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Helms Middle

Public Grades 7-8

2685^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 3% of California middle schools

Summary

Helms Middle is a public school serving 558 students in grades 7-8 in San Pablo, part of the West Contra Costa Unified district, which faces significant systemic challenges as one of the lower-ranked districts in the state.

Academic performance at Helms Middle is critically low, with only about 11% of students proficient in English and 7% in math, placing it consistently in the bottom 3-6% of all California middle schools for the past decade. The school also struggles with chronic absenteeism, at 25.3%, which is higher than the state average. This represents a notable decline; the school was performing significantly better a decade ago, ranking in the 12th-23rd percentile, but has since fallen to the 3rd percentile. While the school serves a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students, it's important to note that other schools within the same district, like Hercules Middle and Fred T. Korematsu Middle, achieve much higher rankings (66th-68th percentile), demonstrating that strong outcomes are possible even in a struggling district.

Comparisons with nearby schools reveal stark contrasts. Helms Middle's proficiency rates are lower than most area schools, including Pinole Middle and Betty Reid Soskin Middle. Furthermore, schools in adjacent, higher-funded districts like Berkeley Unified (Martin Luther King Middle) and Albany City Unified (Albany Middle) perform in the top percentiles statewide. Interestingly, Helms Middle spends more per student ($6,700) than some better-performing schools in its own district, indicating that funding alone does not explain the performance gap and that school-level strategies are crucial.

558

Students ?

22.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

81.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2500 Road 20
San Pablo, CA 94806-5010

(510) 233-3988

District: West Contra Costa Unified

Students who attend Helms Middle usually attend:

High:

Richmond High

Feeder schools for Helms Middle:

Elementary:	Cesar E. Chavez Elementary
	Dover Elementary
	Edward M. Downer Elementary
	Ford Elementary
	More...
	Lake Elementary
	Peres Elementary
	Verde Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

86.9%

African American:

5.0%

Asian:

5.0%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Helms Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 20th percentile in 2013 → 3rd in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (8% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (3rd percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 17 percentile points since 2013

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school8%

District avg28%

California avg41%

2,685^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 3%▼ down 21 pts since 2015

From bottom 23% (2015) to bottom 3% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^th of 6Middle Schools in the West Contra Costa Unified

1110^th of 1,543West Contra Costa 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	7.7	2685 of 2761	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.0	2717 of 2783	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	7.8	2728 of 2781	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.1	2709 of 2740	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.4	2542 of 2715	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	9.1	2369 of 2480	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	10.3	2379 of 2508	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	15.7	2185 of 2497	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	23.0	1896 of 2477	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	24.0	1902 of 2379	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	15.8	2017 of 2259	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	17.0	1954 of 2236	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	11.9	2020 of 2179	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	10.9	1914 of 2063	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	9.8	1883 of 2005	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	16.2	1746 of 1999	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	16.0	1579 of 1804	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	21.5	1413 of 1777	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	16.2	1540 of 1769	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	23.5	495 of 609	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	10.4	626 of 627	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	12.1	603 of 613	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.0	615 of 637	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	19.5	573 of 643	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	13.2	581 of 600	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	3.3	710 of 743	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	0.9	730 of 733	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	3.4	716 of 745	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	1.9	684 of 700	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	20.3	1441 of 1531	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	19.6	1414 of 1491	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	23.1	1219 of 1369	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	28.3	1319 of 1478	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	34.1	1024 of 1521	32.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	28.1	1324 of 1540	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.6	1080 of 1442	25.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.2	1142 of 1364	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	8.2	2480 of 2533	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.7	2474 of 2551	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.0	2501 of 2531	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.0	2495 of 2509	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	8.8	2294 of 2380	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	7.4	2210 of 2262	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	7.7	2350 of 2395	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.2	2344 of 2388	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	7.9	2341 of 2374	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.7	2336 of 2359	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.1	2085 of 2213	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.5	1993 of 2072	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	9.0	2455 of 2542	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.8	2518 of 2579	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.3	2493 of 2531	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.5	2430 of 2458	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	13.3	2195 of 2369	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.4	2115 of 2230	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	7.6	2475 of 2534	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.0	2529 of 2552	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.1	2499 of 2538	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	8.2	2493 of 2527	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	11.3	2270 of 2407	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.3	2174 of 2273	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.2	1513 of 1566	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	21.3	1422 of 1552	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	18.0	1486 of 1531	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

African American (2025)19th percentile+16 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)11th percentile+8 vs school

Disabled (2022)6th percentile+5 vs school

Asian (2024)4th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)3rd percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)3rd percentile~ school

Male (2025)2nd percentile~ school

Female (2025)2nd percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)2nd percentile~ school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy11%-38 vs state

