1
What's the vibe like in the hallways at San Marcos Middle right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
968
Middle
DISTRICT 1,182 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SAN MARCOS UNIFIED·NCES 063488005894
San Marcos Middle
650 West Mission Rd., San Marcos, CA 92069 · (760) 290-2500 · San Diego County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL968 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 37% of California public middle schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C+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
40 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 23.4:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
59%
568 students
DISTRICT 41% · 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 | 321 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 318 | 33% |
| Grade 8 | 329 | 34% |
Student demographics
45%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · 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
45.2%
CA avg 49.1% . +2.2pp since 2014
Math
32.2%
CA avg 37.7% . +8.2pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 45 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 32 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 2 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 8 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 14.5% | 30.7% | 24.0% | 30.8% |
| Math | 16.0% | 16.1% | 24.7% | 43.1% |
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 | 45.2% | 32.2% |
| 2023-24 | 39.0% | 29.0% |
| 2022-23 | 44.9% | 32.9% |
| 2021-22 | 45.3% | 29.1% |
| 2018-19 | 52.8% | 31.2% |
| 2017-18 | 52.1% | 31.5% |
| 2016-17 | 51.8% | 29.3% |
| 2015-16 | 48.0% | 29.0% |
| 2014-15 | 43.0% | 24.0% |
% 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
36.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
45.2%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-8.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 36% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 45% 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 San Marcos Middle
San Marcos Middle's state test result (36.3% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Marcos Middle this school | 968 | 58.7% | 36.3% |
| Ridgeview Middle Visalia | 975 | 59.5% | 40.8% |
| Granada Middle Whittier | 989 | 55.2% | 59.2% |
| Herbert Hoover Middle San Jose | 910 | 63.0% | 28.3% |
| Ladera Vista Junior High School of the Arts Fullerton | 820 | 62.6% | 44.3% |
| Marvin A. Dutcher Middle Turlock | 810 | 63.6% | 33.9% |
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 San Marcos Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In San Diego County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 36.3% | #600 of 1,224 | #51 of 92 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 32.2% | #556 of 1,227 ▲ 18 | #48 of 92 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 45.2% | #595 of 1,227 ▲ 83 | #50 of 92 ▲ 3 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +1.5pp | #690 of 1,214 | #43 of 91 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 968 | #229 of 1,377 | #21 of 104 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 24.2:1 | #1,100 of 1,279 | #88 of 100 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 44.9% | #755 of 1,278 | #75 of 100 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 58.7% | #849 of 1,329 | #51 of 102 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -21.9% | #290 of 930 | #27 of 73 |
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
968
-1 (0%) vs 2020
-20% since 1990-91, when it was 1,212
Student : Teacher
24.2:1
was 21.1:1
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 | 968 | 40 | 24.2:1 | 59% (568) |
| 2023-24 | 987 | 45.7 | 21.6:1 | 63% (625) |
| 2022-23 | 931 | 45.1 | 20.6:1 | 62% (574) |
| 2020-21 | 969 | 46 | 21.1:1 | 49% (474) |
| 2017-18 | 1,239 | 45.2 | 27.4:1 | 74% (919) |
| 2015-16 | 1,254 | 48 | 26.1:1 | 74% (927) |
| 2010-11 | 1,295 | N/A | N/A | 75% (973) |
| 2000-01 | 1,359 | 52 | 26.1:1 | 47% (637) |
| 1990-91 | 1,212 | 50 | 24.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for San Marcos Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 22% (1,239 to 968); teachers down 11% (45.2 to 40).
About San Marcos Middle
San Marcos Middle is a mid-sized middle school found in San Marcos, California. In all, 968 students attend the school in grades 6 through 8. It has 47% more students than the average for middle schools in California (about 659).
San Marcos Unified counts 18,837 students in its 19 schools, and San Marcos Middle is one of them.
The largest group at San Marcos Middle is Hispanic students, at 72%. Other students are 15% White, 7% Asian, and 5% multiracial. By comparison, San Diego County residents are about 35% Hispanic. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 45%.
The student-to-teacher ratio at San Marcos Middle is 24.2:1, based on 40 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average for middle schools in California is 20.7:1, so this school has more students per teacher. San Marcos Middle counts 59% of students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
On the allk12 Grade, San Marcos Middle lands at C+, ahead of 37% of California public middle schools.
Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, San Marcos Middle would score about 45.2%. It scores 36.3%, 8.8 points below that figure.
In San Diego County, median household income comes to about $106,268, roughly 43% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. San Diego County counts 766 public schools with about 467,437 students.
San Marcos Middle is about 0.6 miles from San Marcos Elementary, its nearest public school. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts San Marcos Middle at 4th of 6.
San Marcos Middle is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more, a location NCES labels Suburb: Large.
The student count changed little between 2020-21 (969) and 2024-25 (968). Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio increased to 24.2:1, from 21.1:1.
The allk12 page for San Marcos Middle lets the school community talk about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. You can also rate the school on this page.
San Diego County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
3,288,774
Census ACS
Median income
$106,268
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
43%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
766
467,437 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in San Marcos Unified
- San Marcos HighHigh · 3,067 students
- Mission Hills HighHigh · 2,751 students
- San Elijo MiddleMiddle · 1,395 students
- Woodland Park MiddleMiddle · 1,184 students
- Double PeakElementary · 1,171 students
- Richland ElementaryElementary · 883 students
Other schools in San Marcos
- San Marcos HighHigh · 3,067 students
- Mission Hills HighHigh · 2,751 students
- San Elijo MiddleMiddle · 1,395 students
- Woodland Park MiddleMiddle · 1,184 students
- Double PeakElementary · 1,171 students
- Richland ElementaryElementary · 883 students
Nearby schools
- San Marcos Elementary0.6 mi · 546
- North Coastal Consortium Schools0.7 mi · 46
- Paloma Elementary1.1 mi · 758
- Baypoint Preparatory Academy - San Diego1.6 mi · 162
- Discovery Elementary1.6 mi · 717
- La Mirada Academy1.6 mi · 868
Frequently asked questions
About San Marcos MiddleHow many students attend San Marcos Middle?
San Marcos Middle enrolls approximately 968 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does San Marcos Middle serve?
San Marcos Middle serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at San Marcos Middle?
The student-to-teacher ratio at San Marcos Middle is approximately 24.2:1 (40 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at San Marcos Middle?
Student demographics at San Marcos Middle are roughly 15% White, 72% Hispanic, 1% Black, 7% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Is San Marcos Middle public or private?
San Marcos Middle is a public K-12 school, overseen by San Marcos Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.