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Hillsdale Middle

Q: Is Hillsdale Middle a good school?

Hillsdale Middle ranks 709 th of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

709^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 74% of California middle schools

Summary

Hillsdale Middle is a public school serving grades 6-8 with approximately 1,481 students in El Cajon, California, and it stands out as a consistently high-performing 4-star school within the Cajon Valley Union district, which has a lower overall state ranking.

Despite serving a student population with similar levels of economic need as other local middle schools, Hillsdale achieves significantly stronger academic results and has maintained this excellence for over a decade. For example, its students are nearly twice as likely to be proficient in English and Math compared to the district average, and it has a much lower rate of chronic student absenteeism than nearby schools like Cajon Valley Middle and Greenfield Middle. This success is achieved with moderate per-student spending, demonstrating effective use of resources.

The school's performance is notable for its strength with students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, ranking in the 82nd percentile statewide for this group. While nearby charter schools like College Preparatory Middle also excel, Hillsdale shows that a traditional public school can deliver exceptional and consistent outcomes through effective school-level practices, leadership, and a culture that keeps students engaged and attending class.

1,481

Students ?

22.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,396

Per pupil spending ?

73.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1301 Brabham St.
El Cajon, CA 92019-4374

(619) 441-6156

District: Cajon Valley Union

Feeder schools for Hillsdale Middle:

Elementary:	Avocado Elementary
	Fuerte Elementary
	Jamacha Elementary
	Rancho San Diego Elementary
	More...
	Vista Grande Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

55.2%

Hispanic:

26.8%

Two or more races:

9.6%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Hillsdale Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 88th percentile in 2013 → 74th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (48% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Among the top-ranked schools in Cajon Valley Union

✓Above the California median (74th percentile)

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 14 percentile points since 2013

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

!Large classes — about 22 students per teacher

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school48%

District avg26%

California avg41%

709^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Top 26%▼ down 11 pts since 2015

From top 15% (2015) to top 26% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 5Middle Schools in the Cajon Valley Union

1184^th of 1,543Cajon Valley Union 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	68.4	709 of 2761	74.3%	★★★★☆
2024	66.1	764 of 2783	72.5%	★★★★☆
2023	67.6	727 of 2781	73.9%	★★★★☆
2022	68.6	712 of 2740	74.0%	★★★★☆
2019	72.4	641 of 2715	76.4%	★★★★☆
2018	78.5	480 of 2480	80.6%	★★★★☆
2017	77.0	536 of 2508	78.6%	★★★★☆
2016	83.0	374 of 2497	85.0%	★★★★☆
2015	83.6	361 of 2477	85.4%	★★★★☆
2013	80.9	297 of 2379	87.5%	★★★★☆
2012	78.4	345 of 2259	84.7%	★★★★☆
2011	89.1	110 of 2236	95.1%	★★★★★
2010	82.9	241 of 2179	88.9%	★★★★☆
2009	80.4	283 of 2063	86.3%	★★★★☆
2008	78.6	317 of 2005	84.2%	★★★★☆
2007	81.3	283 of 1999	85.8%	★★★★☆
2006	85.4	197 of 1804	89.1%	★★★★☆
2005	75.4	359 of 1777	79.8%	★★★★☆
2004	86.3	174 of 1769	90.2%	★★★★★

