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Carmel Middle

Public Grades 6-8

271^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 90% of California middle schools

Summary

Carmel Middle is a highly-rated public middle school serving 468 students in grades 6-8 within the affluent coastal community of Carmel, California, and is part of the top-ranked Carmel Unified school district.

Academically, the school is a standout performer, with student proficiency in English, Math, and Science significantly exceeding state averages and far outpacing most neighboring schools like North Monterey County Middle, El Sausal Middle, and Harden Middle. It maintains a consistent 5-star rating and benefits from a very low student-teacher ratio of 13-to-1 and lower chronic absenteeism than the state average. Its closest peer in performance is Pacific Grove Middle, about five miles away, which achieves similar results in a comparable community.

Notably, the school's high per-student spending is among the highest in the region, and it demonstrates strong effectiveness across various student subgroups. The analysis reveals a stark performance divide in the area, often correlated with district quality and local resources, with schools in higher-ranked districts like Pacific Grove Unified and Washington Union Elementary consistently outperforming others. While Carmel Middle's results are exceptional, the data shows that mathematics proficiency is a relative challenge across all local schools, and the school's slight downward trend in statewide percentile ranking over the past decade is a point for ongoing observation.

468

Students ?

13.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$50,747

Per pupil spending ?

17.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4380 Carmel Valley Rd.
Carmel, CA 93922-2740

(831) 624-2785

District: Carmel Unified

Students who attend Carmel Middle usually attend:

High:

Carmel High

Feeder schools for Carmel Middle:

Elementary:	Captain Cooper Elementary
	Carmel River Elementary
	Tularcitos Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

62.6%

Hispanic:

20.3%

Two or more races:

12.4%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Carmel Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 97th percentile in 2015 → 90th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (64% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 10% of California middle schools

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 7 percentile points since 2015

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school64%

District avg68%

California avg41%

271^st of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Top 10%▼ down 7 pts since 2015

From top 3% (2015) to top 10% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

86^th of 1,543Carmel 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	90.3	271 of 2761	90.2%	★★★★★
2024	91.2	250 of 2783	91.0%	★★★★★
2023	93.5	184 of 2781	93.4%	★★★★★
2022	95.6	121 of 2740	95.6%	★★★★★
2021	91.5	63 of 894	93.0%	★★★★★
2019	94.8	141 of 2715	94.8%	★★★★★
2018	96.2	82 of 2480	96.7%	★★★★★
2017	96.6	66 of 2508	97.4%	★★★★★
2016	96.2	66 of 2497	97.4%	★★★★★
2015	96.1	76 of 2477	96.9%	★★★★★
2013	87.8	127 of 2379	94.7%	★★★★★
2012	87.9	130 of 2259	94.2%	★★★★★
2011	89.6	96 of 2236	95.7%	★★★★★
2010	91.7	69 of 2179	96.8%	★★★★★
2009	91.3	79 of 2063	96.2%	★★★★★
2008	90.8	93 of 2005	95.4%	★★★★★
2007	90.3	118 of 1999	94.1%	★★★★★
2006	89.6	131 of 1804	92.7%	★★★★★
2005	89.9	120 of 1777	93.2%	★★★★★
2004	81.4	270 of 1769	84.7%	★★★★☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	76.6	178 of 739	75.9%	★★★★☆
2019	92.6	5 of 745	99.3%	★★★★★

