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James Monroe Middle

Summary:

James Monroe Middle is a public middle school located in Ridgecrest, California, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 548 students. The school is part of the Sierra Sands Unified School District, which is ranked 893 out of 1,568 districts in California and is rated 2 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger.

James Monroe Middle has consistently ranked in the bottom half of California middle schools, ranging from 1,410 to 2,023 out of around 2,500 schools over the past decade. The school's performance is particularly weak in 8th-grade Math, with only 9.83% of students proficient or better, compared to 17.28% in the district and 31.57% statewide. Additionally, the school has experienced a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 11.5% in 2018-2019 to 39.4% in 2021-2022, well above the district and state averages.

While the only nearby middle school, Murray Middle, performs slightly better than James Monroe Middle across most metrics, including higher proficiency rates in ELA, Math, and Science, as well as a lower chronic absenteeism rate, both schools face similar challenges in terms of academic achievement and overall performance, with both ranked in the bottom half of California middle schools.


Detail:

Public 6-8

 340 West Church St.
       Ridgecrest, CA  93555-4605

(760) 499-1830

District: Sierra Sands Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
1872nd of 2,777 California Middle Schools


Students who attend James Monroe Middle usually attend:

High:    Burroughs High

Feeder schools for James Monroe Middle:

Elementary:    Las Flores Elementary

Student/teacher ratio:  20.9 Help
Number of students:  548

Racial breakdown:

White:
50.9%
Hispanic:
31.2%
African American:
7.7%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  48.7% Help


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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details James Monroe Middle ranks worse than 67.4% of middle schools in California. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 28.55. (See more...)
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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 (50.9%), Hispanic (31.2%), African American (7.7%). (See more...)
Help
Compare Details 48.7% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at James Monroe Middle is 20.9. (See more...)
Help
Compare James Monroe Middle employs 26.1 full-time teachers.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

James Monroe Middle:

SchoolDigger ranks James Monroe Middle 1872nd of 2777 California public middle schools. (See James Monroe 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:
Female students:
Male students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Sierra Sands Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Sierra Sands Unified 893rd of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for James Monroe Middle

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Compare

Rank History for all students at James Monroe Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2004 39.44 999th 1769 43.5%
2005 35.94 1090th 1777 38.7%
2006 44.29 915th 1804 49.3%
2007 48.98 918th 1999 54.1%
2008 45.18 1030th 2005 48.6%
2009 46.85 1035th 2063 49.8%
2010 42.91 1231st 2179 43.5%
2011 37.48 1428th 2236 36.1%
2012 39.55 1371st 2259 39.3%
2013 46.72 1246th 2379 47.6%
2015 37.25 1410th 2477 43.1%
2016 36.45 1448th 2497 42.0%
2017 30.65 1658th 2508 33.9%
2018 23.66 1867th 2480 24.7%
2019 30.60 1769th 2715 34.8%
2021 23.34 697th 894 22.0%
2022 24.32 2023rd 2740 26.2%
2023 27.37 1938th 2802 30.8%
2024 28.55 1872nd 2777 32.6%
See the entire list of California Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at James Monroe Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 48.14 463rd 1442 67.9%
2023 81.09 103rd 1529 93.3%
2024 30.70 1192nd 1477 19.3%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at James Monroe Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 27.62 1161st 1538 24.5%
2024 45.44 653rd 1550 57.9%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at James Monroe Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 18.68 1943rd 2230 12.9%
2019 28.31 1751st 2369 26.1%
2021 29.77 532nd 721 26.2%
2022 19.70 2105th 2458 14.4%
2023 20.50 2151st 2549 15.6%
2024 21.66 2112th 2575 18.0%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at James Monroe Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 26.67 1620th 2262 28.4%
2019 34.30 1474th 2380 38.1%
2021 21.79 597th 738 19.1%
2022 20.79 2043rd 2509 18.6%
2023 27.74 1759th 2547 30.9%
2024 29.09 1713th 2546 32.7%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at James Monroe Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 25.03 1136th 1369 17.0%
2019 38.52 780th 1491 47.7%
2021 38.41 196th 354 44.6%
2022 28.61 1112th 1531 27.4%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at James Monroe Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 20.63 1842nd 2273 19.0%
2019 25.26 1784th 2407 25.9%
2021 26.48 555th 763 27.3%
2022 28.11 1731st 2527 31.5%
2023 26.83 1798th 2558 29.7%
2024 27.58 1769th 2547 30.5%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at James Monroe Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 40.41 344th 637 46.0%
2023 28.65 454th 614 26.1%
2024 35.18 389th 626 37.9%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at James Monroe Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 19.04 1788th 2072 13.7%
2019 27.11 1634th 2213 26.2%
2022 20.41 1992nd 2359 15.6%
2023 24.97 1839th 2391 23.1%
2024 21.75 1946th 2383 18.3%
See the entire list of Best California Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at James Monroe Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 13.74 1330th 1496 11.1%
2019 18.47 1330th 1602 17.0%
2022 13.06 1398th 1555 10.1%
2023 13.58 1370th 1552 11.7%
2024 17.07 1297th 1535 15.5%
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.

