoolSan Juan 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 6Lower-income31%Higher-income62%31 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income37%Higher-income66%30 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income42%Higher-income69%27 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income16%Higher-income47%30 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income19%Higher-income45%26 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income22%Higher-income45%23 pp gap