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Parents: what's one thing you'd want the Petaluma Junior High administration to hear?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
454
Middle
DISTRICT 353 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PETALUMA JOINT UNION HIGH·NCES 063025004724
Petaluma Junior High
700 Bantam Way, Petaluma, CA 94952 · (707) 778-4724 · Sonoma County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL454 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 31% of California public middle schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C-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
19.1:1
24 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 24.4:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
45%
203 students
DISTRICT 49% · 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 | 227 | 50% |
| Grade 8 | 227 | 50% |
Student demographics
56%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 58% · 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
51.8%
CA avg 49.1% . -13.2pp since 2014
Math
35.0%
CA avg 37.7% . -12.0pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 52 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 35 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 13 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 12 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 14.7% | 37.1% | 25.3% | 22.9% |
| Math | 16.0% | 18.9% | 28.5% | 36.5% |
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 | 51.8% | 35.0% |
| 2023-24 | 42.4% | 32.1% |
| 2022-23 | 51.9% | 32.6% |
| 2021-22 | 56.5% | 34.9% |
| 2020-21 | 53.8% | 39.8% |
| 2018-19 | 56.5% | 40.4% |
| 2017-18 | 56.1% | 40.4% |
| 2016-17 | 61.9% | 48.7% |
| 2015-16 | 67.0% | 50.0% |
| 2014-15 | 65.0% | 47.0% |
% 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
40.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
53.3%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-13.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 40% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 53% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 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 Petaluma Junior High
Petaluma Junior High's state test result (40.3% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petaluma Junior High this school | 454 | 44.7% | 40.3% |
| Paulding Middle Arroyo Grande | 544 | 45.8% | 52.2% |
| Herbert C. Green Middle Placerville | 363 | 49.9% | 28.5% |
| Shorecliffs Middle San Clemente | 634 | 43.8% | 50.3% |
| College Preparatory Middle Spring Valley | 397 | 42.8% | N/A |
| Joan MacQueen Middle Alpine | 405 | 36.8% | 36.8% |
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 Petaluma Junior High ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Sonoma County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 40.3% | #510 of 1,224 | #10 of 21 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 35.0% | #496 of 1,227 ▲ 17 | #9 of 21 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 51.8% | #454 of 1,227 ▲ 145 | #10 of 21 ▲ 2 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -2.3pp | #183 of 1,214 | #7 of 21 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 454 | #1,007 of 1,377 | #6 of 23 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.1:1 | #337 of 1,279 | #13 of 18 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 55.7% | #533 of 1,278 | #11 of 18 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 44.7% | #997 of 1,329 | #10 of 22 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -29.2% | #132 of 930 | #2 of 15 |
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
454
-41 (-8%) vs 2020
-32% since 1990-91, when it was 672
Student : Teacher
19.1:1
was 20.6:1
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 | 454 | 23.7 | 19.1:1 | 45% (203) |
| 2023-24 | 428 | 22.6 | 18.9:1 | 45% (192) |
| 2022-23 | 451 | 22 | 20.5:1 | 41% (185) |
| 2020-21 | 495 | 24 | 20.6:1 | 40% (196) |
| 2017-18 | 641 | 29.3 | 21.9:1 | 29% (185) |
| 2015-16 | 638 | 29 | 22.0:1 | 36% (228) |
| 2010-11 | 642 | N/A | N/A | 31% (202) |
| 2000-01 | 810 | 37 | 21.9:1 | 11% (88) |
| 1990-91 | 672 | 31 | 21.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Petaluma Junior High.
Since 2017-18: students down 29% (641 to 454); teachers down 19% (29.3 to 23.7).
About Petaluma Junior High
Petaluma Junior High is classified as a middle-grades school. It is located in Petaluma, California. The school enrolls 454 students, from grades 7 through 8. An average school in this group (middle schools in California) has about 659 students.
In Petaluma Joint Union High, 11 schools enroll a combined 4,900 students.
Petaluma Junior High is 56% White by enrollment. Smaller groups are 35% Hispanic, 5% multiracial, and 2% Asian. Petaluma Junior High's diversity index is 56%, against a US figure of 70%.
The school employs the equivalent of 23.7 full-time teachers, for a ratio of 19.1:1. That is lower than the 20.7:1 average for middle schools in California. The free or reduced-price lunch share, often used to gauge student poverty, is 45%.
Measured against California public middle schools, Petaluma Junior High receives a C. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 53.3% for Petaluma Junior High. The school posts 40.3%, 13.1 points below the prediction.
Sonoma County has about 485,040 residents, and the median household income is $104,674, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 39% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 5%. In all, Sonoma County has 184 public schools and roughly 63,389 students.
The shortest distance from Petaluma Junior High to another public school is about 0.3 miles, to Valley Vista Elementary. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. The nearest schools with test data average 50.7%, higher than Petaluma Junior High's 40.3%.
NCES describes the area around Petaluma Junior High as City: Small, meaning inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
The school enrolled 454 students in 2024-25, 41 fewer than the 495 it had in 2020-21. The student-to-teacher ratio went down from 20.6:1 to 19.1:1.
The Petaluma Junior High community page is open for posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Sonoma County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
485,040
Census ACS
Median income
$104,674
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
184
63,389 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Petaluma Joint Union High
- Casa Grande HighHigh · 1,653 students
- Petaluma HighHigh · 1,193 students
- Kenilworth Junior HighMiddle · 812 students
- Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry ValleyElementary · 494 students
- Petaluma Accelerated CharterMiddle · 115 students
- San Antonio High (Continuation)High · 65 students
Other schools in Petaluma
- Casa Grande HighHigh · 1,653 students
- Petaluma HighHigh · 1,193 students
- Kenilworth Junior HighMiddle · 812 students
- Heartwood CharterCombined · 739 students
- Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry ValleyElementary · 494 students
- Loma Vista Immersion AcademyElementary · 451 students
Nearby schools
- Valley Vista Elementary0.3 mi · 155
- Petaluma High0.7 mi · 1,193
- Carpe Diem High (Continuation)0.8 mi · 19
- South County Consortium0.8 mi · 129
- Mary Collins Charter School at Cherry Valley0.8 mi · 494
- McNear Elementary1.3 mi · 343
Frequently asked questions
About Petaluma Junior HighHow large is Petaluma Junior High?
Petaluma Junior High enrolls approximately 454 students in grades 07-08.
What age range does Petaluma Junior High serve?
Petaluma Junior High serves students from grade 07 through grade 08.
How many teachers does Petaluma Junior High have?
Petaluma Junior High employs 24 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 19.1:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Petaluma Junior High?
At Petaluma Junior High, the student body is approximately 56% White, 35% Hispanic, 0% Black, 2% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Is Petaluma Junior High public or private?
Petaluma Junior High is a public K-12 school, overseen by Petaluma Joint Union High.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.