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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at Palm Avenue Middle this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
631
Middle
DISTRICT 611 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WASCO UNION ELEMENTARY·NCES 064140006846
Palm Avenue Middle
1017 Palm Ave., Wasco, CA 93280 · (661) 758-7130 · Kern County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL631 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 48% 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.
- BBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- BThree-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
21.4:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.6:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
89%
562 students
DISTRICT 91% · 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 | 201 | 32% |
| Grade 7 | 223 | 35% |
| Grade 8 | 207 | 33% |
Student demographics
6%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 8% · 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
40.8%
CA avg 49.1% . +20.8pp since 2014
Math
18.8%
CA avg 37.7% . +5.8pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 41 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 19 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 21 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 6 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 11.9% | 28.9% | 31.1% | 28.1% |
| Math | 7.2% | 11.6% | 24.0% | 57.2% |
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 | 40.8% | 18.8% |
| 2023-24 | 38.5% | 15.4% |
| 2022-23 | 37.8% | 15.9% |
| 2021-22 | 38.1% | 15.0% |
| 2018-19 | 34.7% | 21.6% |
| 2017-18 | 33.2% | 23.5% |
| 2016-17 | 26.6% | 19.7% |
| 2015-16 | 26.0% | 18.0% |
| 2014-15 | 20.0% | 13.0% |
% 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
28.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
27.4%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 28% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 27% 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 Palm Avenue Middle
Palm Avenue Middle's state test result (28.4% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palm Avenue Middle this school | 631 | 89.1% | 28.4% |
| Thomas Jefferson Middle Wasco | 591 | 90.9% | 24.1% |
| Kermit McKenzie Intermediate Guadalupe | 585 | 87.9% | 19.2% |
| North Monterey County Middle Castroville | 624 | 87.8% | 17.5% |
| Walter F. Dexter Middle Whittier | 610 | 86.7% | 25.6% |
| La Merced Intermediate Montebello | 682 | 92.4% | 26.4% |
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 Palm Avenue Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Kern County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 28.4% | #788 of 1,224 | #19 of 46 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 18.8% | #895 of 1,227 ▲ 49 | #21 of 46 ▲ 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 40.8% | #697 of 1,227 ▼ 6 | #15 of 46 ▲ 3 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +3.3pp | #486 of 1,214 | #18 of 46 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 631 | #708 of 1,377 | #26 of 48 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.4:1 | #700 of 1,279 | #32 of 46 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 5.6% | #1,222 of 1,278 | #41 of 46 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 89.1% | #314 of 1,329 | #20 of 46 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -15.9% | #478 of 930 | #13 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
631
+69 (+12%) vs 2020
-29% since 1990-91, when it was 893
Student : Teacher
21.4:1
was 21.6:1
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 | 631 | 29.5 | 21.4:1 | 89% (562) |
| 2023-24 | 632 | 28.6 | 22.1:1 | 92% (583) |
| 2022-23 | 601 | 29.2 | 20.6:1 | 91% (549) |
| 2020-21 | 562 | 26 | 21.6:1 | 88% (493) |
| 2017-18 | 750 | 32 | 23.4:1 | 90% (676) |
| 2015-16 | 682 | 28 | 24.4:1 | 90% (614) |
| 2010-11 | 698 | N/A | N/A | 96% (672) |
| 2000-01 | 896 | 38 | 23.6:1 | 85% (758) |
| 1990-91 | 893 | 41 | 21.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Palm Avenue Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 16% (750 to 631); teachers down 8% (32 to 29.5).
About Palm Avenue Middle
Palm Avenue Middle, located in Wasco, California, is a medium-sized middle school. A federal count lists 631 students at the school, in grades 6 through 8.
Wasco Union Elementary operates 6 schools. Combined enrollment is 3,473 students.
Hispanic students make up 97% of enrollment at Palm Avenue Middle. In Kern County overall, about 57% of residents are Hispanic. Pick two students at random and there is a 6% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
With 29.5 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at Palm Avenue Middle was 21.4:1. On average, middle schools in California have 20.7:1, compared with 21.4:1 here. Palm Avenue Middle's free or reduced-price lunch eligibility rate is 89%. On average, public schools in Kern County report 76%.
The allk12 Grade for Palm Avenue Middle is B-. Compared with California public middle schools, the school scored higher than 48% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
The school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 28.4%. For its free or reduced-price lunch share, the predicted value is 27.4%.
Within Kern County, the median household income is $70,210, about 19% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 15%. In all, Kern County has 279 public schools and roughly 197,431 students.
Wasco High is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.4 miles away. The five-mile area around Palm Avenue Middle holds 7 other public schools. Palm Avenue Middle ranks 6th of 8 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 28.4% against a local average of 31.7%.
Under the NCES locale system, Palm Avenue Middle is Town: Distant.
Over 4 years, Palm Avenue Middle's enrollment grew 12%, to 631.
If you have questions about school safety, transportation, and start times at Palm Avenue Middle, you can post them here. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
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 Wasco Union Elementary
- John L. Prueitt ElementaryElementary · 621 students
- Thomas Jefferson MiddleMiddle · 591 students
- James A. Forrest ElementaryElementary · 576 students
- Karl F. Clemens ElementaryElementary · 551 students
- Teresa Burke ElementaryElementary · 503 students
Other schools in Wasco
- Wasco HighHigh · 1,672 students
- John L. Prueitt ElementaryElementary · 621 students
- Thomas Jefferson MiddleMiddle · 591 students
- James A. Forrest ElementaryElementary · 576 students
- Karl F. Clemens ElementaryElementary · 551 students
- Teresa Burke ElementaryElementary · 503 students
Nearby schools
- Wasco High0.4 mi · 1,672
- Wasco Independence High0.5 mi · 109
- Thomas Jefferson Middle0.8 mi · 591
- Karl F. Clemens Elementary0.8 mi · 551
- John L. Prueitt Elementary0.9 mi · 621
- Teresa Burke Elementary0.9 mi · 503
Frequently asked questions
About Palm Avenue MiddleWhat is the total enrollment at Palm Avenue Middle?
Palm Avenue Middle enrolls approximately 631 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Palm Avenue Middle serve?
Palm Avenue Middle serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Palm Avenue Middle?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Palm Avenue Middle is approximately 21.4:1 (29 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Palm Avenue Middle?
At Palm Avenue Middle, the student body is approximately 1% White, 97% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 0% Two or more.
Who oversees Palm Avenue Middle?
Palm Avenue Middle is overseen by Wasco Union Elementary in Kern County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.