1
How has Isaac L. Sowers Middle changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
771
Middle
DISTRICT 828 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HUNTINGTON BEACH CITY ELEMENTARY·NCES 061803002225
Isaac L. Sowers Middle
9300 Indianapolis Ave., Huntington Beach, CA 92646 · (714) 962-7738 · Orange County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL771 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 87% 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.
- B+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- A+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
24.2:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 25.1:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
25%
193 students
DISTRICT 30% · 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 | 249 | 32% |
| Grade 7 | 267 | 35% |
| Grade 8 | 255 | 33% |
Student demographics
60%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 66% · 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
72.7%
CA avg 49.1% . +0.7pp since 2014
Math
64.1%
CA avg 37.7% . +7.1pp 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 64 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2014, while math scores are up about 7 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 36.7% | 36.0% | 17.9% | 9.4% |
| Math | 39.0% | 25.1% | 22.8% | 13.1% |
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 | 72.7% | 64.1% |
| 2023-24 | 67.3% | 60.3% |
| 2022-23 | 63.8% | 50.0% |
| 2021-22 | 62.1% | 52.6% |
| 2018-19 | 75.4% | 64.2% |
| 2017-18 | 76.6% | 65.4% |
| 2016-17 | 77.1% | 65.0% |
| 2015-16 | 76.0% | 59.0% |
| 2014-15 | 72.0% | 57.0% |
% 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
66.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
64.9%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 66% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 65% 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 Isaac L. Sowers Middle
Isaac L. Sowers Middle's state test result (66.1% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isaac L. Sowers Middle this school | 771 | 25.0% | 66.1% |
| Muirlands Middle La Jolla | 742 | 20.6% | 73.7% |
| Arthur E. Wright Middle Calabasas | 670 | 29.1% | 72.9% |
| Spring View Middle Rocklin | 780 | 31.0% | 55.0% |
| Las Flores Middle Las Flores | 593 | 22.3% | 73.5% |
| Aviara Oaks Middle Carlsbad | 991 | 21.9% | 68.3% |
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 Isaac L. Sowers Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Orange County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 66.1% | #163 of 1,224 | #27 of 85 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 64.1% | #146 of 1,227 ▲ 8 | #23 of 85 ▲ 5 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 72.7% | #152 of 1,227 ▲ 53 | #26 of 85 ▲ 8 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +11.0pp | #54 of 1,214 | #3 of 84 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 771 | #472 of 1,377 | #37 of 88 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 24.2:1 | #1,103 of 1,279 | #70 of 87 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 60.2% | #429 of 1,278 | #37 of 87 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 25.0% | #1,181 of 1,329 | #72 of 88 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -33.1% | #81 of 930 | #13 of 74 |
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
771
-64 (-8%) vs 2020
-31% since 1990-91, when it was 1,120
Student : Teacher
24.2:1
was 22.6:1
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 | 771 | 31.8 | 24.2:1 | 25% (193) |
| 2023-24 | 776 | 32 | 24.3:1 | 25% (196) |
| 2022-23 | 753 | 34 | 22.1:1 | 21% (160) |
| 2020-21 | 835 | 37 | 22.6:1 | 15% (125) |
| 2017-18 | 1,153 | 44 | 26.2:1 | 14% (166) |
| 2015-16 | 1,173 | 45 | 26.1:1 | 10% (123) |
| 2010-11 | 1,204 | N/A | N/A | 8% (101) |
| 2000-01 | 1,209 | 45 | 26.9:1 | 4% (52) |
| 1990-91 | 1,120 | 42 | 26.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Isaac L. Sowers Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 33% (1,153 to 771); teachers down 28% (44 to 31.8).
About Isaac L. Sowers Middle
Isaac L. Sowers Middle is a middle school with a street address in Huntington Beach, California. The school counts 771 students across grades 6 through 8.
Isaac L. Sowers Middle is one school in an 8-school district, Huntington Beach City Elementary, which enrolls 4,560 students.
Isaac L. Sowers Middle is 59% White by enrollment. Other reported shares: 16% Hispanic, 13% multiracial, and 12% Asian. That compares with about 43% White among all Orange County residents. The school's diversity index is 60%, meaning two students picked at random have a 60% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
A ratio of 24.2:1 comes from the school's 31.8 full-time-equivalent teachers. The school has more students per teacher than the 20.7:1 average for middle schools in California. The lunch program counts 25% of students at Isaac L. Sowers Middle as eligible for free or reduced-price meals. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Orange County is 55%.
The allk12 Grade for Isaac L. Sowers Middle is A. Compared with California public middle schools, the school scored higher than 87% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Isaac L. Sowers Middle would be expected to post about 64.9%. Its actual average proficiency rate on state tests is 66.1%.
Recent Census Bureau figures for Orange County show that the median household income is $116,289, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 44%, and about 7% of people live in poverty. Besides Isaac L. Sowers Middle, Orange County has 648 other public schools.
The shortest distance from Isaac L. Sowers Middle to another public school is about 0.4 miles, to Ralph E. Hawes Elementary. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. By average proficiency, Isaac L. Sowers Middle is 7th among 9 schools close by.
The NCES locale for Isaac L. Sowers Middle is Suburb: Large, which covers schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Federal data show an 8% enrollment decrease, from 835 in 2020-21 to 771 in 2024-25. Students per teacher rose from 22.6 in 2020-21 to 24.2 in 2024-25.
Conversations here can range across school safety, transportation, and start times. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Orange County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
3,165,820
Census ACS
Median income
$116,289
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
44%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
649
430,458 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Huntington Beach City Elementary
- Ethel Dwyer MiddleMiddle · 884 students
- Agnes L. Smith ElementaryElementary · 591 students
- Ralph E. Hawes ElementaryElementary · 516 students
- Huntington Seacliff ElementaryElementary · 495 students
- John R. Peterson ElementaryElementary · 477 students
- John H. Eader ElementaryElementary · 416 students
Other schools in Huntington Beach
- Huntington Beach HighHigh · 2,645 students
- Edison HighHigh · 2,049 students
- Marina HighHigh · 1,997 students
- Ocean View HighHigh · 1,154 students
- Helen Stacey MiddleMiddle · 947 students
- Ethel Dwyer MiddleMiddle · 884 students
Nearby schools
- Ralph E. Hawes Elementary0.4 mi · 516
- S. A. Moffett Elementary0.6 mi · 410
- Edison High0.9 mi · 2,049
- Newland (William T.) Elementary1.0 mi · 531
- Oka (Isojiro) Elementary1.1 mi · 504
- John R. Peterson Elementary1.1 mi · 477
Frequently asked questions
About Isaac L. Sowers MiddleHow many students attend Isaac L. Sowers Middle?
Isaac L. Sowers Middle enrolls approximately 771 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Isaac L. Sowers Middle serve?
Isaac L. Sowers Middle serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Isaac L. Sowers Middle?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Isaac L. Sowers Middle is approximately 24.2:1 (32 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Isaac L. Sowers Middle?
At Isaac L. Sowers Middle, the student body is approximately 59% White, 16% Hispanic, 0% Black, 12% Asian, 13% Two or more.
Is Isaac L. Sowers Middle public or private?
Isaac L. Sowers Middle is a public K-12 school, overseen by Huntington Beach City Elementary.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.