Washington Academic Middle, Sanger CA

Original Research by School Decision on Washington Academic Middle

Washington Academic Middle is a mid-sized middle school in Sanger, serving seventh and eighth grades. The school sits on the former site of Sanger High School, in a community where growth is accelerating along the west side and new housing developments are being announced by builders.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino, with about three-quarters of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment spans both grades nearly equally. The school's recent state test results show proficiency in the mid-range for the county. In English language arts across both grades, about forty-five percent of students scored at or above the proficiency benchmark. Math results were lower: roughly thirty percent of seventh graders and thirty-four percent of eighth graders met proficiency. Science, measured in eighth grade only, showed about thirty percent proficiency. When those results are averaged together, the school sits in the top quartile of proficiency among districts in Fresno County, a position that reflects performance above the county median.

The school's strengths lie in English proficiency, where it performs solidly, and in its position relative to other county schools. Math and science are areas where proficiency is below half the cohort, and a parent may want to look into what supports or interventions the school is deploying in those subjects. The most recent multi-year trend data available spans only the current school year, so longer-term patterns cannot be assessed from the information at hand.

The locale is a small agricultural valley town experiencing suburban growth. Housing costs are moderate for the region. Sanger's downtown retains a walkable core with local restaurants and shops, though the Walk Score reflects uneven walkability across the city. The school district operates twenty schools serving a substantial student population. District-specific initiatives or recent bond measures were not found during research, so readers interested in the district's current priorities or capital plans may want to contact the district office directly.

The school environment data around discipline, attendance, and staffing were not available in the records reviewed, and enrollment counts for English learners and students with individualized education programs were not reported. These are areas a prospective parent might ask the school about directly to understand the full picture of support structures and peer composition.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 35% · ▼ 5 pts below district

even with state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 38% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 746%

School 46% · District 51% · ▼ 6 pts below district

even with state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 845%

School 45% · District 50% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 831%

School 31% · District 34% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 860%

School 60% · District 63% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

This schoolSanger 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-income39%Higher-income62%22 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income39%Higher-income67%28 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income42%Higher-income58%16 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income31%Higher-income59%28 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income26%Higher-income42%16 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income32%Higher-income44%12 pp gap