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What do you wish you knew before starting at Thornton Middle?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,972
Middle
DISTRICT 1,523 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·FREMONT UNIFIED·NCES 061440001687
Thornton Middle
4357 Thornton Ave., Fremont, CA 94536 · (510) 793-9090 · Alameda County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE12-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL1,972 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
25.1:1
79 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 23.5:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
24%
475 students
DISTRICT 33% · 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 6 | 716 | 36% |
| Grade 7 | 594 | 30% |
| Grade 8 | 662 | 34% |
Student demographics
40%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 49% · 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
79.0%
CA avg 49.1% . +8.0pp since 2014
Math
74.9%
CA avg 37.7% . +2.9pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 79 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 75 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 8 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 3 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 48.2% | 30.7% | 10.8% | 10.2% |
| Math | 58.5% | 16.4% | 11.5% | 13.6% |
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 | 79.0% | 74.9% |
| 2023-24 | 78.9% | 72.7% |
| 2022-23 | 82.5% | 72.1% |
| 2021-22 | 81.2% | 68.3% |
| 2018-19 | 77.2% | 75.1% |
| 2017-18 | 77.3% | 78.1% |
| 2016-17 | 75.8% | 74.4% |
| 2015-16 | 73.0% | 73.0% |
| 2014-15 | 71.0% | 72.0% |
% 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
76.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
65.4%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+10.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 76% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 65% 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 Thornton Middle
Thornton Middle's state test result (76.3% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thornton Middle this school | 1,972 | 24.1% | 76.3% |
| John M. Horner Middle Fremont | 1,574 | 23.2% | 78.7% |
| Chaparral Middle Diamond Bar | 1,349 | 24.6% | 81.2% |
| William Hopkins Middle Fremont | 1,424 | 18.0% | 87.1% |
| Eleanor Murray Fallon Dublin | 1,683 | 10.8% | 81.0% |
| Suzanne Middle Walnut | 1,190 | 24.5% | 68.4% |
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 Thornton Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Alameda County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 76.3% | #68 of 1,224 | #7 of 46 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 74.9% | #59 of 1,227 ▲ 5 | #7 of 46 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 79.0% | #81 of 1,227 ▼ 5 | #9 of 46 ▼ 2 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +2.2pp | #604 of 1,214 | #16 of 45 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,972 | #1 of 1,377 | #1 of 51 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 25.1:1 | #1,176 of 1,279 | #48 of 49 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 40.1% | #816 of 1,278 | #41 of 49 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 24.1% | #1,190 of 1,329 | #39 of 50 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +47.9% | #11 of 257 | #5 of 17 |
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
1,972
+694 (+54%) vs 2020
+156% since 1990-91, when it was 770
Student : Teacher
25.1:1
was 25.1:1
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 | 1,972 | 78.6 | 25.1:1 | 24% (475) |
| 2023-24 | 1,854 | 73.2 | 25.3:1 | 20% (364) |
| 2022-23 | 1,302 | 50.5 | 25.8:1 | 17% (227) |
| 2020-21 | 1,278 | 51 | 25.1:1 | 17% (220) |
| 2017-18 | 1,333 | 54.9 | 24.3:1 | 16% (209) |
| 2015-16 | 1,207 | 49 | 24.6:1 | 22% (260) |
| 2010-11 | 975 | N/A | N/A | 21% (204) |
| 2000-01 | 705 | 31 | 22.7:1 | 21% (146) |
| 1990-91 | 770 | 36 | 21.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Thornton Middle.
Since 2017-18: students up 48% (1,333 to 1,972); teachers up 43% (54.9 to 78.6).
About Thornton Middle
Thornton Middle is a middle-grades school with a street address in Fremont, California. The school teaches grades 6 through 8 and enrolls 1,972 students. That puts enrollment 199% bigger than the 659-student average for middle schools in California.
Thornton Middle belongs to Fremont Unified, a district of 43 schools and 33,073 students.
About 76% of the student body at Thornton Middle is Asian. The remaining students are 11% Hispanic, 7% White, and 4% multiracial. Among people living in Alameda County, the Asian share is about 33%. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 40%.
Thornton Middle has 78.6 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff and a student-to-teacher ratio of 25.1:1. The school's 25.1:1 compares with an average of 20.7:1 for middle schools in California. The school has 24% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That is lower than the 49% average for public schools in Alameda County.
In California, Thornton Middle is in the middle band of BeatsExpectations: 76.3% actual against a predicted 65.4%.
Census data for Alameda County show the median household earns about $129,367 a year, roughly 52% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Counting Thornton Middle, Alameda County has 394 public schools.
Of the public schools around it, Thornton Middle is closest to Oliveira Elementary, about 0.3 miles away. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Nearby schools average 62.2% on proficiency, and Thornton Middle is above that at 76.3%.
For locale, NCES codes Thornton Middle as City: Mid-size.
Thornton Middle had 1,278 students in 2020-21 and 1,972 in 2024-25, according to federal records. Those counts may cover different grade spans.
The discussion board for Thornton Middle is open to topics like special education services, counseling, and support programs. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Alameda County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,649,473
Census ACS
Median income
$129,367
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
52%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
394
210,511 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Fremont Unified
- American HighHigh · 2,618 students
- Irvington HighHigh · 2,157 students
- Washington HighHigh · 1,957 students
- Mission San Jose HighHigh · 1,794 students
- John M. Horner MiddleMiddle · 1,574 students
- Centerville MiddleMiddle · 1,495 students
Other schools in Fremont
- American HighHigh · 2,618 students
- Irvington HighHigh · 2,157 students
- Washington HighHigh · 1,957 students
- Mission San Jose HighHigh · 1,794 students
- John M. Horner MiddleMiddle · 1,574 students
- Centerville MiddleMiddle · 1,495 students
Other Thornton Middle schools
2 other US public schools in 3 states are named Thornton Middle. Thornton Middle is the largest of the 3.
- Thornton Middle SchoolKATY, TX · 1,424 students
- Thornton Middle SchoolTHORNTON, CO · 721 students
Nearby schools
- Oliveira Elementary0.3 mi · 496
- American High0.5 mi · 2,618
- Cabrillo Elementary0.6 mi · 275
- Centerville Middle0.8 mi · 1,495
- Brookvale Elementary0.8 mi · 428
- Patterson Elementary0.9 mi · 558
Frequently asked questions
About Thornton MiddleHow many students attend Thornton Middle?
Thornton Middle enrolls approximately 1,972 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Thornton Middle serve?
Thornton Middle serves grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at Thornton Middle?
Approximately 25.1:1 students per teacher at Thornton Middle.
How diverse is Thornton Middle?
Thornton Middle reports a student body of 7% White, 11% Hispanic, 1% Black, 76% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Thornton Middle in?
Thornton Middle is part of Fremont Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.