Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

Summary:

Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle is a public middle school located in Fresno, California, serving grades 7-8 with a total enrollment of 821 students. The school is part of the Fresno Unified School District, which is ranked 1082 out of 1568 districts in California and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle consistently performs significantly below the Fresno Unified and California state averages in standardized test scores across all subjects and grade levels. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, only 15.39% of students were proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy, compared to 34.72% for Fresno Unified and 47.04% for California. In Mathematics, the proficiency rate was just 6.81%, compared to 25.14% for Fresno Unified and 35.54% for California. The school has also struggled with high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 13.6% in 2020-2021 to 42.2% in 2021-2022, significantly higher than the district and state averages. Additionally, the school's student subgroups, such as female, male, Asian, African American, Hispanic, and English Language Learner students, all perform poorly compared to their peers across the state, with many subgroups ranking in the bottom 10-20% of California middle schools.

When comparing Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle to nearby schools within the Fresno Unified District, such as Scandinavian Middle, Kings Canyon Middle, and Sequoia Middle, the academic performance gap is significant, with these nearby schools consistently outperforming Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle across all subject areas and grade levels. The only exception is Edison Computech, a magnet school located just 0.44 miles from Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle, which consistently ranks among the top 10% of California middle schools, with proficiency rates that are 40-60 percentage points higher than Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle and the district average.


Detail:

Public 7-8

 1100 East Church Ave.
       Fresno, CA  93706


(559) 457-3400

District: Fresno Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
2679th of 2,777 California Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $8,249 Help


Students who attend Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle usually attend:

High:    Edison High

Feeder schools for Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle:

Elementary:    Addams Elementary
    Columbia Elementary
    King Elementary
    Kirk Elementary
    More...

Student/teacher ratio:  16.5 Help
Number of students:  821

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
74.4%
African American:
13.3%
Asian:
5.5%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  97.7% Help


 See top rated California middle schools

 Compare Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle ranks worse than 96.5% of middle schools in California. It also ranks last among 14 ranked middle schools in the Fresno Unified School District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 9.38. (See more...)
Help
Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Student Body
Help
Compare Details Racial makeup is: Hispanic (74.4%), African American (13.3%), Asian (5.5%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 97.7% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle is 16.5, which is the 2nd best among 14 middle schools in the Fresno Unified School District. (See more...)
Help
Compare Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle employs 49.6 full-time teachers.
Finance
Help
Compare Details The average total spent per student at Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle is $8,249. 11 middle schools in the Fresno Unified School District spend more per student.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle:

SchoolDigger ranks Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle 2679th of 2777 California public middle schools. (See Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Multi-racial students:
English Language Learner students:
Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Migrant students:
Female students:
Male students:
Asian students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:


Fresno Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Fresno Unified 1082nd of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 10.01 2384th 2508 4.9%
2018 11.23 2315th 2480 6.7%
2019 10.45 2540th 2715 6.4%
2022 10.72 2614th 2740 4.6%
2023 11.23 2663rd 2802 5.0%
2024 9.38 2679th 2777 3.5%
See the entire list of California Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 4.87 657th 678 3.1%
2024 4.64 679th 699 2.9%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 25.61 1225th 1364 10.2%
2019 29.10 1169th 1442 18.9%
2022 34.03 1019th 1540 33.8%
2023 30.46 1197th 1529 21.7%
2024 29.84 1227th 1477 16.9%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 19.33 1470th 1538 4.4%
2024 18.53 1490th 1550 3.9%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 15.54 2031st 2230 8.9%
2019 13.80 2182nd 2369 7.9%
2022 14.15 2292nd 2458 6.8%
2023 13.73 2388th 2549 6.3%
2024 11.28 2462nd 2575 4.4%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Migrant students at Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 46.17 40th 86 53.5%
2024 20.04 83rd 94 11.7%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Migrant Students!

