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Which teacher or staff member at Gifford C. Cole Middle deserves more recognition?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
697
Middle
DISTRICT 505 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·EASTSIDE UNION ELEMENTARY·NCES 061191009533
Gifford C. Cole Middle
3126 East Avenue I, Lancaster, CA 93535 · (661) 946-1041 · Los Angeles County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL697 STUDENTS
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 4% 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.
- DBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C-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
21.3:1
33 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.6:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
82%
572 students
DISTRICT 88% · 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 | 338 | 48% |
| Grade 8 | 359 | 52% |
Student demographics
49%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 48% · 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 Eastside Union Elementary. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
23.5%
CA avg 49.1% . +4.5pp since 2014
Math
7.3%
CA avg 37.7% . -2.7pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 23 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 7 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 3 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 3.3% | 20.2% | 28.2% | 48.4% |
| Math | 1.1% | 6.3% | 21.9% | 70.8% |
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 | 23.5% | 7.3% |
| 2023-24 | 25.5% | 8.4% |
| 2022-23 | 23.6% | 7.9% |
| 2021-22 | 26.7% | 7.5% |
| 2018-19 | 23.9% | 7.5% |
| 2017-18 | 21.0% | 4.2% |
| 2016-17 | 25.9% | 6.7% |
| 2015-16 | 25.0% | 12.0% |
| 2014-15 | 19.0% | 10.0% |
% 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
16.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
31.5%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-15.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 16% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 31% 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 Gifford C. Cole Middle
Gifford C. Cole Middle's state test result (16.1% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gifford C. Cole Middle this school | 697 | 82.1% | 16.1% |
| Imogene Garner Hook Junior High Victorville | 665 | 82.4% | 17.3% |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Junior High Pittsburg | 706 | 84.4% | 23.8% |
| Vista Verde Middle Moreno Valley | 900 | 82.8% | 29.4% |
| Larrea Middle Victorville | 769 | 77.6% | 20.4% |
| Barstow Junior High Barstow | 646 | 80.0% | 4.3% |
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 Gifford C. Cole Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Los Angeles County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 16.1% | #1,128 of 1,224 | #239 of 248 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 7.3% | #1,189 of 1,227 ▼ 36 | #244 of 248 ▼ 5 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 23.5% | #1,120 of 1,227 ▼ 76 | #240 of 248 ▼ 18 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -1.7pp | #222 of 1,214 | #27 of 247 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 697 | #603 of 1,377 | #136 of 317 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.3:1 | #680 of 1,279 | #154 of 301 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 48.9% | #681 of 1,278 | #107 of 301 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 82.1% | #485 of 1,329 | #170 of 312 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.5% | #876 of 930 | #203 of 213 |
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
697
-22 (-3%) vs 2020
+27% since 1990-91, when it was 548
Student : Teacher
21.3:1
was 20.0:1
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 | 697 | 32.7 | 21.3:1 | 82% (572) |
| 2023-24 | 687 | 36.2 | 19.0:1 | 86% (593) |
| 2022-23 | 703 | 34.3 | 20.5:1 | 92% (649) |
| 2020-21 | 719 | 36 | 20.0:1 | 96% (687) |
| 2017-18 | 715 | 29.6 | 24.2:1 | 88% (632) |
| 2015-16 | 662 | 28 | 23.6:1 | 86% (570) |
| 2010-11 | 889 | N/A | N/A | 84% (747) |
| 2000-01 | 843 | 35 | 24.1:1 | 43% (360) |
| 1990-91 | 548 | 21 | 26.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Gifford C. Cole Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 3% (715 to 697); teachers up 10% (29.6 to 32.7).
About Gifford C. Cole Middle
Gifford C. Cole Middle is a medium-sized middle school found in Lancaster, California. The grade span is 7 through 8, and enrollment is 697 students.
Gifford C. Cole Middle is in Eastside Union Elementary, a district with 3,032 students across 6 schools.
A majority of students at Gifford C. Cole Middle, 68%, are Hispanic. Beyond that, enrollment is 22% Black, 4% White, and 4% multiracial. The Hispanic share of the county population is lower, at 48%. By the diversity index, Gifford C. Cole Middle comes in at 49%.
The count of teachers at Gifford C. Cole Middle is 32.7 full-time equivalents, for a ratio of 21.3:1. Across middle schools in California, the average ratio is about 20.7:1. Around 82% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Across public schools in Los Angeles County, the average is 70%.
Measured against California public middle schools, Gifford C. Cole Middle receives an F. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, Gifford C. Cole Middle ranks in the bottom 10% of California schools. It scores 16.1%; the prediction is 31.5%.
Federal survey data for Los Angeles County show that median household income is about $90,112, about 36% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 10%. A total of 2,244 public schools operate in Los Angeles County, serving about 1,265,907 students.
The school nearest to Gifford C. Cole Middle is Eastside Academy/Transitional Learning Center, at a distance of about 0.2 miles. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Among the 7 closest schools with test data, this one included, Gifford C. Cole Middle ranks 6th on average proficiency.
Under the NCES locale system, Gifford C. Cole Middle is Rural: Fringe.
A comparison of 2020-21 and 2024-25 shows enrollment down 3%, from 719 to 697. The ratio was 20.0:1 in 2020-21 and 21.3:1 in 2024-25.
Discussions about Gifford C. Cole Middle may include school safety, transportation, and start times. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Los Angeles County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
9,808,667
Census ACS
Median income
$90,112
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
36%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
2,244
1,265,907 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Eastside Union Elementary
- Enterprise ElementaryElementary · 646 students
- Tierra Bonita ElementaryElementary · 636 students
- Columbia ElementaryElementary · 620 students
- Eastside ElementaryElementary · 423 students
- Eastside Academy/Transitional Learning CenterElementary · 10 students
Other schools in Lancaster
- Assurance Learning AcademyHigh · 3,014 students
- Lancaster HighHigh · 2,688 students
- Eastside HighHigh · 2,631 students
- Antelope Valley HighHigh · 1,498 students
- Sundown ElementaryElementary · 941 students
- Amargosa Creek MiddleMiddle · 859 students
Nearby schools
- Eastside Academy/Transitional Learning Center0.2 mi · 10
- Tierra Bonita Elementary0.5 mi · 636
- Columbia Elementary1.2 mi · 620
- Enterprise Elementary1.3 mi · 646
- Discovery1.4 mi · 662
- Eastside High1.5 mi · 2,631
Frequently asked questions
About Gifford C. Cole MiddleHow large is Gifford C. Cole Middle?
Gifford C. Cole Middle enrolls approximately 697 students in grades 07-08.
Is Gifford C. Cole Middle an elementary, middle, or high school?
Gifford C. Cole Middle is a middle school covering grades 07-08.
How many teachers does Gifford C. Cole Middle have?
Gifford C. Cole Middle employs 33 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 21.3:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Gifford C. Cole Middle?
At Gifford C. Cole Middle, the student body is approximately 4% White, 68% Hispanic, 22% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Gifford C. Cole Middle in?
Gifford C. Cole Middle is part of Eastside Union Elementary.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.