Thunder Mountain Middle School

Thunder Mountain Middle School is a grades 7–8 middle school in Juneau, AK, serving 574 students in the Juneau Borough School District — a school that ranks in the bottom third of Alaska middle schools, with no other schools within 20 miles to compare against directly.

For the 2025–2026 school year, Thunder Mountain received 1 out of 5 stars and ranked 66th out of 90 Alaska middle schools. The school's clearest strength is mathematics: 36.31% of students are proficient in math, which is above both the district (34.97%) and the state (32.20%). This is especially noticeable in 7th grade, where math proficiency reaches 37.19% compared to 32.34% statewide. English language arts (ELA) is a weaker area, with only 29.66% proficiency — nearly 6 points below the district and more than 3 points below the state. Science shows the largest gap: 34.05% of 8th graders are proficient versus 40.30% in the district and 37.81% statewide. Across both tested grades, 8th graders tend to score lower than 7th graders in ELA and math, suggesting that students may struggle more as they approach the end of middle school.

Behind these averages, the school serves some student groups more effectively than others. Military-connected students rank especially well — at the 73rd percentile statewide with 4 stars — while white students sit near the state median. Asian, Hispanic, and multi-racial students all rank below the 30th percentile, though the school shows no meaningful gender-based achievement gap, with female and male students receiving nearly identical rankings. With limited historical data available, these results should be viewed as a single-year snapshot. The bottom line for parents: Thunder Mountain offers solid math instruction and serves military-connected families exceptionally well, but there is clear room for growth in ELA and science, especially for 8th graders.