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Gifford C. Cole Middle

Public Grades 7-8

2546^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 8% of California middle schools

Summary

Gifford C. Cole Middle is a public school serving about 700 students in grades 7 and 8 in Lancaster, California, and it faces significant academic and attendance challenges compared to other schools in the area.

The school's academic performance is among the lowest in the state, with only about 7% of students proficient in math and 9% in science, far below state averages. A major concern is chronic absenteeism, with nearly 45% of students missing significant school time, which is more than double the state average and the highest rate among nearby schools. While the school spends over $21,000 per student—more than many neighboring schools—these resources have not translated into better outcomes. Performance varies widely among different groups of students; for instance, students learning English perform relatively better, while students in special education programs have struggled significantly.

Interesting comparisons exist with nearby schools, particularly the Fulton and Alsbury Academy of Arts and Engineering, which serves a similar student population but achieves dramatically higher test scores and has a very low absenteeism rate. Cole Middle is part of the Eastside Union Elementary district, which ranks very low statewide, and its closest neighbors, like Piute Middle and New Vista Middle, face similar struggles, suggesting broader community factors may be at play.

697

Students ?

21.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,494

Per pupil spending ?

82.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

3126 East Avenue I
Lancaster, CA 93535-7849

(661) 946-1041

District: Eastside Union Elementary

Students who attend Gifford C. Cole Middle usually attend:

High:

Eastside High

Feeder schools for Gifford C. Cole Middle:

Elementary:	Columbia Elementary
	Eastside Elementary
	Enterprise Elementary
	Tierra Bonita Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

67.6%

African American:

22.4%

White:

4.4%

See top rated California middle schools

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At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 12th percentile in 2013 → 8th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (14% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (8th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (45% vs 19% California)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school14%

District avg18%

California avg41%

2,546^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 8%▼ down 3 pts since 2015

From bottom 11% (2015) to bottom 8% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1468^th of 1,543Eastside Union Elementary 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	12.1	2546 of 2761	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	16.4	2421 of 2783	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	14.6	2508 of 2781	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	15.0	2446 of 2740	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	10.7	2532 of 2715	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.5	2383 of 2480	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	12.3	2314 of 2508	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	14.1	2229 of 2497	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	14.6	2202 of 2477	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	16.5	2093 of 2379	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	26.4	1752 of 2259	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	21.7	1858 of 2236	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	30.2	1566 of 2179	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	33.1	1387 of 2063	32.8%	★★☆☆☆
2008	30.2	1426 of 2005	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	15.9	1753 of 1999	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	28.6	1279 of 1804	29.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	17.8	1506 of 1777	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	20.0	1447 of 1769	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	14.7	573 of 609	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	21.4	532 of 627	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.5	574 of 613	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	15.6	597 of 637	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	11.7	633 of 643	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	14.0	573 of 600	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	24.5	1278 of 1531	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.5	1383 of 1491	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	18.6	1328 of 1369	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	45.2	565 of 1478	61.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	41.5	717 of 1521	52.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	34.9	980 of 1540	36.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	28.6	1192 of 1442	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.8	1160 of 1364	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	13.2	2325 of 2533	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	16.6	2237 of 2551	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.6	2191 of 2531	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.1	2298 of 2509	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.6	2257 of 2380	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	6.5	2225 of 2262	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Foster Care

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	22.4	2 of 3	33.3%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	17.8	2086 of 2395	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.7	1879 of 2388	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.4	1922 of 2374	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	24.1	1850 of 2359	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	16.8	1981 of 2213	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	12.4	1960 of 2072	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	43.6	246 of 477	48.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	48.7	167 of 394	57.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	32.0	227 of 320	29.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.8	295 of 336	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	16.4	2270 of 2542	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.0	2188 of 2579	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	18.4	2230 of 2531	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.1	2092 of 2458	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	12.3	2219 of 2369	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.5	2135 of 2230	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	11.3	2390 of 2534	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	16.2	2234 of 2552	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	12.9	2368 of 2538	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	16.6	2229 of 2527	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	10.5	2287 of 2407	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.3	2171 of 2273	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	6.5	189 of 192	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	4.9	701 of 726	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.1	634 of 701	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	17.7	1522 of 1566	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	17.1	1530 of 1552	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.9	1528 of 1531	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	4.5	1485 of 1520	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.7	1433 of 1537	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	5.0	1506 of 1543	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	8.8	1463 of 1555	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	3.7	1578 of 1602	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	3.7	1476 of 1496	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)62nd percentile+49 vs school

Homeless (2025)48th percentile+41 vs school

Foster Care (2022)33rd percentile+23 vs school

Disabled (2022)17th percentile+6 vs school

Hispanic (2025)13th percentile+5 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)11th percentile+3 vs school

Female (2025)8th percentile~ school

African American (2025)6th percentile~ school

Male (2025)6th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2025)3rd percentile-4 vs school

Special Education (2025)3rd percentile-5 vs school

White (2025)2nd percentile-5 vs school

Military Connected (2024)2nd percentile-11 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy23%-25 vs state

