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Mission Hill Middle

Q: Is Mission Hill Middle a good school?

Mission Hill Middle ranks 543 rd of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

543^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 80% of California middle schools

Summary

Mission Hill Middle is a well-regarded public school serving about 510 students in grades 6 through 8 in Santa Cruz, consistently ranking in the top 20% of all California middle schools.

The school stands out for its strong and balanced academic performance, particularly in math and science where it outperforms both the state average and many nearby schools like Shoreline Middle and its district peer, Branciforte Middle. It has also shown impressive success in improving student attendance, significantly reducing chronic absenteeism over the past few years. Notably, Mission Hill achieves these strong results while spending less per student than several comparison schools, suggesting very efficient use of its resources.

While the school serves a diverse community within the Santa Cruz City High district, there are notable performance differences among student groups, presenting a clear opportunity for focused growth. Compared to the highest-performing schools in the region, such as C. T. English Middle, Mission Hill offers a strong, consistent educational program that effectively serves a broader socioeconomic range of students.

510

Students ?

18.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$16,074

Per pupil spending ?

32%

Free/discounted lunch ?

425 King St.
Santa Cruz, CA 95060-3411

(831) 429-3860

District: Santa Cruz City High

Students who attend Mission Hill Middle usually attend:

High:

Santa Cruz High

Feeder schools for Mission Hill Middle:

Elementary:	Bonny Doon Elementary
	Pacific Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

52.5%

Hispanic:

32.5%

Two or more races:

10.6%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Mission Hill Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 79th percentile in 2013 → 80th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (53% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 20% 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 school53%

District avg47%

California avg41%

543^rd of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Top 20%▼ down 6 pts since 2015

From top 14% (2015) to top 20% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 2Middle Schools in the Santa Cruz City High

541^st of 1,543Santa Cruz City High 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	76.9	543 of 2761	80.3%	★★★★☆
2024	67.4	731 of 2783	73.7%	★★★★☆
2023	75.5	568 of 2781	79.6%	★★★★☆
2022	77.2	542 of 2740	80.2%	★★★★☆
2019	77.5	542 of 2715	80.0%	★★★★☆
2018	78.9	471 of 2480	81.0%	★★★★☆
2017	80.4	451 of 2508	82.0%	★★★★☆
2016	84.0	352 of 2497	85.9%	★★★★☆
2015	84.7	341 of 2477	86.2%	★★★★☆
2013	73.1	509 of 2379	78.6%	★★★★☆
2012	73.9	478 of 2259	78.8%	★★★★☆
2011	72.8	467 of 2236	79.1%	★★★★☆
2010	67.8	605 of 2179	72.2%	★★★★☆
2009	64.4	645 of 2063	68.7%	★★★☆☆
2008	76.8	337 of 2005	83.2%	★★★★☆
2007	84.1	233 of 1999	88.3%	★★★★☆
2006	72.8	413 of 1804	77.1%	★★★★☆
2005	74.1	377 of 1777	78.8%	★★★★☆
2004	77.1	326 of 1769	81.6%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	49.3	571 of 1531	62.7%	★★★☆☆
2019	55.1	467 of 1491	68.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	50.3	491 of 1369	64.1%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	54.5	362 of 1478	75.5%	★★★★☆
2023	22.1	1516 of 1521	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	37.6	865 of 1540	43.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	73.9	178 of 1442	87.7%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	72.1	593 of 2533	76.6%	★★★★☆
2024	69.3	650 of 2551	74.5%	★★★★☆
2023	75.9	507 of 2531	80.0%	★★★★☆
2022	74.9	530 of 2509	78.9%	★★★★☆
2019	80.1	426 of 2380	82.1%	★★★★☆
2018	83.7	335 of 2262	85.2%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	36.1	1442 of 2395	39.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	35.1	1464 of 2388	38.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	47.6	1048 of 2374	55.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	48.2	1054 of 2359	55.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	50.5	935 of 2213	57.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	44.8	1042 of 2072	49.7%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	39.5	1427 of 2542	43.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	45.3	1192 of 2579	53.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	50.2	1020 of 2531	59.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	50.6	1002 of 2458	59.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	51.6	971 of 2369	59.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	48.2	1020 of 2230	54.3%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	77.3	474 of 2534	81.3%	★★★★☆
2024	63.2	760 of 2552	70.2%	★★★★☆
2023	72.7	570 of 2538	77.5%	★★★★☆
2022	77.7	478 of 2527	81.1%	★★★★☆
2019	71.8	584 of 2407	75.7%	★★★★☆
2018	71.6	559 of 2273	75.4%	★★★★☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	69.3	219 of 726	69.8%	★★★★☆
2024	56.6	309 of 701	55.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	70.3	204 of 677	69.9%	★★★★☆
2022	82.4	87 of 665	86.9%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	51.8	530 of 1566	66.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	55.1	478 of 1552	69.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	46.0	632 of 1531	58.7%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	78.1	272 of 1520	82.1%	★★★★☆
2024	64.7	504 of 1537	67.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	71.1	399 of 1543	74.1%	★★★★☆
2022	72.2	380 of 1555	75.6%	★★★★☆
2019	75.1	352 of 1602	78.0%	★★★★☆
2018	77.2	314 of 1496	79.0%	★★★★☆

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)82nd percentile~ school

Male (2025)81st percentile~ school

Female (2025)77th percentile-4 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)76th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2025)70th percentile-10 vs school

Special Education (2025)66th percentile-14 vs school

Disabled (2022)63rd percentile-18 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)44th percentile-36 vs school

Hispanic (2025)40th percentile-41 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy59%+10 vs state

Mathematics49%+12 vs state

Science49%+16 vs state

4.0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Thursday, July 26, 2012

Excellent Math and English Departments, and State's top Art Teacher for 2011. Close Quote

