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What do you wish you knew before starting at Arellanes Junior High?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
668
Middle
DISTRICT 846 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SANTA MARIA-BONITA·NCES 060558010660
Arellanes Junior High
1890 Sandalwood Dr., Santa Maria, CA 93455 · (805) 361-6820 · Santa Barbara County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE22-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL668 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 28% of California public middle schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- AThree-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded California public middle schools
Student : Teacher
18.2:1
37 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.7:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
93%
622 students
DISTRICT 93% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 7 | 344 | 51% |
| Grade 8 | 324 | 49% |
Student demographics
11%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 9% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
28.8%
CA avg 49.1% . +3.8pp since 2014
Math
14.0%
CA avg 37.7% . -10.0pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 29 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 14 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 4 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 10 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 5.7% | 23.1% | 25.9% | 45.3% |
| Math | 3.6% | 10.4% | 19.9% | 66.2% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 28.8% | 14.0% |
| 2023-24 | 25.7% | 10.7% |
| 2022-23 | 13.7% | 8.5% |
| 2021-22 | 18.3% | 6.9% |
| 2018-19 | 35.7% | 28.0% |
| 2017-18 | 30.9% | 21.7% |
| 2016-17 | 26.9% | 22.3% |
| 2015-16 | 28.0% | 23.0% |
| 2014-15 | 25.0% | 24.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
19.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
25.0%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 20% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 25% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Arellanes Junior High
Arellanes Junior High's state test result (19.8% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arellanes Junior High this school | 668 | 93.1% | 19.8% |
| La Merced Intermediate Montebello | 682 | 92.4% | 26.4% |
| Dr. Manuel M. Lopez Academy of Arts & Sciences Oxnard | 696 | 93.2% | 26.0% |
| Haven Drive Middle Arvin | 612 | 94.4% | 29.1% |
| Evelyn Hanshaw Middle Modesto | 650 | 93.2% | 21.9% |
| Hidden Valley Middle Escondido | 733 | 94.3% | 25.7% |
Matched among California middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Arellanes Junior High ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Santa Barbara County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 19.8% | #1,055 of 1,224 | #11 of 15 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 14.0% | #1,043 of 1,227 ▲ 48 | #12 of 15 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 28.8% | #1,019 of 1,227 ▲ 19 | #11 of 15 ▲ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +8.8pp | #116 of 1,214 | #2 of 15 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 668 | #652 of 1,377 | #7 of 15 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.2:1 | #231 of 1,279 | #5 of 14 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 10.7% | #1,161 of 1,278 | #11 of 14 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 93.1% | #176 of 1,329 | #3 of 15 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +4.0% | #159 of 257 | N/A |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
668
+41 (+7%) vs 2020
+17% since 2010-11, when it was 569
Student : Teacher
18.2:1
was 19.0:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 668 | 36.8 | 18.2:1 | 93% (622) |
| 2023-24 | 622 | 33 | 18.9:1 | 90% (558) |
| 2022-23 | 596 | 31 | 19.2:1 | 81% (484) |
| 2020-21 | 627 | 33 | 19.0:1 | 85% (531) |
| 2017-18 | 642 | 30.4 | 21.1:1 | 89% (571) |
| 2015-16 | 636 | 29 | 21.9:1 | 88% (559) |
| 2010-11 | 569 | N/A | N/A | 91% (520) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Arellanes Junior High.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (642 to 668); teachers up 21% (30.4 to 36.8).
About Arellanes Junior High
Arellanes Junior High is a public middle-grades school run by Santa Maria-Bonita in Santa Maria, California. It reports enrollment of 668 students in grades 7 through 8.
District-wide, Santa Maria-Bonita has 21 schools and 17,408 students.
Hispanic students are 94% of those enrolled at Arellanes Junior High. The remaining shares are 3% White and 2% Asian. Census estimates put the Hispanic share of Santa Barbara County's population at about 48%. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 11, compared with 70 nationally.
Its staff includes 36.8 full-time-equivalent teachers, for about 18.2 students per teacher. Compared with the 20.7:1 average for middle schools in California, this school's ratio is lower. Roughly 93% of students at Arellanes Junior High can receive free or reduced-price lunch. Compared with the 68% average for public schools in Santa Barbara County, the school's rate is higher.
Arellanes Junior High holds a C allk12 Grade, placing it above 28% of California public middle schools.
Arellanes Junior High is 5.2 points below its predicted average proficiency rate across its state test results (19.8% versus 25.0%), which places it in neither the top nor the bottom 10% in California.
In the wider Santa Barbara County area, median household income comes to about $98,161, roughly 37% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 9%. Santa Barbara County counts 129 public schools with about 66,191 students.
Among nearby public schools, Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary is closest at less than a tenth of a mile. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. The nearest schools with test data average 37.1%, higher than Arellanes Junior High's 19.8%.
Locale data from NCES put Arellanes Junior High in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population between 100,000 and 250,000 (Suburb: Mid-size).
Enrollment increased 7% over 4 years, reaching 668 in 2024-25.
Use the discussion section to ask about open houses, carpools, and field trips at Arellanes Junior High. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Santa Barbara County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
443,701
Census ACS
Median income
$98,161
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
37%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
129
66,191 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Santa Maria-Bonita
- JIMENEZ ROBERTO AND DR. FRANCISCO ELEMENTARYElementary · 1,177 students
- Bruce (Robert) ElementaryElementary · 1,050 students
- Alvin ElementaryElementary · 998 students
- Fesler (Isaac) Junior HighMiddle · 974 students
- Tunnell (Martin Luther) ElementaryElementary · 917 students
- Kunst (Tommie) Junior HighMiddle · 912 students
Other schools in Santa Maria
- Santa Maria HighHigh · 3,143 students
- Pioneer Valley HighHigh · 3,080 students
- Ernest Righetti HighHigh · 2,416 students
- JIMENEZ ROBERTO AND DR. FRANCISCO ELEMENTARYElementary · 1,177 students
- Bruce (Robert) ElementaryElementary · 1,050 students
- Alvin ElementaryElementary · 998 students
Nearby schools
- Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary0.0 mi · 298
- Liberty Elementary2.7 mi · 865
- Lakeview Junior High2.7 mi · 463
- JIMENEZ ROBERTO AND DR. FRANCISCO ELEMENTARY2.7 mi · 1,177
- Joe Nightingale Elementary2.8 mi · 695
- Alice Shaw Elementary3.3 mi · 530
Frequently asked questions
About Arellanes Junior HighHow large is Arellanes Junior High?
Arellanes Junior High enrolls approximately 668 students in grades 07-08.
What age range does Arellanes Junior High serve?
Arellanes Junior High serves students from grade 07 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Arellanes Junior High?
Approximately 18.2:1 students per teacher at Arellanes Junior High.
What is the student diversity at Arellanes Junior High?
Student demographics at Arellanes Junior High are roughly 3% White, 94% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Asian.
What district is Arellanes Junior High in?
Arellanes Junior High is part of Santa Maria-Bonita.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.