James Madison: english

The shaded band is this school's normal range. If nothing about how it works changes, nearly every future year should land inside it. Zero means the typical student just meets the state standard. The small numbers under the years are how many students were tested.

Measured against the grade bars

The state's English test uses one scale for every grade, so a score means the same thing in grade 3 as in grade 8.

Many students here are still learning English, and this test is given in English. In 2026, 201 of the 487 students who took the English Language Arts test were English learners.

All students

3rd The average 3rd grader scores 62 points under the grade 3 bar. 2370 vs. 2432.
4th The average 4th grader scores 37 points under the grade 3 bar. 2395 vs. 2432. The 4th-grade bar is 2473.
5th The average 5th grader scores just under the grade 3 bar. 2424 vs. 2432. The 5th-grade bar is 2502.
6th The average 6th grader scores 13 points under the grade 4 bar. 2460 vs. 2473. The 6th-grade bar is 2531.
7th The average 7th grader scores just under the grade 6 bar. 2523 vs. 2531. The 7th-grade bar is 2552.
8th The average 8th grader scores just under the grade 6 bar. 2527 vs. 2531. The 8th-grade bar is 2567.

Students fluent in English

The closest these results come to reading alone: English is not in the way. Includes students who have only ever spoken English.

Grade bars 3rd 40 students 31 points under the grade 3 bar. 4th 32 students 13 points under the grade 3 bar. 5th 42 students 10 points under the grade 4 bar. 6th 52 students Just under the grade 5 bar. 7th 56 students Meets the grade 7 bar. 8th 64 students Just under the grade 7 bar.

English learners

Students leave this group as they become fluent, so its average stays low even where they learn well.

Grade bars 3rd 44 students 90 points under the grade 3 bar. 4th 44 students 54 points under the grade 3 bar. 5th 36 students 53 points under the grade 3 bar. 6th 36 students 28 points under the grade 3 bar. 7th 23 students 38 points under the grade 4 bar. 8th 18 students 25 points under the grade 4 bar.

the group's average that grade's own bar the distance between

2026 results. The English test covers reading, writing, listening and research together. "Meets standard" is the state's mark for being on track for that grade. The state leaves out any group of ten students or fewer, so a grade may be missing from the charts.

Step 1 · Each year's result

For each grade tested, take the average (mean) scale score from the California Department of Education's results file, and subtract the lowest score that counts as "Standard Met" for that grade. That is the grade's distance from standard. Weight each grade by its share of the students tested, then add the grades up. Grades where the state hides the average because ten or fewer students tested are left out entirely.

2015 from sb_ca2015_1_csv_v3.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
3	41,390	2342.0	− 2432	−90	× 106 / 341	−28
4	41,391	2347.5	− 2473	−125.5	× 70 / 341	−25.8
5	41,394	2401.8	− 2502	−100.2	× 88 / 341	−25.9
6	41,395	2463.4	− 2531	−67.6	× 77 / 341	−15.3
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−95

2016 from sb_ca2016_1_csv_v3.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
3	38,295	2357.0	− 2432	−75	× 84 / 360	−17.5
4	38,297	2378.6	− 2473	−94.4	× 105 / 360	−27.5
5	38,298	2389.3	− 2502	−112.7	× 76 / 360	−23.8
6	38,301	2449.0	− 2531	−82	× 95 / 360	−21.6
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−90

2017 from sb_ca2017_1_csv_v2.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
3	39,206	2348.6	− 2432	−83.4	× 91 / 359	−21.1
4	39,209	2374.9	− 2473	−98.1	× 90 / 359	−24.6
5	39,211	2416.3	− 2502	−85.7	× 104 / 359	−24.8
6	39,212	2451.9	− 2531	−79.1	× 74 / 359	−16.3
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−87

2018 from sb_ca2018_1_csv_v3.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
3	39,245	2394.2	− 2432	−37.8	× 77 / 321	−9.1
4	39,248	2402.5	− 2473	−70.5	× 79 / 321	−17.4
5	39,249	2410.3	− 2502	−91.7	× 72 / 321	−20.6
6	39,252	2484.8	− 2531	−46.2	× 93 / 321	−13.4
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−60