James Monroe 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 James Monroe Middle

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 541 17 31 23 7 n/a n/a 0 619
1989 540 17 28 31 3 n/a n/a 0 619
1990 584 17 42 42 6 n/a n/a 0 691
1991 606 27 16 48 1 n/a n/a 0 698
1992 607 26 20 44 1 n/a n/a 0 698
1993 631 28 21 49 2 n/a n/a 0 731
1994 629 21 22 54 3 n/a n/a 0 729
1995 614 23 23 68 14 n/a n/a 0 742
1996 614 23 23 68 14 n/a n/a 0 742
1997 523 27 21 66 9 n/a n/a 0 646
1998 490 33 29 70 6 n/a n/a 0 628
1999 429 39 19 60 6 n/a n/a 0 553
2000 449 30 19 51 6 n/a n/a 0 555
2001 446 35 24 67 7 n/a n/a 0 579
2002 382 32 32 80 4 n/a n/a 13 543
2003 382 32 32 80 4 n/a n/a 13 543
2004 411 30 21 85 10 n/a n/a 16 573
2005 392 26 17 91 13 n/a n/a 27 566
2006 400 34 24 100 14 n/a n/a 36 608
2007 351 41 31 101 16 n/a n/a 27 567
2008 326 41 33 107 12 n/a n/a 0 519
2009 318 36 25 117 11 12 26 0 545
2010 283 41 24 145 8 12 3 0 516
2011 326 30 19 136 6 9 10 0 536
2012 289 30 12 144 6 9 5 0 495
2013 299 33 8 134 5 9 6 0 494
2014 287 34 10 135 4 6 5 0 481
2015 291 29 16 138 4 5 2 0 485
2016 293 31 17 156 6 5 10 0 518
2017 283 38 16 143 10 5 13 0 508
2018 274 26 16 137 4 4 18 0 479
2019 257 27 17 154 6 5 19 0 485
2020 266 26 22 156 2 4 20 0 496
2021 252 31 24 159 3 3 18 0 490
2022 270 39 17 150 3 6 27 1 513
2023 279 42 18 171 3 4 29 2 548

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 James Monroe Middle

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 619 29.7 20.8 n/a
1989 619 27.9 22.1 n/a
1990 691 28.7 24.0 n/a
1991 698 32.5 21.4 n/a
1992 698 33.0 21.1 14
1993 731 31.4 23.3 19.3
1994 729 32.1 22.7 19.6
1995 742 34.3 21.6 27.5
1996 742 34.3 21.6 27.5
1997 646 30.5 21.2 29.3
1998 628 28.3 22.2 34.4
1999 553 27.3 20.3 37.1
2000 555 26.9 20.6 38
2001 579 26.4 21.9 36.3
2002 543 27.1 20.0 36.6
2003 543 27.1 20.0 36.6
2004 573 25.6 22.4 46
2005 566 25.1 22.5 47.5
2006 608 26.8 22.7 52.4
2007 567 26.2 21.6 51.1
2008 519 30.1 17.2 48
2009 545 25.2 18.4 47.2
2010 516 24.6 20.9 50.8
2011 536 n/a n/a 45.9
2012 495 23.0 21.4 n/a
2013 494 22.8 21.6 56.5
2014 481 23.8 20.1 60.7
2015 485 22.0 22.0 62.3
2016 518 24.0 21.5 59.5
2017 508 24.5 20.7 53
2018 479 23.8 20.0 55.7
2019 485 24.0 20.1 73.6
2020 496 n/a n/a 58.5
2021 490 25.7 19.0 65.7
2022 513 24.8 20.6 55.2
2023 548 26.1 20.9 48.7

