1
What's the one class at Cesar E. Chavez Middle every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
548
Middle
DISTRICT 506 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PAJARO VALLEY UNIFIED·NCES 062949011463
Cesar E. Chavez Middle
440 Arthur Rd., Watsonville, CA 95076 · (831) 761-7699 · Santa Cruz County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL548 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
20.3:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.5:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
91%
499 students
DISTRICT 81% · 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 6 | 170 | 31% |
| Grade 7 | 169 | 31% |
| Grade 8 | 209 | 38% |
Student demographics
3%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 27% · 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
14.8%
CA avg 49.1% . -5.2pp since 2014
Math
8.0%
CA avg 37.7% . -1.0pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 15 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 8 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are down about 5 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 1 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 1.4% | 13.5% | 24.6% | 60.5% |
| Math | 1.9% | 6.0% | 20.2% | 71.8% |
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 | 14.8% | 8.0% |
| 2023-24 | 11.5% | 7.3% |
| 2022-23 | 15.8% | 10.6% |
| 2021-22 | 17.5% | 8.1% |
| 2018-19 | 26.6% | 11.4% |
| 2017-18 | 28.8% | 9.8% |
| 2016-17 | 24.4% | 12.6% |
| 2015-16 | 20.0% | 11.0% |
| 2014-15 | 20.0% | 9.0% |
% 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
10.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
26.2%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-15.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 10% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 26% 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 Cesar E. Chavez Middle
Cesar E. Chavez Middle's state test result (10.4% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cesar E. Chavez Middle this school | 548 | 91.1% | 10.4% |
| Eastmont Intermediate Montebello | 562 | 91.6% | 27.9% |
| General Grant Middle Reedley | 526 | 91.3% | 54.4% |
| Thomas Jefferson Middle Wasco | 591 | 90.9% | 24.1% |
| William Moreno Junior High Calexico | 618 | 93.0% | 18.9% |
| Kermit McKenzie Intermediate Guadalupe | 585 | 87.9% | 19.2% |
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 Cesar E. Chavez Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Santa Cruz County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 10.4% | #1,203 of 1,224 | #10 of 12 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 8.0% | #1,182 of 1,227 ▼ 11 | #9 of 12 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 14.8% | #1,209 of 1,227 ▲ 4 | #10 of 12 ▲ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -1.4pp | #248 of 1,214 | #4 of 12 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 548 | #852 of 1,377 | #4 of 12 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.3:1 | #505 of 1,279 | #6 of 11 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 2.5% | #1,260 of 1,278 | #11 of 11 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 91.1% | #255 of 1,329 | #4 of 12 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -13.8% | #542 of 930 | #9 of 12 |
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
548
-62 (-10%) vs 2020
-8% since 2010-11, when it was 596
Student : Teacher
20.3:1
was 21.8:1
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 | 548 | 27 | 20.3:1 | 91% (499) |
| 2023-24 | 547 | 26.4 | 20.7:1 | 92% (502) |
| 2022-23 | 552 | 26.8 | 20.6:1 | 90% (499) |
| 2020-21 | 610 | 28 | 21.8:1 | 86% (522) |
| 2017-18 | 636 | 25 | 25.4:1 | 92% (584) |
| 2015-16 | 619 | 25 | 24.8:1 | 90% (558) |
| 2010-11 | 596 | N/A | N/A | 87% (520) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Cesar E. Chavez Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 14% (636 to 548); teachers up 8% (25 to 27).
About Cesar E. Chavez Middle
Among the schools in Watsonville, California, is Cesar E. Chavez Middle, a small middle school. It has an enrollment of 548 students in grades 6 through 8.
Pajaro Valley Unified runs Cesar E. Chavez Middle along with 32 other schools, enrolling 16,482 students in total.
By race and ethnicity, Cesar E. Chavez Middle is 99% Hispanic. The county population is about 35% Hispanic. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 3%.
There are 27 full-time-equivalent teachers at Cesar E. Chavez Middle, giving a ratio of 20.3:1. The ratio is within a point of the 20.7:1 average for middle schools in California. By family income, 91% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. On average, public schools in Santa Cruz County report 52%.
Cesar E. Chavez Middle trails its predicted average proficiency rate across its state test results by 15.8 points (10.4% versus 26.2%), a bottom-10% result in California on BeatsExpectations.
In the surrounding county, Santa Cruz County, the median household earns about $111,093 a year, 44% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of people live in poverty. Santa Cruz County has 83 public schools with about 36,316 students, including Cesar E. Chavez Middle.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, Starlight Elementary, is about 0.2 miles. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. On state test proficiency, Cesar E. Chavez Middle ranks 7th in a group of 8 nearby schools.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is City: Small.
From 610 students in 2020-21, enrollment decreased to 548 by 2024-25. The number of students per teacher dropped from 21.8 to 20.3 over 4 years.
Parents, students, and staff can share information on special education services, counseling, and support programs here. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Santa Cruz County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
264,926
Census ACS
Median income
$111,093
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
44%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
83
36,316 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Pajaro Valley Unified
- Watsonville HighHigh · 2,215 students
- Pajaro Valley HighHigh · 1,293 students
- Aptos HighHigh · 1,274 students
- Alianza CharterElementary · 626 students
- Rolling Hills MiddleMiddle · 588 students
- Aptos Junior HighMiddle · 587 students
Other schools in Watsonville
- Watsonville HighHigh · 2,215 students
- Pajaro Valley HighHigh · 1,293 students
- Alianza CharterElementary · 626 students
- Rolling Hills MiddleMiddle · 588 students
- Bradley ElementaryElementary · 520 students
- Calabasas ElementaryElementary · 512 students
Other Cesar E. Chavez Middle schools
2 other US public schools in 1 state are named Cesar E. Chavez Middle. Cesar E. Chavez Middle is the 2nd largest of the 3.
- Cesar E. Chavez MiddleSan Bernardino, CA · 1,107 students
- Cesar E. Chavez MiddlePlanada, CA · 305 students
Nearby schools
- Starlight Elementary0.2 mi · 383
- Diamond Technology Institute0.3 mi · 87
- H. A. Hyde Elementary0.3 mi · 476
- Landmark Elementary0.6 mi · 419
- New School Community Day0.7 mi · 42
- Radcliff Elementary0.8 mi · 409
Frequently asked questions
About Cesar E. Chavez MiddleWhat is the total enrollment at Cesar E. Chavez Middle?
Cesar E. Chavez Middle enrolls approximately 548 students in grades 06-08.
Is Cesar E. Chavez Middle an elementary, middle, or high school?
Cesar E. Chavez Middle is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at Cesar E. Chavez Middle?
Approximately 20.3:1 students per teacher at Cesar E. Chavez Middle.
How diverse is Cesar E. Chavez Middle?
Cesar E. Chavez Middle reports a student body of 1% White, 99% Hispanic, 0% Two or more.
Who oversees Cesar E. Chavez Middle?
Cesar E. Chavez Middle is overseen by Pajaro Valley Unified in Santa Cruz County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.