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	68.5	142 of 609	76.7%	★★★★☆
2024	68.2	155 of 627	75.3%	★★★★☆
2023	80.7	79 of 613	87.1%	★★★★☆
2022	71.9	138 of 637	78.3%	★★★★☆
2019	83.1	69 of 643	89.3%	★★★★☆
2018	71.6	131 of 600	78.2%	★★★★☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	34.2	530 of 739	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.8	542 of 743	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	27.2	555 of 715	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.7	603 of 733	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	38.7	509 of 745	31.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	50.8	412 of 700	41.1%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	62.8	367 of 1531	76.0%	★★★★☆
2019	68.0	296 of 1491	80.1%	★★★★☆
2018	65.1	307 of 1369	77.6%	★★★★☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	43.1	620 of 1478	58.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	49.0	467 of 1521	69.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	41.3	708 of 1540	54.0%	★★★☆☆
2019	35.5	855 of 1442	40.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	58.0	322 of 1364	76.4%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	68.9	656 of 2533	74.1%	★★★★☆
2024	65.3	720 of 2551	71.8%	★★★★☆
2023	67.3	681 of 2531	73.1%	★★★★☆
2022	68.6	638 of 2509	74.6%	★★★★☆
2019	71.9	585 of 2380	75.4%	★★★★☆
2018	77.1	463 of 2262	79.5%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	77.1	371 of 2395	84.5%	★★★★☆
2024	72.5	463 of 2388	80.6%	★★★★☆
2023	73.0	450 of 2374	81.0%	★★★★☆
2022	76.9	356 of 2359	84.9%	★★★★☆
2019	68.0	524 of 2213	76.3%	★★★★☆
2018	78.5	298 of 2072	85.6%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	74.3	445 of 2542	82.5%	★★★★☆
2024	72.5	483 of 2579	81.3%	★★★★☆
2023	65.7	619 of 2531	75.5%	★★★★☆
2022	64.4	630 of 2458	74.4%	★★★★☆
2019	68.7	527 of 2369	77.8%	★★★★☆
2018	79.5	293 of 2230	86.9%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	65.3	724 of 2534	71.4%	★★★★☆
2024	64.4	730 of 2552	71.4%	★★★★☆
2023	65.9	694 of 2538	72.7%	★★★★☆
2022	67.1	681 of 2527	73.1%	★★★★☆
2019	70.6	606 of 2407	74.8%	★★★★☆
2018	78.2	448 of 2273	80.3%	★★★★☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	50.6	370 of 726	49.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	39.9	427 of 701	39.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	43.8	389 of 677	42.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	35.4	435 of 665	34.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	45.2	333 of 554	39.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	55.4	237 of 462	48.7%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	52.0	523 of 1566	66.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	53.8	500 of 1552	67.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	51.8	521 of 1531	66.0%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	44.1	840 of 1520	44.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	44.2	827 of 1537	46.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	45.6	815 of 1543	47.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	50.0	764 of 1555	50.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	59.5	641 of 1602	60.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	66.6	495 of 1496	66.9%	★★★☆☆

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)

Hispanic (2025)85th percentile+10 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)82nd percentile+8 vs school

African American (2025)77th percentile~ school

Disabled (2022)76th percentile~ school

Female (2025)74th percentile~ school

Male (2025)71st percentile-3 vs school

Special Education (2025)67th percentile-8 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)58th percentile-14 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)49th percentile-25 vs school

White (2025)45th percentile-30 vs school

Asian (2025)28th percentile-46 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy57%+9 vs state

Mathematics41%+4 vs state

Science39%+6 vs state

★

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Schools Near Hillsdale Middle

