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Denman (James) Middle

Q: Is Denman (James) Middle a good school?

Denman (James) Middle ranks 1892 nd of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

1892^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 31% of California middle schools

Summary

James Denman Middle School is a public school in the San Francisco Unified district serving about 800 students in grades 6 through 8, which has seen a decline in its statewide academic ranking over the last several years.

Academically, the school's test scores in English, Math, and Science are below both district and state averages, with only about a third of students proficient in English. A significant challenge is chronic absenteeism, with 31% of students missing too much school, a rate higher than the state average. While the school receives substantial funding per student, its performance places it in the middle compared to other local middle schools—it outperforms some like Everett Middle and Visitacion Valley Middle but trails behind higher-performing schools such as Aptos Middle and Hoover (Herbert) Middle, which have much better attendance.

The school has a favorable student-to-teacher ratio, but there are notable differences in how student groups perform. For instance, students receiving special education services perform around the state average. Compared to a nearby charter, KIPP Bayview Academy, Denman achieves similar academic results with significantly less funding per student. Performance also varies by grade, with 7th graders doing best in English and 6th graders facing the biggest challenges in Math, suggesting the school is navigating complex urban education dynamics.

807

Students ?

18.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$22,644

Per pupil spending ?

64.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

241 Oneida Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94112-3228

(415) 469-4535

District: San Francisco Unified

Students who attend Denman (James) Middle usually attend:

High:	Academy (The)- SF @McAteer
	Asawa (Ruth) SF School of the Arts A Public School
	Balboa High
	Burton (Phillip and Sala) Academic High
	More...
	Galileo High
	Jordan (June) School for Equity
	Lincoln (Abraham) High
	Lowell High
	Marshall (Thurgood) High
	Mission High
	O'Connell (John) High
	S.F. International High
	Wallenberg (Raoul) Traditional High
	Washington (George) High

Feeder schools for Denman (James) Middle:

Elementary:	Lakeshore Alternative Elementary
	Longfellow Elementary
	Miraloma Elementary
	Sheridan Elementary
	More...
	Sunnyside Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

53.3%

Asian:

25.7%

Two or more races:

7.8%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Denman (James) Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 51st percentile in 2019 → 31st in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (27% vs 41% meeting standards)

!High chronic absenteeism (31% vs 19% California)

!Ranking has slipped from its 51st-percentile peak (2019) to 31st (2025)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school27%

District avg48%

California avg41%

1,892^nd of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 31%▼ down 12 pts since 2015

From bottom 43% (2015) to bottom 31% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

