Enrollment
321
Middle
DISTRICT 425 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SPRECKELS UNION ELEMENTARY·NCES 063771007565
Buena Vista Middle
18250 Tara Dr., Salinas, CA 93908 · (831) 455-8936 · Monterey County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL321 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 41% of California public middle schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- FBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- BThree-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
17.6:1
18 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.8:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
17%
56 students
DISTRICT 18% · STATE 65%
Community
0
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 6 | 90 | 28% |
| Grade 7 | 115 | 36% |
| Grade 8 | 116 | 36% |
Student demographics
59%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · 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
School pathway
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Spreckels Union Elementary. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
57.0%
CA avg 49.1% . +5.0pp since 2014
Math
42.7%
CA avg 37.7% . +4.7pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 57 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 43 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 5 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 5 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 17.8% | 39.2% | 26.2% | 16.8% |
| Math | 16.5% | 26.2% | 31.4% | 25.9% |
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 | 57.0% | 42.7% |
| 2023-24 | 51.9% | 31.9% |
| 2022-23 | 57.6% | 32.7% |
| 2021-22 | 58.4% | 34.0% |
| 2020-21 | 64.1% | 42.8% |
| 2018-19 | 69.9% | 50.0% |
| 2017-18 | 61.3% | 50.0% |
| 2016-17 | 54.5% | 43.0% |
| 2015-16 | 55.0% | 41.0% |
| 2014-15 | 52.0% | 38.0% |
% 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of CA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
45.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
69.3%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-23.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 46% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 69% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Buena Vista Middle
Buena Vista Middle's state test result (45.7% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buena Vista Middle this school | 321 | 17.4% | 45.7% |
| Adele Harrison Middle Sonoma | 334 | 29.3% | 32.7% |
| Manuel F. Cunha Intermediate Half Moon Bay | 521 | 27.4% | 35.2% |
| San Benancio Middle Salinas | 261 | 10.3% | 60.3% |
| Ingrid B. Lacy Middle Pacifica | 484 | 19.0% | 53.7% |
| Redwood Middle Thousand Oaks | 589 | 27.5% | 55.8% |
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 Buena Vista Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Monterey County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 45.7% | #414 of 1,224 | #4 of 18 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 42.7% | #366 of 1,227 ▲ 157 | #4 of 18 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 57.0% | #365 of 1,227 ▲ 41 | #4 of 18 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +3.7pp | #426 of 1,214 | #3 of 18 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 321 | #1,175 of 1,377 | #17 of 19 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.6:1 | #158 of 1,279 | #3 of 18 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 59.3% | #449 of 1,278 | #3 of 18 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 17.4% | #1,244 of 1,329 | #15 of 18 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -7.2% | #751 of 930 | #12 of 17 |
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
321
-15 (-4%) vs 2020
+1% since 2000-01, when it was 317
Student : Teacher
17.6:1
was 18.7:1
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 | 321 | 18.3 | 17.6:1 | 17% (56) |
| 2023-24 | 333 | 17.8 | 18.7:1 | 16% (54) |
| 2022-23 | 335 | 19 | 17.6:1 | 15% (49) |
| 2020-21 | 336 | 18 | 18.7:1 | 14% (48) |
| 2017-18 | 346 | 19 | 18.2:1 | 17% (60) |
| 2015-16 | 370 | 18 | 20.6:1 | 11% (41) |
| 2010-11 | 379 | N/A | N/A | 15% (57) |
| 2000-01 | 317 | 16 | 19.8:1 | 14% (45) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Buena Vista Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 7% (346 to 321); teachers down 4% (19 to 18.3).
About Buena Vista Middle
Buena Vista Middle is a small middle school in Salinas, California, one of the schools in Spreckels Union Elementary. It covers grades 6 through 8, with a total enrollment of 321 students. Enrollment is 51% lower than the average for middle schools in California, which is about 659.
Spreckels Union Elementary has 850 students in 2 schools, and Buena Vista Middle is one of those schools.
At 51%, Hispanic students outnumber all other groups at Buena Vista Middle combined. It is also 38% White, 7% multiracial, and 5% Asian. Monterey County's residents are about 62% Hispanic, 11 points above the school's share. By the diversity index, Buena Vista Middle comes in at 59%.
Buena Vista Middle counts 18.3 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 17.6 students for each one. The 20.7:1 average for middle schools in California is higher than this school's figure. About 17% of students at the school meet free or reduced-price lunch income limits. On average, public schools in Monterey County report 76%.
Buena Vista Middle is graded C+ by allk12, scoring above 41% of California public middle schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Test results at Buena Vista Middle are 23.6 points below what its student poverty level predicts. The average proficiency rate on state tests is 45.7%, compared with a predicted 69.3%, which ranks in the bottom 10% in California.
Monterey County has about 437,613 residents, and median household income is about $97,230, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 28% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 10%. Federal data list 153 public schools in Monterey County, with a combined enrollment of about 73,845.
Nearest public school: Spreckels Elementary, about 1.4 miles away. The five-mile area around Buena Vista Middle holds at least 8 other public schools. Nearby schools average 42.7% on proficiency, and Buena Vista Middle is above that at 45.7%.
Locale: Rural: Fringe. In NCES terms, the school is in rural territory close to an urban area.
Enrollment was 336 in 2020-21 and 321 in 2024-25, a decrease of 15 students. There were fewer students per teacher in 2024-25 (17.6:1) than in 2020-21 (18.7:1).
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for Buena Vista Middle covering things like school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Monterey County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
437,613
Census ACS
Median income
$97,230
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
28%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
153
73,845 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Spreckels Union Elementary
- Spreckels ElementaryElementary · 529 students
Other schools in Salinas
- Alisal HighHigh · 2,742 students
- Salinas HighHigh · 2,380 students
- North Salinas HighHigh · 2,106 students
- Everett Alvarez HighHigh · 1,978 students
- Rancho San Juan HighHigh · 1,600 students
- Harden MiddleMiddle · 1,101 students
Other Buena Vista Middle schools
One other US public school is named Buena Vista Middle. Buena Vista Middle is the largest of the 2.
- Buena Vista Middle SchoolBUENA VISTA, CO · 211 students
Nearby schools
- Spreckels Elementary1.4 mi · 529
- Toro Park Elementary3.3 mi · 341
- Open Door Charter3.3 mi · 55
- Open Door Charter3.3 mi · 53
- Monterey County Home Charter3.3 mi · 255
- Monterey County Special Education3.3 mi · 274
Frequently asked questions
About Buena Vista MiddleHow many students attend Buena Vista Middle?
Buena Vista Middle enrolls approximately 321 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Buena Vista Middle serve?
Buena Vista Middle serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Buena Vista Middle?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Buena Vista Middle is approximately 17.6:1 (18 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Buena Vista Middle?
Buena Vista Middle reports a student body of 38% White, 51% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Who oversees Buena Vista Middle?
Buena Vista Middle is overseen by Spreckels Union Elementary in Monterey County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.