Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High

Q: Is Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High a good school?

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High ranks 573 rd of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 7-9

573^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 79% of California middle schools

Summary

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High is a public middle school serving 533 students in grades 7-9 within the high-performing Davis Joint Unified school district in Davis, CA.

Overall, Harper is a solid 4-star school that outperforms most middle schools in neighboring districts like Natomas Unified and Sacramento City Unified, with test scores well above state averages. However, within its own district, it faces distinct challenges. It serves a student population with a higher rate of economic disadvantage than its sister schools, Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High and Oliver Wendell Holmes Junior High, and its proficiency rates in math, English, and science are notably lower than those peers. Chronic absenteeism is also higher at Harper than at other Davis junior highs.

This creates a dual narrative: Harper is a strong school regionally but shows significant performance gaps for certain student groups when compared to other Davis schools. Recent data shows concerning declines for some subgroups, and the school's overall ranking has slipped slightly. The key takeaway for parents is that Harper benefits from being in an excellent district but is actively working to address achievement gaps and improve consistency across all student groups.

533

Students ?

20.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$19,190

Per pupil spending ?

43.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4000 East Covell Blvd.
Davis, CA 95618-1565

(530) 757-5330

District: Davis Joint Unified

Students who attend Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High usually attend:

High:

Davis Senior High

Feeder schools for Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High:

Elementary:	Fred T. Korematsu Elementary at Mace Ranch
	Marguerite Montgomery Elementary
	Pioneer Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

38.8%

Hispanic:

32.5%

Asian:

15.4%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 84th percentile in 2013 → 79th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (51% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 21% of California middle schools

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 5 percentile points since 2013

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school51%

District avg65%

California avg41%

573^rd of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Top 21%▼ down 4 pts since 2015

From top 17% (2015) to top 21% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd 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	75.6	573 of 2761	79.2%	★★★★☆
2024	75.3	580 of 2783	79.2%	★★★★☆
2023	77.7	532 of 2781	80.9%	★★★★☆
2022	82.7	425 of 2740	84.5%	★★★★☆
2019	78.5	518 of 2715	80.9%	★★★★☆
2018	83.1	387 of 2480	84.4%	★★★★☆
2017	82.5	407 of 2508	83.8%	★★★★☆
2016	77.1	509 of 2497	79.6%	★★★★☆
2015	80.6	415 of 2477	83.2%	★★★★☆
2013	77.4	390 of 2379	83.6%	★★★★☆
2012	78.9	334 of 2259	85.2%	★★★★☆
2011	83.5	225 of 2236	89.9%	★★★★☆
2010	83.1	237 of 2179	89.1%	★★★★☆
2009	82.7	238 of 2063	88.5%	★★★★☆
2008	81.1	267 of 2005	86.7%	★★★★☆
2007	77.2	350 of 1999	82.5%	★★★★☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	46.6	449 of 739	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	54.7	398 of 743	46.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	61.9	312 of 715	56.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	64.9	296 of 733	59.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	52.2	413 of 745	44.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	67.5	264 of 700	62.3%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	52.4	518 of 1531	66.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	54.2	483 of 1491	67.6%	★★★☆☆
2018	59.6	356 of 1369	74.0%	★★★★☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	40.8	699 of 1478	52.7%	★★★☆☆
2023	55.4	349 of 1521	77.1%	★★★★☆
2022	46.8	555 of 1540	64.0%	★★★☆☆
2019	49.3	436 of 1442	69.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	75.6	170 of 1364	87.5%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	73.8	563 of 2533	77.8%	★★★★☆
2024	75.0	550 of 2551	78.4%	★★★★☆
2023	74.3	530 of 2531	79.1%	★★★★☆
2022	77.1	488 of 2509	80.6%	★★★★☆
2019	81.2	401 of 2380	83.2%	★★★★☆
2018	81.2	381 of 2262	83.2%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	22.3	1932 of 2395	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	37.5	1391 of 2388	41.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	51.4	950 of 2374	60.0%	★★★☆☆
2022	43.0	1189 of 2359	49.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	44.0	1127 of 2213	49.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	43.8	1074 of 2072	48.2%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	27.1	1882 of 2542	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.2	2318 of 2579	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.2	1911 of 2531	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	38.2	1398 of 2458	43.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	34.2	1519 of 2369	35.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	34.3	1448 of 2230	35.1%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	74.5	532 of 2534	79.0%	★★★★☆
2024	73.2	557 of 2552	78.2%	★★★★☆
2023	78.5	466 of 2538	81.6%	★★★★☆
2022	84.4	367 of 2527	85.5%	★★★★☆
2019	73.1	555 of 2407	76.9%	★★★★☆
2018	82.6	364 of 2273	84.0%	★★★★☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	62.3	281 of 726	61.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	46.2	373 of 677	44.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	72.4	174 of 665	73.8%	★★★★☆
2019	74.1	138 of 554	75.1%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	39.1	824 of 1566	47.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	66.5	322 of 1552	79.3%	★★★★☆
2023	64.8	340 of 1531	77.8%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	81.9	207 of 1520	86.4%	★★★★☆
2024	83.1	180 of 1537	88.3%	★★★★☆
2023	81.5	215 of 1543	86.1%	★★★★☆
2022	81.7	215 of 1555	86.2%	★★★★☆
2019	76.9	321 of 1602	80.0%	★★★★☆
2018	82.7	194 of 1496	87.0%	★★★★☆

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)86th percentile+7 vs school

Male (2025)79th percentile~ school

Female (2025)78th percentile~ school

Disabled (2022)66th percentile-18 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)61st percentile-18 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)53rd percentile-26 vs school

Special Education (2025)47th percentile-32 vs school

Asian (2025)39th percentile-40 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)26th percentile-53 vs school

Hispanic (2025)19th percentile-60 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy58%+9 vs state

Mathematics48%+11 vs state

Science45%+12 vs state

1.0

1 rating

5★0

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★1

Rate Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High

Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.

Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.

Tap a star to rate

Reviews

No written reviews yet. If you know this school, be the first to share what stands out.

Schools Near Frances Ellen Watkins Harper 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
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
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
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
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
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)
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
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
California Middle	Public	7-8	1600 Vallejo Way	Sacramento	95818	Sacramento County	Sacramento City Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 395-5302	782	41	19.1	62.4%	151 (19.3%)	85 (10.9%)	365 (46.7%)	96 (12.3%)	6 (0.8%)	6 (0.8%)	73 (9.3%)	52.6	1113^th of 2761 public middle schools	59.7%		48.1	1213^th of 2783 public middle schools	56.4%	100													28.4	28.4		51.9	41.7	47.2		40.3	31.0	36.1	$23,331	$3,345	$19,986

Frequently Asked Questions about Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High

What district is Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High in?

Davis Joint Unified

What high school do graduates of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High attend?

Students who attend Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High usually go on to attend Davis Senior High

Is Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High a good school?

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High ranks 573^rd of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High?

Students at Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High are 39% White, 32% Hispanic, 15% Asian, 7% Two or more races, 5% African American.

How many students attend Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 533 students attended Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High.

Rate Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High!

Other helpful SchoolDigger resources...

Compare to nearby schools

CACalifornia Middle School Rankings

CACalifornia District Rankings

Schools in Davis, CA

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High!

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.