9^th of 13Middle Schools in the San Francisco Unified

679^th of 1,543San Francisco Unified 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	28.2	1892 of 2761	31.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	29.4	1839 of 2783	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	37.6	1536 of 2781	44.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	41.1	1434 of 2740	47.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	44.0	1325 of 2715	51.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	43.4	1275 of 2480	48.6%	★★☆☆☆
2017	43.2	1302 of 2508	48.1%	★★☆☆☆
2016	33.7	1528 of 2497	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2015	37.3	1407 of 2477	43.2%	★★☆☆☆
2013	25.3	1872 of 2379	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	22.6	1850 of 2259	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	24.7	1779 of 2236	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	28.0	1634 of 2179	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	32.2	1410 of 2063	31.7%	★★☆☆☆
2008	38.3	1210 of 2005	39.7%	★★☆☆☆
2007	44.0	1037 of 1999	48.1%	★★☆☆☆
2006	42.6	950 of 1804	47.3%	★★☆☆☆
2005	41.0	980 of 1777	44.9%	★★☆☆☆
2004	47.4	830 of 1769	53.1%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	11.0	598 of 609	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.3	608 of 613	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.0	628 of 637	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	27.9	471 of 643	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	13.7	575 of 600	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	24.0	582 of 739	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.6	589 of 743	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	36.0	502 of 715	29.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	32.6	528 of 733	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	36.5	517 of 745	30.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	35.1	511 of 700	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	26.3	1209 of 1531	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	39.4	760 of 1491	49.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	38.4	735 of 1369	46.3%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	26.8	1385 of 1478	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	44.4	599 of 1521	60.6%	★★★☆☆
2022	51.3	441 of 1540	71.4%	★★★★☆
2019	56.1	338 of 1442	76.6%	★★★★☆
2018	48.2	446 of 1364	67.3%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	28.4	1743 of 2533	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	28.5	1735 of 2551	32.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	41.8	1284 of 2531	49.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	44.7	1200 of 2509	52.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	44.9	1189 of 2380	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	42.2	1231 of 2262	45.6%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	11.1	2278 of 2395	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.7	2276 of 2388	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.7	2132 of 2374	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.7	2107 of 2359	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	15.9	2002 of 2213	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.8	1946 of 2072	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	34.9	318 of 477	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	13.8	382 of 394	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	33.8	217 of 320	32.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	31.0	246 of 336	26.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	23.3	2018 of 2542	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.6	1879 of 2579	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	32.4	1656 of 2531	34.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	34.3	1522 of 2458	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	40.0	1330 of 2369	43.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	39.6	1269 of 2230	43.1%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	27.5	1775 of 2534	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	30.0	1679 of 2552	34.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	32.8	1558 of 2538	38.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	37.4	1415 of 2527	44.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	42.5	1225 of 2407	49.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	44.0	1151 of 2273	49.4%	★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	24.9	558 of 726	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.9	611 of 701	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.7	547 of 677	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.8	486 of 665	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	42.2	747 of 1566	52.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	40.6	760 of 1552	51.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	42.0	723 of 1531	52.8%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	71.9	389 of 1520	74.4%	★★★★☆
2024	75.3	326 of 1537	78.8%	★★★★☆
2023	78.7	260 of 1543	83.1%	★★★★☆
2022	77.0	294 of 1555	81.1%	★★★★☆
2019	82.3	218 of 1602	86.4%	★★★★☆
2018	75.9	339 of 1496	77.3%	★★★★☆

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)

White (2025)74th percentile+43 vs school

Special Education (2025)52nd percentile+21 vs school

Homeless (2025)33rd percentile~ school

Female (2025)31st percentile~ school

Male (2025)30th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2025)23rd percentile-8 vs school

Asian (2025)21st percentile-10 vs school

Disabled (2022)21st percentile-27 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)21st percentile-11 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)6th percentile-28 vs school

Hispanic (2025)5th percentile-27 vs school

African American (2025)2nd percentile-30 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy32%-16 vs state

