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Does Walter F. Dexter Middle have enough mental health and stress support?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
610
Middle
DISTRICT 752 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WHITTIER CITY·NCES 064245006936
Walter F. Dexter Middle
11532 East Floral Dr., Whittier, CA 90601 · (562) 789-3090 · Los Angeles County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL610 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 34% 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.
- B-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
21.4:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.2:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
87%
529 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
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 202 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 201 | 33% |
| Grade 8 | 207 | 34% |
Student demographics
13%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 16% · 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
35.2%
CA avg 49.1% . +6.2pp since 2014
Math
18.7%
CA avg 37.7% . -1.3pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 35 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 19 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 6 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 1 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 10.0% | 25.2% | 24.7% | 40.1% |
| Math | 8.3% | 10.3% | 24.7% | 56.6% |
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 | 35.2% | 18.7% |
| 2023-24 | 31.0% | 17.3% |
| 2022-23 | 32.0% | 17.6% |
| 2021-22 | 33.4% | 15.3% |
| 2018-19 | 43.9% | 29.9% |
| 2017-18 | 35.8% | 26.0% |
| 2016-17 | 40.0% | 27.0% |
| 2015-16 | 40.0% | 20.0% |
| 2014-15 | 29.0% | 20.0% |
% 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
25.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
28.7%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 26% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 29% 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 Walter F. Dexter Middle
Walter F. Dexter Middle's state test result (25.6% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walter F. Dexter Middle this school | 610 | 86.7% | 25.6% |
| North Monterey County Middle Castroville | 624 | 87.8% | 17.5% |
| Fremont Academy of Environmental Science & Innovative Design Oxnard | 617 | 86.2% | 18.0% |
| Kermit McKenzie Intermediate Guadalupe | 585 | 87.9% | 19.2% |
| Gavilan View Middle Salinas | 556 | 87.6% | 21.6% |
| Isbell Middle Santa Paula | 634 | 83.8% | 24.1% |
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 Walter F. Dexter Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Los Angeles County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 25.6% | #887 of 1,224 | #193 of 248 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 18.7% | #901 of 1,227 ▼ 35 | #202 of 248 ▼ 18 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 35.2% | #848 of 1,227 ▲ 50 | #184 of 248 ▲ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +2.6pp | #560 of 1,214 | #158 of 247 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 610 | #743 of 1,377 | #175 of 317 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.4:1 | #696 of 1,279 | #158 of 301 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 13.1% | #1,138 of 1,278 | #236 of 301 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 86.7% | #383 of 1,329 | #148 of 312 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -40.1% | #30 of 930 | #13 of 213 |
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
610
-175 (-22%) vs 2020
-17% since 1990-91, when it was 736
Student : Teacher
21.4:1
was 23.1:1
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 | 610 | 28.5 | 21.4:1 | 87% (529) |
| 2023-24 | 627 | 30.9 | 20.3:1 | 87% (543) |
| 2022-23 | 677 | 30.2 | 22.4:1 | 75% (507) |
| 2020-21 | 785 | 34 | 23.1:1 | 78% (611) |
| 2017-18 | 1,019 | 37 | 27.5:1 | 74% (758) |
| 2015-16 | 1,024 | 40 | 25.6:1 | 79% (813) |
| 2010-11 | 1,249 | N/A | N/A | 60% (748) |
| 2000-01 | 1,253 | 52 | 24.1:1 | 56% (698) |
| 1990-91 | 736 | 31 | 23.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Walter F. Dexter Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 40% (1,019 to 610); teachers down 23% (37 to 28.5).
About Walter F. Dexter Middle
Walter F. Dexter Middle is a middle school located in Whittier, California, in Los Angeles County. Total enrollment is 610 students, and the grades served are 6 through 8.
Walter F. Dexter Middle is one of the 12 schools that make up Whittier City (5,288 students in total).
A large majority of enrollment at Walter F. Dexter Middle is Hispanic, at 93%. The rest of enrollment is 3% White and 2% multiracial. Among all residents of Los Angeles County, the Hispanic share is about 48%. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 13%.
Walter F. Dexter Middle reports a ratio of 21.4 students per teacher, from 28.5 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average ratio among middle schools in California is similar, at 20.7:1. Student poverty is often measured by lunch eligibility; at Walter F. Dexter Middle, 87% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. That rate is above the 70% average among public schools in Los Angeles County.
Walter F. Dexter Middle earns a C on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 34% of California public middle schools.
Schools in California with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 28.7%. Walter F. Dexter Middle scores 25.6%.
Los Angeles County is the school's county. There, the median household earns about $90,112 a year, roughly 36% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 10%. Walter F. Dexter Middle shares Los Angeles County with 2,243 other public schools.
Whittier Independent Study is less than a tenth of a mile away, making it the nearest public school. Walter F. Dexter Middle is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Walter F. Dexter Middle at 8th of 8.
The NCES locale for Walter F. Dexter Middle is Suburb: Large, which covers schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
By 2024-25, enrollment had dropped to 610, from 785 in 2020-21. By 2024-25, the school had 21.4 students per teacher, compared with 23.1 in 2020-21.
People who know Walter F. Dexter Middle can post here about homework, tutoring, and testing dates. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Los Angeles County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
9,808,667
Census ACS
Median income
$90,112
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
36%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
2,244
1,265,907 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Whittier City
- Katherine Edwards Mid Sch STEAM & Dual Immersion AcadMiddle · 894 students
- Wallen L. AndrewsElementary · 542 students
- Daniel Phelan Language AcademyElementary · 507 students
- Longfellow ElementaryElementary · 499 students
- Christian Sorensen Science AcademyElementary · 446 students
- Lou Henry Hoover School of Fine ArtsElementary · 374 students
Other schools in Whittier
- La Serna HighHigh · 2,372 students
- California HighHigh · 2,261 students
- Whittier HighHigh · 1,652 students
- Pioneer HighHigh · 1,000 students
- Granada MiddleMiddle · 989 students
- East Whittier MiddleMiddle · 985 students
Nearby schools
- Whittier Independent Study0.0 mi · 67
- Longfellow Elementary0.3 mi · 499
- Orange Grove Elementary0.6 mi · 324
- West Whittier Elementary0.9 mi · 346
- Whittier High0.9 mi · 1,652
- Christian Sorensen Science Academy1.0 mi · 446
Frequently asked questions
About Walter F. Dexter MiddleHow large is Walter F. Dexter Middle?
Walter F. Dexter Middle enrolls approximately 610 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Walter F. Dexter Middle serve?
Walter F. Dexter Middle serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Walter F. Dexter Middle?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Walter F. Dexter Middle is approximately 21.4:1 (29 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Walter F. Dexter Middle?
At Walter F. Dexter Middle, the student body is approximately 3% White, 93% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Is Walter F. Dexter Middle public or private?
Walter F. Dexter Middle is a public K-12 school, overseen by Whittier City.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.