Rank History for Female students at Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 8.64 2187th 2262 3.3%
2019 8.30 2308th 2380 3.0%
2022 9.92 2435th 2509 2.9%
2023 10.91 2454th 2547 3.7%
2024 9.56 2473rd 2546 2.9%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 22.36 1237th 1369 9.6%
2019 23.32 1289th 1491 13.5%
2022 18.80 1474th 1531 3.7%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 13.66 2086th 2273 8.2%
2019 12.33 2236th 2407 7.1%
2022 12.23 2399th 2527 5.1%
2023 11.85 2424th 2558 5.2%
2024 9.27 2487th 2547 2.4%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 2.65 676th 700 3.4%
2019 11.50 663rd 745 11.0%
2022 1.19 724th 733 1.2%
2023 0.90 713th 718 0.7%
2024 0.72 735th 741 0.8%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 17.86 541st 600 9.8%
2019 17.48 588th 643 8.6%
2022 10.28 634th 637 0.5%
2023 13.43 595th 614 3.1%
2024 14.62 600th 626 4.2%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 15.88 1870th 2072 9.7%
2019 13.10 2064th 2213 6.7%
2022 14.57 2193rd 2359 7.0%
2023 15.20 2183rd 2391 8.7%
2024 12.00 2267th 2383 4.9%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: California Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)
0%

0%

0%

0%

100%

  

Reviews:
by a teacher
Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Open Quote Horrible students that refuse to do work and will not get punished for it. I will never substitute here ever again. Kids called me the nicest words "F you, you cant make me do my work". It was so bad the principal had to sit in with me. Sad these kids dont care about their education. Close Quote



Enrollment information for Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
2015 26 166 50 574 3 0 10 0 829
2016 27 151 50 602 4 0 4 0 838
2017 26 153 57 606 4 1 11 0 858
2018 24 157 59 629 2 0 8 0 879
2019 23 146 47 604 3 0 12 0 835
2020 21 130 41 636 5 3 17 0 853
2021 18 109 52 622 3 3 17 0 824
2022 19 87 54 594 5 2 16 2 779
2023 24 109 45 611 5 1 25 1 821

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
2015 829 37.0 22.4 92.4
2016 838 38.0 22.0 96.1
2017 858 37.5 22.8 95.2
2018 879 38.5 22.8 97.8
2019 835 40.6 20.5 96.4
2020 853 n/a n/a 97.2
2021 824 38.0 21.6 95.4
2022 779 47.6 16.3 97.7
2023 821 49.6 16.5 97.7

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
2015 829 37.0 22.4 92.4
2016 838 38.0 22.0 96.1
2017 858 37.5 22.8 95.2
2018 879 38.5 22.8 97.8
2019 835 40.6 20.5 96.4
2020 853 n/a n/a 97.2
2021 824 38.0 21.6 95.4
2022 779 47.6 16.3 97.7
2023 821 49.6 16.5 97.7

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

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YearTotal Expenditures Per Pupil
2018 $8,249

Data source: California Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 2540th of 2715 Middle schoolsRanks 2663rd of 2802 Middle schools
 1.5%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
7th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle)20.517.2
 3.3%
   7th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Fresno Unified)37.132.4
 4.7%
   7th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (California)51.447.4
 3.9%
7th Grade Mathematics (Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle)12.910.4
 2.5%
   7th Grade Mathematics (Fresno Unified)24.320
 4.3%
   7th Grade Mathematics (California)37.933.2
 4.7%
8th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle)1613.6
 2.4%
   8th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Fresno Unified)31.630
 1.6%
   8th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (California)49.445.7
 3.8%
8th Grade Mathematics (Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle)9.38.2
 1.1%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Fresno Unified)20.815.7
 5.1%
   8th Grade Mathematics (California)36.629.9
 6.7%
8th Grade Science (Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle)7.83.7
 4.1%
   8th Grade Science (Fresno Unified)14.713.6
 1.1%
   8th Grade Science (California)30.828.8
 2.1%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students835821
 1.7%
African American146109
 25.3%
American Indian35
 66.7%
Asian4745
 4.3%
Hispanic604611
 1.2%
Pacific Islander01
White2324
 4.3%
Two or More Races1225
 108.3%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients96.4%97.7%
 1.3%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

Students at Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle are 74% Hispanic, 13% African American, 5% Asian, 3% Two or more races, 3% White.

Students who attend Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle usually go on to attend Edison High

In the 2022-23 school year, 821 students attended Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle.

Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle ranks in the bottom 3.5% of California middle schools.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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