Middle Schools in Whittier City

Summary:

Whittier City, located in Los Angeles County, has two public middle schools serving grades 6-8 within the Whittier City School District, and they show notable differences in performance despite similar funding and class sizes.

Katherine Edwards Mid School STEAM & Dual Immersion Academy stands out as the higher-performing school, ranking in the state's top third and significantly outperforming both district and state averages in English and Math. In contrast, Walter F. Dexter Middle ranks in the lower third, with proficiency rates below these benchmarks, particularly in mathematics where fewer than 20% of students are proficient.

A key factor in this performance gap is chronic absenteeism, which is more than twice as high at Walter F. Dexter. Katherine Edwards' specialized STEAM and Dual Immersion programs may contribute to its stronger outcomes and higher engagement. For parents, this comparison highlights that within the same district, school culture and program offerings can lead to different student results, with Katherine Edwards demonstrating stronger academic achievement and student attendance.

District Detail

7211 South Whittier Ave.
Whittier, CA 90602-1123

(562) 789-3000

SchoolDigger Rank:
590^th of 1543 California districts

See the 2025 California District rankings!

Grades served: K-8
Students: 5,288

Primary Schools: 10
Middle Schools: 2
High Schools: 0
Alternative Schools: 0

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 All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 7th 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
Walter F. Dexter Middle	Public	6-8	11532 East Floral Dr.	Whittier	90601	Los Angeles County	Whittier City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 789-3090	610	29	21.3	86.7%	19 (3.1%)	3 (0.5%)	568 (93.1%)	5 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (2.3%)	27.3	1917^th of 2761 public middle schools	30.6%		28	1904^th of 2783 public middle schools	31.6%	13									20.2	20.2	30.2	42.4	33.0	35.2	16.1	25.1	14.8	18.7	$21,357	$2,063	$19,294
Katherine Edwards Mid School STEAM & Dual Immersion Academy	Public	6-8	6812 South Norwalk Blvd.	Whittier	90606	Los Angeles County	Whittier City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 789-3115	894	43	21.0	77.3%	23 (2.6%)	1 (0.1%)	832 (93.1%)	9 (1.0%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	27 (3.0%)	62.4	844^th of 2761 public middle schools	69.4%		55.5	1002^nd of 2783 public middle schools	64.0%	158	8.5	8.5	25.5	25.5	23.4	23.4	4.3	4.3	29.1	29.1	56.9	50.9	53.9	54.0	39.9	42.0	40.4	40.7	$21,158	$2,100	$19,058

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Whittier Union High	0.93 mi	7	540^th
El Rancho Unified	1.59 mi	14	922^nd
Los Nietos	1.95 mi	4	676^th
Tri-Cities Regional Occupational Program	2 mi	1
East Whittier City Elementary	2.01 mi	13	355^th

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.