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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Harden Middle?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,101
Middle
DISTRICT 1,087 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SALINAS UNION HIGH·NCES 063398000677
Harden Middle
1561 McKinnon St., Salinas, CA 93906 · (831) 796-7300 · Monterey County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,101 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 15% of California public middle schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- CThree-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
21.1:1
52 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.1:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
82%
905 students
DISTRICT 90% · 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 | 559 | 51% |
| Grade 8 | 542 | 49% |
Student demographics
15%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 16% · 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
30.5%
CA avg 49.1% . -1.5pp since 2014
Math
15.6%
CA avg 37.7% . -0.4pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 31 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 16 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 have held steady.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 6.3% | 24.2% | 30.4% | 39.0% |
| Math | 3.4% | 12.1% | 27.7% | 56.7% |
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 | 30.5% | 15.6% |
| 2023-24 | 28.8% | 15.0% |
| 2022-23 | 32.1% | 15.5% |
| 2021-22 | 31.7% | 15.0% |
| 2018-19 | 33.6% | 18.8% |
| 2017-18 | 29.3% | 14.9% |
| 2016-17 | 32.7% | 14.9% |
| 2015-16 | 35.0% | 14.0% |
| 2014-15 | 32.0% | 16.0% |
% 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
22.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
31.4%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-8.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 22% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 31% 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 Harden Middle
Harden Middle's state test result (22.4% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harden Middle this school | 1,101 | 82.2% | 22.4% |
| Washington Middle Salinas | 1,082 | 81.7% | 33.6% |
| Douglas MacArthur Fundamental Intermediate Santa Ana | 1,005 | 82.0% | 39.4% |
| E. O. Green Junior High Oxnard | 949 | 81.5% | 20.8% |
| Stauffer (Mary R.) Middle Downey | 1,329 | 83.0% | 44.2% |
| Sussman (Edward A.) Middle Downey | 1,240 | 84.7% | 37.7% |
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 Harden Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Monterey County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 22.4% | #981 of 1,224 | #12 of 18 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 15.6% | #1,006 of 1,227 ▼ 41 | #13 of 18 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 30.5% | #969 of 1,227 ▼ 16 | #13 of 18 ▲ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -0.3pp | #348 of 1,214 | #6 of 18 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,101 | #120 of 1,377 | #1 of 19 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.1:1 | #650 of 1,279 | #11 of 18 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 14.6% | #1,128 of 1,278 | #10 of 18 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 82.2% | #480 of 1,329 | #10 of 18 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -13.9% | #538 of 930 | #8 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
1,101
-93 (-8%) vs 2020
-21% since 2000-01, when it was 1,400
Student : Teacher
21.1:1
was 22.5:1
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 | 1,101 | 52.1 | 21.1:1 | 82% (905) |
| 2023-24 | 1,127 | 49.5 | 22.8:1 | 92% (1,035) |
| 2022-23 | 1,096 | 50.7 | 21.6:1 | 92% (1,011) |
| 2020-21 | 1,194 | 53 | 22.5:1 | 89% (1,063) |
| 2017-18 | 1,279 | 56.5 | 22.6:1 | 75% (959) |
| 2015-16 | 1,197 | 53 | 22.6:1 | 76% (904) |
| 2010-11 | 1,168 | N/A | N/A | 71% (828) |
| 2000-01 | 1,400 | 63 | 22.2:1 | 61% (854) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Harden Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 14% (1,279 to 1,101); teachers down 8% (56.5 to 52.1).
About Harden Middle
Federal records list Harden Middle as a middle school in Salinas, California. The school's 1,101 students are in grades 7 through 8. Statewide, middle schools in California average about 659 students each.
Salinas Union High counts 12 schools and 15,703 students, including Harden Middle.
At Harden Middle, Hispanic students make up 92% of the student body. Smaller groups are 3% Asian and 3% White. County-wide, 62% of Monterey County residents are Hispanic. By the diversity index, Harden Middle comes in at 15%.
The school has about 21.1 students per teacher and 52.1 full-time-equivalent teachers. Middle schools in California have a similar average ratio of 20.7:1. About 82% of enrolled students meet the income rules for free or reduced-price lunch.
The allk12 Grade for Harden Middle is C-. Compared with California public middle schools, the school scored higher than 15% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
The school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 22.4%. For its free or reduced-price lunch share, the predicted value is 31.4%.
Monterey County has about 437,613 residents, and median household income is about $97,230, about 28% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 10% of residents are in poverty. Federal data list 153 public schools in Monterey County, with a combined enrollment of about 73,845.
The closest public school to Harden Middle is North Salinas High, about 0.3 miles away. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. The school's 22.4% average proficiency ranks 3rd among 6 nearby schools.
Federal records code the school's setting as City: Mid-size.
The number of students declined from 1,194 to 1,101 over 4 years. Students per teacher fell from 22.5 in 2020-21 to 21.1 in 2024-25.
If you have questions about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week at Harden Middle, you can post them here. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
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 Salinas Union High
- 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
- La Paz MiddleMiddle · 1,099 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
- La Paz MiddleMiddle · 1,099 students
Nearby schools
- North Salinas High0.3 mi · 2,106
- McKinnon0.7 mi · 439
- Natividad Elementary0.7 mi · 705
- El Gabilan Elementary0.7 mi · 548
- Salinas Community0.9 mi · 101
- Henry F. Kammann Elementary1.0 mi · 743
Frequently asked questions
About Harden MiddleWhat is the total enrollment at Harden Middle?
Harden Middle enrolls approximately 1,101 students in grades 07-08.
What age range does Harden Middle serve?
Harden Middle serves students from grade 07 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Harden Middle?
Approximately 21.1:1 students per teacher at Harden Middle.
How diverse is Harden Middle?
Harden Middle reports a student body of 3% White, 92% Hispanic, 1% Black, 3% Asian, 0% Two or more.
Is Harden Middle public or private?
Harden Middle is a public K-12 school, overseen by Salinas Union High.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.