Pajaro Middle

Summary:

Pajaro Middle is a public middle school located in Watsonville, California, serving grades 7-8 with a total enrollment of 440 students. The school is part of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, which is ranked 1237 out of 1568 districts in California and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Pajaro Middle consistently ranks in the bottom 10-15% of California middle schools, with a statewide ranking between 2300-2700 out of around 2800 schools. The school's performance on Smarter Balanced Assessments is significantly below the state and district averages across all grade levels and subject areas, with only 16.67% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy, compared to 47.04% statewide. Pajaro Middle's performance on the California Science Test (CAST) is also very low, with only 3.76% of students proficient or better in 8th grade science. The school has a very high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with over 98% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, and a high proportion of Hispanic/Latino students (over 90%) and English Language Learners (around 30%).

Pajaro Middle's academic performance is significantly lower than the other middle schools in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, such as Aptos Junior High and Rolling Hills Middle, which perform closer to the state averages. When compared to middle schools in other nearby districts, such as Gavilan View Middle (Santa Rita Union Elementary) and Brownell Middle (Gilroy Unified), Pajaro Middle's performance is substantially lower across all subject areas and grade levels.


Detail:

Public 7-8

 250 Salinas Rd.
       Watsonville, CA  95076-5229


(831) 728-6238

District: Pajaro Valley Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
2622nd of 2,777 California Middle Schools


Students who attend Pajaro Middle usually attend:

High:    Watsonville High

Feeder schools for Pajaro Middle:

Elementary:    Hall District Elementary
    Ohlone Elementary

Student/teacher ratio:  20.5 Help
Number of students:  440

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
98.9%
White:
0.9%
Asian:
0.2%

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  98.4% Help


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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Pajaro Middle ranks worse than 94.4% of middle schools in California. It also ranks 2nd among 6 ranked middle schools in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. (See more...)
Help
Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 11.04. (See more...)
Help
Chronic absenteeism in a high 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 (98.9%), White (0.9%), Asian (0.2%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 98.4% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the highest percentage in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Pajaro Middle is 20.5, which is the lowest among 6 middle schools in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District! (See more...)
Help
Compare Pajaro Middle employs 21.4 full-time teachers.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Pajaro Middle:

SchoolDigger ranks Pajaro Middle 2622nd of 2777 California public middle schools. (See Pajaro Middle in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


English Language Learner students:
Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Migrant students:
Homeless students:
Female students:
Male students:
Hispanic students:


Pajaro Valley Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Pajaro Valley Unified 1237th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Pajaro Middle

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Pajaro Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2004 15.86 1549th 1769 12.4%
2005 21.71 1407th 1777 20.8%
2006 19.68 1493rd 1804 17.2%
2007 27.98 1449th 1999 27.5%
2008 26.10 1534th 2005 23.5%
2009 27.60 1537th 2063 25.5%
2010 20.27 1843rd 2179 15.4%
2011 24.93 1774th 2236 20.7%
2012 15.23 2024th 2259 10.4%
2013 29.97 1712th 2379 28.0%
2015 19.65 2030th 2477 18.0%
2016 15.97 2176th 2497 12.9%
2017 13.74 2257th 2508 10.0%
2018 9.92 2353rd 2480 5.1%
2019 9.79 2557th 2715 5.8%
2022 15.07 2442nd 2740 10.9%
2023 12.60 2613th 2802 6.7%
2024 11.04 2622nd 2777 5.6%
See the entire list of California Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Pajaro Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 27.00 1153rd 1364 15.5%
2019 23.86 1415th 1442 1.9%
2022 28.04 1328th 1540 13.8%
2023 29.33 1260th 1529 17.6%
2024 33.63 1031st 1477 30.2%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Pajaro Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 18.88 1481st 1538 3.7%
2024 34.09 955th 1550 38.4%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Pajaro Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 12.82 2092nd 2230 6.2%
2019 13.17 2200th 2369 7.1%
2022 17.55 2201st 2458 10.5%
2023 15.72 2332nd 2549 8.5%
2024 14.35 2370th 2575 8.0%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Migrant students at Pajaro Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 29.29 65th 86 24.4%
2024 24.59 77th 94 18.1%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Migrant Students!

