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Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High

Public Grades 7-9

234^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 92% of California middle schools

Summary

Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High is a top-performing middle school serving 524 students in grades 7-9 within the highly-regarded Davis Joint Unified district, consistently earning a 5-star rating and ranking in the 92nd percentile among all California middle schools.

The school demonstrates exceptional strength in English and Math, significantly outperforming both state averages and nearby schools like Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High. It fosters a strong culture of attendance, with a chronic absenteeism rate nearly half the state average. While Oliver Wendell Holmes Junior High, another high-performing Davis school, shows slightly stronger results in Math and Science, Emerson maintains a very competitive and consistent academic profile. This excellence is part of a broader "Davis Joint Unified advantage," where all district middle schools dramatically outperform those in surrounding communities like Sacramento City Unified or Woodland Joint Unified.

Emerson has shown remarkable consistency, ranking in the top 10% of schools statewide for over a decade. The school invests more per student than its Davis counterparts and achieves excellent results with most student groups. While there is an opportunity to strengthen Science scores to match its district's high standard, Emerson's overall combination of academic rigor, stable leadership, and a supportive learning environment makes it a standout choice for families in the region.

524

Students ?

19.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$22,704

Per pupil spending ?

22.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2121 Calaveras Ave.
Davis, CA 95616-3022

(530) 757-5430

District: Davis Joint Unified

Students who attend Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High usually attend:

High:

Davis Senior High

Feeder schools for Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High:

Elementary:	Patwin Elementary
	Robert E. Willett Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

49.6%

Hispanic:

26.5%

Two or more races:

11.3%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 95th percentile in 2013 → 92nd in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (66% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 8% of California middle schools

Worth a look

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school66%

District avg65%

California avg41%

234^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Top 8%▼ down 4 pts since 2015

From top 4% (2015) to top 8% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 3Middle Schools in the Davis Joint Unified

202^nd of 1,543Davis Joint Unified 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	91.6	234 of 2761	91.5%	★★★★★
2024	93.6	195 of 2783	93.0%	★★★★★
2023	95.3	140 of 2781	95.0%	★★★★★
2022	90.8	258 of 2740	90.6%	★★★★★
2019	90.9	241 of 2715	91.1%	★★★★★
2018	91.7	197 of 2480	92.1%	★★★★★
2017	91.9	197 of 2508	92.1%	★★★★★
2016	92.4	164 of 2497	93.4%	★★★★★
2015	95.0	106 of 2477	95.7%	★★★★★
2013	87.7	129 of 2379	94.6%	★★★★★
2012	83.8	217 of 2259	90.4%	★★★★★
2011	89.4	103 of 2236	95.4%	★★★★★
2010	85.9	173 of 2179	92.1%	★★★★★
2009	77.6	337 of 2063	83.7%	★★★★☆
2008	88.2	139 of 2005	93.1%	★★★★★
2007	86.5	186 of 1999	90.7%	★★★★★
2006	91.8	91 of 1804	95.0%	★★★★★
2005	91.8	88 of 1777	95.0%	★★★★★
2004	86.9	164 of 1769	90.7%	★★★★★

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	62.4	329 of 739	55.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	67.7	261 of 715	63.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	72.1	216 of 733	70.5%	★★★★☆
2019	59.1	357 of 745	52.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	62.3	311 of 700	55.6%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	81.5	161 of 1531	89.5%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	90.5	234 of 2533	90.8%	★★★★★
2024	93.2	179 of 2551	93.0%	★★★★★
2023	96.0	102 of 2531	96.0%	★★★★★
2022	91.4	206 of 2509	91.8%	★★★★★
2019	89.6	235 of 2380	90.1%	★★★★★
2018	88.0	256 of 2262	88.7%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	87.7	191 of 2395	92.0%	★★★★★
2024	82.3	277 of 2388	88.4%	★★★★☆
2023	94.6	77 of 2374	96.8%	★★★★★
2022	80.7	286 of 2359	87.9%	★★★★☆
2019	77.0	365 of 2213	83.5%	★★★★☆
2018	88.7	157 of 2072	92.4%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	54.4	932 of 2542	63.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	57.1	823 of 2579	68.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	55.1	875 of 2531	65.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	72.6	454 of 2458	81.5%	★★★★☆
2019	54.3	897 of 2369	62.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	77.4	334 of 2230	85.0%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	89.8	255 of 2534	89.9%	★★★★☆
2024	92.7	192 of 2552	92.5%	★★★★★
2023	93.0	174 of 2538	93.1%	★★★★★
2022	88.2	290 of 2527	88.5%	★★★★☆
2019	90.3	233 of 2407	90.3%	★★★★★
2018	93.2	160 of 2273	93.0%	★★★★★

