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Erle Stanley Gardner Middle

Q: Is Erle Stanley Gardner Middle a good school?

Erle Stanley Gardner Middle ranks 512 th of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

512^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 81% of California middle schools

Summary

Erle Stanley Gardner Middle is a well-regarded public school serving about 1,000 students in grades 6-8 within the Temecula Valley Unified School District, known for its strong historical performance and effective management of student attendance.

Academically, the school consistently outperforms state averages, especially in English Language Arts, though recent data shows a notable decline in its statewide ranking and in mathematics scores compared to some nearby schools like Temecula Middle and Vail Ranch Middle. A key strength is its low chronic absenteeism rate of 13.9%, which is better than the district and state averages and superior to many local schools such as Margarita Middle and James E. Potter Intermediate. The school also operates very efficiently, spending less per student than several comparison schools while maintaining quality.

While Erle Stanley Gardner has a history of excellent results for all student groups, recent years have seen significant volatility in performance for specific programs, which the school will need to address. Parents should note that the school's 7th graders excel in English, while mathematics performance is an area for focus across grades. Compared to a high-performing school in a neighboring district like Dorothy McElhinney Middle in Murrieta Valley Unified, there is room for growth in core subjects, but Gardner's strong attendance culture provides a solid foundation for improvement.

1,008

Students ?

23.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$14,269

Per pupil spending ?

36.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

45125 Via Del Coronado
Temecula, CA 92592-4400

(951) 699-0080

District: Temecula Valley Unified

Students who attend Erle Stanley Gardner Middle usually attend:

High:

Great Oak High

Feeder schools for Erle Stanley Gardner Middle:

Elementary:	Helen Hunt Jackson Elementary
	Red Hawk Elementary
	Temecula Luiseno Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

36.1%

White:

32.5%

Asian:

18.3%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Erle Stanley Gardner Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 83rd percentile in 2013 → 81st in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (54% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 19% of California middle schools

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

!Near the bottom of Temecula Valley Unified's ranking

!Large classes — about 24 students per teacher

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school54%

District avg55%

California avg41%

512^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Top 19%▼ down 6 pts since 2015

From top 12% (2015) to top 19% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^th of 6Middle Schools in the Temecula Valley Unified

308^th of 1,543Temecula Valley 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	78.3	512 of 2761	81.5%	★★★★☆
2024	89.0	300 of 2783	89.2%	★★★★☆
2023	85.9	354 of 2781	87.3%	★★★★☆
2022	86.3	359 of 2740	86.9%	★★★★☆
2019	90.9	240 of 2715	91.2%	★★★★★
2018	87.8	292 of 2480	88.2%	★★★★☆
2017	84.9	358 of 2508	85.7%	★★★★☆
2016	87.0	292 of 2497	88.3%	★★★★☆
2015	86.2	307 of 2477	87.6%	★★★★☆
2013	77.3	395 of 2379	83.4%	★★★★☆
2012	80.2	297 of 2259	86.9%	★★★★☆
2011	76.4	380 of 2236	83.0%	★★★★☆
2010	68.4	590 of 2179	72.9%	★★★★☆
2009	67.9	565 of 2063	72.6%	★★★★☆
2008	75.4	375 of 2005	81.3%	★★★★☆
2007	78.4	328 of 1999	83.6%	★★★★☆
2006	80.5	283 of 1804	84.3%	★★★★☆
2005	72.3	402 of 1777	77.4%	★★★★☆
2004	73.1	377 of 1769	78.7%	★★★★☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	95.6	14 of 613	97.7%	★★★★★
2022	94.2	24 of 637	96.2%	★★★★★
2019	93.7	23 of 643	96.4%	★★★★★
2018	92.4	24 of 600	96.0%	★★★★★

