Middle Schools in Chico Unified

Chico Unified has three middle schools—Bidwell Junior High, Chico Junior High, and Marsh (Harry M.) Junior High—all serving grades 6–8, with enrollments from 716 to 1,012 students. In 2025–26, the three schools averaged 55% in ELA and 42% in science, both about 6 percentage points above state results, while their 38% math average was about 1 point below the state. The clearest difference—and the most important finding for comparing these schools—is math: Marsh scored 45%, Bidwell 37%, and Chico 30%, a 15-point spread, with Chico 8 points below the state.

Marsh stands out in math, scoring 8 points above the next-highest school, Bidwell, and 7 points above the state. ELA is a near tie between Marsh at 57.5% and Bidwell at 57.4%; both are about 8 points above the state. Bidwell narrowly leads science at 43.3%, compared with Marsh at 43.0%, and both are about 7 points above the state. Chico has the lowest all-grade result in every subject, but its 51% ELA and 39% science scores remain above state results. Its math score is the notable exception, below the state in all three grades.

Across 2024–25 to 2025–26, the group’s ELA average slipped from 57% to 55%, narrowing its lead over the state from 8 points to 6; its science average fell from 46% to 42%, shrinking its lead from 13 points to 6. In math, the average went from about 1 point above the state to about 1 point below. SchoolDigger ranks Marsh highest among the three at the 75th percentile with 4 stars, followed by Bidwell at the 69th percentile and Chico at the 58th, both with 3 stars; all three percentile rankings were lower than in 2023–24. Student-teacher ratios are 19.7 at Marsh, 22.1 at Chico, and 24.1 at Bidwell. The reported free/reduced lunch eligible measure for 2024–25 is 57% at Marsh, 64% at Chico, and 52% at Bidwell—context that does not by itself explain score differences.