2019 from sb_ca2019_1_csv_v4.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
3	39,385	2374.1	− 2432	−57.9	× 83 / 307	−15.7
4	39,386	2409.7	− 2473	−63.3	× 73 / 307	−15.1
5	39,387	2453.4	− 2502	−48.6	× 79 / 307	−12.5
6	39,388	2479.2	− 2531	−51.8	× 72 / 307	−12.1
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−55

2022 from sb_ca2022_1_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
3	39,162	2376.7	− 2432	−55.3	× 90 / 351	−14.2
4	39,163	2406.6	− 2473	−66.4	× 97 / 351	−18.3
5	39,164	2446.1	− 2502	−55.9	× 85 / 351	−13.5
6	39,165	2481.5	− 2531	−49.5	× 79 / 351	−11.1
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−57

2023 from sb_ca2023_1_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
3	39,217	2380.6	− 2432	−51.4	× 94 / 363	−13.3
4	39,218	2427.3	− 2473	−45.7	× 92 / 363	−11.6
5	39,219	2425.7	− 2502	−76.3	× 96 / 363	−20.2
6	39,220	2488.3	− 2531	−42.7	× 81 / 363	−9.5
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−55

2024 from sb_ca2024_1_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
3	39,043	2352.7	− 2432	−79.3	× 74 / 354	−16.6
4	39,044	2414.2	− 2473	−58.8	× 94 / 354	−15.6
5	39,045	2457.9	− 2502	−44.1	× 91 / 354	−11.3
6	39,046	2488.1	− 2531	−42.9	× 95 / 354	−11.5
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−55

2025 from sb_ca2025_1_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
3	38,814	2346.8	− 2432	−85.2	× 85 / 430	−16.8
4	38,815	2388.4	− 2473	−84.6	× 81 / 430	−15.9
5	38,816	2447.1	− 2502	−54.9	× 90 / 430	−11.5
6	38,817	2503.3	− 2531	−27.7	× 88 / 430	−5.7
7	38,818	2506.9	− 2552	−45.1	× 86 / 430	−9
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−59

2026 from sb_ca2026_1_csv_v1.zip

Grade	Line in file	Average score	Standard Met	Distance	Students	Weighted
3	38,747	2369.7	− 2432	−62.3	× 84 / 487	−10.7
4	38,748	2395.2	− 2473	−77.8	× 76 / 487	−12.1
5	38,749	2424.1	− 2502	−77.9	× 78 / 487	−12.5
6	38,750	2459.6	− 2531	−71.4	× 88 / 487	−12.9
7	38,751	2522.8	− 2552	−29.2	× 79 / 487	−4.7
8	38,752	2526.9	− 2567	−40.1	× 82 / 487	−6.8
Sum, rounded to a whole point						−60

Step 2 · The average and the normal range

Average: add the yearly results and divide by how many there are. −95, −90, −87, −60, −55, −57, −55, −55, −59, −60 → −67.3
Typical year-to-year change: how far the result moved from each year to the next, ignoring up or down. 2015→2016: 5 · 2016→2017: 3 · 2017→2018: 27 · 2018→2019: 5 · 2019→2022: 2 · 2022→2023: 2 · 2023→2024: 0 · 2024→2025: 4 · 2025→2026: 1 → average 5.4
Normal range: multiply the typical change by 2.66, then add it to the average and subtract it. 5.4 × 2.66 = 14.4. Upper limit −52.9, lower limit −81.7.

Why 2.66? It is the standard factor from quality control, the work of Walter Shewhart and W. Edwards Deming. It turns "how much the result typically changes in a year" into "how far it can wander by chance alone".

Years with no result (no state tests were given in spring 2020) are skipped: the year-to-year change runs from the last year with a result to the next one.

Step 3 · Free or reduced-price meals

The share of enrolled students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. From 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25, 2025–26.