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Sam H. Lawson Middle

Public Grades 6-8

18^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 99% of California middle schools

Summary

Sam H. Lawson Middle is a top-ranked public middle school serving about 840 students in grades 6-8 within the high-performing Cupertino Union school district in Cupertino, California.

The school consistently ranks in the top 1% of all California middle schools, with exceptional academic results across English, math, and particularly science, where its proficiency is notably higher than many nearby schools. What truly sets Lawson apart is its outstanding support for all student groups; for example, its English Language Learners rank #3 in the state, and students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds consistently perform in the top 2% statewide. The school also boasts remarkably low chronic absenteeism, around 3.5%, indicating strong student engagement.

Lawson is part of an elite cluster of schools in its district, where Joaquin Miller Middle may have a slight edge in math and John F. Kennedy Middle in English, but Lawson demonstrates the most balanced excellence across all subjects and student subgroups. This sustained, decade-long excellence is achieved efficiently, with per-student spending lower than some neighboring schools like Warren E. Hyde Middle, highlighting effective institutional practices rather than just resource allocation.

841

Students ?

19.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,636

Per pupil spending ?

15.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

10401 Vista Dr.
Cupertino, CA 95014-2081

(408) 255-7500

District: Cupertino Union

Feeder schools for Sam H. Lawson Middle:

Elementary:	C. B. Eaton Elementary
	Garden Gate Elementary
	L. P. Collins Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Asian:

83.6%

White:

6.2%

Two or more races:

5.5%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Sam H. Lawson Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 100th percentile in 2015 → 99th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (87% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 1% of California middle schools

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school87%

District avg82%

California avg41%

18^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Top 1%▬ steady since 2015

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 5Middle Schools in the Cupertino Union

52^nd of 1,543Cupertino Union among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	98.9	18 of 2761	99.3%	★★★★★
2024	99.1	15 of 2783	99.5%	★★★★★
2023	99.3	14 of 2781	99.5%	★★★★★
2022	99.4	10 of 2740	99.6%	★★★★★
2021	99.2	10 of 894	98.9%	★★★★★
2019	98.4	25 of 2715	99.1%	★★★★★
2018	98.8	15 of 2480	99.4%	★★★★★
2017	98.8	18 of 2508	99.3%	★★★★★
2016	98.5	12 of 2497	99.5%	★★★★★
2015	98.7	12 of 2477	99.5%	★★★★★
2013	88.9	107 of 2379	95.5%	★★★★★
2012	92.7	34 of 2259	98.5%	★★★★★
2011	93.7	26 of 2236	98.8%	★★★★★
2010	94.4	24 of 2179	98.9%	★★★★★
2009	93.9	30 of 2063	98.5%	★★★★★
2008	94.3	39 of 2005	98.1%	★★★★★
2007	95.2	35 of 1999	98.2%	★★★★★

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	84.3	62 of 739	91.6%	★★★★★
2024	83.9	59 of 743	92.1%	★★★★★
2023	85.2	39 of 715	94.5%	★★★★★
2022	86.6	34 of 733	95.4%	★★★★★
2019	81.8	83 of 745	88.9%	★★★★☆
2018	84.1	53 of 700	92.4%	★★★★★

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	95.1	51 of 1531	96.7%	★★★★★
2021	97.9	7 of 354	98.0%	★★★★★
2019	90.9	80 of 1491	94.6%	★★★★★
2018	99.0	17 of 1369	98.8%	★★★★★

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	99.8	3 of 1478	99.8%	★★★★★
2023	99.5	7 of 1521	99.5%	★★★★★
2022	100.0	2 of 1540	99.9%	★★★★★
2021	100.0	1 of 363	99.7%	★★★★★
2019	92.3	55 of 1442	96.2%	★★★★★
2018	99.9	7 of 1364	99.5%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	98.8	13 of 2533	99.5%	★★★★★
2024	98.8	14 of 2551	99.5%	★★★★★
2023	99.1	11 of 2531	99.6%	★★★★★
2022	99.1	8 of 2509	99.7%	★★★★★
2021	98.8	10 of 738	98.6%	★★★★★
2019	97.7	28 of 2380	98.8%	★★★★★
2018	98.0	17 of 2262	99.2%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	78.8	347 of 2388	85.5%	★★★★☆
2019	60.1	688 of 2213	68.9%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	98.0	41 of 2542	98.4%	★★★★★
2024	98.0	45 of 2579	98.3%	★★★★★
2023	99.4	10 of 2531	99.6%	★★★★★
2022	99.3	18 of 2458	99.3%	★★★★★
2021	99.5	5 of 721	99.3%	★★★★★
2019	81.1	285 of 2369	88.0%	★★★★☆
2018	98.9	20 of 2230	99.1%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	98.6	26 of 2534	99.0%	★★★★★
2024	98.9	19 of 2552	99.3%	★★★★★
2023	99.1	18 of 2538	99.3%	★★★★★
2022	99.4	14 of 2527	99.4%	★★★★★
2021	99.3	9 of 763	98.8%	★★★★★
2019	98.5	25 of 2407	99.0%	★★★★★
2018	99.1	15 of 2273	99.3%	★★★★★