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	64.7	302 of 739	59.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	74.1	194 of 743	73.9%	★★★★☆
2023	56.7	355 of 715	50.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	57.3	367 of 733	49.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	62.7	322 of 745	56.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	64.6	286 of 700	59.1%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	81.4	163 of 1531	89.4%	★★★★☆
2019	84.0	146 of 1491	90.2%	★★★★★
2018	67.3	275 of 1369	79.9%	★★★★☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	75.8	135 of 1521	91.1%	★★★★★
2019	77.4	148 of 1442	89.7%	★★★★☆
2018	92.0	61 of 1364	95.5%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	77.9	486 of 2533	80.8%	★★★★☆
2024	89.4	258 of 2551	89.9%	★★★★☆
2023	86.3	320 of 2531	87.4%	★★★★☆
2022	82.9	375 of 2509	85.1%	★★★★☆
2019	90.5	212 of 2380	91.1%	★★★★★
2018	86.9	278 of 2262	87.7%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	75.3	426 of 2395	82.2%	★★★★☆
2024	91.6	121 of 2388	94.9%	★★★★★
2023	90.6	132 of 2374	94.4%	★★★★★
2022	89.6	144 of 2359	93.9%	★★★★★
2019	92.3	107 of 2213	95.2%	★★★★★
2018	89.0	151 of 2072	92.7%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	77.9	382 of 2542	85.0%	★★★★☆
2024	93.3	136 of 2579	94.7%	★★★★★
2023	91.6	143 of 2531	94.4%	★★★★★
2022	92.4	109 of 2458	95.6%	★★★★★
2019	88.3	166 of 2369	93.0%	★★★★★
2018	84.8	210 of 2230	90.6%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	75.6	506 of 2534	80.0%	★★★★☆
2024	86.4	323 of 2552	87.3%	★★★★☆
2023	83.6	364 of 2538	85.7%	★★★★☆
2022	87.6	306 of 2527	87.9%	★★★★☆
2019	89.5	253 of 2407	89.5%	★★★★☆
2018	86.8	287 of 2273	87.4%	★★★★☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	87.9	18 of 194	90.7%	★★★★★
2024	90.8	8 of 192	95.8%	★★★★★
2023	72.6	52 of 197	73.6%	★★★★☆
2022	68.9	51 of 193	73.6%	★★★★☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	40.3	441 of 726	39.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	57.1	304 of 701	56.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	59.4	283 of 677	58.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	67.3	207 of 665	68.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	64.2	212 of 554	61.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	48.2	270 of 462	41.6%	★★☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	27.1	14 of 16	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	34.2	963 of 1566	38.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	74.4	237 of 1552	84.7%	★★★★☆
2023	82.2	149 of 1531	90.3%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	64.8	524 of 1520	65.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	79.8	238 of 1537	84.5%	★★★★☆
2023	74.8	326 of 1543	78.9%	★★★★☆
2022	75.1	323 of 1555	79.2%	★★★★☆
2019	84.3	179 of 1602	88.8%	★★★★☆
2018	79.9	266 of 1496	82.2%	★★★★☆

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)

African American (2023)98th percentile+10 vs school

English Language Learner (2023)91st percentile+4 vs school

Military Connected (2025)91st percentile+9 vs school

Disabled (2022)89th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)85th percentile+4 vs school

Hispanic (2025)82nd percentile~ school

Female (2025)81st percentile~ school

Male (2025)80th percentile~ school

White (2025)66th percentile-16 vs school

Asian (2025)59th percentile-22 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)39th percentile-42 vs school

Special Education (2025)39th percentile-43 vs school

Native American (2023)12th percentile-75 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy64%+15 vs state

Mathematics48%+11 vs state

Science45%+12 vs state

2.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a student
Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Not so good of a school. My Math teacher in 7th grade didn't know the math she was teaching. She would like , um , go ask the 8th grade teacher how to do the problems right in the middle of class. We used to try to stump her, and most of the time we could. She said she was getting better at it since she was getting instruction from a high school student, as she would say "big kid". I guess she know how to teach since she got teacher of year. But it would have been better to show us how to do the problems right the first time. For the ones on the test she did have trouble with she would put them on the board before the test and leave a residual of the problem on there. I think that way she could say she erased them, but we could still see it. It wasn't fair to us who were smart enough to do them anyways. Close Quote