Schools Near Mission Hill 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 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
Mission Hill Middle	Public	6-8	425 King St.	Santa Cruz	95060	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz City High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 429-3860	510	28	18.2	32.0%	268 (52.5%)	5 (1.0%)	166 (32.5%)	14 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.6%)	54 (10.6%)	76.9	543^rd of 2761 public middle schools	80.3%		67.4	731^st of 2783 public middle schools	73.7%	188	48.5	48.5	56.1	64.1	56.5	58.9	44.5	52.4	49.7	49.0	$16,074	$2,506	$13,568
Branciforte Middle	Public	6-8	315 Poplar St.	Santa Cruz	95062	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz City High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 429-3883	409	23	17.8	38.1%	175 (42.8%)	7 (1.7%)	192 (46.9%)	8 (2.0%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	24 (5.9%)	68.8	698^th of 2761 public middle schools	74.7%		58.8	912^th of 2783 public middle schools	67.2%	214	41.0	41.0	65.9	61.4	51.7	60.0	35.5	40.8	43.0	39.7	$20,291	$3,354	$16,937
Shoreline Middle	Public	6-8	855 17th Ave.	Santa Cruz	95062	Santa Cruz County	Live Oak Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 475-6565	478	26	18.3	64.9%	160 (33.5%)	7 (1.5%)	286 (59.8%)	13 (2.7%)	4 (0.8%)	2 (0.4%)	5 (1.0%)	60.7	888^th of 2761 public middle schools	67.8%		52.1	1102^nd of 2783 public middle schools	60.4%	214	53.1	53.1	46.3	46.1	58.2	50.0	38.5	29.9	39.9	36.1	$21,007	$1,598	$19,409
Scotts Valley Middle	Public	6-8	8 Bean Creek Rd.	Scotts Valley	95066	Santa Cruz County	Scotts Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 438-0610	463	24	19.6	11.2%	303 (65.4%)	1 (0.2%)	85 (18.4%)	31 (6.7%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (8.4%)	85.7	356^th of 2761 public middle schools	87.1%		86.9	345^th of 2783 public middle schools	87.6%	11	56.7	56.7	71.7	66.4	70.3	69.5	44.1	53.9	59.6	52.6	$15,475	$858	$14,617
New Brighton Middle	Public	6-8	250 Washburn Ave.	Capitola	95010	Santa Cruz County	Soquel Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 464-5660	585	28	20.9	30.3%	329 (56.2%)	4 (0.7%)	198 (33.8%)	10 (1.7%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	36 (6.2%)	69.9	680^th of 2761 public middle schools	75.4%		64.7	792^nd of 2783 public middle schools	71.5%	112	42.6	42.6	56.4	64.8	53.1	57.9	43.5	47.6	35.1	41.8	$13,408	$799	$12,609
San Lorenzo Valley Middle	Public	6-8	7179 Hacienda Way	Felton	95018	Santa Cruz County	San Lorenzo Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 335-4452	396	20	20.0	24.0%	300 (75.8%)	0 (0.0%)	64 (16.2%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	29 (7.3%)	56.1	997^th of 2761 public middle schools	63.9%		46.6	1262^nd of 2783 public middle schools	54.7%	265	38.1	38.1	45.7	43.1	51.7	46.5	30.2	41.8	39.8	37.7	$16,940	$1,120	$15,820
Aptos Junior High	Public	7-8	1001 Huntington Dr.	Aptos	95003	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 688-3234	587	27	22.0	51.1%	254 (43.3%)	3 (0.5%)	295 (50.3%)	10 (1.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (4.1%)	50	1181^st of 2761 public middle schools	57.2%		56.7	973^rd of 2783 public middle schools	65.0%	208	30.2	30.2		49.6	36.6	43.3		37.8	33.2	35.6
C. T. English Middle	Public	6-8	23800 Summit Rd.	Los Gatos	95033	Santa Cruz County	Loma Prieta Joint Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 353-1123	164	9	17.2	11.0%	116 (70.7%)	1 (0.6%)	19 (11.6%)	12 (7.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (9.8%)	94.5	169^th of 2761 public middle schools	93.9%		93.7	192^nd of 2783 public middle schools	93.1%	23	69.1	69.1	66.7	80.8	74.6	73.9	75.9	78.9	63.6	72.7	$19,760	$743	$19,017
Rolling Hills Middle	Public	6-8	130 Herman Ave.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 728-6341	588	28	21.1	94.6%	5 (0.9%)	1 (0.2%)	568 (96.6%)	11 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	10	2612^th of 2761 public middle schools	5.4%		10.1	2662^nd of 2783 public middle schools	4.3%	50	6.9	6.9	11.3	21.5	23.3	18.7	7.1	10.5	5.9	7.8
Cesar E. Chavez Middle	Public	6-8	440 Arthur Rd.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 761-7699	548	27	20.3	91.1%	6 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	541 (98.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	8.9	2649^th of 2761 public middle schools	4.1%		9.3	2688^th of 2783 public middle schools	3.4%	39	7.0	7.0	15.3	17.6	12.1	14.8	4.9	10.8	8.3	8.0

Frequently Asked Questions about Mission Hill Middle

Is Mission Hill Middle a good school?

Mission Hill Middle ranks 543^rd of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Mission Hill Middle?

Students at Mission Hill Middle are 53% White, 33% Hispanic, 11% Two or more races, 3% Asian.

How many students attend Mission Hill Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 510 students attended Mission Hill Middle.

What district is Mission Hill Middle in?

Santa Cruz City High

What high school do graduates of Mission Hill Middle attend?

Students who attend Mission Hill Middle usually go on to attend Santa Cruz High

Rate Mission Hill 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.