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Rio Tierra Junior High

Q: Is Rio Tierra Junior High a good school?

Rio Tierra Junior High ranks in the bottom 9.1% of California middle schools.

Q: How many students attend Rio Tierra Junior High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 328 students attended Rio Tierra Junior High.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Rio Tierra Junior High?

Students at Rio Tierra Junior High are 57% Hispanic, 17% African American, 9% Asian, 8% Two or more races, 5% White, 3% Pacific Islander.

Q: What high school do graduates of Rio Tierra Junior High attend?

Students who attend Rio Tierra Junior High usually go on to attend Grant Union High

Public Grades 7-8

2511^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 9% of California middle schools

Summary

Rio Tierra Junior High is a public middle school serving 328 students in grades 7-8 within the Twin Rivers Unified district in Sacramento, operating in a high-need community where 93% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Academically, the school faces significant challenges, with test scores in English, math, and science substantially below both state and district averages, placing it in the bottom 9% of all California middle schools. A major concern is chronic absenteeism, with nearly 40% of students missing a significant amount of school, which is more than double the state average and a critical barrier to learning. While the school spends more per student than several nearby schools, including Westside Preparatory Charter and Rio Linda Preparatory Academy, these resources have not translated into stronger academic outcomes.

When compared to other local schools, Rio Tierra's performance is notably lower. For example, Norwood Junior High, also in the Twin Rivers district, has significantly higher proficiency rates and better attendance. The school's performance has declined in recent years, and there is a sharp drop in scores between 7th and 8th grade, suggesting students are not getting the support they need to progress. While all middle schools in the Twin Rivers Unified district face challenges, Rio Tierra's results are among the most concerning in the area.

328

Students ?

19.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$24,503

Per pupil spending ?

93%

Free/discounted lunch ?

3201 Northstead Dr.
Sacramento, CA 95833-1216

(916) 566-2730

District: Twin Rivers Unified

Students who attend Rio Tierra Junior High usually attend:

High:

Grant Union High

Feeder schools for Rio Tierra Junior High:

Elementary:	Garden Valley Elementary
	Hazel Strauch Elementary
	Woodlake Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

57.3%

African American:

17.4%

Asian:

8.8%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Rio Tierra Junior High to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 12th percentile in 2013 → 9th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (15% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (9th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (40% vs 19% California)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school15%

District avg29%

California avg41%

2,511^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 9%▼ down 7 pts since 2015

From bottom 16% (2015) to bottom 9% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^th of 6Middle Schools in the Twin Rivers Unified

1107^th of 1,543Twin Rivers Unified among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	13.2	2511 of 2761	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.0	2630 of 2783	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.7	2466 of 2781	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.1	2301 of 2740	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	15.4	2374 of 2715	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	17.5	2088 of 2480	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	15.6	2198 of 2508	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	16.8	2150 of 2497	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	18.2	2073 of 2477	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	16.7	2090 of 2379	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	20.9	1892 of 2259	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	28.9	1672 of 2236	25.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	17.3	1911 of 2179	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.5	541 of 609	11.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.7	594 of 627	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	33.6	400 of 613	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	21.9	541 of 637	15.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.8	486 of 643	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	24.3	478 of 600	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	9.8	661 of 739	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	6.4	684 of 743	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	1.9	727 of 745	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	34.1	926 of 1531	39.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	25.6	1174 of 1491	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.2	1275 of 1369	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	31.1	1162 of 1478	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	41.3	729 of 1521	52.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	33.5	1051 of 1540	31.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	30.3	1100 of 1442	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.0	950 of 1364	30.4%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	11.9	2369 of 2533	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.9	2435 of 2551	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.4	2324 of 2531	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	19.2	2106 of 2509	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	14.0	2148 of 2380	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	21.8	1779 of 2262	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	17.4	2102 of 2395	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.8	2247 of 2388	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	18.8	2062 of 2374	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.9	2051 of 2359	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.5	1875 of 2213	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	24.2	1646 of 2072	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	35.1	314 of 477	34.2%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	16.9	2252 of 2542	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	13.4	2402 of 2579	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	18.3	2240 of 2531	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	23.0	1990 of 2458	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	19.5	2042 of 2369	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.6	1850 of 2230	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	14.5	2271 of 2534	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	11.2	2439 of 2552	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	17.2	2219 of 2538	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.1	2097 of 2527	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	16.8	2103 of 2407	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	12.9	2110 of 2273	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	1.8	723 of 726	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	22.1	1391 of 1566	11.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.9	1359 of 1552	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.7	1424 of 1531	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	2.6	1527 of 1537	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	6.5	1487 of 1555	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	7.9	1518 of 1602	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Disabled (2022)40th percentile+23 vs school

