Middle Schools in Milpitas Unified

The two middle schools in Milpitas Unified serve grades 7–8, and both post 2025–2026 proficiency rates well above California’s in English, math, and science. Across the two schools, the average advantage over the state is about 25 percentage points in each subject. The most important finding is that both schools are performing strongly relative to state results.

Thomas Russell Middle leads, while Rancho Milpitas Middle has the lower results of the pair—but still exceeds the state in every subject. Russell records 76% in English, 68% in math, and 64% in science; Rancho records 72%, 60%, and 57%, respectively. Russell’s lead is widest in math, at 8 percentage points, compared with 7 in science and 5 in English. The lead also appears in each provided grade-level comparison, with the largest gap in grade 7 math: 10 points. SchoolDigger awards both schools five stars and ranks Russell in the 94th statewide percentile and Rancho in the 90th.

Recent results show mixed movement rather than a consistent rise or fall: science improved at both schools from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, by 3 points at Russell and 2 at Rancho, while English declined at both; math dipped by 1 point at Russell but rose by 1 at Rancho. SchoolDigger’s percentiles have edged down from 96th to 94th for Russell and from 92nd to 90th for Rancho, though both remain highly ranked. Russell is larger and has a higher student–teacher ratio—761 students and 23.1 compared with 693 and 21.2 at Rancho—yet its test results are higher; these figures describe a contrast, not a cause. For 2024–2025, free/reduced lunch eligible shares were 39% at Russell and 44% at Rancho. In 2025–2026, chronic absenteeism was 9% at Russell and 10% at Rancho, both below the state’s 18%.