Schools Near Erle Stanley Gardner Middle

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				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	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
Erle Stanley Gardner Middle	Public	6-8	45125 Via Del Coronado	Temecula	92592	Riverside County	Temecula Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 699-0080	1,008	42	23.9	36.4%	328 (32.5%)	23 (2.3%)	364 (36.1%)	184 (18.3%)	12 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	97 (9.6%)	78.3	512^th of 2761 public middle schools	81.5%		89	300^th of 2783 public middle schools	89.2%	212	45.1	45.1	59.1	71.0	60.5	63.6	46.4	53.4	44.2	48.0	$14,269	$1,078	$13,191
Vail Ranch Middle	Public	6-8	33340 Camino Piedra Rojo	Temecula	92592	Riverside County	Temecula Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 302-5188	765	36	21.1	26.8%	312 (40.8%)	21 (2.7%)	234 (30.6%)	98 (12.8%)	6 (0.8%)	5 (0.7%)	89 (11.6%)	81.8	446^th of 2761 public middle schools	83.8%		80.3	471^st of 2783 public middle schools	83.1%	25	51.7	51.7	65.5	66.0	55.9	62.3	57.7	54.4	47.1	52.8	$16,013	$1,151	$14,862
Temecula Middle	Public	6-8	42075 Meadows Pkwy.	Temecula	92592	Riverside County	Temecula Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 302-5151	1,012	40	25.3	26.2%	470 (46.4%)	17 (1.7%)	336 (33.2%)	80 (7.9%)	2 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	105 (10.4%)	87.5	322^nd of 2761 public middle schools	88.3%		83.7	404^th of 2783 public middle schools	85.5%	82	53.3	53.3	64.0	67.5	72.2	68.1	49.8	62.1	63.8	58.9	$14,379	$1,000	$13,379
Margarita Middle	Public	6-8	30600 Margarita Rd.	Temecula	92591	Riverside County	Temecula Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 695-7370	731	33	21.9	54.7%	223 (30.5%)	30 (4.1%)	346 (47.3%)	61 (8.3%)	2 (0.3%)	3 (0.4%)	66 (9.0%)	50.4	1167^th of 2761 public middle schools	57.7%		58.1	931^st of 2783 public middle schools	66.5%	236	36.6	36.6	48.3	50.5	42.6	46.9	24.9	35.7	30.2	30.1	$16,038	$1,758	$14,280
James L. Day Middle	Public	6-8	40775 Camino Campos Verdes	Temecula	92591	Riverside County	Temecula Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 699-8138	932	41	22.9	42.0%	314 (33.7%)	35 (3.8%)	350 (37.6%)	120 (12.9%)	2 (0.2%)	4 (0.4%)	107 (11.5%)	81	458^th of 2761 public middle schools	83.4%		78.8	512^th of 2783 public middle schools	81.6%	54	49.1	49.1	60.2	64.4	70.7	65.4	43.6	51.4	52.5	49.4	$15,527	$1,578	$13,949
Warm Springs Middle	Public	6-8	39245 Calle de Fortuna	Murrieta	92563	Riverside County	Murrieta Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 696-3503	755	34	22.0	62.9%	188 (24.9%)	46 (6.1%)	358 (47.4%)	75 (9.9%)	2 (0.3%)	3 (0.4%)	83 (11.0%)	68.3	711^th of 2761 public middle schools	74.2%		74.1	607^th of 2783 public middle schools	78.2%	104	48.8	48.8	50.0	60.4	51.2	53.9	45.2	41.6	39.2	41.9	$16,007	$480	$15,527
Bella Vista Middle	Public	6-8	31650 Browning St.	Murrieta	92563	Riverside County	Temecula Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 294-6600	1,249	54	22.9	36.4%	404 (32.3%)	67 (5.4%)	496 (39.7%)	154 (12.3%)	3 (0.2%)	4 (0.3%)	121 (9.7%)	79	494^th of 2761 public middle schools	82.1%		75.4	578^th of 2783 public middle schools	79.2%	84	48.4	48.4	64.7	61.7	70.5	66.0	46.2	43.7	46.6	45.6	$14,399	$969	$13,430
Shivela Middle	Public	6-8	24515 Lincoln Ave.	Murrieta	92562	Riverside County	Murrieta Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 696-1406	1,282	46	27.8	66.1%	331 (25.8%)	87 (6.8%)	604 (47.1%)	106 (8.3%)	4 (0.3%)	14 (1.1%)	135 (10.5%)	67.6	725^th of 2761 public middle schools	73.7%		72.1	650^th of 2783 public middle schools	76.6%	75	45.1	45.1	53.2	58.6	49.6	53.8	41.2	42.2	42.4	42.0	$14,632	$433	$14,199
James E. Potter Intermediate	Public	7-8	1743 Reche Rd.	Fallbrook	92028	San Diego County	Fallbrook Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 731-4150	828	38	21.7	81.5%	133 (16.1%)	5 (0.6%)	649 (78.4%)	11 (1.3%)	2 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	26 (3.1%)	51.5	1146^th of 2761 public middle schools	58.5%		44.2	1335^th of 2783 public middle schools	52.0%	189	36.5	36.5		48.4	48.0	48.2		30.5	28.4	29.4	$20,777	$1,921	$18,856
Thompson Middle	Public	6-8	24040 Hayes Ave.	Murrieta	92562	Riverside County	Murrieta Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 696-1410	1,565	62	25.2	49.5%	656 (41.9%)	57 (3.6%)	606 (38.7%)	93 (5.9%)	3 (0.2%)	3 (0.2%)	145 (9.3%)	73.8	609^th of 2761 public middle schools	77.9%		75.2	582^nd of 2783 public middle schools	79.1%	27	43.0	43.0	58.4	60.5	59.4	59.5	46.1	43.1	46.6	45.3	$13,691	$418	$13,273

Frequently Asked Questions about Erle Stanley Gardner Middle

What district is Erle Stanley Gardner Middle in?

Temecula Valley Unified

What is the racial makeup of Erle Stanley Gardner Middle?

Students at Erle Stanley Gardner Middle are 36% Hispanic, 33% White, 18% Asian, 10% Two or more races, 2% African American, 1% American Indian.

Is Erle Stanley Gardner Middle a good school?

Erle Stanley Gardner Middle ranks 512^th of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What high school do graduates of Erle Stanley Gardner Middle attend?

Students who attend Erle Stanley Gardner Middle usually go on to attend Great Oak High

How many students attend Erle Stanley Gardner Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,008 students attended Erle Stanley Gardner Middle.

Rate Erle Stanley Gardner 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.