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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·RIVERSIDE UNIFIED·NCES 063315005158

Sierra Middle

4950 Central Ave., Riverside, CA 92504 · (951) 788-7501 · Riverside County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL829 STUDENTS
Enrollment
829
Middle
DISTRICT 805 · STATE 659
Student : Teacher
22.3:1
37 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 22.5:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
89%
734 students
DISTRICT 76% · 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

GradeStudentsShare
Grade 741650%
Grade 841350%
Student demographics
30%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 48% · STATE 62% · US 70%
White
638%
DISTRICT 15% · STATE 20% · US 43%
Hispanic
69083%
DISTRICT 70% · STATE 56% · US 30%
Black
466%
DISTRICT 6% · STATE 5% · US 15%
Asian
132%
DISTRICT 5% · STATE 12% · US 6%
Two+
142%
DISTRICT 4% · STATE 6% · US 5%
Pacific Islander
20%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 0%
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
Male
39748%
Female
43152%

Discussions

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Test scores

CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standard
English Language Arts
39.3%
CA avg 49.1% . +10.3pp since 2014
Math
20.4%
CA avg 37.7% . -2.6pp 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 20 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 10 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 3 points.

Performance levels, 2024-25

SubjectStandard ExceededStandard MetStandard Nearly MetStandard Not Met
English Language Arts9.6%29.7%25.5%35.1%
Math5.9%14.4%30.1%49.5%
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 yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2539.3%20.4%
2023-2436.7%22.6%
2022-2334.7%20.9%
2021-2235.6%19.6%
2018-1941.9%22.2%
2017-1831.4%21.8%
2016-1732.0%20.3%
2015-1635.0%24.0%
2014-1529.0%23.0%
% 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 · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
29.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
27.7%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.1pp
above demographic expectation

What this means: About 30% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 28% 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 Sierra Middle

Sierra Middle's state test result (29.7% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Sierra Middle this school82988.5%29.7%
Chemawa Middle
Riverside
88589.0%26.1%
University Heights Middle
Riverside
87091.4%28.4%
Arizona Middle
Riverside
80488.3%31.4%
McKee Middle
Bakersfield
86993.2%34.1%
Alder Middle
Fontana
96492.1%24.3%
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 Sierra Middle ranks

Among middle schools
MeasureThis schoolIn CaliforniaIn Riverside County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
29.7%#746 of 1,224#38 of 78
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
20.4%#852 of 1,227
▼ 124
#45 of 78
▼ 11
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
39.3%#732 of 1,227
▲ 3
#39 of 78
▼ 3
3-year test score change
ranked biggest gain first
+2.2pp#608 of 1,214#41 of 77
Enrollment
ranked largest first
829#401 of 1,377#52 of 79
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
22.3:1#854 of 1,279#40 of 78
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
29.6%#947 of 1,278#60 of 77
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
88.5%#328 of 1,329#27 of 78
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked fastest growth first
+0.5%#244 of 257#14 of 15
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 2024-25
Enrollment
829
-41 (-5%) vs 2020
+3% since 1990-91, when it was 806
Student : Teacher
22.3:1
was 22.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2582937.222.3:189% (734)
2023-2483537.622.2:158% (483)
2022-2383036.123.0:187% (720)
2020-218703922.3:189% (770)
2017-1882537.921.8:186% (710)
2015-168294020.7:183% (691)
2010-11926N/AN/A74% (686)
2000-019533825.1:153% (502)
1990-918063920.7:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Sierra Middle.

Since 2017-18: students unchanged (825 to 829); teachers down 2% (37.9 to 37.2).

About Sierra Middle

Sierra Middle is a public medium-sized middle-grades school in Riverside, California. It covers grades 7 through 8, with a total enrollment of 829 students. Statewide, middle schools in California average about 659 students each.

Riverside Unified is made up of 48 schools with 38,002 students in all.

Federal enrollment data show Sierra Middle is 83% Hispanic. It is also 8% White and 6% Black. Riverside County's residents are about 51% Hispanic, 32 points below the school's share. Sierra Middle's diversity index is 30%, against a US figure of 70%.

Federal staffing data show 37.2 full-time-equivalent teachers at Sierra Middle and a ratio of 22.3:1. This ratio sits 1.6 above the 20.7:1 average for middle schools in California. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility covers 89% of students. That is higher than the 74% average for public schools in Riverside County.

The BeatsExpectations prediction for Sierra Middle is 27.7%, and its average proficiency rate on state tests is 29.7%.

Within Riverside County, the median household income is $93,074, 26% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 8% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Besides Sierra Middle, Riverside County has 542 other public schools.

Nearest public school: Mountain View Elementary, about 0.6 miles away. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Sierra Middle ranks 8th of 9 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 29.7% against a local average of 37.6%.

Locale: City: Large. In NCES terms, the school is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.

Enrollment has fallen by 41 students since 2020-21, to 829.

The discussion area below is open to posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.

Riverside County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
2,478,600
Census ACS
Median income
$93,074
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
26%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
543
424,872 students

Quick facts

School name
Sierra Middle
District
Riverside Unified
Address
4950 Central Ave., Riverside, CA 92504
Phone
(951) 788-7501
County
Riverside County
Level
Middle
Grade range
07–08
Total enrollment
829
Teachers (FTE)
37
Student–teacher ratio
22.3:1
Free and reduced lunch
734 (89%)
Locale
11-City: Large
NCES ID
063315005158
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Riverside Unified
Other schools in Riverside
Other Sierra Middle schools

5 other US public schools in 3 states are named Sierra Middle. Sierra Middle is the largest of the 6.

Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Sierra Middle
How many students attend Sierra Middle?
Sierra Middle enrolls approximately 829 students in grades 07-08.
Is Sierra Middle an elementary, middle, or high school?
Sierra Middle is a middle school covering grades 07-08.
How many teachers does Sierra Middle have?
Sierra Middle employs 37 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 22.3:1.
How diverse is Sierra Middle?
Sierra Middle reports a student body of 8% White, 83% Hispanic, 6% Black, 2% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees Sierra Middle?
Sierra Middle is overseen by Riverside Unified in Riverside County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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