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Needles Middle

Summary:

Needles Middle School is a public middle school in Needles, California, serving 192 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Needles Unified School District, which has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Academically, Needles Middle School struggles, with student performance significantly below state averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, only 28.38% to 33.87% of students were proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy, compared to the state average of 45.82% to 47.19%. In Mathematics, proficiency rates ranged from just 9.46% to 25.37%, far below the state averages of 31.57% to 34.31%. The school's performance in Science also lags behind, with only 16.22% of 8th-grade students proficient or better, compared to the state average of 28.95%. Additionally, Needles Middle has experienced high rates of chronic absenteeism, ranging from 18.1% to 35.5%, significantly higher than the state average.

While the school's performance varies across different student subgroups, with female and Hispanic students generally performing better than their male and White counterparts, the school's performance for low socioeconomic status students and disabled students is particularly concerning, ranking in the bottom quartile of California middle schools. Despite these challenges, the school appears to have some bright spots, such as the relatively better performance of special education students and homeless students compared to other subgroups. Understanding the factors that contribute to the success of these subgroups could provide valuable insights and potential strategies for improving the school's overall performance.


Detail:

Public 6-8

 720 Bailey Ave.
       Needles, CA  92363

(760) 326-3894

District: Needles Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
2014th of 2,777 California Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $8,590 Help


Students who attend Needles Middle usually attend:

High:    Needles High

Feeder schools for Needles Middle:

Elementary:    Vista Colorado Elementary

Student/teacher ratio:  17.9 Help
Number of students:  206

Racial breakdown:

White:
41.7%
Hispanic:
35.4%
American Indian:
9.2%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  78.2% Help


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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Needles Middle ranks worse than 72.5% of middle schools in California. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 25.33. (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: White (41.7%), Hispanic (35.4%), American Indian (9.2%). (See more...)
Help
Compare Details 78.2% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Needles Middle is 17.9. (See more...)
Help
Compare Needles Middle employs 11.4 full-time teachers.
Finance
Help
Compare Details The average total spent per student at Needles Middle is $8,590.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Needles Middle:

SchoolDigger ranks Needles Middle 2014th of 2777 California public middle schools. (See Needles Middle in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Needles Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Needles Unified 1323rd of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Your rating for Needles Middle?

Rank History for Needles Middle

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Needles Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2004 37.16 1034th 1769 41.5%
2005 38.45 1029th 1777 42.1%
2006 43.01 940th 1804 47.9%
2007 42.17 1073rd 1999 46.3%
2008 48.98 949th 2005 52.7%
2009 37.06 1279th 2063 38.0%
2010 27.71 1641st 2179 24.7%
2011 24.29 1790th 2236 19.9%
2012 22.64 1849th 2259 18.1%
2013 29.37 1729th 2379 27.3%
2015 27.63 1726th 2477 30.3%
2016 27.45 1738th 2497 30.4%
2017 17.39 2133rd 2508 15.0%
2018 18.42 2062nd 2480 16.9%
2019 16.24 2342nd 2715 13.7%
2021 17.23 785th 894 12.2%
2022 14.66 2468th 2740 9.9%
2023 20.06 2270th 2802 19.0%
2024 25.33 2014th 2777 27.5%
See the entire list of California Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Needles Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 41.86 728th 1538 52.7%
2024 43.99 683rd 1550 55.9%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Needles Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 18.28 1956th 2230 12.3%
2019 17.61 2107th 2369 11.1%
2021 20.67 638th 721 11.5%
2022 16.04 2250th 2458 8.5%
2023 22.17 2088th 2549 18.1%
2024 24.11 2015th 2575 21.7%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Homeless students at Needles Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 45.01 166th 336 50.6%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Homeless Students!