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	76.0	221 of 1531	85.6%	★★★★☆
2021	69.0	62 of 354	82.5%	★★★★☆
2019	77.1	210 of 1491	85.9%	★★★★☆
2018	87.3	99 of 1369	92.8%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	90.0	251 of 2533	90.1%	★★★★★
2024	89.2	268 of 2551	89.5%	★★★★☆
2023	92.2	194 of 2531	92.3%	★★★★★
2022	93.5	163 of 2509	93.5%	★★★★★
2021	87.8	72 of 738	90.2%	★★★★★
2019	93.7	136 of 2380	94.3%	★★★★★
2018	95.9	66 of 2262	97.1%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	89.5	159 of 2395	93.4%	★★★★★
2024	90.1	140 of 2388	94.1%	★★★★★
2023	88.0	175 of 2374	92.6%	★★★★★
2022	92.0	105 of 2359	95.5%	★★★★★
2019	84.1	226 of 2213	89.8%	★★★★☆
2018	93.3	90 of 2072	95.7%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	81.9	303 of 2542	88.1%	★★★★☆
2024	82.8	293 of 2579	88.6%	★★★★☆
2023	87.7	198 of 2531	92.2%	★★★★★
2022	91.8	122 of 2458	95.0%	★★★★★
2021	82.9	67 of 721	90.7%	★★★★★
2019	80.2	305 of 2369	87.1%	★★★★☆
2018	94.0	76 of 2230	96.6%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	88.3	288 of 2534	88.6%	★★★★☆
2024	91.1	225 of 2552	91.2%	★★★★★
2023	93.0	175 of 2538	93.1%	★★★★★
2022	96.4	94 of 2527	96.3%	★★★★★
2021	92.0	56 of 763	92.7%	★★★★★
2019	94.5	141 of 2407	94.1%	★★★★★
2018	95.5	102 of 2273	95.5%	★★★★★

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	67.6	233 of 726	67.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	80.3	114 of 701	83.7%	★★★★☆
2023	77.5	135 of 677	80.1%	★★★★☆
2022	84.1	75 of 665	88.7%	★★★★☆
2019	78.5	102 of 554	81.6%	★★★★☆
2018	79.9	74 of 462	84.0%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	86.3	128 of 1566	91.8%	★★★★★
2024	83.1	150 of 1552	90.3%	★★★★★
2023	80.3	165 of 1531	89.2%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	76.4	300 of 1520	80.3%	★★★★☆
2024	74.7	337 of 1537	78.1%	★★★★☆
2023	83.7	171 of 1543	88.9%	★★★★☆
2022	87.0	117 of 1555	92.5%	★★★★★
2019	89.9	82 of 1602	94.9%	★★★★★
2018	91.6	44 of 1496	97.1%	★★★★★

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)93rd percentile+3 vs school

Special Education (2025)92nd percentile~ school

Female (2025)90th percentile~ school

Male (2025)89th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)88th percentile~ school

Disabled (2022)86th percentile-10 vs school

White (2025)80th percentile-10 vs school

Asian (2025)76th percentile-14 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)68th percentile-22 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy72%+23 vs state