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 James Monroe Middle

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 619 29.7 20.8 n/a
1989 619 27.9 22.1 n/a
1990 691 28.7 24.0 n/a
1991 698 32.5 21.4 n/a
1992 698 33.0 21.1 14
1993 731 31.4 23.3 19.3
1994 729 32.1 22.7 19.6
1995 742 34.3 21.6 27.5
1996 742 34.3 21.6 27.5
1997 646 30.5 21.2 29.3
1998 628 28.3 22.2 34.4
1999 553 27.3 20.3 37.1
2000 555 26.9 20.6 38
2001 579 26.4 21.9 36.3
2002 543 27.1 20.0 36.6
2003 543 27.1 20.0 36.6
2004 573 25.6 22.4 46
2005 566 25.1 22.5 47.5
2006 608 26.8 22.7 52.4
2007 567 26.2 21.6 51.1
2008 519 30.1 17.2 48
2009 545 25.2 18.4 47.2
2010 516 24.6 20.9 50.8
2011 536 n/a n/a 45.9
2012 495 23.0 21.4 n/a
2013 494 22.8 21.6 56.5
2014 481 23.8 20.1 60.7
2015 485 22.0 22.0 62.3
2016 518 24.0 21.5 59.5
2017 508 24.5 20.7 53
2018 479 23.8 20.0 55.7
2019 485 24.0 20.1 73.6
2020 496 n/a n/a 58.5
2021 490 25.7 19.0 65.7
2022 513 24.8 20.6 55.2
2023 548 26.1 20.9 48.7

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.
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on James Monroe 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 1769th of 2715 Middle schoolsRanks 1938th of 2802 Middle schools
 4%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)		 % proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)		 Change (%)
6th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (James Monroe Middle)36.434.2
 2.2%
   6th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Sierra Sands Unified)38.230
 8.2%
   6th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (California)48.544.2
 4.3%
6th Grade Mathematics (James Monroe Middle)23.918.1
 5.8%
   6th Grade Mathematics (Sierra Sands Unified)27.819.1
 8.7%
   6th Grade Mathematics (California)38.533.2
 5.3%
7th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (James Monroe Middle)35.629.4
 6.2%
   7th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Sierra Sands Unified)48.230.3
 17.9%
   7th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (California)51.447.4
 3.9%
7th Grade Mathematics (James Monroe Middle)22.213
 9.2%
   7th Grade Mathematics (Sierra Sands Unified)32.418.6
 13.8%
   7th Grade Mathematics (California)37.933.2
 4.7%
8th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (James Monroe Middle)42.136.7
 5.4%
   8th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Sierra Sands Unified)51.536
 15.5%
   8th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (California)49.445.7
 3.8%
8th Grade Mathematics (James Monroe Middle)14.613
 1.6%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Sierra Sands Unified)27.914.4
 13.5%
   8th Grade Mathematics (California)36.629.9
 6.7%
8th Grade Science (James Monroe Middle)2919.2
 9.8%
   8th Grade Science (Sierra Sands Unified)35.419.9
 15.5%
   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 Students485548
 13%
African American2742
 55.6%
American Indian63
 50%
Asian1718
 5.9%
Hispanic154171
 11%
Pacific Islander54
 20%
White257279
 8.6%
Two or More Races1929
 52.6%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients73.6%48.7%
 24.9%

Schools Near James Monroe Middle








Frequently Asked Questions about James Monroe Middle

In the 2022-23 school year, 548 students attended James Monroe Middle.

James Monroe Middle ranks 1872nd of 2777 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Students who attend James Monroe Middle usually go on to attend Burroughs High

Students at James Monroe Middle are 51% White, 31% Hispanic, 8% African American, 5% Two or more races, 3% 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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