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What do students at Murray Middle actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
643
Middle
DISTRICT 567 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SIERRA SANDS UNIFIED·NCES 063680006238
Murray Middle
200 East Drummond Ave., Ridgecrest, CA 93555 · (760) 499-1820 · Kern County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL643 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
21.7:1
30 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.5:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
56%
361 students
DISTRICT 64% · 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 | 195 | 30% |
| Grade 7 | 214 | 33% |
| Grade 8 | 234 | 36% |
Student demographics
67%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
29.5%
CA avg 49.1% . -28.5pp since 2014
Math
20.3%
CA avg 37.7% . -17.7pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 30 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 20 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 28 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 18 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 6.8% | 22.7% | 23.6% | 46.9% |
| Math | 8.8% | 11.5% | 19.0% | 60.6% |
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 | 29.5% | 20.3% |
| 2023-24 | 34.8% | 23.2% |
| 2022-23 | 31.0% | 19.6% |
| 2021-22 | 43.4% | 24.3% |
| 2020-21 | 41.1% | 25.6% |
| 2018-19 | 52.3% | 35.8% |
| 2017-18 | 47.1% | 35.8% |
| 2016-17 | 54.1% | 40.0% |
| 2015-16 | 50.0% | 38.0% |
| 2014-15 | 58.0% | 38.0% |
% 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
27.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
46.6%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-19.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 27% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 47% 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 Murray Middle
Murray Middle's state test result (27.0% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murray Middle this school | 643 | 56.1% | 27.0% |
| James Monroe Middle Ridgecrest | 490 | 58.4% | 24.7% |
| Sylvan Middle Citrus Heights | 604 | 64.1% | 18.2% |
| Marsh (Harry M.) Junior High Chico | 716 | 57.3% | 53.7% |
| Norman L. Sullivan Middle Bonsall | 529 | 54.6% | 42.0% |
| George A. Buljan Middle Roseville | 862 | 58.6% | 40.5% |
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 Murray Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Kern County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 27.0% | #829 of 1,224 | #20 of 46 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 20.3% | #853 of 1,227 ▼ 144 | #19 of 46 ▼ 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 29.5% | #1,002 of 1,227 ▼ 211 | #31 of 46 ▼ 10 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -8.9pp | #13 of 1,214 | #3 of 46 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 643 | #689 of 1,377 | #24 of 48 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.7:1 | #750 of 1,279 | #36 of 46 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 66.8% | #233 of 1,278 | #2 of 46 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 56.1% | #875 of 1,329 | #40 of 46 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -4.0% | #831 of 930 | #23 of 28 |
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
643
-72 (-10%) vs 2020
-23% since 1990-91, when it was 838
Student : Teacher
21.7:1
was 24.7:1
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 | 643 | 29.7 | 21.7:1 | 56% (361) |
| 2023-24 | 686 | 30.3 | 22.7:1 | 51% (350) |
| 2022-23 | 690 | 30.7 | 22.5:1 | 46% (319) |
| 2020-21 | 715 | 29 | 24.7:1 | 60% (427) |
| 2017-18 | 670 | 29.3 | 22.9:1 | 57% (381) |
| 2015-16 | 619 | 27 | 22.9:1 | 48% (295) |
| 2010-11 | 616 | N/A | N/A | 44% (270) |
| 2000-01 | 708 | 33 | 21.4:1 | 39% (274) |
| 1990-91 | 838 | 36 | 23.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Murray Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 4% (670 to 643); teachers up 1% (29.3 to 29.7).
About Murray Middle
Among the schools in Ridgecrest, California, is Murray Middle, a mid-sized middle school. Total enrollment is 643 students, and the grades served are 6 through 8.
Sierra Sands Unified has 4,974 students in 10 schools, and Murray Middle is one of those schools.
Of every 100 students at Murray Middle, about 43 are White, the largest group. It is also 36% Hispanic, 7% Black, 7% multiracial, and 5% Asian. Census estimates put Kern County at about 44% White, close to the school's figure. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 67, compared with 70 nationally.
With 29.7 full-time-equivalent teachers, the student-to-teacher ratio is about 21.7:1. Middle schools in California average 20.7:1, 1.0 fewer students per teacher than here. Roughly 56% of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. On average, public schools in Kern County report 76%.
Murray Middle scores 19.6 points below its predicted average proficiency rate across its state test results: 27.0% actual versus 46.6% predicted. That puts it in the bottom 10% of California schools on BeatsExpectations.
The county, Kern County, is where the school is located. Median household income comes to about $70,210, about 19% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 15% of residents are in poverty. The county has 279 public schools and about 197,431 students.
Measured in a straight line, Burroughs High is about 0.1 miles from Murray Middle. The five-mile area around Murray Middle holds at least 8 other public schools. Among 7 nearby schools that report test results, Murray Middle ranks 5th on proficiency.
Murray Middle has an NCES locale of Town: Remote.
The school's student count decreased 10% between the 2020-21 and 2024-25 school years. The number of students per teacher dropped from 24.7 to 21.7 over 4 years.
People who know Murray Middle can post here about open houses, carpools, and field trips. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Kern County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
915,075
Census ACS
Median income
$70,210
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
19%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
15%
Below federal line
Schools in county
279
197,431 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Sierra Sands Unified
- Burroughs HighHigh · 1,536 students
- Las Flores ElementaryElementary · 526 students
- Faller ElementaryElementary · 516 students
- James Monroe MiddleMiddle · 490 students
- Richmond ElementaryElementary · 364 students
- Gateway ElementaryElementary · 346 students
Other schools in Ridgecrest
- Burroughs HighHigh · 1,536 students
- Las Flores ElementaryElementary · 526 students
- Faller ElementaryElementary · 516 students
- James Monroe MiddleMiddle · 490 students
- Richmond ElementaryElementary · 364 students
- Gateway ElementaryElementary · 346 students
Other Murray Middle schools
3 other US public schools in 4 states are named Murray Middle. Murray Middle is the 2nd largest of the 4.
- Murray Middle SchoolMurray, KY · 645 students
- Murray Middle SchoolSAINT PAUL, MN · 576 students
- MURRAY MIDDLE SCHOOLSTUART, FL · 564 students
Nearby schools
- Burroughs High0.1 mi · 1,536
- Richmond Elementary0.3 mi · 364
- Pierce Elementary0.5 mi · 297
- Mesquite Continuation High0.6 mi · 95
- Las Flores Elementary1.3 mi · 526
- James Monroe Middle1.4 mi · 490
Frequently asked questions
About Murray MiddleHow large is Murray Middle?
Murray Middle enrolls approximately 643 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Murray Middle serve?
Murray Middle serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Murray Middle?
Approximately 21.7:1 students per teacher at Murray Middle.
What is the student diversity at Murray Middle?
Student demographics at Murray Middle are roughly 43% White, 36% Hispanic, 7% Black, 5% Asian, 7% Two or more.
What district is Murray Middle in?
Murray Middle is part of Sierra Sands Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.