Middle Schools in Westside Union Elementary

The Westside Union Elementary area has two middle schools, Hillview Middle and Joe Walker Middle, both serving grades 6–8. Sixth-grade ELA and math results stand out: both schools are well above state rates, with proficiency of 84% in ELA and 69% in math at Hillview, and 93% and 73% at Joe Walker, versus 48% and 37% statewide. Results are much lower in later grades; for example, eighth-grade math is 31% at Hillview and 15% at Joe Walker, compared with 36% statewide. Across all grades, the two-school average is below the state in every subject—by 4 points in ELA and about 10 points each in math and science.

Hillview is the stronger all-grade performer, leading Joe Walker by 11 points in ELA, 15 in math, and 11 in science in 2025–2026. Hillview’s rates are 51% in ELA, 36% in math, and 32% in science; it is 2 points above the state in ELA, though below in math and science. Joe Walker’s rates are 40%, 21%, and 21%, respectively—9 points below the state in ELA, 18 in math, and 15 in science. SchoolDigger also ranks Hillview higher: the 58th percentile and 3 stars, compared with Joe Walker’s 31st percentile and 2 stars.

All-grade results fell at both schools from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, while state results rose in all three subjects. The two-school averages declined by about 2 points per subject; state results rose by less than 1 point in ELA, 1 in math, and 3 in science. Hillview’s math result was nearly unchanged, while Joe Walker fell 4 points in both math and science. Other differences offer context, not explanations: Hillview enrolls 1,100 students versus Joe Walker’s 781, and their 2024–2025 student-teacher ratios were 24.6 and 23.7. Both report free/reduced lunch eligible (FRL) for 2024–2025: 53% at Hillview and 59% at Joe Walker. Chronic absenteeism is also lower at Hillview, at 14% versus 22% at Joe Walker.