Summary:
In ZIP code 93422, two schools in Atascadero Unified serve middle-school students: Atascadero Middle serves grades 6–8, and Fine Arts Academy serves grades 4–8. In 2025–2026, both schools were above the state in all-grades science, while results in ELA and math differed more. The clearest overall finding is that Fine Arts Academy led in all three reported all-grades subjects and in each direct comparison of grades 6–8.
Fine Arts Academy stands out at the top: its all-grades results were 67% in ELA, 50% in math and 55% in science, compared with 50%, 36% and 45% at Atascadero Middle—gaps of 17, 14 and 11 points. The advantage is especially clear in grade 8, where Fine Arts Academy led by 21 points in ELA and 13 in math; it also led by 11 points in science. Atascadero Middle’s relative strength is science, 9 points above the state, while its math result was 2 points below the state. Fine Arts Academy was above the state in all three subjects.
Results improved at Fine Arts Academy in all three subjects from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026: ELA rose 5 points, math 9 and science 5. Atascadero Middle’s science score jumped 11 points, but math fell 2 points while the state result rose; its ELA result changed by less than 1 point. SchoolDigger gives Fine Arts Academy 77th-percentile standing and four stars, versus Atascadero Middle’s 63rd percentile and three stars. Their student-teacher ratios are similar, at 20.8 and 20.6, respectively. In 2024–2025, free/reduced lunch eligible shares were 35% at Fine Arts Academy and 48% at Atascadero Middle; chronic absenteeism in 2025–2026 was 11% and 17%, respectively. These figures are context, not explanations for test results. The all-grades figures cover different grade spans, so the grade 6–8 comparisons offer the fairest direct school-to-school view.
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