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	91.6	22 of 726	97.0%	★★★★★
2024	90.6	29 of 701	95.9%	★★★★★
2023	91.6	23 of 677	96.6%	★★★★★
2022	89.2	34 of 665	94.9%	★★★★★

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	85.4	132 of 1566	91.6%	★★★★★
2024	94.0	64 of 1552	95.9%	★★★★★
2023	94.4	59 of 1531	96.1%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	88.5	80 of 1520	94.7%	★★★★★
2024	94.3	20 of 1537	98.7%	★★★★★
2023	87.4	120 of 1543	92.2%	★★★★★
2022	93.0	38 of 1555	97.6%	★★★★★
2019	85.4	160 of 1602	90.0%	★★★★★
2018	90.8	57 of 1496	96.2%	★★★★★

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

English Language Learner (2024)100th percentile~ school

Female (2025)99th percentile~ school

Male (2025)99th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)98th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2025)97th percentile~ school

Disabled (2022)97th percentile-3 vs school

White (2025)95th percentile-5 vs school

Asian (2025)92nd percentile-8 vs school

Special Education (2025)92nd percentile-8 vs school

Hispanic (2024)85th percentile-14 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics88%+51 vs state

English Language Arts/Literacy87%+38 vs state

Science85%+53 vs state

3.5

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★1

4★0

3★0

2★1

1★0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Very stressful school in terms of academics. Lowers student self esteem. PTA is indifferent to the real needs of students. Current principal Kit Bragg seems to suffer from apathy. Close Quote