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	77.6	154 of 726	78.8%	★★★★☆
2024	87.6	54 of 701	92.3%	★★★★★
2023	90.3	30 of 677	95.6%	★★★★★
2022	82.8	83 of 665	87.5%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	73.7	222 of 1531	85.5%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	86.9	111 of 1520	92.7%	★★★★★
2024	88.8	90 of 1537	94.1%	★★★★★
2023	89.7	78 of 1543	94.9%	★★★★★
2022	76.6	303 of 1555	80.5%	★★★★☆
2019	83.9	186 of 1602	88.4%	★★★★☆
2018	83.6	177 of 1496	88.2%	★★★★☆

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)

White (2025)93rd percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)92nd percentile~ school

Female (2025)91st percentile~ school

Male (2025)90th percentile~ school

Disabled (2022)89th percentile~ school

Special Education (2023)85th percentile-9 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)79th percentile-13 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)63rd percentile-28 vs school

Asian (2025)55th percentile-36 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy71%+22 vs state

Mathematics67%+30 vs state

Science53%+21 vs state

★

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Schools Near Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CSA Spanish Overall (2025)			CSA Spanish Listening (2025)			CSA Spanish Writing (2025)			CSA Spanish Reading (2025)			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	CSA Spanish Overall 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	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
Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High	Public	7-9	2121 Calaveras Ave.	Davis	95616	Yolo County	Davis Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 757-5430	524	27	19.3	22.1%	260 (49.6%)	15 (2.9%)	139 (26.5%)	48 (9.2%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	59 (11.3%)	91.6	234^th of 2761 public middle schools	91.5%		93.6	195^th of 2783 public middle schools	93.0%	39													53.5	53.5		74.7	67.5	71.2		71.8	62.3	67.2	$22,704	$1,099	$21,605
Oliver Wendell Holmes Junior High	Public	7-9	1220 Drexel Dr.	Davis	95616	Yolo County	Davis Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 757-5445	588	31	19.2	24.5%	257 (43.7%)	16 (2.7%)	94 (16.0%)	154 (26.2%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	62 (10.5%)	95.3	143^rd of 2761 public middle schools	94.8%		94.4	175^th of 2783 public middle schools	93.7%	32													66.8	66.8		74.1	73.1	73.6		71.3	81.1	76.4	$17,797	$1,064	$16,733
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High	Public	7-9	4000 East Covell Blvd.	Davis	95618	Yolo County	Davis Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 757-5330	533	26	20.1	43.5%	207 (38.8%)	27 (5.1%)	173 (32.5%)	82 (15.4%)	2 (0.4%)	3 (0.6%)	39 (7.3%)	75.6	573^rd of 2761 public middle schools	79.2%		75.3	580^th of 2783 public middle schools	79.2%	7													44.7	44.7		60.4	55.6	57.9		51.0	45.6	48.2	$19,190	$1,085	$18,105
John Knight Middle	Public	6-8	455 East A St.	Dixon	95620	Solano County	Dixon Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 693-6350	634	26	24.3	69.4%	149 (23.5%)	18 (2.8%)	403 (63.6%)	13 (2.1%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	47 (7.4%)	24.1	2050^th of 2761 public middle schools	25.8%		31.6	1746^th of 2783 public middle schools	37.3%	304													19.6	19.6	19.1	30.5	31.5	27.0	18.6	17.7	28.2	21.4	$12,730	$1,269	$11,461