Rank History for Homeless students at Pajaro Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 25.38 273rd 336 18.8%
2023 21.79 279th 321 13.1%
2024 26.75 310th 394 21.3%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Homeless Students!

Rank History for Female students at Pajaro Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 9.50 2165th 2262 4.3%
2019 9.28 2282nd 2380 4.1%
2022 16.97 2194th 2509 12.6%
2023 14.23 2347th 2547 7.9%
2024 10.41 2449th 2546 3.8%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Pajaro Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 19.42 1322nd 1369 3.4%
2019 18.08 1455th 1491 2.4%
2022 21.32 1412th 1531 7.8%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Pajaro Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 10.61 2165th 2273 4.8%
2019 10.41 2291st 2407 4.8%
2022 14.30 2323rd 2527 8.1%
2023 12.07 2416th 2558 5.6%
2024 12.13 2404th 2547 5.6%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Pajaro Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 12.10 1967th 2072 5.1%
2019 12.18 2082nd 2213 5.9%
2022 19.85 2015th 2359 14.6%
2023 15.57 2175th 2391 9.0%
2024 13.26 2235th 2383 6.2%
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.

Pajaro Middle Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: California Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Pajaro Middle

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 91 1 13 648 3 n/a n/a 0 756
1989 109 0 25 742 1 n/a n/a 0 877
1990 83 0 9 354 0 n/a n/a 0 446
1991 87 1 5 333 1 n/a n/a 0 427
1992 76 0 10 402 1 n/a n/a 0 489
1993 39 0 7 412 0 n/a n/a 0 458
1994 45 0 10 488 0 n/a n/a 0 543
1995 34 0 7 482 1 n/a n/a 0 524
1996 34 0 7 482 1 n/a n/a 0 524
1997 27 1 6 447 0 n/a n/a 0 481
1998 18 3 5 480 0 n/a n/a 0 506
1999 24 3 4 472 1 n/a n/a 0 504
2000 21 2 7 491 1 n/a n/a 0 522
2001 16 3 6 456 1 n/a n/a 0 482
2002 15 3 5 471 1 n/a n/a 0 495
2003 15 3 5 471 1 n/a n/a 0 495
2004 14 2 5 549 2 n/a n/a 0 572
2005 13 0 4 518 3 n/a n/a 0 538
2006 12 0 4 500 2 n/a n/a 0 518
2007 6 0 5 440 1 n/a n/a 0 452
2008 4 n/a 7 416 n/a n/a n/a 0 427
2009 9 1 8 429 0 0 0 0 447
2010 6 1 5 426 0 0 0 0 438
2011 6 2 4 405 0 0 0 0 417
2012 1 1 4 397 1 0 1 0 405
2013 4 0 3 410 0 0 0 0 417
2014 2 0 2 430 0 0 0 0 434
2015 4 0 1 426 0 0 0 0 431
2016 4 0 3 433 0 0 0 0 440
2017 6 0 4 445 2 0 0 0 457
2018 12 0 3 471 2 0 0 0 488
2019 15 0 0 485 2 0 0 0 502
2020 5 0 2 472 0 0 0 0 479
2021 3 0 3 452 0 0 0 0 458
2022 4 0 3 431 0 0 0 1 439
2023 4 0 1 435 0 0 0 0 440

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 Pajaro Middle

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 756 34.0 22.2 n/a
1989 877 32.4 27.0 n/a
1990 446 20.7 21.5 n/a
1991 427 18.9 22.5 n/a
1992 489 19.2 25.4 89.8
1993 458 15.3 29.9 81
1994 543 19.7 27.6 76.6
1995 524 22.0 23.8 86.8
1996 524 22.0 23.8 86.8
1997 481 20.1 23.9 86.7
1998 506 21.9 23.1 86.8
1999 504 23.3 21.6 83.5
2000 522 28.0 18.6 79.5
2001 482 27.0 17.9 77
2002 495 27.6 17.9 83
2003 495 27.6 17.9 83
2004 572 27.0 21.2 79.7
2005 538 25.3 21.3 85.7
2006 518 16.3 31.8 86.3
2007 452 20.9 21.6 84.5
2008 427 19.5 21.9 87.4
2009 447 13.0 27.9 89.5
2010 438 11.0 39.8 95
2011 417 n/a n/a 88.2
2012 405 17.0 23.8 n/a
2013 417 14.0 29.7 94
2014 434 16.8 25.7 96.8
2015 431 15.0 28.7 95.8
2016 440 17.0 25.8 92.3
2017 457 15.0 30.4 90.8
2018 488 12.0 40.6 95.3
2019 502 11.0 45.6 96
2020 479 n/a n/a 93.5
2021 458 19.9 23.0 92.8
2022 439 20.6 21.3 93.4
2023 440 21.4 20.5 98.4

