Westborough Middle, South San Francisco CA

Original Research by School Decision on Westborough Middle

Westborough Middle serves grades six through eight in South San Francisco, a city anchored by the biotechnology industry but still carrying its industrial heritage and a strong residential presence. The school sits on a suburban campus that is separate from the walkable Downtown core, which is now the focus of redevelopment around the Caltrain station.

The school enrolls about half a thousand students, with a student body that is majority Asian, followed by a substantial Hispanic population, and a smaller share of white students. About a quarter of the enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The school reports no Title I status, though that information was not available in all our data.

On state assessments, Westborough's proficiency picture is mixed. In English language arts across all three grades, the school shows moderate strength, with students in seventh grade performing noticeably higher than those in sixth or eighth grade. The sixth-grade proficiency rate in ELA sits in the mid-to-upper range, while eighth grade drops back down somewhat. In mathematics, performance is weaker. Sixth graders show the lowest proficiency, seventh grade improves modestly, and eighth grade marks the highest point in the math progression, but even that performance sits below the ELA trend. In eighth-grade science, proficiency matches the eighth-grade math result. Overall, the school's proficiency index sits above the midpoint among districts in San Mateo County, so Westborough is performing better than many of its neighboring districts, though the data reflects a student body where less than half meet grade-level standards in mathematics.

The district has made two significant changes that shape the environment at Westborough. Voters approved Measure T, a school improvement bond, which has already funded upgrades to fields and pavement at this school. The district also reorganized its middle school math curriculum, moving the enrollment window for accelerated math from seventh to eighth grade and offering pathways for students to take Algebra 1 in eighth grade so they can reach Geometry as high school freshmen. This shift away from earlier acceleration is intentional pedagogy, not a performance gap, and families should understand it as part of a deliberate approach to pacing.

South San Francisco itself is experiencing substantial residential growth centered in Downtown and mixed-use neighborhoods. The city's biotech economy and major employers like Genentech, Amgen, and AbbVie shape the economic fabric. Housing values are high, reflecting the Bay Area context. The city offers parks, trails, library services, and transit access through BART and Caltrain, though the school sits on a separate suburban campus away from the pedestrian-oriented Downtown.

The most useful conversation a parent might have with the school would focus on the math curriculum change and how it affects their child's pathway, the current state of sixth-grade ELA and math proficiency, and what support structures exist for students working toward grade-level performance in mathematics.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 31% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

Grade 749%

School 49% · District 37% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 35% · ▲ 18 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 657%

School 57% · District 45% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

Grade 764%

School 64% · District 47% · ▲ 17 pts above district

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

Grade 860%

School 60% · District 45% · ▲ 15 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 30% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 873%

School 73% · District 63% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

This schoolSouth San Francisco 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-income44%Higher-income63%19 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income42%Higher-income71%29 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income48%Higher-income64%17 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income30%Higher-income50%20 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income44%Higher-income50%6 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income50%Higher-income55%5 pp gap