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What do you wish you knew before starting at Matilija Middle?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
271
Middle
DISTRICT 287 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·OJAI UNIFIED·NCES 062827004376
Nordhoff Jr. High
1401 Maricopa Hwy, Ojai, CA 93023 · (805) 640-4343 · Ventura County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL271 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
22.2:1
12 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 22.1:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
53%
144 students
DISTRICT 54% · STATE 65%
Community
1
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 | 131 | 48% |
| Grade 8 | 140 | 52% |
Student demographics
56%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 56% · 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
Based on grade levels within Ojai Unified. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
34.0%
CA avg 49.1% . -14.0pp since 2014
Math
22.9%
CA avg 37.7% . -16.1pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 34 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 23 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 14 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 16 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 9.1% | 24.9% | 30.7% | 35.3% |
| Math | 10.6% | 12.3% | 25.4% | 51.7% |
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 | 34.0% | 22.9% |
| 2023-24 | 34.4% | 23.3% |
| 2022-23 | 40.7% | 24.4% |
| 2021-22 | 32.6% | 17.0% |
| 2018-19 | 43.8% | 33.4% |
| 2017-18 | 43.3% | 32.9% |
| 2016-17 | 43.9% | 34.7% |
| 2015-16 | 48.0% | 40.0% |
| 2014-15 | 48.0% | 39.0% |
% 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
28.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.4%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-19.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 29% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 48% 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 Nordhoff Jr. High
Nordhoff Jr. High's state test result (28.7% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nordhoff Jr. High this school | 271 | 53.1% | 28.7% |
| Middletown Middle Middletown | 320 | 53.4% | 35.7% |
| Herbert C. Green Middle Placerville | 363 | 49.9% | 28.5% |
| Sunny Brae Middle Arcata | 232 | 54.3% | 37.4% |
| Berrendos Middle Red Bluff | 229 | 52.0% | 43.8% |
| Baechtel Grove Middle Willits | 331 | 60.4% | 11.7% |
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 Nordhoff Jr. High ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Ventura County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 28.7% | #779 of 1,224 | #18 of 28 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 22.9% | #768 of 1,227 ▼ 63 | #17 of 28 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 34.0% | #883 of 1,227 ▼ 75 | #20 of 28 ▼ 2 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +3.6pp | #439 of 1,214 | #9 of 28 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 271 | #1,219 of 1,377 | #27 of 28 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 22.2:1 | #829 of 1,279 | #16 of 28 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 55.9% | #527 of 1,278 | #14 of 28 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 53.1% | #912 of 1,329 | #16 of 28 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -34.1% | #73 of 930 | #5 of 24 |
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
271
-228 (-46%) vs 2020
-55% since 1990-91, when it was 599
Student : Teacher
22.2:1
was 22.7:1
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 | 271 | 12.2 | 22.2:1 | 53% (144) |
| 2023-24 | 281 | 14.7 | 19.2:1 | 39% (109) |
| 2022-23 | 441 | 20 | 22.0:1 | 41% (180) |
| 2020-21 | 499 | 22 | 22.7:1 | 45% (224) |
| 2017-18 | 411 | 17.6 | 23.4:1 | 44% (181) |
| 2015-16 | 432 | 17 | 25.4:1 | 40% (171) |
| 2010-11 | 503 | N/A | N/A | 37% (187) |
| 2000-01 | 729 | 32 | 22.8:1 | 19% (135) |
| 1990-91 | 599 | 25 | 24.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Nordhoff Jr. High.
Since 2017-18: students down 34% (411 to 271); teachers down 30% (17.6 to 12.2).
About Nordhoff Jr. High
Nordhoff Jr. High, located in Ojai, California, is a small middle school. The student body numbers 271 students, from grades 7 through 8. An average school in this group (middle schools in California) has about 659 students.
Ojai Unified enrolls 2,008 students in 7 schools, including Nordhoff Jr. High.
White students account for 51% of enrollment at Nordhoff Jr. High. Other students are 43% Hispanic and 5% multiracial. For comparison, Ventura County is about 52% White. By the diversity index, Nordhoff Jr. High comes in at 56%.
Its teaching staff equals 12.2 full-time positions, a ratio of 22.2:1. That ratio is over the 20.7:1 average for middle schools in California. Around 53% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price meals.
On BeatsExpectations, which compares test results with what a school's student poverty level would predict, Nordhoff Jr. High ranks in the bottom 10% in California. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 28.7%, against a prediction of 48.4%.
According to the American Community Survey, in Ventura County, median household income is about $109,797, 36% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. A total of 238 public schools operate in Ventura County, serving about 147,841 students.
Nordhoff High is located less than a tenth of a mile from Nordhoff Jr. High. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Nordhoff Jr. High is 5th of 5 on proficiency.
Federal records code the school's setting as Suburb: Large.
Reported enrollment: 499 (2020-21) and 271 (2024-25). These figures may describe different sets of grades.
Community posts for Nordhoff Jr. High can cover science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Ventura County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
837,469
Census ACS
Median income
$109,797
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
36%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
238
147,841 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Ojai Unified
- Nordhoff HighHigh · 576 students
- Mira Monte ElementaryElementary · 523 students
- Topa Topa ElementaryElementary · 347 students
- SummitCombined · 183 students
- Meiners Oaks Early EducationElementary · 71 students
- Legacy HighHigh · 37 students
Other schools in Ojai
- Nordhoff HighHigh · 576 students
- Mira Monte ElementaryElementary · 523 students
- Topa Topa ElementaryElementary · 347 students
- SummitCombined · 183 students
- Valley Oak CharterCombined · 75 students
- Meiners Oaks Early EducationElementary · 71 students
Nearby schools
- Nordhoff High0.0 mi · 576
- Meiners Oaks Early Education0.6 mi · 71
- Legacy High0.8 mi · 37
- Mira Monte Elementary0.9 mi · 523
- Valley Oak Charter0.9 mi · 75
- Topa Topa Elementary2.1 mi · 347
Frequently asked questions
About Nordhoff Jr. HighHow large is Nordhoff Jr. High?
Nordhoff Jr. High enrolls approximately 271 students in grades 07-08.
Is Nordhoff Jr. High an elementary, middle, or high school?
Nordhoff Jr. High is a middle school covering grades 07-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Nordhoff Jr. High?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Nordhoff Jr. High is approximately 22.2:1 (12 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Nordhoff Jr. High?
At Nordhoff Jr. High, the student body is approximately 51% White, 43% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Is Nordhoff Jr. High public or private?
Nordhoff Jr. High is a public K-12 school, overseen by Ojai Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.