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 Pajaro Middle

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 756 34.0 22.2 n/a
1989 877 32.4 27.0 n/a
1990 446 20.7 21.5 n/a
1991 427 18.9 22.5 n/a
1992 489 19.2 25.4 89.8
1993 458 15.3 29.9 81
1994 543 19.7 27.6 76.6
1995 524 22.0 23.8 86.8
1996 524 22.0 23.8 86.8
1997 481 20.1 23.9 86.7
1998 506 21.9 23.1 86.8
1999 504 23.3 21.6 83.5
2000 522 28.0 18.6 79.5
2001 482 27.0 17.9 77
2002 495 27.6 17.9 83
2003 495 27.6 17.9 83
2004 572 27.0 21.2 79.7
2005 538 25.3 21.3 85.7
2006 518 16.3 31.8 86.3
2007 452 20.9 21.6 84.5
2008 427 19.5 21.9 87.4
2009 447 13.0 27.9 89.5
2010 438 11.0 39.8 95
2011 417 n/a n/a 88.2
2012 405 17.0 23.8 n/a
2013 417 14.0 29.7 94
2014 434 16.8 25.7 96.8
2015 431 15.0 28.7 95.8
2016 440 17.0 25.8 92.3
2017 457 15.0 30.4 90.8
2018 488 12.0 40.6 95.3
2019 502 11.0 45.6 96
2020 479 n/a n/a 93.5
2021 458 19.9 23.0 92.8
2022 439 20.6 21.3 93.4
2023 440 21.4 20.5 98.4

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.
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Pajaro 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 2557th of 2715 Middle schoolsRanks 2613th of 2802 Middle schools
 0.9%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
6th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Pajaro Middle)25.517.3
 8.1%
   6th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Pajaro Valley Unified)28.121.6
 6.5%
   6th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (California)48.544.2
 4.3%
6th Grade Mathematics (Pajaro Middle)7.410
 2.6%
   6th Grade Mathematics (Pajaro Valley Unified)18.915
 3.8%
   6th Grade Mathematics (California)38.533.2
 5.3%
7th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Pajaro Middle)2319.7
 3.3%
   7th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Pajaro Valley Unified)32.926.3
 6.5%
   7th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (California)51.447.4
 3.9%
7th Grade Mathematics (Pajaro Middle)9.65.6
 4%
   7th Grade Mathematics (Pajaro Valley Unified)20.417.3
 3.1%
   7th Grade Mathematics (California)37.933.2
 4.7%
8th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Pajaro Middle)21.217.6
 3.6%
   8th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Pajaro Valley Unified)31.126.2
 5%
   8th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (California)49.445.7
 3.8%
8th Grade Mathematics (Pajaro Middle)4.19.2
 5.1%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Pajaro Valley Unified)20.415.1
 5.3%
   8th Grade Mathematics (California)36.629.9
 6.7%
8th Grade Science (Pajaro Middle)5.38.5
 3.2%
   8th Grade Science (Pajaro Valley Unified)1815
 2.9%
   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 Students502440
 12.4%
African American00
American Indian20
 100%
Asian01
Hispanic485435
 10.3%
Pacific Islander00
White154
 73.3%
Two or More Races00
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients96%98.4%
 2.4%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Pajaro Middle

Pajaro Middle ranks in the bottom 5.6% of California middle schools.

Students who attend Pajaro Middle usually go on to attend Watsonville High

Students at Pajaro Middle are 99% Hispanic.

In the 2022-23 school year, 440 students attended Pajaro Middle.


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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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