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What's something Vandenberg Middle does better than most schools?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
565
Middle
DISTRICT 655 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LOMPOC UNIFIED·NCES 062241002690
Vandenberg Middle
Mountain View Blvd., Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA 93437 · (805) 742-2700 · Santa Barbara County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL565 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 16% of California public middle schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- FThree-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
20.3:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 19.2:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
52%
294 students
DISTRICT 71% · 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 | 308 | 55% |
| Grade 8 | 257 | 45% |
Student demographics
58%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 45% · 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
40.6%
CA avg 49.1% . -8.4pp since 2014
Math
24.7%
CA avg 37.7% . -12.3pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 41 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 25 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 8 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 12 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 8.8% | 31.8% | 22.2% | 37.2% |
| Math | 8.0% | 16.6% | 27.1% | 48.2% |
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 | 40.6% | 24.7% |
| 2023-24 | 34.6% | 24.9% |
| 2022-23 | 45.4% | 32.7% |
| 2021-22 | 48.4% | 31.8% |
| 2018-19 | 59.6% | 38.2% |
| 2017-18 | 58.9% | 36.6% |
| 2016-17 | 50.0% | 36.3% |
| 2015-16 | 52.0% | 39.0% |
| 2014-15 | 49.0% | 37.0% |
% 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of CA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
31.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
49.0%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-17.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 31% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 49% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Vandenberg Middle
Vandenberg Middle's state test result (31.1% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vandenberg Middle this school | 565 | 52.0% | 31.1% |
| San Jose Middle Novato | 559 | 55.8% | 41.3% |
| Orcutt Junior High Santa Maria | 464 | 55.0% | 40.3% |
| Pioneer Middle Hanford | 550 | 45.1% | 44.5% |
| Alpine Vista Middle Tulare | 617 | 48.3% | 25.7% |
| Robert L. McCaffrey Middle Galt | 779 | 53.7% | 43.9% |
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 Vandenberg Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Santa Barbara County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 31.1% | #715 of 1,224 | #8 of 15 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 24.7% | #728 of 1,227 ▼ 68 | #9 of 15 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 40.6% | #704 of 1,227 ▲ 97 | #8 of 15 ▼ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -7.5pp | #23 of 1,214 | #1 of 15 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 565 | #830 of 1,377 | #9 of 15 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.3:1 | #502 of 1,279 | #12 of 14 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.9% | #481 of 1,278 | #4 of 14 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 52.0% | #923 of 1,329 | #13 of 15 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -15.4% | #490 of 930 | #5 of 10 |
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
565
-67 (-11%) vs 2020
-45% since 1990-91, when it was 1,032
Student : Teacher
20.3:1
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 | 565 | 27.9 | 20.3:1 | 52% (294) |
| 2023-24 | 574 | 27.7 | 20.7:1 | 57% (326) |
| 2022-23 | 594 | 29.1 | 20.4:1 | 52% (309) |
| 2020-21 | 632 | 30 | 21.1:1 | 48% (305) |
| 2017-18 | 668 | 31.1 | 21.5:1 | 51% (339) |
| 2015-16 | 802 | 36 | 22.3:1 | 52% (414) |
| 2010-11 | 780 | N/A | N/A | 47% (363) |
| 2000-01 | 1,117 | 53 | 21.1:1 | 26% (289) |
| 1990-91 | 1,032 | 48 | 21.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Vandenberg Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 15% (668 to 565); teachers down 10% (31.1 to 27.9).
About Vandenberg Middle
Vandenberg Middle is a mid-sized middle school in Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, administered by Lompoc Unified. It offers grades 7 through 8 and has 565 students enrolled.
A total of 16 schools make up Lompoc Unified, with 8,896 students enrolled.
Hispanic students are 58% of those enrolled at Vandenberg Middle. The next largest groups are 29% White, 6% multiracial, 4% Asian, and 3% Black. In Santa Barbara County overall, about 48% of residents are Hispanic. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 58, compared with 70 nationally.
Vandenberg Middle reported 27.9 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, a ratio of 20.3:1. The average for middle schools in California is about 20.7:1. Roughly 52% of students at Vandenberg Middle can receive free or reduced-price lunch. For comparison, public schools in Santa Barbara County average 68%.
Vandenberg Middle holds a C- allk12 Grade, placing it above 16% of California public middle schools.
Vandenberg Middle is a bottom-10% school in California on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate across its state test results of 31.1% against a predicted 49.0%.
American Community Survey estimates for Santa Barbara County show that the median household earns about $98,161 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 37%, and roughly 9% of residents are in poverty. Across Santa Barbara County, 129 public schools serve about 66,191 students.
Of the public schools around it, Vandenberg Middle is closest to Manzanita Public Charter, about 0.6 miles away. There are 5 other public schools within five miles. Vandenberg Middle ranks 4th of 7 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 31.1% against a local average of 32.7%.
The school's locale code, Rural: Fringe, means it is in rural territory close to an urban area.
Enrollment was 565 in 2024-25. In 2020-21, it was 632.
This page collects posts and questions about Vandenberg Middle, such as open houses, carpools, and field trips. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Santa Barbara County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
443,701
Census ACS
Median income
$98,161
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
37%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
129
66,191 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Lompoc Unified
- Lompoc HighHigh · 1,593 students
- Cabrillo HighHigh · 1,060 students
- Arthur Hapgood ElementaryElementary · 768 students
- Lompoc Valley MiddleMiddle · 744 students
- Miguelito ElementaryElementary · 634 students
- La Canada ElementaryElementary · 541 students
Other schools in Vandenberg Air Force Base
- Manzanita Public CharterElementary · 483 students
- Crestview ElementaryElementary · 373 students
Nearby schools
- Manzanita Public Charter0.6 mi · 483
- Crestview Elementary0.7 mi · 373
- Cabrillo High3.6 mi · 1,060
- Buena Vista Elementary4.1 mi · 498
- Maple High4.7 mi · 135
- Los Berros Visual and Performing Arts Academy6.1 mi · 398
Frequently asked questions
About Vandenberg MiddleWhat is the total enrollment at Vandenberg Middle?
Vandenberg Middle enrolls approximately 565 students in grades 07-08.
Is Vandenberg Middle an elementary, middle, or high school?
Vandenberg Middle is a middle school covering grades 07-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Vandenberg Middle?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Vandenberg Middle is approximately 20.3:1 (28 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Vandenberg Middle?
Vandenberg Middle reports a student body of 29% White, 58% Hispanic, 3% Black, 4% Asian, 6% Two or more.
What district is Vandenberg Middle in?
Vandenberg Middle is part of Lompoc Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.