Rank History for Female students at Needles Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 20.16 1841st 2262 18.6%
2019 16.85 2048th 2380 13.9%
2021 19.04 641st 738 13.1%
2022 18.39 2136th 2509 14.9%
2023 23.78 1940th 2547 23.8%
2024 33.59 1558th 2546 38.8%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Needles Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 18.27 1337th 1369 2.3%
2019 44.32 659th 1491 55.8%
2022 25.54 1242nd 1531 18.9%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Needles Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 16.57 1997th 2273 12.1%
2019 16.26 2123rd 2407 11.8%
2021 15.87 701st 763 8.1%
2022 12.57 2388th 2527 5.5%
2023 18.50 2170th 2558 15.2%
2024 19.33 2113th 2547 17.0%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Needles Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 28.42 1520th 2072 26.6%
2019 29.36 1560th 2213 29.5%
2022 14.34 2201st 2359 6.7%
2023 21.56 1974th 2391 17.4%
2024 36.09 1427th 2383 40.1%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for Native American students at Needles Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 39.37 13th 18 27.8%
2019 23.75 16th 19 15.8%
2023 43.79 9th 16 43.8%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Native American Students!

Rank History for White students at Needles Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 8.72 1409th 1496 5.8%
2019 7.21 1527th 1602 4.7%
2022 12.04 1422nd 1555 8.6%
2023 11.58 1407th 1552 9.3%
2024 11.05 1402nd 1535 8.7%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for White 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.

Needles Middle Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 
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Data source: California Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Needles Middle

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1991 143 4 2 30 14 n/a n/a 0 193
1992 201 6 14 54 26 n/a n/a 0 301
1993 232 4 11 49 36 n/a n/a 0 332
1994 241 9 6 65 29 n/a n/a 0 350
1995 190 15 4 60 20 n/a n/a 0 289
1996 190 15 4 60 20 n/a n/a 0 289
1997 185 8 8 57 23 n/a n/a 0 281
1998 174 9 4 57 27 n/a n/a 0 271
1999 204 12 5 45 31 n/a n/a 0 297
2000 168 9 3 55 31 n/a n/a 0 266
2001 160 8 6 56 35 n/a n/a 0 265
2002 168 7 4 40 22 n/a n/a 0 241
2003 168 7 4 40 22 n/a n/a 0 241
2004 145 6 3 26 24 n/a n/a 0 204
2005 169 5 1 34 31 n/a n/a 0 240
2006 145 4 3 32 41 n/a n/a 2 227
2007 153 6 1 45 40 n/a n/a 11 256
2008 131 8 n/a 44 44 n/a n/a 0 227
2009 120 2 1 23 54 0 13 0 213
2010 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2011 103 10 3 44 30 0 0 0 190
2012 95 6 1 48 33 0 0 0 183
2013 101 7 0 49 28 1 0 0 186
2014 118 3 0 37 28 2 0 0 188
2015 108 2 2 42 26 2 5 0 187
2016 110 6 2 43 36 3 5 0 205
2017 115 4 3 54 44 0 8 0 228
2018 123 5 2 65 41 0 8 0 244
2019 120 8 2 66 46 1 8 0 251
2020 116 12 3 74 37 1 11 0 254
2021 99 4 2 82 40 1 13 0 241
2022 75 6 2 76 26 1 15 0 201
2023 80 8 2 64 25 1 12 0 192
2024 86 7 3 73 19 2 16 0 206

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 Needles Middle

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1991 193 7.8 24.7 n/a
1992 301 7.9 38.1 48.2
1993 332 13.2 25.2 49.1
1994 350 14.0 25.0 60.3
1995 289 13.0 22.2 50.9
1996 289 13.0 22.2 50.9
1997 281 13.3 21.1 56.9
1998 271 13.2 20.5 65.7
1999 297 13.0 22.8 60.3
2000 266 12.0 22.2 61.3
2001 265 12.3 21.5 69.4
2002 241 11.0 21.9 68
2003 241 11.0 21.9 68
2004 204 11.0 18.5 65.7
2005 240 11.0 21.8 70
2006 227 10.0 22.7 68
2007 256 11.2 22.9 62.9
2008 227 12.0 18.9 73.6
2009 213 10.0 19.4 65.3
2010 0 9.0 0.0 n/a
2011 190 n/a n/a 77.9
2012 183 8.0 22.6 n/a
2013 186 8.1 22.7 68.3
2014 188 8.5 22.0 60.6
2015 187 9.0 20.7 67.4
2016 205 10.0 20.5 70.7
2017 228 10.6 21.3 69.3
2018 244 10.8 22.5 72.5
2019 251 11.8 21.2 72.5
2020 254 n/a n/a 70.9
2021 241 11.5 20.7 72.6
2022 201 10.7 18.6 72.6
2023 192 11.2 17.0 79.7
2024 206 11.4 17.9 78.2

