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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at West Cottonwood Junior High?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
419
Middle
DISTRICT 459 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·COTTONWOOD UNION ELEMENTARY·NCES 060999001086
West Cottonwood Junior High
20512 West First St., Cottonwood, CA 96022 · (530) 347-3123 · Shasta County
GRADES 05–08MIDDLE41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL419 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 48% 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.
- CBeats 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
19.6:1
21 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.4:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
51%
212 students
DISTRICT 47% · STATE 65%
Community
5
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 5 | 110 | 26% |
| Grade 6 | 101 | 24% |
| Grade 7 | 119 | 28% |
| Grade 8 | 89 | 21% |
Student demographics
53%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 48% · 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
School pathway
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Cottonwood Union Elementary. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
51.8%
CA avg 49.1% . +9.8pp since 2014
Math
35.8%
CA avg 37.7% . +7.8pp 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 36 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 10 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 | 17.0% | 34.8% | 27.6% | 20.6% |
| Math | 15.2% | 20.6% | 29.4% | 34.8% |
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% | 35.8% |
| 2023-24 | 50.1% | 34.0% |
| 2022-23 | 48.8% | 35.0% |
| 2021-22 | 47.4% | 37.2% |
| 2020-21 | 51.4% | 43.8% |
| 2018-19 | 46.3% | 44.1% |
| 2017-18 | 46.3% | 43.2% |
| 2016-17 | 46.8% | 34.7% |
| 2015-16 | 46.0% | 30.0% |
| 2014-15 | 42.0% | 28.0% |
% 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
42.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
49.9%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-7.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 43% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 50% 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 West Cottonwood Junior High
West Cottonwood Junior High's state test result (42.8% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Cottonwood Junior High this school | 419 | 50.6% | 42.8% |
| Los Osos Middle Los Osos | 494 | 51.4% | 57.3% |
| Evergreen Middle Cottonwood | 399 | 55.9% | 47.9% |
| Toyon Middle Valley Springs | 522 | 56.1% | 16.6% |
| Herbert C. Green Middle Placerville | 363 | 49.9% | 28.5% |
| McKinleyville Middle McKinleyville | 302 | 53.3% | 27.7% |
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 West Cottonwood Junior High ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Shasta County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 42.8% | #461 of 1,224 | #1 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 35.8% | #484 of 1,227 ▼ 13 | #1 of 7 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 51.8% | #453 of 1,227 ▼ 14 | #1 of 7 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +1.5pp | #679 of 1,214 | #6 of 7 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 419 | #1,060 of 1,377 | #3 of 8 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.6:1 | #408 of 1,279 | #5 of 7 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 52.5% | #613 of 1,278 | #5 of 7 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 50.6% | #935 of 1,329 | #6 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +4.2% | #153 of 257 | N/A |
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
419
+13 (+3%) vs 2020
+1% since 1990-91, when it was 413
Student : Teacher
19.6:1
was 18.4:1
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 | 419 | 21.4 | 19.6:1 | 51% (212) |
| 2023-24 | 395 | 22.6 | 17.5:1 | 52% (204) |
| 2022-23 | 384 | 23.1 | 16.6:1 | 48% (185) |
| 2020-21 | 406 | 22 | 18.4:1 | 50% (205) |
| 2017-18 | 402 | 19.1 | 21.1:1 | 52% (211) |
| 2015-16 | 392 | 18 | 21.8:1 | 52% (205) |
| 2010-11 | 350 | N/A | N/A | 41% (143) |
| 2000-01 | 565 | 29 | 19.5:1 | 55% (313) |
| 1990-91 | 413 | 19 | 21.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for West Cottonwood Junior High.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (402 to 419); teachers up 12% (19.1 to 21.4).
About West Cottonwood Junior High
West Cottonwood Junior High is a small middle school for students in Cottonwood, California. The school offers grades 5 through 8 and enrolls 419 students. Across middle schools in California, the average enrollment is about 659.
Across its 2 schools, Cottonwood Union Elementary enrolls 917 students. West Cottonwood Junior High is one of those schools.
White students are 65% of those enrolled at West Cottonwood Junior High. The remaining shares are 21% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, and 6% Native American. Census estimates put the White share of Shasta County's population at about 78%. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 53%.
The school's 21.4 full-time-equivalent teachers translate to a student-to-teacher ratio of 19.6:1. The average for middle schools in California is 20.7:1, so this school has fewer students per teacher. At West Cottonwood Junior High, 51% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25.
West Cottonwood Junior High holds a B- allk12 Grade, placing it above 48% of California public middle schools.
In California, West Cottonwood Junior High is in the middle band of BeatsExpectations: 42.8% actual against a predicted 49.9%.
Five-year Census Bureau estimates for Shasta County show that median household income comes to about $72,636, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 24%, and roughly 8% of residents are in poverty. Across Shasta County, 95 public schools serve about 26,639 students.
Measured in a straight line, Cottonwood Creek Charter is about 0.7 miles from West Cottonwood Junior High. The five-mile area around West Cottonwood Junior High holds at least 8 other public schools. Nearby schools with test data average 39.2% proficiency; West Cottonwood Junior High posts 42.8%.
West Cottonwood Junior High is coded as Rural: Fringe in federal locale data.
Enrollment was 419 in 2024-25. In 2020-21, it was 406. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 18.4:1 to 19.6:1.
People who know West Cottonwood Junior High can post here about open houses, carpools, and field trips. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Shasta County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
181,436
Census ACS
Median income
$72,636
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
95
26,639 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Cottonwood Union Elementary
- North CottonwoodElementary · 498 students
- Cottonwood PreschoolElementary
Other schools in Cottonwood
- West Valley Early College HighHigh · 736 students
- Evergreen ElementaryElementary · 541 students
- North CottonwoodElementary · 498 students
- Evergreen MiddleMiddle · 399 students
- Cottonwood Creek CharterElementary · 294 students
- Evergreen Institute of ExcellenceCombined · 184 students
Nearby schools
- Cottonwood Creek Charter0.7 mi · 294
- North Cottonwood1.3 mi · 498
- Evergreen Elementary2.7 mi · 541
- Evergreen Middle2.8 mi · 399
- Evergreen Community Day School (5-8)2.8 mi · 3
- Evergreen Institute of Excellence2.8 mi · 184
Frequently asked questions
About West Cottonwood Junior HighHow many students attend West Cottonwood Junior High?
West Cottonwood Junior High enrolls approximately 419 students in grades 05-08.
What grades does West Cottonwood Junior High serve?
West Cottonwood Junior High serves grades 05-08.
How many students per teacher at West Cottonwood Junior High?
Approximately 19.6:1 students per teacher at West Cottonwood Junior High.
How diverse is West Cottonwood Junior High?
West Cottonwood Junior High reports a student body of 65% White, 21% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Who oversees West Cottonwood Junior High?
West Cottonwood Junior High is overseen by Cottonwood Union Elementary in Shasta County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.