by a student
Sunday, March 10, 2019

I LOVE IT! Close Quote

Schools Near Sam H. Lawson Middle

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Sam H. Lawson Middle	Public	6-8	10401 Vista Dr.	Cupertino	95014	Santa Clara County	Cupertino Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 255-7500	841	44	19.3	15.2%	52 (6.2%)	6 (0.7%)	31 (3.7%)	703 (83.6%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	46 (5.5%)	98.9	18^th of 2761 public middle schools	99.3%		99.1	15^th of 2783 public middle schools	99.5%	3	85.3	85.3	84.1	86.8	90.1	87.0	85.5	88.4	91.4	88.4	$18,636	$570	$18,066
Warren E. Hyde Middle	Public	6-8	19325 Bollinger Rd.	Cupertino	95014	Santa Clara County	Cupertino Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 252-6290	800	40	19.9	26.3%	93 (11.6%)	3 (0.4%)	95 (11.9%)	550 (68.8%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	56 (7.0%)	97.9	54^th of 2761 public middle schools	98.0%		97.7	68^th of 2783 public middle schools	97.6%	14	71.1	71.1	84.8	82.5	83.5	83.6	83.0	77.1	75.4	78.5	$21,110	$829	$20,281
Marian A. Peterson Middle	Public	6-8	1380 Rosalia Ave.	Sunnyvale	94087	Santa Clara County	Santa Clara Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 423-2800	759	36	21.3	22.0%	123 (16.2%)	8 (1.1%)	229 (30.2%)	350 (46.1%)	5 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	43 (5.7%)	87.9	314^th of 2761 public middle schools	88.6%		88.6	307^th of 2783 public middle schools	89.0%	7	55.0	55.0	65.6	70.0	66.4	67.3	63.6	59.6	53.4	58.8	$28,128	$1,177	$26,951
John F. Kennedy Middle	Public	6-8	821 Bubb Rd.	Cupertino	95014	Santa Clara County	Cupertino Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 253-1525	880	41	21.4	15.7%	85 (9.7%)	2 (0.2%)	38 (4.3%)	698 (79.3%)	1 (0.1%)	4 (0.5%)	52 (5.9%)	99.3	9^th of 2761 public middle schools	99.7%		99.5	8^th of 2783 public middle schools	99.7%	1	79.1	79.1	92.0	91.8	89.5	91.0	90.3	91.3	90.5	90.7	$17,285	$256	$17,029
Cupertino Middle	Public	6-8	1650 South Bernardo Ave.	Sunnyvale	94087	Santa Clara County	Cupertino Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 245-0303	1,067	59	18.0	20.9%	261 (24.5%)	8 (0.7%)	127 (11.9%)	582 (54.5%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	86 (8.1%)	97.2	74^th of 2761 public middle schools	97.3%		98.1	45^th of 2783 public middle schools	98.4%	29	77.8	77.8	76.1	79.0	85.5	80.4	71.8	78.4	81.6	77.5	$19,029	$334	$18,695
Joaquin Miller Middle	Public	6-8	6151 Rainbow Dr.	San Jose	95129	Santa Clara County	Cupertino Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 252-3755	1,067	51	20.8	13.5%	50 (4.7%)	3 (0.3%)	23 (2.2%)	908 (85.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	82 (7.7%)	99.3	11^th of 2761 public middle schools	99.6%		99.6	6^th of 2783 public middle schools	99.8%	5	86.1	86.1	89.0	91.2	89.0	89.8	92.8	92.8	91.0	92.3	$17,178	$234	$16,944
Sunnyvale Middle	Public	6-8	1080 Mango Ave.	Sunnyvale	94087	Santa Clara County	Sunnyvale	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 522-8288	1,053	54	19.4	16.8%	271 (25.7%)	16 (1.5%)	283 (26.9%)	372 (35.3%)	11 (1.0%)	2 (0.2%)	98 (9.3%)	88.8	295^th of 2761 public middle schools	89.3%		86.4	359^th of 2783 public middle schools	87.1%	64	64.2	64.2	63.6	65.3	67.9	65.6	61.8	61.3	61.5	61.5	$22,356	$1,157	$21,199
Moreland Middle	Public	6-8	4600 Student Ln.	San Jose	95130	Santa Clara County	Moreland	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 874-3300	707	41	17.2	38.3%	121 (17.1%)	12 (1.7%)	313 (44.3%)	183 (25.9%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.3%)	70 (9.9%)	75.7	567^th of 2761 public middle schools	79.5%		74.4	601^st of 2783 public middle schools	78.4%	34	44.2	44.2	59.1	61.7	58.0	59.6	50.5	47.6	44.9	47.6	$14,957	$1,193	$13,764
Juan Cabrillo Middle	Public	6-8	2550 Cabrillo Ave.	Santa Clara	95051	Santa Clara County	Santa Clara Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 423-3700	796	46	17.2	26.1%	123 (15.5%)	14 (1.8%)	317 (39.8%)	275 (34.5%)	3 (0.4%)	8 (1.0%)	55 (6.9%)	75.9	565^th of 2761 public middle schools	79.5%		73.1	633^rd of 2783 public middle schools	77.3%	68	50.4	50.4	57.5	56.3	59.6	57.8	42.2	48.7	52.4	48.1	$29,611	$1,207	$28,404
Georgina P. Blach Junior High	Public	7-8	1120 Covington Rd.	Los Altos	94024	Santa Clara County	Los Altos Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 934-3800	388	22	17.5	4.4%	139 (35.8%)	1 (0.3%)	22 (5.7%)	165 (42.5%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (14.7%)	99.1	15^th of 2761 public middle schools	99.5%		99.1	16^th of 2783 public middle schools	99.4%	1	83.5	83.5		89.8	86.5	88.1		92.0	89.6	90.8	$25,635	$395	$25,240

Frequently Asked Questions about Sam H. Lawson Middle

What district is Sam H. Lawson Middle in?

Cupertino Union

What is the racial makeup of Sam H. Lawson Middle?

Students at Sam H. Lawson Middle are 84% Asian, 6% White, 5% Two or more races, 4% Hispanic.

Is Sam H. Lawson Middle a good school?

Yes! Sam H. Lawson Middle is one of the best middle schools in the state. It ranks 18^th of 2761 California middle schools.

How many students attend Sam H. Lawson Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 841 students attended Sam H. Lawson Middle.

Rate Sam H. Lawson Middle!

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.