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Arellanes Junior High

Public Grades 7-8

2297^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 17% of California middle schools

Summary

Arellanes Junior High is a public school in Santa Maria, CA, serving about 670 students in grades 7 and 8 within the Santa Maria-Bonita district, which faces significant academic challenges across the region.

Academically, the school is improving but still ranks in the bottom quarter of California middle schools; it performs slightly above the district average in English but below in math and science. A major concern is chronic absenteeism, as Arellanes has the highest rate in its district at 21.6%, which is a key barrier to learning. Interestingly, the school shows a relative strength in supporting its English Language Learners. An unusual pattern is that 7th graders currently outperform 8th graders, suggesting a need to examine the support for students as they progress.

Comparisons with nearby schools reveal important context. Within its own district, Kunst (Tommie) Junior High outperforms Arellanes. More strikingly, schools just a few miles away in other districts, like Lakeview Junior High and Orcutt Junior High in the Orcutt Union Elementary district, achieve much higher rankings with similar or lower funding, showing that better outcomes are possible for students in the area.

668

Students ?

18.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,144

Per pupil spending ?

93.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1890 Sandalwood Dr.
Santa Maria, CA 93455-2846

(805) 361-6820

District: Santa Maria-Bonita

Students who attend Arellanes Junior High usually attend:

High:

Santa Maria High

Feeder schools for Arellanes Junior High:

Elementary:	Adam (William Laird) Elementary
	Arellanes (Don Juan Bautista) Elementary
	Liberty Elementary
	Sanchez (David J.) Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

94.5%

White:

2.5%

Asian:

2.1%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Arellanes Junior High to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 5th percentile in 2022 → 17th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 17th (2025) from a 5th-percentile low (2022)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (20% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (17th percentile)

!Mathematics scores 23 pts below the California average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school20%

District avg20%

California avg41%

2,297^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 17%▼ down 19 pts since 2015

From bottom 36% (2015) to bottom 17% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 4Middle Schools in the Santa Maria-Bonita

1409^th of 1,543Santa Maria-Bonita 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	18.4	2297 of 2761	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.5	2419 of 2783	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	11.5	2631 of 2781	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.2	2603 of 2740	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	31.0	1754 of 2715	35.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	23.3	1877 of 2480	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	22.7	1947 of 2508	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	22.5	1928 of 2497	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	31.7	1578 of 2477	36.3%	★★☆☆☆
2013	42.5	1365 of 2379	42.6%	★★☆☆☆
2012	35.7	1485 of 2259	34.3%	★★☆☆☆
2011	34.5	1514 of 2236	32.3%	★★☆☆☆
2010	39.1	1328 of 2179	39.1%	★★☆☆☆
2009	34.8	1337 of 2063	35.2%	★★☆☆☆
2008	37.0	1242 of 2005	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2007	41.5	1082 of 1999	45.9%	★★☆☆☆
2006	38.5	1053 of 1804	41.6%	★★☆☆☆
2005	37.0	1061 of 1777	40.3%	★★☆☆☆
2004	28.0	1239 of 1769	30.0%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	19.0	1472 of 1531	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	24.6	1223 of 1491	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	17.4	1359 of 1369	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	34.4	989 of 1478	33.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	28.3	1339 of 1521	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	25.8	1444 of 1540	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	30.3	1103 of 1442	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.8	1058 of 1364	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.1	2158 of 2533	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	17.5	2201 of 2551	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	11.8	2406 of 2531	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.4	2365 of 2509	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	30.4	1614 of 2380	32.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	22.4	1760 of 2262	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	22.4	1931 of 2395	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.0	2015 of 2388	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	13.9	2220 of 2374	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.9	2215 of 2359	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	39.8	1262 of 2213	43.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	31.9	1421 of 2072	31.4%	★★☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	32.5	343 of 477	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.0	336 of 394	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.0	283 of 320	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.6	262 of 336	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	23.5	2007 of 2542	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.0	2189 of 2579	15.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	12.8	2397 of 2531	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.4	2320 of 2458	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	41.6	1282 of 2369	45.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	31.8	1532 of 2230	31.3%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.6	2118 of 2534	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.7	2262 of 2552	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	11.6	2413 of 2538	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	10.8	2438 of 2527	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	29.6	1617 of 2407	32.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	23.4	1738 of 2273	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Migrant

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	28.7	66 of 95	30.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	18.9	86 of 94	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.4	84 of 86	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	20.0	1454 of 1566	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	21.7	1401 of 1552	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	18.6	1476 of 1531	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2019	27.0	1181 of 1602	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

English Language Learner (2024)33rd percentile+20 vs school

Migrant (2025)31st percentile+14 vs school

Homeless (2025)28th percentile+11 vs school

White (2019)26th percentile-9 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)21st percentile+4 vs school

Hispanic (2025)19th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2025)16th percentile~ school

Female (2025)15th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)7th percentile-10 vs school

Disabled (2022)4th percentile~ school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy29%-20 vs state

