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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Valadez Middle School Academy?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
527
Middle
DISTRICT 711 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PLACENTIA-YORBA LINDA UNIFIED·NCES 063066012371
Valadez Middle School Academy
161 East La Jolla St., Placentia, CA 92870 · (714) 986-7440 · Orange County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL527 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 49% 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.
- B+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- A-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
19.9:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 22.1:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
96%
505 students
DISTRICT 47% · 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 | 166 | 31% |
| Grade 7 | 170 | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 191 | 36% |
Student demographics
11%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 67% · 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
40.1%
CA avg 49.1% . +1.1pp since 2014
Math
17.4%
CA avg 37.7% . -15.6pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 40 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 17 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 1 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 | 9.8% | 30.4% | 31.8% | 28.1% |
| Math | 6.7% | 10.7% | 32.8% | 49.8% |
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 | 40.1% | 17.4% |
| 2023-24 | 32.7% | 13.2% |
| 2022-23 | 41.5% | 11.0% |
| 2021-22 | 35.1% | 11.0% |
| 2018-19 | 40.9% | 24.9% |
| 2017-18 | 39.7% | 28.9% |
| 2016-17 | 38.9% | 32.2% |
| 2015-16 | 42.0% | 32.0% |
| 2014-15 | 39.0% | 33.0% |
% 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
25.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
23.4%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 26% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 23% 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 Valadez Middle School Academy
Valadez Middle School Academy's state test result (25.8% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valadez Middle School Academy this school | 527 | 95.8% | 25.8% |
| Simons Middle Pomona | 578 | 95.8% | 21.6% |
| Freedom Elementary Farmersville | 528 | 94.1% | 15.0% |
| Reef-Sunset Middle Avenal | 554 | 95.5% | 12.3% |
| E. A. Hall Middle Watsonville | 491 | 97.4% | 6.4% |
| Rolling Hills Middle Watsonville | 588 | 94.6% | 12.1% |
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 Valadez Middle School Academy ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Orange County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 25.8% | #877 of 1,224 | #76 of 85 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 17.4% | #951 of 1,227 ▲ 68 | #78 of 85 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 40.1% | #717 of 1,227 ▲ 137 | #71 of 85 ▲ 4 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +5.7pp | #268 of 1,214 | #20 of 84 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 527 | #883 of 1,377 | #70 of 88 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.9:1 | #457 of 1,279 | #12 of 87 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 11.0% | #1,159 of 1,278 | #81 of 87 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 95.8% | #86 of 1,329 | #5 of 88 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -15.0% | #503 of 930 | #60 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
527
-173 (-25%) vs 2020
-25% since 2010-11, when it was 700
Student : Teacher
19.9:1
was 23.3:1
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 | 527 | 26.5 | 19.9:1 | 96% (505) |
| 2023-24 | 557 | 29.7 | 18.8:1 | 96% (535) |
| 2022-23 | 621 | 29.7 | 20.9:1 | 93% (580) |
| 2020-21 | 700 | 30 | 23.3:1 | 94% (661) |
| 2017-18 | 620 | 28.7 | 21.6:1 | 92% (573) |
| 2015-16 | 638 | 30 | 21.3:1 | 92% (589) |
| 2010-11 | 700 | N/A | N/A | 85% (593) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Valadez Middle School Academy.
Since 2017-18: students down 15% (620 to 527); teachers down 8% (28.7 to 26.5).
About Valadez Middle School Academy
Valadez Middle School Academy serves students in Placentia, California, as a small middle school. Enrolled students number 527 students, in grades 6 through 8. Enrollment is 20% lower than the average for middle schools in California, which is about 659.
Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified counts 34 schools and 22,665 students, including Valadez Middle School Academy.
The student body at Valadez Middle School Academy is 94% Hispanic. Other reported shares: 2% White and 2% Asian. Orange County's residents are about 34% Hispanic, 60 points below the school's share. The school's diversity index is 11%, meaning two students picked at random have an 11% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Valadez Middle School Academy operates with 26.5 full-time-equivalent teachers, a ratio of about 19.9:1. On average, middle schools in California have 20.7:1, compared with 19.9:1 here. Valadez Middle School Academy reports 96% of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. That is 41 points above the 55% average for public schools in Orange County.
Valadez Middle School Academy is graded B- by allk12, scoring above 49% of California public middle schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, Valadez Middle School Academy is 2.4 points above its prediction. Actual: 25.8%. Predicted: 23.4%.
Valadez Middle School Academy is located in Orange County, where the median household income is $116,289, about 44% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 7%. Besides Valadez Middle School Academy, Orange County has 648 other public schools.
The nearest public school is Melrose Elementary, at about 0.1 miles. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. On state test proficiency, Valadez Middle School Academy ranks 7th in a group of 9 nearby schools.
Its NCES locale code is Suburb: Large: the school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
The school enrolled 527 students in 2024-25, 173 fewer than the 700 it had in 2020-21. In 2020-21, the student-to-teacher ratio was 23.3:1; by 2024-25 it was 19.9:1.
Discussions about Valadez Middle School Academy may include science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
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 Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified
- Valencia HighHigh · 2,411 students
- El Dorado HighHigh · 1,998 students
- Yorba Linda HighHigh · 1,631 students
- Esperanza HighHigh · 1,393 students
- Travis RanchElementary · 1,197 students
- Kraemer MiddleMiddle · 889 students
Other schools in Placentia
- Valencia HighHigh · 2,411 students
- El Dorado HighHigh · 1,998 students
- Kraemer MiddleMiddle · 889 students
- Golden ElementaryElementary · 834 students
- John O. Tynes ElementaryElementary · 591 students
- Col. J. K. Tuffree MiddleMiddle · 566 students
Nearby schools
- Melrose Elementary0.1 mi · 354
- Rio Vista Elementary1.1 mi · 647
- Sunkist Elementary1.1 mi · 665
- Kraemer Middle1.2 mi · 889
- John O. Tynes Elementary1.2 mi · 591
- Valencia High1.3 mi · 2,411
Frequently asked questions
About Valadez Middle School AcademyHow many students attend Valadez Middle School Academy?
Valadez Middle School Academy enrolls approximately 527 students in grades 06-08.
Is Valadez Middle School Academy an elementary, middle, or high school?
Valadez Middle School Academy is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many teachers does Valadez Middle School Academy have?
Valadez Middle School Academy employs 27 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 19.9:1.
What is the student diversity at Valadez Middle School Academy?
Student demographics at Valadez Middle School Academy are roughly 2% White, 94% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Asian, 0% Two or more.
What district is Valadez Middle School Academy in?
Valadez Middle School Academy is part of Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.