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Downtown Charter Academy

Public, Charter Grades 6-8

145^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 95% of California middle schools

Summary

Downtown Charter Academy is a high-performing public charter middle school serving 305 students in grades 6-8 in Oakland, California, consistently ranking among the top schools in the state.

The school stands out for its exceptional academic results, significantly outperforming both state and local averages in English, Math, and Science, while serving a student population where a majority qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. A key differentiator is its remarkably low chronic absenteeism rate of 3.9%, which is far lower than nearby schools like Westlake Middle (37.2%) or Roosevelt Middle (35.9%), and is a likely contributor to its success. The school is particularly effective in supporting English Language Learners and students from low-income families, achieving these outcomes with per-student spending that is comparable to or lower than many neighboring schools in the Oakland Unified district.

Downtown Charter Academy demonstrates that a school can achieve elite outcomes regardless of student demographics, creating a stark contrast with most other middle schools in its immediate area. Its consistent, high performance across all grades and its stable improvement over time suggest a sustainable and effective educational model. While another high-performing school like Lincoln Middle in Alameda Unified exists nearby, Downtown Charter's success with a higher-need population highlights the importance of school culture, targeted support, and effective teaching practices in driving student achievement.

305

Students ?

21.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

75.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2000 Dennison St.
Oakland, CA 94606-5201

(510) 535-1580

District: Downtown Charter Academy District

Racial breakdown:

Asian:

76.1%

Hispanic:

13.1%

African American:

7.9%

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At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 89th percentile in 2019 → 95th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (74% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 5% of California middle schools

✓Ranking is trending up — up 6 percentile points since 2019

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school74%

California avg41%

145^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Top 5%▲ up 6 pts since 2019

From top 11% (2019) to top 5% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

54^th of 1,543Downtown Charter Academy District among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	95.2	145 of 2761	94.7%	★★★★★
2024	94.5	171 of 2783	93.9%	★★★★★
2023	92.3	226 of 2781	91.9%	★★★★★
2022	92.3	216 of 2740	92.1%	★★★★★
2019	88.1	304 of 2715	88.8%	★★★★☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	73.4	214 of 739	71.0%	★★★★☆
2024	70.0	242 of 743	67.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	65.0	292 of 715	59.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	57.1	369 of 733	49.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	59.4	353 of 745	52.6%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	91.7	47 of 1478	96.8%	★★★★★
2023	98.4	18 of 1521	98.8%	★★★★★
2022	97.3	18 of 1540	98.8%	★★★★★
2019	79.7	128 of 1442	91.1%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	94.2	147 of 2533	94.2%	★★★★★
2024	93.2	176 of 2551	93.1%	★★★★★
2023	92.1	195 of 2531	92.3%	★★★★★
2022	90.9	216 of 2509	91.4%	★★★★★
2019	85.6	307 of 2380	87.1%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	59.5	773 of 2395	67.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	39.1	1335 of 2388	44.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	59.9	723 of 2374	69.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	65.8	590 of 2359	75.0%	★★★★☆
2019	61.8	651 of 2213	70.6%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	98.8	26 of 2542	99.0%	★★★★★
2024	98.6	34 of 2579	98.7%	★★★★★
2023	97.3	53 of 2531	97.9%	★★★★★
2022	96.4	56 of 2458	97.7%	★★★★★
2019	96.8	38 of 2369	98.4%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	94.8	141 of 2534	94.4%	★★★★★
2024	93.4	179 of 2552	93.0%	★★★★★
2023	90.8	228 of 2538	91.0%	★★★★★
2022	92.1	197 of 2527	92.2%	★★★★★
2019	87.2	297 of 2407	87.7%	★★★★☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)99th percentile+4 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)97th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2025)94th percentile~ school

Female (2025)94th percentile~ school

Asian (2025)71st percentile-24 vs school

Hispanic (2025)68th percentile-27 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy77%+29 vs state

Mathematics74%+37 vs state

Science60%+27 vs state

★

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Schools Near Downtown Charter Academy

