1
Enrollment
960
Middle
DISTRICT 688 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SAN DIEGO UNIFIED·NCES 063432009189
Challenger Middle
10810 Parkdale Ave., San Diego, CA 92126 · (858) 302-3000 · San Diego County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL960 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 92% of California public middle schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- B-Three-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
24.6:1
39 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.6:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
49%
468 students
DISTRICT 63% · 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 | 337 | 35% |
| Grade 7 | 326 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 297 | 31% |
Student demographics
69%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 71% · 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
72.8%
CA avg 49.1% . -1.2pp since 2014
Math
63.1%
CA avg 37.7% . +4.1pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 73 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 63 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 1 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 4 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 35.3% | 37.4% | 15.3% | 11.9% |
| Math | 42.8% | 20.4% | 20.8% | 16.0% |
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 | 72.8% | 63.1% |
| 2023-24 | 68.4% | 63.2% |
| 2022-23 | 71.3% | 62.5% |
| 2021-22 | 70.0% | 61.9% |
| 2018-19 | 74.2% | 65.3% |
| 2017-18 | 78.0% | 68.6% |
| 2016-17 | 77.9% | 60.8% |
| 2015-16 | 78.0% | 65.0% |
| 2014-15 | 74.0% | 59.0% |
% 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of CA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
66.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
51.0%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+15.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 67% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 51% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 16 points, placing it in California's top 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 Challenger Middle
Challenger Middle's state test result (66.9% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Challenger Middle this school | 960 | 48.8% | 66.9% |
| Canyon Hills Junior High Chino Hills | 1,070 | 46.8% | 70.3% |
| G. M. Walters Middle Fremont | 1,149 | 46.0% | 51.0% |
| Creekside Middle Castro Valley | 754 | 39.1% | 68.5% |
| Giannini (A.P.) Middle San Francisco | 1,183 | 39.6% | 70.9% |
| Roosevelt Middle San Francisco | 657 | 45.4% | 69.5% |
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 Challenger Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In San Diego County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 66.9% | #155 of 1,224 | #13 of 92 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 63.1% | #152 of 1,227 ▼ 16 | #13 of 92 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 72.8% | #149 of 1,227 ▲ 36 | #13 of 92 ▲ 6 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +2.1pp | #616 of 1,214 | #41 of 91 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 960 | #236 of 1,377 | #22 of 104 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 24.6:1 | #1,141 of 1,279 | #91 of 100 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 69.1% | #158 of 1,278 | #16 of 100 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 48.8% | #950 of 1,329 | #59 of 102 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -1.1% | #916 of 930 | #71 of 73 |
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
960
+66 (+7%) vs 2020
+9% since 1990-91, when it was 884
Student : Teacher
24.6:1
was 24.8:1
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 | 960 | 39.1 | 24.6:1 | 49% (468) |
| 2023-24 | 918 | 38.2 | 24.0:1 | 47% (430) |
| 2022-23 | 841 | 36 | 23.4:1 | 47% (397) |
| 2020-21 | 894 | 36 | 24.8:1 | 51% (453) |
| 2017-18 | 971 | 38.4 | 25.3:1 | 42% (410) |
| 2015-16 | 987 | 38 | 26.0:1 | 44% (437) |
| 2010-11 | 1,137 | N/A | N/A | 54% (619) |
| 2000-01 | 1,136 | 50 | 22.7:1 | 25% (285) |
| 1990-91 | 884 | 36 | 24.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Challenger Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 1% (971 to 960); teachers up 2% (38.4 to 39.1).
About Challenger Middle
In San Diego, California, part of San Diego County, Challenger Middle is a middle-grades school. Enrolled students number 960 students, in grades 6 through 8. Enrollment is 46% higher than the average for middle schools in California, which is about 659.
Challenger Middle is among 174 schools run by San Diego Unified, which serves 94,828 students.
No single group makes up more than half of enrollment at Challenger Middle. The largest is Asian students, at 47%. Next come 20% Hispanic, 15% White, 14% multiracial, and 3% Black. That compares with about 12% Asian among all San Diego County residents. The school's diversity index is 69%, meaning two students picked at random have a 69% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The school reported 39.1 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25 and a ratio of 24.6:1. The school has more students per teacher than the 20.7:1 average for middle schools in California. Eligible students account for 49% of enrollment in the free or reduced-price lunch program.
allk12 grades Challenger Middle an A. The grade compares the school only with California public middle schools, because each state gives its own test.
The school's average proficiency rate on state tests, 66.9%, is 15.9 points above the 51.0% the model predicts from its free or reduced-price lunch share. That result is in the top 10% of California schools.
Federal survey data for San Diego County show that the median household income is $106,268, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 43% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 7%. San Diego County is home to 766 public schools and about 467,437 public school students.
Of nearby public schools, Hickman Elementary is the closest, at about 0.3 miles. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Challenger Middle. Of 8 schools in the immediate area with test results, Challenger Middle ranks 5th on average proficiency.
Challenger Middle is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more, a location NCES labels City: Large.
Federal data show a 7% enrollment rise, from 894 in 2020-21 to 960 in 2024-25.
Discussions about Challenger Middle may include science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
San Diego County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
3,288,774
Census ACS
Median income
$106,268
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
43%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
766
467,437 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in San Diego Unified
- Henry HighHigh · 2,485 students
- Mira Mesa HighHigh · 2,187 students
- Hoover HighHigh · 2,011 students
- Scripps Ranch HighHigh · 1,890 students
- Point Loma HighHigh · 1,724 students
- San Diego HighHigh · 1,602 students
Other schools in San Diego
- Del Norte HighHigh · 2,557 students
- Torrey Pines HighHigh · 2,536 students
- Henry HighHigh · 2,485 students
- Rancho Bernardo HighHigh · 2,210 students
- Mira Mesa HighHigh · 2,187 students
- Canyon Crest AcademyHigh · 2,147 students
Other Challenger Middle schools
6 other US public schools in 5 states are named Challenger Middle. Challenger Middle is the 2nd largest of the 7.
- Challenger MiddleLancaster, CA · 403 students
- CHALLENGER MIDDLE SCHOOLCAPE CORAL, FL · 999 students
- Challenger Middle SchoolGLENDALE, AZ · 839 students
- Challenger Middle SchoolCOLORADO SPRINGS, CO · 696 students
- Challenger Middle SchoolTUCSON, AZ · 590 students
Nearby schools
- Hickman Elementary0.3 mi · 457
- Jonas Salk Elementary0.6 mi · 732
- Mira Mesa High0.9 mi · 2,187
- Sandburg Elementary1.0 mi · 570
- Mason Elementary1.1 mi · 538
- Ericson Elementary1.5 mi · 650
Frequently asked questions
About Challenger MiddleHow many students attend Challenger Middle?
Challenger Middle enrolls approximately 960 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Challenger Middle serve?
Challenger Middle serves grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at Challenger Middle?
Approximately 24.6:1 students per teacher at Challenger Middle.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Challenger Middle?
At Challenger Middle, the student body is approximately 15% White, 20% Hispanic, 3% Black, 47% Asian, 14% Two or more.
What district is Challenger Middle in?
Challenger Middle is part of San Diego Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.