Summary:
The Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District serves middle school students (grades 6-8) in two schools within its Northern California community, which show a notable performance gap despite similar grade configurations.
Lawrence E. Jones Middle is the higher-performing school, earning 3 stars in state rankings and exceeding district averages in English, math, and science, while Technology Middle receives 0 stars and performs well below district and state averages in all subjects. A key finding is that Technology Middle spends about $3,600 more per student and has smaller classes, yet Lawrence E. Jones achieves significantly stronger academic results, suggesting factors beyond funding and class size are at play.
Chronic absenteeism is much higher at Technology Middle (23.9%) compared to Lawrence E. Jones (16.0%), which likely impacts learning, and both schools see math scores decline from 6th to 8th grade. For parents, this indicates a substantial difference in student outcomes within the same Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified district, with one school consistently outperforming the other in academics and student attendance over several years.
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