Willow Glen Middle School, located at 2105 Cottle Ave., has undergone a couple of name changes in the last 10 years, but the CDE still recognizes it as Edwin Markham Middle School.

The middle school changed its name to Edwin Markham Middle School in 1989, but because of its close proximity to Willow Glen High School its name changed again, and both campuses were collectively called the Willow Glen Educational Park. When that proved to be confusing—and to some people, ultimately unnecessary—both campuses went back to their original names of Willow Glen Middle and Willow Glen High.

However, when the CDE released the results of its annual Standard Testing and Reporting program (STAR), Willow Glen Middle School didn't appear to be cited.

Savvy school officials and parents simply looked under the school's old name to see that the 2002 scores were cited under Edwin Markham Middle School.

Apparently, this isn't anything new.

"This happens every year," said Karen Fuqua, the external programs and community development liaison for the San Jose Unified School District (SJUSD). "But there's been no real concern to change that."

Willow Glen Middle School Principal Darla Briggs added, "Parents sometimes can't find it, but some parents know to look for the school under the old name. I haven't heard that a lot of parents have called to complain."

Carol Myers, a member of the SJUSD Board of Education, said, "I think it's just been a glitch. I'm going to get some clarification to the state, but some people just really don't care one way or the other."

Concern over the school's name in the eyes of the CDE pales in comparison to concern over how the school performed on the STAR.

"The test scores are not great," Myers admitted.

Students were tested on curriculum standards such as language, math, spelling and history.

Briggs said that John Muir Middle School was the only middle school in the SJUSD to meet the state standards, but that things are looking up at Willow Glen Middle School.

"We're implementing a lot of programs this year," Briggs said, "so we're looking forward to a large amount of growth."

Briggs stressed that the risk of implementing new academic programs, however, is favoring some students over others.

"Parents whose students do exceed the STAR standards don't want to feel that these programs are going toward just the students who are scoring lower."