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Sam Brannan Middle

Public Grades 7-8

2294^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 17% of California middle schools

Summary

Sam Brannan Middle is a public school serving about 340 students in grades 7 and 8 within the Sacramento City Unified School District, which has seen its statewide academic ranking decline significantly over the past decade from a 3-star to a 1-star school.

Academically, the school faces serious challenges, with student proficiency in math (10.6%) and science (10.6%) being critically low and representing the weakest performance among comparable area middle schools; English Language Arts scores (32.6%) are also below district and state averages. This is despite the school having a relatively favorable student-teacher ratio and the highest per-student spending among nearby schools, creating a puzzling disconnect between resources and results. Chronic absenteeism, at 28.8%, is higher than the state average and may be a contributing factor, though other schools with similar attendance issues do not always show such extreme academic underperformance.

When compared to other local schools, the contrasts are stark: while schools like Will C. Wood Middle and Fern Bacon Middle serve similar student populations, they achieve notably better academic outcomes. The most striking comparison is with Miwok Middle, a higher-performing school in the same district, highlighting that challenges at Sam Brannan appear to be structural, requiring targeted intervention in instruction and leadership to improve student learning.

339

Students ?

17.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$25,416

Per pupil spending ?

72.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

5301 Elmer Way
Sacramento, CA 95822-2414

(916) 395-5360

District: Sacramento City Unified

Students who attend Sam Brannan Middle usually attend:

High:

John F. Kennedy High

Feeder schools for Sam Brannan Middle:

Elementary:	Caroline Wenzel Elementary
	Genevieve Didion
	John D. Sloat Elementary
	Martin Luther King Junior
	More...
	Matsuyama Elementary
	Pony Express Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

47.8%

African American:

22.4%

Asian:

10.9%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Sam Brannan Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 7th percentile in 2022 → 17th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 17th (2025) from a 7th-percentile low (2022)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (19% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (17th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (29% vs 19% California)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school19%

District avg34%

California avg41%

2,294^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 17%▼ down 39 pts since 2015

From top 44% (2015) to bottom 17% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

6^th of 7Middle Schools in the Sacramento City Unified

982^nd of 1,543Sacramento City 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	18.5	2294 of 2761	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.3	2326 of 2783	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	14.2	2534 of 2781	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.4	2556 of 2740	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	21.7	2108 of 2715	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	24.5	1839 of 2480	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	28.7	1703 of 2508	32.1%	★★☆☆☆
2016	29.3	1678 of 2497	32.8%	★★☆☆☆
2015	50.1	1090 of 2477	56.0%	★★★☆☆
2013	53.5	1065 of 2379	55.2%	★★★☆☆
2012	55.3	941 of 2259	58.3%	★★★☆☆
2011	52.5	1016 of 2236	54.6%	★★★☆☆
2010	55.0	905 of 2179	58.5%	★★★☆☆
2009	64.4	646 of 2063	68.7%	★★★☆☆
2008	53.6	841 of 2005	58.1%	★★★☆☆
2007	57.7	726 of 1999	63.7%	★★★☆☆
2006	60.7	621 of 1804	65.6%	★★★☆☆
2005	62.5	570 of 1777	67.9%	★★★☆☆
2004	42.5	926 of 1769	47.7%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	26.2	469 of 609	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.2	463 of 627	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	14.7	584 of 613	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	30.2	446 of 637	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	24.6	507 of 643	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	33.3	391 of 600	34.8%	★★☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	4.7	694 of 739	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.7	629 of 715	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	8.5	670 of 733	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	6.6	693 of 745	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.0	628 of 700	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	28.8	1098 of 1531	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	36.1	837 of 1491	43.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	37.4	752 of 1369	45.1%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	38.0	806 of 1478	45.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	41.0	738 of 1521	51.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	37.4	874 of 1540	43.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	29.1	1172 of 1442	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.7	1062 of 1364	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.9	2121 of 2533	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	17.4	2209 of 2551	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	11.2	2427 of 2531	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.9	2438 of 2509	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	19.5	1963 of 2380	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.4	1726 of 2262	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	25.5	1807 of 2395	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	17.3	2111 of 2388	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	13.0	2250 of 2374	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.4	2277 of 2359	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	28.7	1582 of 2213	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.3	1614 of 2072	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	34.5	323 of 477	32.3%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.2	2205 of 2542	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	17.3	2283 of 2579	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.0	2314 of 2531	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.9	2301 of 2458	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	28.3	1752 of 2369	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	30.1	1589 of 2230	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	17.9	2150 of 2534	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.1	2128 of 2552	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.8	2188 of 2538	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.2	2244 of 2527	11.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.3	1898 of 2407	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.4	1675 of 2273	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	8.3	681 of 726	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.9	641 of 701	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	7.9	627 of 677	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	3.2	655 of 665	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	7.6	516 of 554	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.4	425 of 462	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	22.0	1394 of 1566	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.4	1119 of 1552	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.1	1139 of 1531	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	8.9	1413 of 1520	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	38.8	914 of 1537	40.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	6.1	1497 of 1555	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	15.9	1371 of 1602	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.4	1207 of 1496	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

