Middle Schools in Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified

Summary:

The Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District serves five middle schools (grades 6-8) in a generally high-performing area of California, with four of these schools ranking well above state averages.

Among these schools, Yorba Linda Middle stands out as the top performer with the highest test scores in English, math, and science, while Col. J. K. Tuffree Middle shows impressive recent improvement. Kraemer Middle also maintains strong academic results. These three schools share very low rates of chronic student absenteeism, around 10%, which supports student success. In contrast, Valadez Middle School Academy faces significant challenges, with proficiency rates far below district averages and a chronic absenteeism rate over 22%.

The Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified district is strong overall, but the performance gap highlights different levels of student need across communities. Schools with higher per-student spending, like Valadez and the specialized Orange County School of Computer Science, often use those resources to provide additional support services, which explains why higher spending doesn't always correlate with higher test scores in this comparison.

District Detail

1301 East Orangethorpe Ave.
Placentia, CA 92870-5302

(714) 986-7000

SchoolDigger Rank:
271^st of 1543 California districts

See the 2025 California District rankings!

Grades served: K-12
Students: 22,665

Primary Schools: 21
Middle Schools: 5
High Schools: 5
Alternative Schools: 3

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
Kraemer Middle	Public	7-8	645 North Angelina Dr.	Placentia	92870	Orange County	Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 996-1551	889	36	24.5	52.9%	112 (12.6%)	14 (1.6%)	411 (46.2%)	315 (35.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	36 (4.0%)	87.8	316^th of 2761 public middle schools	88.6%		91.1	252^nd of 2783 public middle schools	90.9%	64													53.8	53.8		70.6	62.9	66.9		62.9	54.9	59.1	$16,420	$677	$15,743
Col. J. K. Tuffree Middle	Public	7-8	2151 North Kraemer Blvd.	Placentia	92870	Orange County	Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 986-7480	566	24	23.2	46.6%	159 (28.1%)	6 (1.1%)	282 (49.8%)	94 (16.6%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	21 (3.7%)	90.3	272^nd of 2761 public middle schools	90.1%		86.9	348^th of 2783 public middle schools	87.5%	76													56.1	56.1		77.2	71.9	74.4		56.0	56.3	56.2	$18,092	$993	$17,099
Orange County School of Computer Science	Public, Charter	6-8	5350 Fairmont Blvd.	Yorba Linda	92886	Orange County	Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 986-7400	753	37	20.3	42.5%	245 (32.5%)	9 (1.2%)	341 (45.3%)	120 (15.9%)	2 (0.3%)	3 (0.4%)	33 (4.4%)	73.4	617^th of 2761 public middle schools	77.7%		77.4	540^th of 2783 public middle schools	80.6%	77	7.4	9.6	8.9	18.5	21.2	20.3	37.0	9.6	19.0	0.0	15.4	10.1	42.3	42.3	58.8	65.6	57.2	60.9	42.8	46.5	41.1	43.6	$19,693	$1,588	$18,105
Yorba Linda Middle	Public	6-8	4777 Casa Loma Ave.	Yorba Linda	92886	Orange County	Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 986-7080	818	37	22.3	34.1%	305 (37.3%)	9 (1.1%)	232 (28.4%)	225 (27.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	46 (5.6%)	94.4	171^st of 2761 public middle schools	93.8%		93.1	207^th of 2783 public middle schools	92.6%	36													63.1	63.1	73.7	77.5	78.5	76.7	69.4	66.4	63.2	66.2	$16,784	$1,036	$15,748
Valadez Middle School Academy	Public	6-8	161 East La Jolla St.	Placentia	92870	Orange County	Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 986-7440	527	27	19.8	95.8%	13 (2.5%)	4 (0.8%)	496 (94.1%)	11 (2.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	28.7	1873^rd of 2761 public middle schools	32.2%		23	2130^th of 2783 public middle schools	23.5%	257													15.1	15.1	39.4	37.5	43.2	40.1	17.8	18.6	15.9	17.4	$20,055	$2,480	$17,575

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Brea-Olinda Unified	1.7 mi	10	315^th
Fullerton Joint Union High	2.06 mi	8	473^rd
Fullerton Elementary	2.32 mi	20	474^th
Anaheim Elementary	3.64 mi	25	1272^nd
Anaheim Union High	3.95 mi	22	861^st

See the top CA California districts

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.