Mathematics14%-23 vs state

Science13%-19 vs state

★

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Schools Near Arellanes 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 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	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 5th Grade	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
Arellanes Junior High	Public	7-8	1890 Sandalwood Dr.	Santa Maria	93455	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-6820	668	37	18.1	93.1%	17 (2.5%)	4 (0.6%)	631 (94.5%)	14 (2.1%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18.4	2297^th of 2761 public middle schools	16.8%		16.5	2419^th of 2783 public middle schools	13.1%	122																						13.4	13.4			32.3	24.9	28.8			14.4	13.5	14.0	$21,144	$2,495	$18,649
Lakeview Junior High	Public	7-8	3700 Orcutt Rd.	Santa Maria	93455	Santa Barbara County	Orcutt Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 938-8600	463	20	23.5	72.4%	98 (21.2%)	3 (0.6%)	322 (69.5%)	13 (2.8%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	24 (5.2%)	51.9	1136^th of 2761 public middle schools	58.9%		48.2	1210^th of 2783 public middle schools	56.5%	74																						33.2	33.2			50.0	45.8	48.0			30.9	32.9	31.9	$9,860	$749	$9,111
Orcutt Junior High	Public	7-8	608 Pinal St.	Santa Maria	93455	Santa Barbara County	Orcutt Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 938-8700	464	21	22.4	55.0%	145 (31.3%)	8 (1.7%)	249 (53.7%)	13 (2.8%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	47 (10.1%)	52.2	1127^th of 2761 public middle schools	59.2%		57.5	948^th of 2783 public middle schools	65.9%	179																						32.2	32.2			51.8	33.7	43.1			43.0	31.6	37.6	$9,533	$770	$8,763
El Camino Junior High	Public	7-8	219 West El Camino	Santa Maria	93458	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-7800	830	45	18.2	97.0%	4 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	820 (98.8%)	4 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13.7	2489^th of 2761 public middle schools	9.9%		15.1	2475^th of 2783 public middle schools	11.1%	14																						9.4	9.4			24.1	22.0	23.1			13.9	10.1	12.0	$21,698	$2,635	$19,063
Fesler (Isaac) Junior High	Public	7-8	1100 East Fesler St.	Santa Maria	93454	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-7880	974	49	20.0	94.5%	6 (0.6%)	4 (0.4%)	954 (97.9%)	5 (0.5%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	13.2	2510^th of 2761 public middle schools	9.1%		13.6	2531^st of 2783 public middle schools	9.1%	21																						14.0	14.0			22.3	18.2	20.3			11.8	9.3	10.5	$20,610	$2,313	$18,297
Kunst (Tommie) Junior High	Public	7-8	930 Hidden Pines Way	Santa Maria	93458	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-5800	912	50	18.0	87.5%	23 (2.5%)	2 (0.2%)	852 (93.4%)	24 (2.6%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (0.9%)	24.8	2017^th of 2761 public middle schools	26.9%		27.7	1914^th of 2783 public middle schools	31.2%	103																						17.5	17.5			31.4	34.4	32.9			18.3	18.9	18.6	$21,183	$2,682	$18,501
Kermit McKenzie Intermediate	Public	4-8	4710 West Main St.	Guadalupe	93434	Santa Barbara County	Guadalupe Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 343-1951	585	32	18.2	87.9%	6 (1.0%)	1 (0.2%)	571 (97.6%)	3 (0.5%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	18.2	2307^th of 2761 public middle schools	16.4%		20.6	2238^th of 2783 public middle schools	19.6%	69	5.0	23.8	20.0	16.7	14.1	40.0	19.1	20.0	38.9	31.3	5.0	23.8	30.0	11.1	15.2	7.5	19.1	20.0	16.7	14.1	18.6	13.9	16.3	20.0	24.3	27.7	34.8	26.7	9.7	10.9	14.4	14.0	12.3	$17,662	$2,284	$15,378
Vandenberg Middle	Public	7-8	Mountain View Blvd.	Vandenberg Afb	93437	Santa Barbara County	Lompoc Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 742-2700	565	28	20.2	52.0%	162 (28.7%)	16 (2.8%)	326 (57.7%)	25 (4.4%)	3 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	32 (5.7%)	33.9	1683^rd of 2761 public middle schools	39.0%		36.8	1575^th of 2783 public middle schools	43.4%	108																						15.6	15.6			47.0	33.2	40.6			24.9	24.4	24.7	$16,216	$622	$15,594
Mesa Middle	Public	7-8	2555 Halcyon Rd.	Arroyo Grande	93420	San Luis Obispo County	Lucia Mar Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 474-3400	474	25	18.9	73.8%	131 (27.6%)	3 (0.6%)	311 (65.6%)	9 (1.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.0%)	44.6	1341^st of 2761 public middle schools	51.4%		41.8	1399^th of 2783 public middle schools	49.7%	58																						29.3	29.3			44.4	49.0	46.7			29.0	22.6	25.7	$18,195	$1,529	$16,666
Paulding Middle	Public	7-8	600 Crown Hill St.	Arroyo Grande	93420	San Luis Obispo County	Lucia Mar Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 474-3500	544	27	19.9	45.8%	270 (49.6%)	4 (0.7%)	211 (38.8%)	14 (2.6%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	42 (7.7%)	74.6	590^th of 2761 public middle schools	78.6%		72.7	639^th of 2783 public middle schools	77.0%	49																						40.3	40.3			73.0	56.7	64.8			49.2	38.5	43.8	$16,155	$1,469	$14,686

Frequently Asked Questions about Arellanes Junior High

What high school do graduates of Arellanes Junior High attend?

Students who attend Arellanes Junior High usually go on to attend Santa Maria High

What is the racial makeup of Arellanes Junior High?

Students at Arellanes Junior High are 94% Hispanic, 3% White, 2% Asian.

Is Arellanes Junior High a good school?

Arellanes Junior High ranks in the bottom 16.8% of California middle schools.

How many students attend Arellanes Junior High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 668 students attended Arellanes Junior High.

What district is Arellanes Junior High in?

Santa Maria-Bonita

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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.