1
What's the one class at Helms Middle every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
558
Middle
DISTRICT 499 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WEST CONTRA COSTA UNIFIED·NCES 063255005034
Helms Middle
2500 Road 20, San Pablo, CA 94806 · (510) 233-3988 · Contra Costa County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL558 STUDENTS
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 3% of California public middle schools
- FTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- FBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- B-Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded California public middle schools
Student : Teacher
22.1:1
25 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 22.4:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
82%
457 students
DISTRICT 66% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 7 | 257 | 46% |
| Grade 8 | 301 | 54% |
Student demographics
24%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
11.2%
CA avg 49.1% . -14.8pp since 2014
Math
6.6%
CA avg 37.7% . -5.4pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 11 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 7 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are down about 15 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 5 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 1.5% | 9.6% | 17.7% | 71.2% |
| Math | 0.8% | 5.9% | 17.3% | 76.1% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 11.2% | 6.6% |
| 2023-24 | 10.0% | 4.8% |
| 2022-23 | 10.0% | 4.6% |
| 2021-22 | 10.9% | 2.8% |
| 2018-19 | 22.3% | 6.8% |
| 2017-18 | 20.3% | 7.2% |
| 2016-17 | 18.5% | 9.9% |
| 2015-16 | 23.0% | 13.0% |
| 2014-15 | 26.0% | 12.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of CA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
8.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
31.6%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-23.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 8% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 32% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Helms Middle
Helms Middle's state test result (8.1% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helms Middle this school | 558 | 81.9% | 8.1% |
| Ruth O. Harris Middle Bloomington | 562 | 85.9% | 18.2% |
| Jane Addams Middle Lawndale | 644 | 84.6% | 48.8% |
| Vernon Middle Montclair | 580 | 85.9% | 34.3% |
| Nicolas Junior High Fullerton | 539 | 82.6% | 30.1% |
| Los Tules Middle Tulare | 569 | 84.9% | 26.8% |
Matched among California middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Helms Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Contra Costa County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 8.1% | #1,217 of 1,224 | #38 of 39 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 6.6% | #1,199 of 1,227 ▲ 10 | #40 of 42 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 11.2% | #1,220 of 1,227 ▲ 1 | #41 of 42 ▲ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +2.1pp | #615 of 1,214 | #25 of 42 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 558 | #838 of 1,377 | #33 of 44 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 22.1:1 | #827 of 1,279 | #20 of 43 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 23.9% | #1,007 of 1,278 | #42 of 43 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 81.9% | #492 of 1,329 | #9 of 40 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -44.0% | #16 of 930 | #1 of 35 |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
558
-211 (-27%) vs 2020
-42% since 1990-91, when it was 970
Student : Teacher
22.1:1
was 22.6:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 558 | 25.2 | 22.1:1 | 82% (457) |
| 2023-24 | 579 | 26 | 22.3:1 | 96% (556) |
| 2022-23 | 591 | 30.4 | 19.5:1 | 64% (376) |
| 2020-21 | 769 | 34 | 22.6:1 | 94% (723) |
| 2017-18 | 997 | 36 | 27.7:1 | 93% (925) |
| 2015-16 | 985 | 41 | 24.0:1 | 93% (918) |
| 2010-11 | 964 | N/A | N/A | 90% (869) |
| 2000-01 | 1,318 | 61 | 21.6:1 | 82% (1,085) |
| 1990-91 | 970 | 55 | 17.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Helms Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 44% (997 to 558); teachers down 30% (36 to 25.2).
About Helms Middle
Helms Middle, a small middle-grades school, is located in San Pablo, California. Enrolled students number 558 students, in grades 7 through 8.
West Contra Costa Unified, which runs Helms Middle, has 52 schools and 25,133 students.
Hispanic students make up 87% of enrollment at Helms Middle. Other students are 5% Black and 5% Asian. That is higher than the 28% Hispanic share among all Contra Costa County residents. The school's diversity index is 24%, meaning two students picked at random have a 24% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The school reported 25.2 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25 and a ratio of 22.1:1. The school has more students per teacher than the 20.7:1 average for middle schools in California. Eligible students account for 82% of enrollment in the free or reduced-price lunch program. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Contra Costa County is 45%.
allk12 grades Helms Middle an F. The grade compares the school only with California public middle schools, because each state gives its own test.
The school's average proficiency rate on state tests, 8.1%, is 23.4 points below the 31.6% the model predicts from its free or reduced-price lunch share. That result is in the bottom 10% of California schools.
Federal survey data for Contra Costa County show that the median household income is $127,229, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 45% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 6%. Contra Costa County is home to 280 public schools and about 167,423 public school students.
Middle College High is the public school closest to Helms Middle, about 0.5 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Helms Middle ranks 8th of 8 on average proficiency.
Helms Middle is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more, a location NCES labels Suburb: Large.
Federal data show a 27% enrollment decrease, from 769 in 2020-21 to 558 in 2024-25.
Discussions about Helms Middle may include science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Contra Costa County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,165,012
Census ACS
Median income
$127,229
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
45%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
280
167,423 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in West Contra Costa Unified
- El Cerrito HighHigh · 1,460 students
- Richmond HighHigh · 1,280 students
- Pinole Valley HighHigh · 1,245 students
- De Anza HighHigh · 1,047 students
- Hercules HighHigh · 767 students
- John F. Kennedy HighHigh · 740 students
Other schools in San Pablo
- Caliber: Beta AcademyElementary · 971 students
- Montalvin Manor ElementaryElementary · 474 students
- Dover ElementaryElementary · 458 students
- Vista Independent Study / Virtual AcademyCombined · 420 students
- Edward M. Downer ElementaryElementary · 388 students
- Lake ElementaryElementary · 350 students
Nearby schools
- Middle College High0.5 mi · 294
- Dover Elementary0.7 mi · 458
- Ford Elementary0.8 mi · 371
- Highland Elementary0.8 mi · 377
- Richmond High0.8 mi · 1,280
- Vista Independent Study / Virtual Academy0.9 mi · 420
Frequently asked questions
About Helms MiddleHow large is Helms Middle?
Helms Middle enrolls approximately 558 students in grades 07-08.
Is Helms Middle an elementary, middle, or high school?
Helms Middle is a middle school covering grades 07-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Helms Middle?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Helms Middle is approximately 22.1:1 (25 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Helms Middle?
At Helms Middle, the student body is approximately 2% White, 87% Hispanic, 5% Black, 5% Asian, 1% Two or more.
What district is Helms Middle in?
Helms Middle is part of West Contra Costa Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.