Homeless (2025)34th percentile+25 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)21st percentile+16 vs school

Hispanic (2025)12th percentile+3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)11th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)11th percentile~ school

African American (2025)11th percentile~ school

Asian (2025)11th percentile~ school

Male (2025)10th percentile~ school

Female (2025)6th percentile-3 vs school

White (2024)1st percentile-5 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)<1st percentile-9 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy21%-27 vs state

Mathematics12%-25 vs state

Science8%-25 vs state

★

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Schools Near Rio Tierra Junior High

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CSA Spanish Overall (2025)			CSA Spanish Listening (2025)			CSA Spanish Writing (2025)			CSA Spanish Reading (2025)			CAST Science (2025)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CSA Spanish Overall 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Rio Tierra Junior High	Public	7-8	3201 Northstead Dr.	Sacramento	95833	Sacramento County	Twin Rivers Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 566-2730	328	17	19.4	93.0%	16 (4.9%)	57 (17.4%)	188 (57.3%)	29 (8.8%)	1 (0.3%)	9 (2.7%)	27 (8.2%)	13.2	2511^th of 2761 public middle schools	9.1%		11	2630^th of 2783 public middle schools	5.5%	119													7.6	7.6		27.5	15.8	21.3		16.4	8.8	12.4	$24,503	$3,525	$20,978
Martin Luther King Junior Technology Academy	Public	7-8	3051 Fairfield St.	Sacramento	95815	Sacramento County	Twin Rivers Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 566-3490	503	27	18.3	97.4%	28 (5.6%)	70 (13.9%)	248 (49.3%)	109 (21.7%)	2 (0.4%)	10 (2.0%)	32 (6.4%)	8.2	2663^rd of 2761 public middle schools	3.5%		7.8	2720^th of 2783 public middle schools	2.3%	57	3.5	13.3	6.8	6.9	13.3	9.1	10.3	6.7	9.1	3.5	26.7	11.4	5.5	5.5		17.3	14.8	16.0		7.2	4.6	5.9	$19,913	$3,028	$16,885
Norwood Junior High	Public	7-8	4601 Norwood Ave.	Sacramento	95838	Sacramento County	Twin Rivers Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 566-2710	450	22	20.6	83.1%	24 (5.3%)	69 (15.3%)	170 (37.8%)	136 (30.2%)	2 (0.4%)	10 (2.2%)	38 (8.4%)	42.3	1419^th of 2761 public middle schools	48.6%		34.2	1660^th of 2783 public middle schools	40.4%	241													20.9	20.9		48.2	49.8	49.0		29.9	19.4	24.8	$21,225	$3,411	$17,814
Miwok Middle	Public	7-8	3150 I St.	Sacramento	95816	Sacramento County	Sacramento City Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 395-5370	1,181	46	25.9	32.9%	446 (37.8%)	55 (4.7%)	355 (30.1%)	176 (14.9%)	7 (0.6%)	5 (0.4%)	136 (11.5%)	86.8	340^th of 2761 public middle schools	87.7%		88.2	318^th of 2783 public middle schools	88.6%	22													45.7	45.7		73.8	69.9	71.7		62.3	51.1	56.3	$20,127	$3,101	$17,026
Natomas Middle	Public	6-8	3200 North Park Dr.	Sacramento	95835	Sacramento County	Natomas Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 567-5540	672	34	19.8	81.3%	59 (8.8%)	215 (32.0%)	178 (26.5%)	139 (20.7%)	4 (0.6%)	12 (1.8%)	65 (9.7%)	14	2480^th of 2761 public middle schools	10.2%		15.1	2473^rd of 2783 public middle schools	11.1%	7													10.5	10.5	20.9	22.8	26.6	23.5	11.9	11.7	11.4	11.6	$18,361	$1,977	$16,384
