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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Portola Middle?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
422
Middle
DISTRICT 683 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ORANGE UNIFIED·NCES 062865004446
Portola Middle
270 North Palm Dr., Orange, CA 92868 · (714) 997-6361 · Orange County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL422 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 52% of California public middle schools
- CTest 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.
- AThree-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
20.9:1
20 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 23.8:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
91%
386 students
DISTRICT 60% · 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 | 232 | 55% |
| Grade 8 | 190 | 45% |
Student demographics
22%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 60% · 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
39.0%
CA avg 49.1% . +5.0pp since 2014
Math
26.3%
CA avg 37.7% . +6.3pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 39 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 26 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 5 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 | 9.9% | 29.1% | 23.4% | 37.6% |
| Math | 14.1% | 12.2% | 22.1% | 51.6% |
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 | 39.0% | 26.3% |
| 2023-24 | 29.0% | 15.5% |
| 2022-23 | 26.9% | 14.9% |
| 2021-22 | 29.7% | 15.1% |
| 2018-19 | 32.9% | 22.0% |
| 2017-18 | 31.3% | 23.0% |
| 2016-17 | 34.2% | 21.6% |
| 2015-16 | 33.0% | 19.0% |
| 2014-15 | 34.0% | 20.0% |
% 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
26.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
25.9%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 27% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 26% 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 Portola Middle
Portola Middle's state test result (26.9% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portola Middle this school | 422 | 91.5% | 26.9% |
| Ramona Junior High Chino | 417 | 90.4% | 26.4% |
| Giano Intermediate West Covina | 463 | 94.6% | 29.6% |
| Jefferson Middle Oceanside | 441 | 93.0% | 16.9% |
| Yorba Middle Orange | 418 | 88.5% | 34.0% |
| Olive Middle Baldwin Park | 477 | 87.6% | 33.6% |
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 Portola Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Orange County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 26.9% | #831 of 1,224 | #73 of 85 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 26.3% | #687 of 1,227 ▲ 250 | #69 of 85 ▲ 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 39.0% | #744 of 1,227 ▲ 203 | #72 of 85 ▲ 5 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +10.3pp | #68 of 1,214 | #4 of 84 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 422 | #1,058 of 1,377 | #81 of 88 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.9:1 | #603 of 1,279 | #20 of 87 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 21.8% | #1,030 of 1,278 | #75 of 87 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 91.5% | #232 of 1,329 | #12 of 88 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -40.7% | #27 of 930 | #4 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
422
-224 (-35%) vs 2020
-31% since 1990-91, when it was 614
Student : Teacher
20.9:1
was 21.5:1
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 | 422 | 20.2 | 20.9:1 | 91% (386) |
| 2023-24 | 577 | 27.9 | 20.7:1 | 91% (524) |
| 2022-23 | 597 | 27.2 | 22.0:1 | 91% (545) |
| 2020-21 | 646 | 30 | 21.5:1 | 70% (452) |
| 2017-18 | 712 | 33 | 21.6:1 | 84% (600) |
| 2015-16 | 701 | 32 | 21.9:1 | 78% (547) |
| 2010-11 | 781 | N/A | N/A | 71% (555) |
| 2000-01 | 881 | 42 | 21.0:1 | 74% (650) |
| 1990-91 | 614 | 28 | 21.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Portola Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 41% (712 to 422); teachers down 39% (33 to 20.2).
About Portola Middle
Portola Middle is a small middle-grades school with its address in Orange, California. The school enrolls 422 students in grades 7 through 8. On average, middle schools in California enroll around 659, and this school is 36% below that mark.
Orange Unified has 40 schools; together they serve 23,790 students.
A large majority of enrollment at Portola Middle is Hispanic, at 88%. The rest of enrollment is 6% Asian and 4% White. Among all residents of Orange County, the Hispanic share is about 34%. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 22%.
Staffing at Portola Middle comes to 20.2 full-time-equivalent teachers, or 20.9:1. That is in line with the 20.7:1 average for middle schools in California. Portola Middle counts 91% of students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. On average, public schools in Orange County report 55%.
Portola Middle earns a B- on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 52% of California public middle schools.
Portola Middle's average proficiency rate across its state test results of 26.9% is within a point of the 25.9% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
In the surrounding county, Orange County, median household income comes to about $116,289, about 44% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 7%. The county's public schools total 649, with about 430,458 students.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, Sycamore Elementary, is about 0.2 miles. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Portola Middle is 3rd of 6 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
NCES assigns Portola Middle the locale City: Mid-size, meaning inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
The school's student count fell 35% between the 2020-21 and 2024-25 school years.
On allk12, people connected to Portola Middle can post about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
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 Orange Unified
- Canyon HighHigh · 2,183 students
- Villa Park HighHigh · 2,023 students
- El Modena HighHigh · 1,795 students
- Orange HighHigh · 1,728 students
- El Rancho CharterMiddle · 1,144 students
- McPherson MagnetElementary · 863 students
Other schools in Orange
- El Modena HighHigh · 1,795 students
- Orange HighHigh · 1,728 students
- Santiago Charter MiddleMiddle · 1,137 students
- McPherson MagnetElementary · 863 students
- Orange County Classical AcademyCombined · 740 students
- California iInspire AcademyElementary · 699 students
Nearby schools
- Sycamore Elementary0.2 mi · 357
- Unity Middle College High0.3 mi · 57
- West Orange Elementary0.4 mi · 410
- Richland Continuation High0.9 mi · 165
- ACCESS Juvenile Hall1.2 mi · 186
- Orange High1.2 mi · 1,728
Frequently asked questions
About Portola MiddleHow many students attend Portola Middle?
Portola Middle enrolls approximately 422 students in grades 07-08.
Is Portola Middle an elementary, middle, or high school?
Portola Middle is a middle school covering grades 07-08.
How many teachers does Portola Middle have?
Portola Middle employs 20 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 20.9:1.
How diverse is Portola Middle?
Portola Middle reports a student body of 4% White, 88% Hispanic, 0% Black, 6% Asian, 1% Two or more.
What district is Portola Middle in?
Portola Middle is part of Orange Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.