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 Needles Middle

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1991 193 7.8 24.7 n/a
1992 301 7.9 38.1 48.2
1993 332 13.2 25.2 49.1
1994 350 14.0 25.0 60.3
1995 289 13.0 22.2 50.9
1996 289 13.0 22.2 50.9
1997 281 13.3 21.1 56.9
1998 271 13.2 20.5 65.7
1999 297 13.0 22.8 60.3
2000 266 12.0 22.2 61.3
2001 265 12.3 21.5 69.4
2002 241 11.0 21.9 68
2003 241 11.0 21.9 68
2004 204 11.0 18.5 65.7
2005 240 11.0 21.8 70
2006 227 10.0 22.7 68
2007 256 11.2 22.9 62.9
2008 227 12.0 18.9 73.6
2009 213 10.0 19.4 65.3
2010 0 9.0 0.0 n/a
2011 190 n/a n/a 77.9
2012 183 8.0 22.6 n/a
2013 186 8.1 22.7 68.3
2014 188 8.5 22.0 60.6
2015 187 9.0 20.7 67.4
2016 205 10.0 20.5 70.7
2017 228 10.6 21.3 69.3
2018 244 10.8 22.5 72.5
2019 251 11.8 21.2 72.5
2020 254 n/a n/a 70.9
2021 241 11.5 20.7 72.6
2022 201 10.7 18.6 72.6
2023 192 11.2 17.0 79.7
2024 206 11.4 17.9 78.2

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 Needles Middle

Help

YearTotal Expenditures Per Pupil
2018 $8,590

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Needles 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 2342nd of 2715 Middle schoolsRanks 2270th of 2802 Middle schools
 5.2%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)		 % proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)		 Change (%)
6th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Needles Middle)23.126.9
 3.8%
   6th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Needles Unified)23.126
 3%
   6th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (California)48.544.2
 4.3%
6th Grade Mathematics (Needles Middle)18.99
 9.9%
   6th Grade Mathematics (Needles Unified)18.99.6
 9.3%
   6th Grade Mathematics (California)38.533.2
 5.3%
7th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Needles Middle)35.133.3
 1.8%
   7th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Needles Unified)33.831.7
 2.1%
   7th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (California)51.447.4
 3.9%
7th Grade Mathematics (Needles Middle)14.912
 2.9%
   7th Grade Mathematics (Needles Unified)14.314.6
 0.3%
   7th Grade Mathematics (California)37.933.2
 4.7%
8th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Needles Middle)20.719.6
 1.1%
   8th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Needles Unified)20.220.3
 0.1%
   8th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (California)49.445.7
 3.8%
8th Grade Mathematics (Needles Middle)14.911.8
 3.2%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Needles Unified)14.614.1
 0.5%
   8th Grade Mathematics (California)36.629.9
 6.7%
8th Grade Science (Needles Middle)11.415.7
 4.3%
   8th Grade Science (Needles Unified)11.117.2
 6.1%
   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 Students251192
 23.5%
African American88
American Indian4625
 45.7%
Asian22
Hispanic6664
 3%
Pacific Islander11
White12080
 33.3%
Two or More Races812
 50%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients72.5%79.7%
 7.2%

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Frequently Asked Questions about Needles Middle

Needles Middle ranks 2014th of 2777 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Students who attend Needles Middle usually go on to attend Needles High

In the 2023-24 school year, 206 students attended Needles Middle.

Students at Needles Middle are 42% White, 35% Hispanic, 9% American Indian, 8% Two or more races, 3% African American, 1% Asian.


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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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