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Sherman Thomas STEM Academy

Public, Charter Grades 6-8

96^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 97% of California middle schools

Summary

Sherman Thomas STEM Academy is a small, high-performing public middle school serving grades 6-8 in Madera, California, with an intimate enrollment of just 75 students that consistently ranks among the very best schools in the entire state.

The school's academic results are outstanding, with over 85% of students proficient in English and over 73% proficient in Math, dramatically exceeding both state averages and the performance of all nearby schools like Ranchos Middle and those within the local Madera Unified district. Remarkably, the school achieves this with a near-perfect attendance record (0% chronic absenteeism) and does exceptionally well in supporting students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, ranking in the 100th percentile statewide for that group. This success comes even with a higher student-teacher ratio and lower per-student spending than surrounding schools, highlighting a highly efficient and effective model.

As a dedicated STEM academy, its focused curriculum benefits all core subjects and has sustained elite 5-star ratings for years. The stark contrast between its success and the lower performance of geographically close schools, such as Jack G. Desmond Middle just half a mile away, demonstrates the powerful impact of its specific educational approach within the same community.

Students ?

27.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,079

Per pupil spending ?

36%

Free/discounted lunch ?

101 West Adell St.
Madera, CA 93638-0877

(559) 871-5490

District: Sherman Thomas STEM Academy District

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

66.7%

White:

25.3%

Asian:

5.3%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Sherman Thomas STEM Academy to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 91st percentile in 2019 → 97th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (80% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 3% of California middle schools

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

Worth a look

!Large classes — about 27 students per teacher

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school80%

California avg41%

96^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Top 3%▲ up 6 pts since 2019

From top 9% (2019) to top 3% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

33^rd of 1,543Sherman Thomas STEM 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	96.7	96 of 2761	96.5%	★★★★★
2024	95.4	139 of 2783	95.0%	★★★★★
2023	97.0	95 of 2781	96.6%	★★★★★
2022	96.4	104 of 2740	96.2%	★★★★★
2021	94.0	48 of 894	94.6%	★★★★★
2019	90.6	251 of 2715	90.8%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	92.6	180 of 2533	92.9%	★★★★★
2024	93.0	183 of 2551	92.8%	★★★★★
2022	92.5	177 of 2509	92.9%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	99.4	15 of 2395	99.4%	★★★★★
2024	98.5	28 of 2388	98.8%	★★★★★
2023	99.7	4 of 2374	99.8%	★★★★★
2022	99.6	12 of 2359	99.5%	★★★★★
2019	94.8	70 of 2213	96.8%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	99.8	7 of 2542	99.7%	★★★★★
2024	99.0	25 of 2579	99.0%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	96.0	109 of 2534	95.7%	★★★★★
2023	97.6	62 of 2538	97.6%	★★★★★
2022	97.4	68 of 2527	97.3%	★★★★★
2021	98.6	20 of 763	97.4%	★★★★★
2019	94.3	148 of 2407	93.9%	★★★★★

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)100th percentile+3 vs school

Hispanic (2025)99th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2025)96th percentile~ school

Female (2025)93rd percentile-4 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy85%+37 vs state

Science81%+48 vs state

Mathematics73%+36 vs state

★

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Schools Near Sherman Thomas STEM Academy

