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What's the biggest difference between North Star Academy and what you expected?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
527
Middle
DISTRICT 604 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·REDWOOD CITY ELEMENTARY·NCES 063213007422
North Star Academy
400 Duane St., Redwood City, CA 94062 · (650) 482-2411 · San Mateo County
GRADES 03–08MIDDLE13-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL527 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 96% of California public middle schools
- A+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- CThree-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
25.9:1
20 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 22.7:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
9%
46 students
DISTRICT 62% · 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 3 | 89 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 93 | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 89 | 17% |
| Grade 6 | 88 | 17% |
| Grade 7 | 86 | 16% |
| Grade 8 | 82 | 16% |
Student demographics
67%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 54% · 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
94.7%
CA avg 49.1% . +2.7pp since 2014
Math
94.8%
CA avg 37.7% . +7.8pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 95 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 95 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 3 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 8 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 71.8% | 22.9% | 4.0% | 1.3% |
| Math | 74.6% | 20.2% | 5.2% | 0.0% |
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 | 94.7% | 94.8% |
| 2023-24 | 94.7% | 95.6% |
| 2022-23 | 96.1% | 95.1% |
| 2021-22 | 94.8% | 94.8% |
| 2018-19 | 96.2% | 95.6% |
| 2017-18 | 95.9% | 95.7% |
| 2016-17 | 92.3% | 92.8% |
| 2015-16 | 93.0% | 93.0% |
| 2014-15 | 92.0% | 87.0% |
% 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of CA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
95.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
74.4%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+20.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 95% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 74% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 21 points, placing it in California's top 10%.
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 North Star Academy
North Star Academy's state test result (95.0% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Star Academy this school | 527 | 8.7% | 95.0% |
| La Entrada Middle Menlo Park | 612 | 6.9% | 84.0% |
| Central Middle San Carlos | 443 | 8.6% | 81.0% |
| Piedmont Middle Piedmont | 575 | 5.7% | 81.7% |
| Joaquin Moraga Intermediate Moraga | 658 | 6.1% | 76.9% |
| Los Cerros Middle Danville | 486 | 5.1% | 69.7% |
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 North Star Academy ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In San Mateo County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 95.0% | #1 of 1,224 | #1 of 26 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 94.8% | #1 of 1,227 no change | #1 of 26 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 94.7% | #2 of 1,227 no change | #1 of 26 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +0.0pp | #845 of 1,214 | #14 of 26 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 527 | #884 of 1,377 | #14 of 26 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 25.9:1 | #1,214 of 1,279 | #25 of 25 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 66.8% | #234 of 1,278 | #6 of 25 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 8.7% | #1,301 of 1,329 | #21 of 26 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -1.7% | #901 of 930 | #20 of 20 |
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
527
0 (0%) vs 2020
+16% since 2000-01, when it was 454
Student : Teacher
25.9:1
was 27.7:1
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 | 527 | 20.3 | 25.9:1 | 9% (46) |
| 2023-24 | 527 | 21.1 | 25.0:1 | 8% (41) |
| 2022-23 | 519 | 19.1 | 27.2:1 | 9% (49) |
| 2020-21 | 527 | 19 | 27.7:1 | 6% (32) |
| 2017-18 | 536 | 20 | 26.8:1 | 8% (44) |
| 2015-16 | 523 | 19 | 27.5:1 | 10% (53) |
| 2010-11 | 540 | N/A | N/A | 14% (78) |
| 2000-01 | 454 | 22 | 20.6:1 | 9% (40) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for North Star Academy.
Since 2017-18: students down 2% (536 to 527); teachers up 2% (20 to 20.3).
About North Star Academy
Redwood City, California, is home to North Star Academy, a low-enrollment middle-grades school. A total of 527 students attend the school, which covers grades 3 through 8. Against the 659-student average for middle schools in California, enrollment here is 20% lower.
North Star Academy is one school in Redwood City Elementary, a system of 12 schools with 6,378 students.
By race and ethnicity, the largest group at North Star Academy is White (50%). Other groups include 20% Asian, 17% multiracial, and 13% Hispanic. The county population is about 38% White. North Star Academy has a diversity index of 67%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
North Star Academy's 20.3 full-time-equivalent teachers put its ratio at 25.9:1. That ratio is over the 20.7:1 average for middle schools in California. Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch make up 9% of enrollment. The gap from the 34% average for public schools in San Mateo County is 25 points.
The allk12 Grade for North Star Academy is A+. Compared with California public middle schools, the school scored higher than 96% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
The BeatsExpectations model predicts 74.4% for North Star Academy, given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The actual figure is 95.0%. The 20.6-point gap ranks in the top 10% of California schools.
Census Bureau estimates for San Mateo County show that median household income is about $158,855, roughly 54% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 4% of residents live below the federal poverty line. North Star Academy is one of 176 public schools in San Mateo County, which together enroll about 82,403 students.
McKinley Institute of Technology is located less than a tenth of a mile from North Star Academy. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. Among 6 nearby schools that report test results, North Star Academy ranks 1st on proficiency.
North Star Academy has an NCES locale of City: Small.
Enrollment went from 527 in 2020-21 to 527 in 2024-25, a change of zero students. The ratio was 27.7:1 in 2020-21 and 25.9:1 in 2024-25.
Threads on this page can be about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
San Mateo County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
742,340
Census ACS
Median income
$158,855
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
54%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
176
82,403 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Redwood City Elementary
- John F. Kennedy MiddleMiddle · 808 students
- Clifford ElementaryElementary · 698 students
- Hoover ElementaryElementary · 675 students
- Roy Cloud ElementaryElementary · 636 students
- Adelante Selby Spanish ImmersionElementary · 582 students
- Orion AlternativeElementary · 512 students
Other schools in Redwood City
- Sequoia HighHigh · 1,854 students
- John F. Kennedy MiddleMiddle · 808 students
- KIPP Excelencia Community PreparatoryElementary · 711 students
- Clifford ElementaryElementary · 698 students
- Hoover ElementaryElementary · 675 students
- Roy Cloud ElementaryElementary · 636 students
Other North Star Academy schools
5 other US public schools in 5 states are named North Star Academy. North Star Academy is the 3rd largest of the 6.
- North Star AcademySutter Creek, CA · 44 students
- North Star AcademyPARKER, CO · 684 students
- NORTH STAR ACADEMYDULUTH, MN · 572 students
- North Star AcademyBluffdale, UT · 522 students
- North Star AcademyCameron, WI · 38 students
Nearby schools
- McKinley Institute of Technology0.0 mi · 476
- Sequoia High0.2 mi · 1,854
- Rocketship Redwood City0.5 mi · 275
- Orion Alternative0.6 mi · 512
- Hoover Elementary1.1 mi · 675
- Redwood High1.1 mi · 175
Frequently asked questions
About North Star AcademyHow many students attend North Star Academy?
North Star Academy enrolls approximately 527 students in grades 03-08.
What age range does North Star Academy serve?
North Star Academy serves students from grade 03 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at North Star Academy?
Approximately 25.9:1 students per teacher at North Star Academy.
How diverse is North Star Academy?
North Star Academy reports a student body of 50% White, 13% Hispanic, 20% Asian, 17% Two or more.
Who oversees North Star Academy?
North Star Academy is overseen by Redwood City Elementary in San Mateo County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.