Mathematics7%-31 vs state

Science6%-26 vs state

★

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Schools Near Helms Middle

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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)				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 (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	CSA Spanish Overall 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	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
Helms Middle	Public	7-8	2500 Road 20	San Pablo	94806	Contra Costa County	West Contra Costa Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 233-3988	558	25	22.1	81.9%	9 (1.6%)	28 (5.0%)	485 (86.9%)	28 (5.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.3%)	7.7	2685^th of 2761 public middle schools	2.8%		8	2717^th of 2783 public middle schools	2.4%	32									6.3	6.3		11.4	11.0	11.2		7.2	6.2	6.6
Manzanita Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	461 33rd St.	Richmond	94804	Contra Costa County	Manzanita Middle District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 222-3500	92	4	23.0	85.9%	0 (0.0%)	3 (3.3%)	87 (94.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.2%)	17.9	2322^nd of 2761 public middle schools	15.9%		30.5	1790^th of 2783 public middle schools	35.7%	532									10.0	10.0	23.5	25.0	35.0	29.2	5.9	9.7	17.5	12.5	$39,829	$35,778	$4,051
Lovonya DeJean Middle	Public	7-8	3400 Macdonald Ave.	Richmond	94805	Contra Costa County	West Contra Costa Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 231-1430	381	19	20.3	81.9%	12 (3.1%)	51 (13.4%)	301 (79.0%)	10 (2.6%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.5%)	4 (1.0%)	6.2	2713^th of 2761 public middle schools	1.7%		7.4	2728^th of 2783 public middle schools	2.0%	15									3.7	3.7		10.1	9.9	10.0		3.9	4.2	4.1
Betty Reid Soskin Middle	Public	6-8	1121 Allview Ave.	El Sobrante	94803	Contra Costa County	West Contra Costa Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 231-1447	372	20	18.5	55.4%	21 (5.6%)	62 (16.7%)	179 (48.1%)	76 (20.4%)	3 (0.8%)	8 (2.2%)	23 (6.2%)	12.7	2529^th of 2761 public middle schools	8.4%		14.3	2499^th of 2783 public middle schools	10.2%	30									9.0	9.0		25.2	13.7	19.3		18.1	5.8	11.8
Pinole Middle	Public	7-8	1575 Mann Dr.	Pinole	94564	Contra Costa County	West Contra Costa Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 231-1436	381	15	25.1	80.1%	36 (9.4%)	46 (12.1%)	199 (52.2%)	77 (20.2%)	2 (0.5%)	2 (0.5%)	19 (5.0%)	26	1951^st of 2761 public middle schools	29.3%		21.8	2184^th of 2783 public middle schools	21.5%	233									9.9	9.9		38.9	29.5	34.2		30.3	12.0	21.4
Fred T. Korematsu Middle	Public	7-8	7125 Donal Ave.	El Cerrito	94530	Contra Costa County	West Contra Costa Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 231-1449	708	30	23.6	38.6%	191 (27.0%)	83 (11.7%)	223 (31.5%)	128 (18.1%)	2 (0.3%)	4 (0.6%)	75 (10.6%)	58.8	933^rd of 2761 public middle schools	66.2%		61.7	845^th of 2783 public middle schools	69.6%	88	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	39.0	39.0		48.2	47.6	47.9		39.3	36.6	38.0
Richmond Charter Academy	Public, Charter	6-8	1450 Marina Way South	Richmond	94804	Contra Costa County	Richmond Charter Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 235-2465	296	8	36.7	82.1%	7 (2.4%)	12 (4.1%)	270 (91.2%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	4 (1.4%)	34.1	1674^th of 2761 public middle schools	39.4%		43.1	1370^th of 2783 public middle schools	50.8%	304									13.8	13.8	41.9	51.6	45.3	46.3	20.4	19.4	14.7	18.2	$35,777	$34,322	$1,455
Albany Middle	Public	6-8	1259 Brighton Ave.	Albany	94706	Alameda County	Albany City Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 558-3600	911	47	19.5	30.7%	203 (22.3%)	41 (4.5%)	164 (18.0%)	304 (33.4%)	4 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	191 (21.0%)	94.7	164^th of 2761 public middle schools	94.1%		95.2	143^rd of 2783 public middle schools	94.9%	21									59.7	59.7	79.6	79.4	74.4	77.9	67.5	66.2	68.0	67.2	$24,157	$23,296	$861
Hercules Middle	Public	6-8	1900 Refugio Valley Rd.	Hercules	94547	Contra Costa County	West Contra Costa Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 231-1429	596	24	24.7	44.3%	45 (7.6%)	88 (14.8%)	155 (26.0%)	234 (39.3%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.7%)	69 (11.6%)	61.2	876^th of 2761 public middle schools	68.3%		56.5	978^th of 2783 public middle schools	64.9%	102									36.5	36.5	53.9	52.7	56.5	54.3	33.9	34.8	40.5	36.4
Martin Luther King Middle	Public	6-8	1781 Rose St.	Berkeley	94703	Alameda County	Berkeley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 644-6280	851	47	18.0	32.5%	360 (42.3%)	90 (10.6%)	173 (20.3%)	90 (10.6%)	1 (0.1%)	4 (0.5%)	132 (15.5%)	92.9	201^st of 2761 public middle schools	92.7%		94	184^th of 2783 public middle schools	93.4%	17									61.1	61.1	72.5	72.9	71.7	72.3	65.2	66.4	65.9	65.8	$27,295	$26,700	$595

Frequently Asked Questions about Helms Middle

What is the racial makeup of Helms Middle?

Students at Helms Middle are 87% Hispanic, 5% African American, 5% Asian, 2% White, 1% Two or more races.

Is Helms Middle a good school?

Helms Middle ranks in the bottom 2.8% of California middle schools.

What district is Helms Middle in?

West Contra Costa Unified

How many students attend Helms Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 558 students attended Helms Middle.

What high school do graduates of Helms Middle attend?

Students who attend Helms Middle usually go on to attend Richmond High

Rate Helms Middle!

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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.