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Parents: what's one thing you'd want the Dorothy McElhinney Middle administration to hear?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,451
Middle
DISTRICT 1,263 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MURRIETA VALLEY UNIFIED·NCES 060002912243
Dorothy McElhinney Middle
35125 Briggs Rd., Murrieta, CA 92563 · (951) 304-1885 · Riverside County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,451 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 93% of California public middle schools
- A-Test 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.
- 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
25.0:1
58 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 25.0:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
46%
671 students
DISTRICT 56% · 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 | 448 | 31% |
| Grade 7 | 487 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 516 | 36% |
Student demographics
72%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 69% · 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% . +14.8pp since 2014
Math
52.6%
CA avg 37.7% . +8.6pp 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 53 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 15 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 9 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 30.1% | 42.6% | 18.9% | 8.4% |
| Math | 28.9% | 23.7% | 26.6% | 20.9% |
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 | 72.8% | 52.6% |
| 2023-24 | 70.9% | 46.5% |
| 2022-23 | 67.7% | 40.9% |
| 2021-22 | 66.2% | 41.0% |
| 2018-19 | 69.4% | 56.4% |
| 2017-18 | 65.7% | 54.5% |
| 2016-17 | 66.8% | 52.8% |
| 2015-16 | 65.0% | 52.0% |
| 2014-15 | 58.0% | 44.0% |
% 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
60.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
52.4%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+8.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 61% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 52% 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 Dorothy McElhinney Middle
Dorothy McElhinney Middle's state test result (60.6% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dorothy McElhinney Middle this school | 1,451 | 46.2% | 60.6% |
| Gaspar De Portola Charter Middle Tarzana | 1,461 | 49.0% | 62.7% |
| Thompson Middle Murrieta | 1,565 | 49.5% | 51.6% |
| George Ellery Hale Charter Academy Woodland Hills | 1,693 | 51.0% | 57.5% |
| La Mesa Arts Academy La Mesa | 1,059 | 46.4% | 60.4% |
| Alta Sierra Intermediate Clovis | 1,374 | 39.4% | 69.0% |
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 Dorothy McElhinney Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Riverside County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 60.6% | #210 of 1,224 | #1 of 78 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 52.6% | #251 of 1,227 ▲ 48 | #3 of 78 ▲ 4 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 72.8% | #150 of 1,227 ▲ 5 | #1 of 78 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +9.1pp | #104 of 1,214 | #3 of 77 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,451 | #23 of 1,377 | #2 of 79 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 25.0:1 | #1,171 of 1,279 | #67 of 78 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 71.5% | #94 of 1,278 | #3 of 77 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 46.2% | #974 of 1,329 | #73 of 78 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +2.3% | #196 of 257 | #11 of 15 |
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
1,451
+50 (+4%) vs 2020
+52% since 2010-11, when it was 953
Student : Teacher
25.0:1
was 25.5:1
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 | 1,451 | 58.1 | 25.0:1 | 46% (671) |
| 2023-24 | 1,442 | 54.9 | 26.3:1 | 47% (671) |
| 2022-23 | 1,396 | 52.5 | 26.6:1 | 44% (611) |
| 2020-21 | 1,401 | 55 | 25.5:1 | 29% (405) |
| 2017-18 | 1,419 | 53.5 | 26.5:1 | 28% (395) |
| 2015-16 | 1,310 | 49 | 26.7:1 | 27% (349) |
| 2010-11 | 953 | N/A | N/A | 22% (206) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Dorothy McElhinney Middle.
Since 2017-18: students up 2% (1,419 to 1,451); teachers up 9% (53.5 to 58.1).
About Dorothy McElhinney Middle
Dorothy McElhinney Middle is a high-enrollment middle-grades school in Murrieta, California. Enrollment in 2024-25 was 1,451 students in grades 6 through 8. The average for middle schools in California is about 659 students, so this school is 120% larger than average.
Dorothy McElhinney Middle is part of Murrieta Valley Unified, where 20 schools serve 21,621 students.
Hispanic students are the largest group at Dorothy McElhinney Middle, with 37% of enrollment. The remaining shares are 35% White, 11% multiracial, 11% Asian, and 6% Black. Riverside County as a whole is about 51% Hispanic, so the school's share is lower. By the diversity index, Dorothy McElhinney Middle comes in at 72%.
Dorothy McElhinney Middle operates with 58.1 full-time-equivalent teachers, a ratio of about 25.0:1. That ratio is over the 20.7:1 average for middle schools in California. Dorothy McElhinney Middle reports 46% of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. The average for public schools in Riverside County is 74%.
Measured against California public middle schools, Dorothy McElhinney Middle receives an A. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
The school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 60.6%. For its free or reduced-price lunch share, the predicted value is 52.4%.
Riverside County census figures show that median household income is about $93,074, 26% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 8% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Dorothy McElhinney Middle is among the 543 public schools in Riverside County.
Lisa J. Mails Elementary is located about 0.2 miles from Dorothy McElhinney Middle. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. In a group of 9 nearby schools with scores, Dorothy McElhinney Middle ranks 1st on average proficiency.
The school's federal locale classification is Suburb: Large.
Federal counts put enrollment at 1,401 in 2020-21 and 1,451 in 2024-25, a 4% rise.
Parents and students can post about school safety, transportation, and start times at Dorothy McElhinney Middle. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Riverside County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
2,478,600
Census ACS
Median income
$93,074
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
26%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
543
424,872 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Murrieta Valley Unified
- Vista Murrieta HighHigh · 3,328 students
- Murrieta Valley HighHigh · 2,104 students
- Murrieta Mesa HighHigh · 2,066 students
- Thompson MiddleMiddle · 1,565 students
- Shivela MiddleMiddle · 1,282 students
- Cole Canyon ElementaryElementary · 1,038 students
Other schools in Murrieta
- Vista Murrieta HighHigh · 3,328 students
- Murrieta Valley HighHigh · 2,104 students
- Murrieta Mesa HighHigh · 2,066 students
- Thompson MiddleMiddle · 1,565 students
- Shivela MiddleMiddle · 1,282 students
- Bella Vista MiddleMiddle · 1,249 students
Nearby schools
- Lisa J. Mails Elementary0.2 mi · 1,006
- Harvest Hill S.T.E.A.M. Academy1.6 mi · 1,196
- Susan La Vorgna Elementary1.7 mi · 649
- Oak Meadows Elementary2.0 mi · 818
- Vista Murrieta High2.1 mi · 3,328
- Monte Vista Elementary2.4 mi · 769
Frequently asked questions
About Dorothy McElhinney MiddleWhat is the total enrollment at Dorothy McElhinney Middle?
Dorothy McElhinney Middle enrolls approximately 1,451 students in grades 06-08.
Is Dorothy McElhinney Middle an elementary, middle, or high school?
Dorothy McElhinney Middle is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Dorothy McElhinney Middle?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Dorothy McElhinney Middle is approximately 25.0:1 (58 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Dorothy McElhinney Middle?
Student demographics at Dorothy McElhinney Middle are roughly 35% White, 37% Hispanic, 6% Black, 11% Asian, 11% Two or more.
What district is Dorothy McElhinney Middle in?
Dorothy McElhinney Middle is part of Murrieta Valley Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.