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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CARLSBAD UNIFIED·NCES 060750000715

Valley Middle

1645 Magnolia Ave., Carlsbad, CA 92008 · (760) 331-5300 · San Diego County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE12-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL807 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 50% 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.
  • C+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
  • DThree-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

Enrollment
807
Middle
DISTRICT 818 · STATE 659
Student : Teacher
22.2:1
36 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.8:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
37%
295 students
DISTRICT 34% · 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 626533%
Grade 726433%
Grade 827834%
Student demographics
59%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · STATE 62% · US 70%
White
44255%
DISTRICT 56% · STATE 20% · US 43%
Hispanic
26232%
DISTRICT 26% · STATE 56% · US 30%
Black
111%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 5% · US 15%
Asian
202%
DISTRICT 6% · STATE 12% · US 6%
Two+
678%
DISTRICT 10% · STATE 6% · US 5%
Native American
41%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 1%
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
41551%
Female
39148%

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Test scores

CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standard
English Language Arts
55.4%
CA avg 49.1% . -9.6pp since 2014
Math
47.6%
CA avg 37.7% . -5.4pp since 2014

What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 55 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 48 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are down about 10 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 5 points.

Performance levels, 2024-25

SubjectStandard ExceededStandard MetStandard Nearly MetStandard Not Met
English Language Arts20.6%34.7%23.7%20.9%
Math22.9%24.7%27.6%24.8%
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 yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2555.4%47.6%
2023-2457.7%47.4%
2022-2365.5%50.6%
2021-2265.3%45.3%
2018-1971.9%63.1%
2017-1869.0%61.1%
2016-1768.1%61.7%
2015-1675.0%63.0%
2014-1565.0%53.0%
% 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
52.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
58.1%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.1pp
below demographic expectation

What this means: About 52% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 58% 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 Valley Middle

Valley Middle's state test result (52.0% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Valley Middle this school80736.6%52.0%
Lakeside Middle
Lakeside
72438.7%39.1%
Oakdale Junior High
Oakdale
78038.3%37.4%
Bernice Ayer Middle
San Clemente
91939.4%69.9%
Calavera Hills Middle
Carlsbad
65533.1%54.5%
Rincon Valley Middle
Santa Rosa
72534.1%47.5%
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 Valley Middle ranks

Among middle schools
MeasureThis schoolIn CaliforniaIn San Diego County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
52.0%#324 of 1,224#31 of 92
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
47.6%#302 of 1,227
▼ 17
#29 of 92
▲ 1
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
55.4%#390 of 1,227
▼ 60
#34 of 92
▼ 3
3-year test score change
ranked biggest drop first
-3.9pp#106 of 1,214#11 of 91
Enrollment
ranked largest first
807#431 of 1,377#34 of 104
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
22.2:1#842 of 1,279#65 of 100
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
58.6%#468 of 1,278#55 of 100
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
36.6%#1,085 of 1,329#77 of 102
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-22.8%#260 of 930#23 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 2024-25
Enrollment
807
-69 (-8%) vs 2020
-11% since 1990-91, when it was 911
Student : Teacher
22.2:1
was 21.9:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2580736.322.2:137% (295)
2023-2478839.320.1:124% (192)
2022-2386640.321.5:126% (222)
2020-218764021.9:123% (204)
2017-181,0454125.5:129% (308)
2015-161,0094124.6:124% (246)
2010-111,007N/AN/A29% (290)
2000-011,0574623.0:126% (270)
1990-919114321.2:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Valley Middle.

Since 2017-18: students down 23% (1,045 to 807); teachers down 12% (41 to 36.3).

About Valley Middle

A mid-sized middle school in Carlsbad, California, Valley Middle is part of Carlsbad Unified. It enrolls 807 students in 2024-25. The grades offered are 6 through 8. It has 22% more students than the average for middle schools in California (about 659).

The 16 schools in Carlsbad Unified enroll 10,678 students altogether, Valley Middle among them.

The student body at Valley Middle is 55% White. After that, the student body is 32% Hispanic, 8% multiracial, and 2% Asian. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 59%.

On staff are 36.3 full-time-equivalent teachers; the student-to-teacher ratio is 22.2:1. Middle schools in California have an average ratio of 20.7:1. About 37% of students at Valley Middle are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That rate is below the 54% average among public schools in San Diego County.

Valley 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 50% of California public middle schools.

When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, Valley Middle is 6.1 points below its prediction. Actual: 52.0%. Predicted: 58.1%.

The county, San Diego County, is where the school is located. The median household earns about $106,268 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 43%, and about 7% of people live in poverty. Counting Valley Middle, San Diego County has 766 public schools.

Valley Middle's closest public school neighbor is Magnolia Elementary, about 0.2 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. On proficiency, Valley Middle is behind the 68.4% nearby average, ranking 6th of 7.

Its NCES locale code is City: Mid-size: the school is inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.

Over 4 years, enrollment fell by 69 students, from 876 to 807.

Valley Middle has a community page on allk12 for topics such as pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.

San Diego County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
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

School name
Valley Middle
District
Carlsbad Unified
Address
1645 Magnolia Ave., Carlsbad, CA 92008
Phone
(760) 331-5300
County
San Diego County
Level
Middle
Grade range
06–08
Total enrollment
807
Teachers (FTE)
36
Student–teacher ratio
22.2:1
Free and reduced lunch
295 (37%)
Locale
12-City: Mid-size
NCES ID
060750000715
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Carlsbad Unified
Other schools in Carlsbad
Other Valley Middle schools

4 other US public schools in 5 states are named Valley Middle. Valley Middle is the largest of the 5.

Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Valley Middle
How large is Valley Middle?
Valley Middle enrolls approximately 807 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Valley Middle serve?
Valley Middle serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many teachers does Valley Middle have?
Valley Middle employs 36 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 22.2:1.
What is the student diversity at Valley Middle?
Student demographics at Valley Middle are roughly 55% White, 32% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Asian, 8% Two or more.
What district is Valley Middle in?
Valley Middle is part of Carlsbad Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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