Middle Schools in Fremont Unified

Fremont Unified has five middle schools serving grades 6–8, with enrollment ranging from 1,149 to 1,972 students. In 2025–2026, the schools’ average proficiency was 72% in English language arts (ELA), 67% in math and 59% in science, compared with state averages of 49%, 38% and 36%. Every school was above the state in all three subjects, but the distance between the highest- and lowest-scoring schools reached 29 percentage points in ELA, 39 in math and 37 in science. The key takeaway is that all five schools exceed state averages, but results vary substantially from one school to another.

William Hopkins Middle is the clear leader, with 85% proficient in ELA, 84% in math and 77% in science—16, 21 and 22 points above the average of the other four schools, respectively. G. M. Walters Middle is lowest in each subject, at 56% in ELA, 45% in math and 40% in science; those results are 20, 28 and 25 points below the other schools’ average. Walters is still above state results, but by only 6 points in ELA, 6 in math and 4 in science. Thornton Middle ranks second in ELA, while John M. Horner Middle ranks second in math and science. Centerville Middle ranks fourth in all three subjects.

The group’s advantage over the state narrowed from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026 in every subject: by 3 points in ELA, 1 in math and 3 in science. SchoolDigger rank numbers also worsened for all five schools between 2023–2024 and 2025–2026, including 10 to 36 for Hopkins and 648 to 750 for Walters. Reported free/reduced lunch eligibility for 2024–2025 ranged from 18% at Hopkins to 46% at Walters; these figures are context, not an explanation for score differences. Absenteeism followed a similar high-to-low pattern: 4% at Hopkins and 14% at Walters, compared with 11% districtwide. There are exceptions in the comparisons: Walters has the lowest student–teacher ratio, 20.4, yet the lowest scores, while Thornton has the highest ratio, 25.0. These are descriptive comparisons, and the test-score history covers two years.