Mathematics59%+22 vs state

Science58%+26 vs state

★

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Schools Near Carmel 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 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
Carmel Middle	Public	6-8	4380 Carmel Valley Rd.	Carmel	93922	Monterey County	Carmel Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 624-2785	468	36	13.1	17.3%	293 (62.6%)	0 (0.0%)	95 (20.3%)	20 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	58 (12.4%)	90.3	271^st of 2761 public middle schools	90.2%		91.2	250^th of 2783 public middle schools	91.0%	21	58.4	58.4	75.0	72.7	68.9	72.1	58.0	64.0	54.7	58.9	$50,747	$49,908	$839
Pacific Grove Middle	Public	6-8	835 Forest Ave.	Pacific Grove	93950	Monterey County	Pacific Grove Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 646-6568	439	25	17.2	15.9%	240 (54.7%)	9 (2.1%)	86 (19.6%)	58 (13.2%)	6 (1.4%)	5 (1.1%)	35 (8.0%)	91	252^nd of 2761 public middle schools	90.9%		87.2	340^th of 2783 public middle schools	87.8%	88	64.0	64.0	69.1	78.3	73.9	73.9	54.4	58.5	62.4	58.5	$35,220	$33,958	$1,262
Monterey Peninsula UNF School District COM Day MID	Public	6-8	200 Coe Ave.	Seaside	93955	Monterey County	Monterey Peninsula Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 392-3822	3	0	12.0		1 (33.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (66.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Seaside Middle	Public	7-8	999 Coe Ave.	Seaside	93955	Monterey County	Monterey Peninsula Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 899-7080	521	27	19.5	83.5%	42 (8.1%)	26 (5.0%)	405 (77.7%)	20 (3.8%)	1 (0.2%)	12 (2.3%)	14 (2.7%)	27.4	1915^th of 2761 public middle schools	30.6%		24.2	2075^th of 2783 public middle schools	25.4%	160	19.5	19.5		36.6	36.1	36.4		16.6	19.2	17.9	$21,301	$19,364	$1,937
San Benancio Middle	Public	6-8	43 San Benancio Rd.	Salinas	93908	Monterey County	Washington Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 484-1172	261	12	21.7	10.3%	138 (52.9%)	0 (0.0%)	75 (28.7%)	26 (10.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (8.4%)	84.8	373^rd of 2761 public middle schools	86.5%		85.2	379^th of 2783 public middle schools	86.4%	6	50.0	50.0	66.2	75.0	59.5	67.3	57.8	52.1	54.1	54.4	$17,191	$16,706	$485
Los Arboles Middle	Public	7-8	294 Hillcrest Ave.	Marina	93933	Monterey County	Monterey Peninsula Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 384-3550	408	23	17.8	75.5%	48 (11.8%)	23 (5.6%)	258 (63.2%)	60 (14.7%)	3 (0.7%)	9 (2.2%)	6 (1.5%)	32.8	1722^nd of 2761 public middle schools	37.6%		24.8	2043^rd of 2783 public middle schools	26.6%	321	24.0	24.0		34.9	38.9	37.0		24.6	20.8	22.6	$21,565	$19,476	$2,089
Buena Vista Middle	Public	6-8	18250 Tara Dr.	Salinas	93908	Monterey County	Spreckels Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 455-8936	321	18	17.5	17.4%	121 (37.7%)	0 (0.0%)	163 (50.8%)	16 (5.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (6.5%)	69.4	688^th of 2761 public middle schools	75.1%		59.9	889^th of 2783 public middle schools	68.1%	201	41.4	41.4	51.7	54.1	64.0	57.0	46.1	45.0	37.8	42.7	$19,621	$19,162	$459
Washington Middle	Public	7-8	560 Iverson St.	Salinas	93901	Monterey County	Salinas Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-7100	1,082	51	21.2	81.7%	62 (5.7%)	9 (0.8%)	977 (90.3%)	19 (1.8%)	9 (0.8%)	4 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	38.6	1531^st of 2761 public middle schools	44.5%		42.4	1386^th of 2783 public middle schools	50.2%	145	25.2	25.2		46.0	37.7	41.7		27.9	22.7	25.2	$30,230	$28,470	$1,760
North Monterey County Middle	Public	7-8	10301 Seymour St.	Castroville	95012	Monterey County	North Monterey County Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 633-3391	624	30	20.8	87.8%	30 (4.8%)	2 (0.3%)	586 (93.9%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	13.1	2513^th of 2761 public middle schools	9.0%		18.5	2317^th of 2783 public middle schools	16.7%	196	12.1	12.1		21.3	26.5	23.9		8.7	7.1	7.9	$19,268	$17,662	$1,606
El Sausal Middle	Public	7-8	1155 East Alisal St.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Salinas Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-7200	1,067	48	22.1	91.7%	10 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1,052 (98.6%)	4 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	32.8	1723^rd of 2761 public middle schools	37.6%		34.1	1661^st of 2783 public middle schools	40.3%	62	24.5	24.5		36.4	36.9	36.7		23.4	22.3	22.9	$31,165	$29,292	$1,873

Frequently Asked Questions about Carmel Middle

What district is Carmel Middle in?

Carmel Unified

What is the racial makeup of Carmel Middle?

Students at Carmel Middle are 63% White, 20% Hispanic, 12% Two or more races, 4% Asian.

How many students attend Carmel Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 468 students attended Carmel Middle.

Is Carmel Middle a good school?

Yes. Carmel Middle ranks in the top 9.8% of California middle schools.

What high school do graduates of Carmel Middle attend?

Students who attend Carmel Middle usually go on to attend Carmel High

Rate Carmel 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.