Mathematics24%-13 vs state

Science17%-15 vs state

★

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Schools Near Denman (James) 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 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	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 5th Grade	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
Denman (James) Middle	Public	6-8	241 Oneida Ave.	San Francisco	94112	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 469-4535	807	44	18.1	64.8%	61 (7.6%)	39 (4.8%)	430 (53.3%)	207 (25.7%)	1 (0.1%)	6 (0.7%)	63 (7.8%)	28.2	1892^nd of 2761 public middle schools	31.5%		29.4	1839^th of 2783 public middle schools	33.9%	53		17.4	17.4		29.1	36.7	31.2	32.3		20.6	28.1	23.5	24.0	$22,644	$2,664	$19,980
Aptos Middle	Public	6-8	105 Aptos Ave.	San Francisco	94127	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 469-4520	911	44	20.7	58.7%	110 (12.1%)	58 (6.4%)	223 (24.5%)	406 (44.6%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	113 (12.4%)	79.2	489^th of 2761 public middle schools	82.3%		80.6	466^th of 2783 public middle schools	83.3%	23		55.1	55.1		56.6	57.4	63.5	59.1		48.0	50.5	56.0	51.5	$20,478	$1,473	$19,005
Visitacion Valley Middle	Public	6-8	1971 Visitacion Ave.	San Francisco	94134	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 469-4590	333	18	18.0	80.8%	4 (1.2%)	21 (6.3%)	204 (61.3%)	60 (18.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (6.6%)	22 (6.6%)	11.9	2553^rd of 2761 public middle schools	7.5%		16	2437^th of 2783 public middle schools	12.4%	116		12.2	12.2		18.7	20.2	22.4	20.6		5.8	9.1	10.1	8.4	$30,722	$3,290	$27,432
Lick (James) Middle	Public	6-8	1220 Noe St.	San Francisco	94114	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 695-5675	479	29	16.4	61.8%	46 (9.6%)	32 (6.7%)	353 (73.7%)	12 (2.5%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	33 (6.9%)	16.8	2362^nd of 2761 public middle schools	14.5%		15.7	2449^th of 2783 public middle schools	12.0%	87		12.5	12.5		30.7	13.9	26.4	23.6		20.9	10.8	13.0	14.9	$25,921	$2,573	$23,348
King Junior (Martin Luther) Academic Middle	Public	6-8	350 Girard St.	San Francisco	94134	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 330-1500	367	23	16.0	77.9%	5 (1.4%)	52 (14.2%)	159 (43.3%)	120 (32.7%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.4%)	26 (7.1%)	23.1	2096^th of 2761 public middle schools	24.1%		28.3	1890^th of 2783 public middle schools	32.1%	206		17.3	17.3		20.9	32.5	32.8	29.6		11.1	21.8	20.8	18.6	$28,683	$2,299	$26,384
Hoover (Herbert) Middle	Public	6-8	2290 14th Ave.	San Francisco	94116	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 759-2783	963	42	23.1	63.2%	72 (7.5%)	21 (2.2%)	286 (29.7%)	522 (54.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	62 (6.4%)	76	564^th of 2761 public middle schools	79.6%		76.6	555^th of 2783 public middle schools	80.1%	9		40.9	40.9		59.1	57.4	60.4	58.9		48.2	51.4	51.0	50.2	$21,096	$2,298	$18,798
Thomas R. Pollicita Middle	Public	6-8	550 East Market St.	Daly City	94014	San Mateo County	Jefferson Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 991-1216	558	28	20.2	46.2%	11 (2.0%)	5 (0.9%)	304 (54.5%)	202 (36.2%)	1 (0.2%)	5 (0.9%)	28 (5.0%)	50	1180^th of 2761 public middle schools	57.3%		37.2	1560^th of 2783 public middle schools	43.9%	380		28.7	28.7		39.8	47.4	54.0	47.1		31.2	35.8	31.6	32.8	$17,586	$2,059	$15,527
KIPP Bayview Academy	Public, Charter	5-8	1060 Key Ave.	San Francisco	94124	San Francisco County	KIPP Bayview Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 467-2522	167	12	13.8	96.4%	2 (1.2%)	58 (34.7%)	83 (49.7%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (10.2%)	6 (3.6%)	31.6	1774^th of 2761 public middle schools	35.7%		19	2301^st of 2783 public middle schools	17.3%	527	9.1	17.0	14.7	18.2	35.3	15.8	36.5	28.8	13.6	31.4	20.5	32.1	26.7	$46,652	$5,316	$41,336
Brown Junior (Willie L) Middle	Public	6-8	2055 Silver Ave.	San Francisco	94124	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 642-8901	363	26	14.0	53.4%	85 (23.4%)	74 (20.4%)	114 (31.4%)	22 (6.1%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.3%)	56 (15.4%)	54.6	1049^th of 2761 public middle schools	62.0%		48.1	1212^th of 2783 public middle schools	56.4%	163		30.0	30.0		49.6	57.6	46.6	51.2		40.5	36.5	22.2	33.5	$28,300	$2,838	$25,462
Benjamin Franklin Intermediate	Public	6-8	700 Stewart Ave.	Colma	94015	San Mateo County	Jefferson Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 991-1202	497	28	17.9	48.3%	40 (8.0%)	7 (1.4%)	236 (47.5%)	191 (38.4%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.2%)	17 (3.4%)	26.5	1940^th of 2761 public middle schools	29.7%		27.8	1909^th of 2783 public middle schools	31.4%	31		15.5	15.5		24.8	31.5	31.6	29.6		17.7	29.5	25.0	24.4	$17,860	$1,982	$15,878

Frequently Asked Questions about Denman (James) Middle

Is Denman (James) Middle a good school?

Denman (James) Middle ranks 1892^nd of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What high school do graduates of Denman (James) Middle attend?

Students who attend Denman (James) Middle usually go on to attend Academy (The)- SF @McAteer

What is the racial makeup of Denman (James) Middle?

Students at Denman (James) Middle are 53% Hispanic, 26% Asian, 8% Two or more races, 8% White, 5% African American.

What district is Denman (James) Middle in?

San Francisco Unified

How many students attend Denman (James) Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 807 students attended Denman (James) 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.