Summary:
Zip code 95968 contains one middle school, Palermo Middle, serving grades 6-8 in the Palermo Union Elementary district, which serves a community with high economic need.
Palermo Middle receives significant funding, spending over $19,800 per student, which is well above the state average. Despite this investment, academic proficiency, particularly in mathematics where only 17% of students are proficient, lags behind state averages. Performance in English Language Arts is closer to the district average, and the school has a notable strength in managing student attendance, with a chronic absenteeism rate better than both the district and state.
An interesting pattern within the school is that 7th graders consistently perform better in core subjects than students in 6th or 8th grade, with 8th-grade math scores showing a particular decline. The school's statewide ranking has fluctuated in recent years but currently places in the 30th percentile. For parents, this indicates a school that is actively resourced to support its high-need population and is successful in getting students to attend, but which faces significant challenges in translating those resources and attendance into consistent academic achievement, especially in higher-grade mathematics.
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