Natomas Pacific Pathways Prep Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	3700 Del Paso Rd.	Sacramento	95834	Sacramento County	Natomas Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 567-5740	513	23	22.1	37.6%	48 (9.4%)	31 (6.0%)	113 (22.0%)	269 (52.4%)	1 (0.2%)	7 (1.4%)	44 (8.6%)	81.7	450^th of 2761 public middle schools	83.7%		86.2	365^th of 2783 public middle schools	86.9%	85													45.0	45.0	62.1	63.8	61.5	62.5	57.2	54.6	51.5	54.4	$13,373	$1,222	$12,151
Evergreen Middle	Public	7-9	919 Westacre Rd.	West Sacramento	95691	Yolo County	Washington Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 375-7740	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Westside Preparatory Charter	Public, Charter	7-8	6537 West Second St.	Rio Linda	95673	Sacramento County	Twin Rivers Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 566-1990	480	24	20.3	81.0%	119 (24.8%)	55 (11.5%)	199 (41.5%)	53 (11.0%)	7 (1.5%)	3 (0.6%)	44 (9.2%)	52.7	1107^th of 2761 public middle schools	59.9%		53.9	1042^nd of 2783 public middle schools	62.6%	65													22.4	22.4		49.6	53.2	51.3		36.7	33.5	35.2	$18,117	$2,033	$16,084
Rio Linda Preparatory Academy	Public	7-8	1101 G St.	Rio Linda	95673	Sacramento County	Twin Rivers Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 566-2720	331	17	20.0	88.2%	82 (24.8%)	13 (3.9%)	151 (45.6%)	43 (13.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.8%)	36 (10.9%)	40.6	1478^th of 2761 public middle schools	46.5%		27	1952^nd of 2783 public middle schools	29.9%	474													25.7	25.7		36.7	39.7	38.2		31.6	30.6	31.1	$25,591	$3,856	$21,735
Katherine Johnson Middle	Public	6-8	2641 Kent Dr.	Sacramento	95821	Sacramento County	San Juan Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 971-5500	612	33	18.5	90.2%	117 (19.1%)	101 (16.5%)	135 (22.1%)	213 (34.8%)	2 (0.3%)	9 (1.5%)	35 (5.7%)	6.3	2710^th of 2761 public middle schools	1.8%		6.3	2743^rd of 2783 public middle schools	1.4%	33													3.3	3.3	7.7	8.9	8.0	8.2	4.3	8.0	4.2	5.5	$17,223	$2,882	$14,341

Frequently Asked Questions about Rio Tierra Junior High

How many students attend Rio Tierra Junior High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 328 students attended Rio Tierra Junior High.

What is the racial makeup of Rio Tierra Junior High?

Students at Rio Tierra Junior High are 57% Hispanic, 17% African American, 9% Asian, 8% Two or more races, 5% White, 3% Pacific Islander.

What district is Rio Tierra Junior High in?

Twin Rivers Unified

What high school do graduates of Rio Tierra Junior High attend?

Students who attend Rio Tierra Junior High usually go on to attend Grant Union High

Is Rio Tierra Junior High a good school?

Rio Tierra Junior High ranks in the bottom 9.1% of California middle schools.

Rate Rio Tierra Junior High!

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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.