Douglass Middle	Public	7-8	525 Granada Dr.	Woodland	95695	Yolo County	Woodland Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 666-2191	768	39	19.5	73.7%	124 (16.1%)	7 (0.9%)	537 (69.9%)	64 (8.3%)	4 (0.5%)	5 (0.7%)	27 (3.5%)	49.3	1196^th of 2761 public middle schools	56.7%		41.7	1406^th of 2783 public middle schools	49.5%	210	6.3	6.6	6.5	19.0	7.9	13.6	20.3	9.2	14.8	5.1	7.9	6.5	27.3	27.3		50.4	47.7	49.1		34.5	26.7	30.5	$10,563	$3,782	$6,781
Lee Middle	Public	7-8	520 West St.	Woodland	95695	Yolo County	Woodland Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 662-0251	575	32	17.8	75.1%	103 (17.9%)	5 (0.9%)	407 (70.8%)	18 (3.1%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	38 (6.6%)	34.1	1676^th of 2761 public middle schools	39.3%		28.5	1880^th of 2783 public middle schools	32.4%	204	9.4	3.3	6.5	15.6	20.0	17.7	15.6	0.0	8.1	3.1	3.3	3.2	24.3	24.3		39.1	37.7	38.4		26.1	20.0	22.8	$10,083	$3,314	$6,769
Winters Middle	Public	6-8	425 Anderson Ave.	Winters	95694	Yolo County	Winters Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 795-6130	367	19	19.8	60.5%	98 (26.7%)	5 (1.4%)	246 (67.0%)	7 (1.9%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	8 (2.2%)	21.3	2175^th of 2761 public middle schools	21.2%		22	2173^rd of 2783 public middle schools	21.9%	2		0.0	3.9		20.0	26.9		0.0	3.9		0.0	3.9	18.7	18.7	31.8	28.0	18.1	26.4	17.8	24.0	13.3	18.3	$17,718	$1,737	$15,981
Evergreen Middle	Public	7-9	919 Westacre Rd.	West Sacramento	95691	Yolo County	Washington Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 375-7740	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Sam Brannan Middle	Public	7-8	5301 Elmer Way	Sacramento	95822	Sacramento County	Sacramento City Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 395-5360	339	19	17.8	72.9%	22 (6.5%)	76 (22.4%)	162 (47.8%)	37 (10.9%)	4 (1.2%)	6 (1.8%)	32 (9.4%)	18.5	2294^th of 2761 public middle schools	16.9%		18.3	2326^th of 2783 public middle schools	16.4%	32													10.6	10.6		37.1	28.6	32.6		14.5	7.1	10.6	$25,416	$3,681	$21,735
Natomas Pacific Pathways Prep Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	3700 Del Paso Rd.	Sacramento	95834	Sacramento County	Natomas Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 567-5740	513	23	22.1	37.6%	48 (9.4%)	31 (6.0%)	113 (22.0%)	269 (52.4%)	1 (0.2%)	7 (1.4%)	44 (8.6%)	81.7	450^th of 2761 public middle schools	83.7%		86.2	365^th of 2783 public middle schools	86.9%	85													45.0	45.0	62.1	63.8	61.5	62.5	57.2	54.6	51.5	54.4	$13,373	$1,222	$12,151

Frequently Asked Questions about Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High

What district is Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High in?

Davis Joint Unified

What high school do graduates of Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High attend?

Students who attend Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High usually go on to attend Davis Senior High

Is Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High a good school?

Yes. Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High ranks in the top 8.5% of California middle schools.

What is the racial makeup of Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High?

Students at Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High are 50% White, 27% Hispanic, 11% Two or more races, 9% Asian, 3% African American.

How many students attend Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 524 students attended Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High.

Rate Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High!

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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.