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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 (2025)
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 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
Hillsdale Middle	Public	6-8	1301 Brabham St.	El Cajon	92019	San Diego County	Cajon Valley Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 441-6156	1,481	67	22.0	73.3%	818 (55.2%)	51 (3.4%)	397 (26.8%)	59 (4.0%)	4 (0.3%)	9 (0.6%)	142 (9.6%)	68.4	709^th of 2761 public middle schools	74.3%		66.1	764^th of 2783 public middle schools	72.5%	55		38.6	38.6		57.2	58.8	56.1	57.4		42.2	43.0	39.2	41.4	$21,396	$20,242	$1,154
College Preparatory Middle	Public, Charter	5-8	10269 Madrid Way	Spring Valley	91977	San Diego County	College Preparatory Middle District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 303-2782	397	20	19.6	42.8%	227 (57.2%)	17 (4.3%)	106 (26.7%)	20 (5.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (6.8%)	98.6	25^th of 2761 public middle schools	99.1%		97.9	58^th of 2783 public middle schools	97.9%	33	75.8	80.4	78.0	80.8	87.9	84.0	91.5	86.0	75.8	81.8	79.0	79.8	79.1	$21,885	$20,480	$1,405
Spring Valley Academy	Public	6-8	3900 Conrad Dr.	Spring Valley	91977	San Diego County	La Mesa-Spring Valley	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 668-5750	597	35	16.8	77.4%	92 (15.4%)	57 (9.5%)	371 (62.1%)	26 (4.4%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	45 (7.5%)	25.5	1977^th of 2761 public middle schools	28.4%		31.1	1766^th of 2783 public middle schools	36.5%	211		15.8	15.8		30.4	33.3	37.1	33.5		19.4	22.0	18.3	19.9	$20,270	$18,716	$1,554
EJE Middle Academy	Public, Charter	6-8	851 South Johnson Ave.	El Cajon	92020	San Diego County	EJE Middle Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 401-4150	254	15	16.8	67.7%	10 (3.9%)	3 (1.2%)	237 (93.3%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.8%)	28.7	1870^th of 2761 public middle schools	32.3%		28.2	1896^th of 2783 public middle schools	31.9%	26		15.6	15.6		29.3	46.7	39.0	38.6		17.1	22.2	15.8	18.6
Montgomery Middle	Public	6-8	1570 Melody Ln.	El Cajon	92019	San Diego County	Cajon Valley Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 588-3107	929	42	22.0	93.9%	437 (47.0%)	52 (5.6%)	289 (31.1%)	87 (9.4%)	2 (0.2%)	8 (0.9%)	54 (5.8%)	10.8	2590^th of 2761 public middle schools	6.2%		11.2	2620^th of 2783 public middle schools	5.9%	30		8.7	8.7		19.3	20.3	18.4	19.3		11.2	9.3	7.1	9.2	$19,171	$17,398	$1,773
Cajon Valley Middle	Public	6-8	550 Park Ave.	El Cajon	92020	San Diego County	Cajon Valley Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 588-3092	942	47	20.2	94.4%	342 (36.3%)	93 (9.9%)	327 (34.7%)	131 (13.9%)	3 (0.3%)	9 (1.0%)	37 (3.9%)	12.5	2537^th of 2761 public middle schools	8.1%		17	2398^th of 2783 public middle schools	13.8%	139		10.3	10.3		16.3	17.7	17.9	17.5		9.8	11.6	15.6	12.9	$23,021	$20,964	$2,057
Greenfield Middle	Public	6-8	1495 Greenfield Dr.	El Cajon	92021	San Diego County	Cajon Valley Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 588-3103	730	32	22.6	94.1%	256 (35.1%)	64 (8.8%)	317 (43.4%)	49 (6.7%)	3 (0.4%)	7 (1.0%)	34 (4.7%)	16.7	2369^th of 2761 public middle schools	14.2%		15.3	2469^th of 2783 public middle schools	11.3%	100		15.8	15.8		24.5	25.8	26.3	25.6		13.9	12.3	12.5	12.8	$23,962	$21,966	$1,996
Oak Grove Middle	Public	6-8	14344 Olive Vista Dr.	Jamul	91935	San Diego County	Jamul-Dulzura Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 669-2700	215	11	19.5	39.1%	44 (20.5%)	6 (2.8%)	150 (69.8%)	5 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (4.2%)	27	1928^th of 2761 public middle schools	30.2%		27	1951^st of 2783 public middle schools	29.9%	23		11.9	11.9		30.4	31.9	43.5	36.2		21.4	19.4	20.2	20.3	$17,623	$16,274	$1,349
Sci Technical Engr Arts and Math Academy at La Presa	Public	5-8	1001 Leland St.	Spring Valley	91977	San Diego County	La Mesa-Spring Valley	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 668-5720	800	45	17.8	79.8%	70 (8.8%)	74 (9.3%)	558 (69.8%)	48 (6.0%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.4%)	46 (5.8%)	36.3	1605^th of 2761 public middle schools	41.9%		43.5	1358^th of 2783 public middle schools	51.2%	247		22.7	22.7		31.6	41.0	38.0	36.9		18.7	32.8	32.2	27.9	$19,202	$17,904	$1,298
Parkway Sports and Health Science Academy	Public	6-8	9009 Park Plaza Dr.	La Mesa	91942	San Diego County	La Mesa-Spring Valley	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 668-5810	897	50	18.0	48.8%	332 (37.0%)	60 (6.7%)	349 (38.9%)	49 (5.5%)	5 (0.6%)	10 (1.1%)	89 (9.9%)	54.7	1045^th of 2761 public middle schools	62.2%		56.6	975^th of 2783 public middle schools	65.0%	70		31.5	31.5		58.9	52.5	39.1	49.9		37.0	37.2	30.3	34.7	$17,185	$15,684	$1,501

Frequently Asked Questions about Hillsdale Middle

What district is Hillsdale Middle in?

Cajon Valley Union

What is the racial makeup of Hillsdale Middle?

Students at Hillsdale Middle are 55% White, 27% Hispanic, 10% Two or more races, 4% Asian, 3% African American.

How many students attend Hillsdale Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,481 students attended Hillsdale Middle.

Is Hillsdale Middle a good school?

Hillsdale Middle ranks 709^th of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Rate Hillsdale Middle!

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Latest California data All new data »

2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026

2024–25 CSA Spanish test scoresDec 22, 2025

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 14, 2025

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.