Abbott Middle, San Mateo CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Abbott Middle

Abbott Middle is a sixth-through-eighth-grade public school in San Mateo, part of the San Mateo-Foster City School District. It sits in a city that is genuinely urban by Peninsula standards: a compact, walkable downtown anchored by Central Park, three Caltrain stations, and a mix of mid-rise condos and residential streets, with San Francisco International Airport a short distance to the north. Home values and rents here are well above the California statewide benchmark and far above the national one, placing the local housing market among the most expensive in the country. A new bond measure is publicly reported to be headed for the June 2026 ballot, which, if approved, would add to property taxes for homeowners in the district.

The student body at Abbott skews heavily Hispanic, with white and Asian students each representing meaningful but smaller shares, and multiracial students adding further diversity. More than half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, making this one of the more economically mixed schools on the Peninsula given its wealthy surroundings. Data on English learners and students with IEPs were not available in what was provided.

On state assessments, Abbott's results are reported grade by grade through the California CAASPP and CAST. In English language arts, proficiency rates across the three middle school grades cluster in the low-to-mid forties for sixth and seventh grade, with eighth grade somewhat lower. Math proficiency runs in the upper twenties to low thirties across all three grades. Eighth-grade science proficiency, measured by the CAST, lands in a similar range to math. Placed against the districts in San Mateo County, Abbott's overall proficiency index falls in the bottom quartile of the comparison set. These are the measures as reported; a parent who wants to understand what's driving the numbers, and what the school is doing in response, would want to ask the school directly.

One district-level change that bears directly on Abbott families is the math sequence reform publicly reported to have taken effect in 2021. The district moved away from an early-acceleration track in sixth grade toward a single heterogeneous math class for all students, an equity-driven decision that drew vocal parent opposition at the time. The pathway to Algebra by eighth grade still exists, and publicly reported figures show that Algebra enrollment has grown considerably districtwide since the change. Families who were counting on a separately tracked accelerated track in sixth grade should know that structure no longer exists here.

The district also passed a general obligation bond measure in late 2020, and facilities work funded by it has included major renovations at another district middle school. That bond adds to property taxes over a multi-year span. The district is simultaneously dealing with sustained enrollment decline and a projected budget gap for the current school year, with administrative reductions planned and a parcel tax set to expire in the next few years. The combination of declining enrollment and tightening finances is worth watching for any family making a longer-term decision about the district.

Trend data for Abbott covers only a single year of CAASPP results, so there is no multi-year trajectory to evaluate. Whether proficiency at the school has been moving in any direction is simply not visible from what was provided. Social studies data in the payload dates to more than a decade ago under a now-discontinued state assessment and is too dated to be useful as a current benchmark. A graduation rate does not apply here, since Abbott serves only middle school grades.

The setting itself suits families who value a walkable, transit-connected city life. San Mateo's downtown is genuinely pedestrian-friendly, with dining, library access, and Caltrain commuting within easy reach of residential neighborhoods. Growth in the city is trending toward higher-density mixed-use development near downtown and transit hubs rather than suburban expansion, which shapes both the housing stock and the street environment around the school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 627%

School 27% · District 47% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 729%

School 29% · District 48% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 49% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 56% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Grade 744%

School 44% · District 57% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Grade 837%

School 37% · District 56% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Science

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 42% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 63% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

This schoolSan Mateo-Foster City, 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-income23%Higher-income71%48 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income24%Higher-income74%51 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income20%Higher-income65%45 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income11%Higher-income50%39 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income10%Higher-income57%47 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income13%Higher-income58%45 pp gap