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Downtown Charter Academy	Public, Charter	6-8	2000 Dennison St.	Oakland	94606	Alameda County	Downtown Charter Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 535-1580	305	14	21.9	75.4%	2 (0.7%)	24 (7.9%)	40 (13.1%)	232 (76.1%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.0%)	95.2	145^th of 2761 public middle schools	94.7%		94.5	171^st of 2783 public middle schools	93.9%	26	59.6	59.6	78.9	82.7	70.2	77.4	72.5	84.7	66.0	74.4
Roosevelt Middle	Public	6-8	1926 19th Ave.	Oakland	94606	Alameda County	Oakland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 879-3212	512	34	15.2	97.3%	8 (1.6%)	88 (17.2%)	239 (46.7%)	140 (27.3%)	3 (0.6%)	5 (1.0%)	28 (5.5%)	17.7	2329^th of 2761 public middle schools	15.6%		19.5	2281^st of 2783 public middle schools	18.0%	48	13.4	13.4	25.7	16.4	20.1	20.8	18.8	18.1	19.6	18.9	$29,229	$26,426	$2,803
Urban Promise Academy Middle	Public	6-8	3031 East 18th St.	Oakland	94601	Alameda County	Oakland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 879-5236	392	23	17.3	98.0%	6 (1.5%)	12 (3.1%)	353 (90.1%)	11 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.6%)	11.2	2583^rd of 2761 public middle schools	6.4%		15.9	2441^st of 2783 public middle schools	12.3%	142	7.5	7.5	15.3	22.2	25.0	20.9	4.6	13.0	7.6	8.4	$32,802	$30,316	$2,486
United for Success Academy Middle	Public	6-8	2101 35th Ave.	Oakland	94601	Alameda County	Oakland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 879-3228	347	21	16.4	98.6%	10 (2.9%)	34 (9.8%)	271 (78.1%)	19 (5.5%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.7%)	7 (2.0%)	9.4	2635^th of 2761 public middle schools	4.6%		10.8	2641^st of 2783 public middle schools	5.1%	6	4.4	4.4	15.4	18.2	14.0	15.8	10.3	7.3	11.4	9.7	$30,388	$27,696	$2,692
Oakland Charter Academy	Public, Charter	6-8	4215 Foothill Blvd.	Oakland	94601	Alameda County	Oakland Charter Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 532-6751	222	7	31.4	84.7%	16 (7.2%)	6 (2.7%)	190 (85.6%)	6 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.9%)	2 (0.9%)	14.6	2458^th of 2761 public middle schools	11.0%		13.1	2546^th of 2783 public middle schools	8.5%	88	7.8	7.8	22.7	22.4	22.4	22.5	17.3	13.6	13.5	14.9
Edna Brewer Middle	Public	6-8	3748 13th Ave.	Oakland	94610	Alameda County	Oakland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 879-3210	785	44	17.6	63.1%	157 (20.0%)	135 (17.2%)	196 (25.0%)	158 (20.1%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.5%)	127 (16.2%)	74	603^rd of 2761 public middle schools	78.2%		79.2	495^th of 2783 public middle schools	82.2%	108	44.1	44.1	54.8	66.5	59.4	60.4	46.1	46.5	41.6	44.7	$22,401	$19,788	$2,613
Will C. Wood Middle	Public	6-8	1801 Sandcreek Way	Alameda	94501	Alameda County	Alameda Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 748-4015	613	29	20.9	51.9%	130 (21.2%)	41 (6.7%)	132 (21.5%)	188 (30.7%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.7%)	113 (18.4%)	65	787^th of 2761 public middle schools	71.5%		69.1	698^th of 2783 public middle schools	74.9%	89	29.5	29.5	59.8	55.3	51.7	55.7	47.6	42.1	38.2	42.7	$24,679	$23,040	$1,639
AIMS College Prep Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	171 12th St.	Oakland	94607	Alameda County	AIMS College Prep Middle District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 893-8701	200	11	18.1	77.5%	13 (6.5%)	91 (45.5%)	28 (14.0%)	44 (22.0%)	1 (0.5%)	2 (1.0%)	21 (10.5%)	55.8	1010^th of 2761 public middle schools	63.4%		72.2	647^th of 2783 public middle schools	76.8%	363	26.4	26.4	33.9	46.9	54.9	46.1	32.1	48.4	45.1	42.4
Lincoln Middle	Public	6-8	1250 Fernside Blvd.	Alameda	94501	Alameda County	Alameda Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 748-4018	971	41	23.5	20.2%	301 (31.0%)	23 (2.4%)	99 (10.2%)	325 (33.5%)	3 (0.3%)	2 (0.2%)	217 (22.3%)	96.2	112^th of 2761 public middle schools	95.9%		95.2	144^th of 2783 public middle schools	94.8%	32	66.4	66.4	79.4	81.4	82.2	81.0	67.9	72.7	67.8	69.5	$17,483	$16,286	$1,197
Bret Harte Middle	Public	6-9	3700 Coolidge Ave.	Oakland	94602	Alameda County	Oakland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 879-2206	337	27	12.3	92.6%	19 (5.6%)	100 (29.7%)	130 (38.6%)	52 (15.4%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.2%)	30 (8.9%)	14.8	2447^th of 2761 public middle schools	11.4%		13.9	2515^th of 2783 public middle schools	9.6%	68	9.9	9.9	23.9	19.0	27.9	23.5	10.2	12.9	15.6	13.1	$39,090	$35,864	$3,226

Frequently Asked Questions about Downtown Charter Academy

Is Downtown Charter Academy a good school?

Yes. Downtown Charter Academy ranks in the top 5.3% of California middle schools.

What district is Downtown Charter Academy in?

Downtown Charter Academy District

What is the racial makeup of Downtown Charter Academy?

Students at Downtown Charter Academy are 76% Asian, 13% Hispanic, 8% African American, 2% Two or more races.

How many students attend Downtown Charter Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 305 students attended Downtown Charter Academy.

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Latest California data All new data »

2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026

2024–25 CSA Spanish test scoresDec 22, 2025

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 14, 2025

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.