English Language Learner (2024)45th percentile+29 vs school

Homeless (2025)32nd percentile+15 vs school

Disabled (2022)28th percentile+22 vs school

Hispanic (2025)25th percentile+8 vs school

African American (2025)23rd percentile+6 vs school

Female (2025)16th percentile~ school

Male (2025)15th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)13th percentile-4 vs school

Special Education (2025)11th percentile-6 vs school

White (2025)7th percentile-10 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)6th percentile-11 vs school

Asian (2025)6th percentile-11 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy33%-16 vs state

Mathematics11%-27 vs state

Science11%-22 vs state

★

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Schools Near Sam Brannan Middle

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
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
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
Success Academy	Public	4-8	2221 Matson Dr.	Sacramento	95822	Sacramento County	Sacramento City Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 395-4990	1	2	.4		0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4.2	2751^st of 2761 public middle schools	0.4%					(n/a)		0.0	0.0					0.0	0.0					0.0	0.0
Fern Bacon Middle	Public	7-8	4140 Cuny Ave.	Sacramento	95823	Sacramento County	Sacramento City Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 395-5340	679	29	23.2	87.6%	47 (6.9%)	99 (14.6%)	350 (51.5%)	147 (21.6%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (2.8%)	17 (2.5%)	23.3	2083^rd of 2761 public middle schools	24.6%		25.6	2014^th of 2783 public middle schools	27.6%	69		11.8	11.8				28.5	31.9	30.1				22.2	21.0	21.6	$22,692	$4,366	$18,326
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)
Cesar Chavez Intermediate	Public	4-6	7500 32nd St.	Sacramento	95822	Sacramento County	Sacramento City Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 395-4530	357	14	26.3	87.1%	14 (3.9%)	39 (10.9%)	201 (56.3%)	73 (20.4%)	1 (0.3%)	13 (3.6%)	16 (4.5%)								(n/a)	9.5		9.5	37.2	32.0	39.5			36.1	20.3	12.7	23.3			18.7	$21,002	$4,213	$16,789
Miwok Middle	Public	7-8	3150 I St.	Sacramento	95816	Sacramento County	Sacramento City Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 395-5370	1,181	46	25.9	32.9%	446 (37.8%)	55 (4.7%)	355 (30.1%)	176 (14.9%)	7 (0.6%)	5 (0.4%)	136 (11.5%)	86.8	340^th of 2761 public middle schools	87.7%		88.2	318^th of 2783 public middle schools	88.6%	22		45.7	45.7				73.8	69.9	71.7				62.3	51.1	56.3	$20,127	$3,101	$17,026
Will C. Wood Middle	Public	7-8	6201 Lemon Hill Ave.	Sacramento	95824	Sacramento County	Sacramento City Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 395-5380	680	34	20.2	84.3%	29 (4.3%)	41 (6.0%)	332 (48.8%)	224 (32.9%)	2 (0.3%)	27 (4.0%)	25 (3.7%)	24.6	2027^th of 2761 public middle schools	26.6%		31	1771^st of 2783 public middle schools	36.4%	256		23.3	23.3				26.4	28.4	27.3				18.2	21.9	20.0	$23,557	$4,435	$19,122
Samuel Jackman Middle	Public	7-8	7925 Kentwal Dr.	Sacramento	95823	Sacramento County	Elk Grove Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 393-2352	909	44	20.7	86.7%	40 (4.4%)	126 (13.9%)	367 (40.4%)	288 (31.7%)	3 (0.3%)	33 (3.6%)	52 (5.7%)	20	2225^th of 2761 public middle schools	19.4%		17	2399^th of 2783 public middle schools	13.8%	174		16.6	16.6				29.7	29.4	29.6				14.6	14.3	14.5	$17,567	$1,749	$15,818
James Rutter Middle	Public	7-8	7350 Palmer House Dr.	Sacramento	95828	Sacramento County	Elk Grove Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 422-7590	871	45	19.3	87.7%	43 (4.9%)	106 (12.2%)	352 (40.4%)	302 (34.7%)	4 (0.5%)	31 (3.6%)	33 (3.8%)	22.5	2135^th of 2761 public middle schools	22.7%		21.2	2209^th of 2783 public middle schools	20.6%	74		14.1	14.1				31.9	24.0	28.1				23.2	18.6	21.0	$17,432	$2,091	$15,341

Frequently Asked Questions about Sam Brannan Middle

What district is Sam Brannan Middle in?

Sacramento City Unified

What high school do graduates of Sam Brannan Middle attend?

Students who attend Sam Brannan Middle usually go on to attend John F. Kennedy High

What is the racial makeup of Sam Brannan Middle?

Students at Sam Brannan Middle are 48% Hispanic, 22% African American, 11% Asian, 9% Two or more races, 6% White, 2% Pacific Islander, 1% American Indian.

How many students attend Sam Brannan Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 339 students attended Sam Brannan Middle.

Is Sam Brannan Middle a good school?

Sam Brannan Middle ranks in the bottom 16.9% of California middle schools.

Rate Sam Brannan Middle!

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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.