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 (2024)
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 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	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 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	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
Sherman Thomas STEM Academy	Public, Charter	6-8	101 West Adell St.	Madera	93638	Madera County	Sherman Thomas STEM Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 871-5490	75	3	27.2	36.0%	19 (25.3%)	0 (0.0%)	50 (66.7%)	4 (5.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.7%)	96.7	96^th of 2761 public middle schools	96.5%		95.4	139^th of 2783 public middle schools	95.0%	43		80.8	80.8			80.0	79.2	96.2	85.3			68.0	62.5	88.5	73.3	$13,079	$117	$12,962
Jack G. Desmond Middle	Public	7-8	26490 Martin St.	Madera	93638	Madera County	Madera Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 674-1775	838	45	18.4	93.6%	21 (2.5%)	6 (0.7%)	803 (95.8%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.4%)	22.5	2133^rd of 2761 public middle schools	22.7%		26.5	1973^rd of 2783 public middle schools	29.1%	160		21.3	21.3				29.2	33.7	31.3				12.4	15.7	13.9	$20,489	$3,413	$17,076
Thomas Jefferson Middle	Public	7-8	1407 Sunset Ave.	Madera	93637	Madera County	Madera Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 673-9286	948	50	18.9	87.7%	49 (5.2%)	11 (1.2%)	845 (89.1%)	17 (1.8%)	7 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (2.0%)	23	2102^nd of 2761 public middle schools	23.9%		24.9	2038^th of 2783 public middle schools	26.8%	64		15.5	15.5				38.1	34.3	36.1				14.0	11.9	12.9	$19,328	$3,320	$16,008
Martin Luther King Junior Middle	Public	7-8	601 Lilly St.	Madera	93638	Madera County	Madera Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 674-4681	865	49	17.6	96.9%	16 (1.8%)	7 (0.8%)	829 (95.8%)	5 (0.6%)	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.6%)	13.6	2492^nd of 2761 public middle schools	9.7%		14.9	2482^nd of 2783 public middle schools	10.8%	10		11.3	11.3				22.6	22.6	22.6				12.5	9.8	11.1	$20,071	$3,628	$16,443
Fairmead Elementary	Public	5-6	19421 Avenue 22 3/4	Chowchilla	93610	Madera County	Chowchilla Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 665-8040	458	19	24.3	86.5%	85 (18.6%)	13 (2.8%)	339 (74.0%)	10 (2.2%)	6 (1.3%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.9%)								(n/a)	18.0		18.0		28.4	30.2			29.4		22.6	28.1			25.4	$18,263	$2,236	$16,027
Ranchos Middle	Public	7-8	12455 Road 35 1/2	Madera	93636	Madera County	Golden Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 645-3550	452	20	23.0	36.7%	159 (35.2%)	13 (2.9%)	229 (50.7%)	35 (7.7%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.7%)	70.8	656^th of 2761 public middle schools	76.2%		81.1	456^th of 2783 public middle schools	83.6%	200		31.7	31.7				64.6	65.2	64.9				41.9	41.8	41.9	$12,387	$484	$11,903
Rio Vista Middle	Public	7-8	6240 West Palo Alto	Fresno	93722	Fresno County	Central Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 276-3185	851	37	22.9	68.6%	141 (16.6%)	64 (7.5%)	468 (55.0%)	151 (17.7%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	22 (2.6%)	67.6	724^th of 2761 public middle schools	73.8%		63.1	813^th of 2783 public middle schools	70.8%	89		36.2	36.2				63.2	53.0	58.3				41.2	40.4	40.8
Dairyland Elementary	Public	4-8	12861 Avenue 18 1/2	Chowchilla	93610	Madera County	Alview-Dairyland Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 665-2394	216	10	20.8	58.3%	72 (33.3%)	1 (0.5%)	141 (65.3%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	56.3	991^st of 2761 public middle schools	64.1%		62.5	828^th of 2783 public middle schools	70.2%	163	40.0	27.5	32.1	55.6	55.2	51.4	60.8	40.0	52.2	47.2	23.3	48.7	30.9	37.3	37.4	$16,976	$3,786	$13,190
Wilson Middle	Public	7-8	1209 Robertson Blvd.	Chowchilla	93610	Madera County	Chowchilla Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 665-8070	470	22	21.4	89.1%	99 (21.1%)	8 (1.7%)	345 (73.4%)	9 (1.9%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.3%)	22.9	2112^th of 2761 public middle schools	23.5%		26.4	1978^th of 2783 public middle schools	28.9%	134		10.9	10.9				27.9	31.6	29.6				25.8	16.5	21.5	$18,564	$1,260	$17,304
Glacier Point Middle	Public	7-8	4055 North Bryan Ave.	Fresno	93723	Fresno County	Central Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 276-3105	947	44	21.6	86.9%	71 (7.5%)	86 (9.1%)	597 (63.0%)	173 (18.3%)	5 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	14 (1.5%)	24.1	2048^th of 2761 public middle schools	25.8%		27.1	1945^th of 2783 public middle schools	30.1%	103		20.0	20.0				35.2	29.9	32.5				19.7	12.7	16.1

Frequently Asked Questions about Sherman Thomas STEM Academy

What district is Sherman Thomas STEM Academy in?

Sherman Thomas STEM Academy District

Is Sherman Thomas STEM Academy a good school?

Yes! Sherman Thomas STEM Academy is one of the best middle schools in the state. It ranks 96^th of 2761 California middle schools.

What is the racial makeup of Sherman Thomas STEM Academy?

Students at Sherman Thomas STEM Academy are 67% Hispanic, 25% White, 5% Asian, 3% Two or more races.

How many students attend Sherman Thomas STEM Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 75 students attended Sherman Thomas STEM Academy.

Rate Sherman Thomas STEM Academy!

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Schools in Madera, CA

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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.