Science9%-23 vs state

Mathematics7%-30 vs state

★

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Schools Near Gifford C. Cole 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
Gifford C. Cole Middle	Public	7-8	3126 East Avenue I	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Eastside Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 946-1041	697	33	21.3	82.1%	31 (4.4%)	156 (22.4%)	471 (67.6%)	6 (0.9%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	30 (4.3%)	12.1	2546^th of 2761 public middle schools	7.8%		16.4	2421^st of 2783 public middle schools	13.0%	125	9.5	9.5		21.0	25.8	23.5		8.5	6.3	7.3	$21,494	$3,911	$17,583
Piute Middle	Public	6-8	425 East Avenue H-11	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Lancaster Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 942-9508	729	42	17.4	94.2%	34 (4.7%)	195 (26.7%)	464 (63.6%)	6 (0.8%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	26 (3.6%)	7.8	2681^st of 2761 public middle schools	2.9%		7.7	2722^nd of 2783 public middle schools	2.2%	41	8.2	8.2	16.0	13.2	17.0	15.3	3.1	3.3	5.2	4.0	$23,121	$2,911	$20,210
Fulton and Alsbury Academy of Arts and Engineering	Public	6-8	831 East Ave. K-2	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Lancaster Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 899-7836	414	13	31.9	76.6%	42 (10.1%)	71 (17.1%)	272 (65.7%)	9 (2.2%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (4.1%)	64.9	790^th of 2761 public middle schools	71.4%		76.6	552^nd of 2783 public middle schools	80.2%	238	38.6	38.6	51.4	60.9	59.9	57.3	25.0	45.1	43.2	37.5	$20,751	$2,818	$17,933
New Vista Middle	Public	6-8	753 East Avenue K-2	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Lancaster Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 726-4271	835	46	18.1	91.3%	38 (4.6%)	312 (37.4%)	450 (53.9%)	8 (1.0%)	6 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	20 (2.4%)	7.6	2690^th of 2761 public middle schools	2.6%		9.1	2692^nd of 2783 public middle schools	3.3%	2	4.4	4.4	14.0	14.4	15.9	14.8	4.1	8.6	3.8	5.6	$23,441	$2,849	$20,592
Amargosa Creek Middle	Public	6-8	44333 27th St. West	Lancaster	93536	Los Angeles County	Lancaster Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 729-6064	859	47	18.4	85.9%	78 (9.1%)	219 (25.5%)	484 (56.3%)	26 (3.0%)	4 (0.5%)	7 (0.8%)	39 (4.5%)	19	2269^th of 2761 public middle schools	17.8%		19.1	2294^th of 2783 public middle schools	17.6%	25	15.8	15.8	20.6	36.7	30.3	30.0	6.4	17.6	9.0	11.3	$22,271	$2,871	$19,400
Endeavour Middle	Public	6-8	43755 45th St. West	Lancaster	93536	Los Angeles County	Lancaster Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 943-8270	805	40	20.3	81.7%	94 (11.7%)	225 (28.0%)	410 (50.9%)	27 (3.4%)	5 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	42 (5.2%)	9.4	2636^th of 2761 public middle schools	4.5%		11.9	2591^st of 2783 public middle schools	6.9%	45	11.3	11.3	15.5	20.1	16.9	17.4	5.6	8.8	3.1	5.8	$21,776	$2,817	$18,959
Space Aeronautics Gateway to Exploration Magnet Academy	Public	6-8	38060 20th St. East	Palmdale	93550	Los Angeles County	Palmdale Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 537-6101	747	38	19.4	90.2%	25 (3.3%)	130 (17.4%)	562 (75.2%)	5 (0.7%)	3 (0.4%)	4 (0.5%)	18 (2.4%)	15.6	2409^th of 2761 public middle schools	12.7%		10.9	2639^th of 2783 public middle schools	5.2%	230	8.8	8.8	22.1	26.1	31.0	26.5	16.1	8.3	12.3	12.4	$20,069	$2,748	$17,321
David G. Millen Law and Government Magnet Academy	Public	6-8	39221 22nd St. West	Palmdale	93551	Los Angeles County	Palmdale Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 947-3075	952	42	22.7	75.3%	46 (4.8%)	187 (19.6%)	659 (69.2%)	24 (2.5%)	5 (0.5%)	5 (0.5%)	26 (2.7%)	15.4	2417^th of 2761 public middle schools	12.5%		17.1	2390^th of 2783 public middle schools	14.1%	27	12.8	12.8	23.0	25.4	27.2	25.4	12.1	13.7	10.3	11.9	$19,045	$2,692	$16,353
Cactus Medical Health and Technology Magnet Academy	Public	6-8	3243 East Ave. R-8	Palmdale	93550	Los Angeles County	Palmdale Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 273-0847	822	40	20.7	89.3%	33 (4.0%)	119 (14.5%)	643 (78.2%)	8 (1.0%)	5 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	13 (1.6%)	15.2	2429^th of 2761 public middle schools	12.0%		15	2477^th of 2783 public middle schools	11.0%	48	7.5	7.5	22.7	34.7	25.1	27.8	7.7	13.9	8.8	10.3	$18,903	$2,472	$16,431
Joe Walker Middle	Public	6-8	5632 West Ave. L-8	Lancaster	93536	Los Angeles County	Westside Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 943-3258	781	33	23.7	59.2%	201 (25.7%)	95 (12.2%)	405 (51.9%)	21 (2.7%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	56 (7.2%)	37	1584^th of 2761 public middle schools	42.6%		40.7	1437^th of 2783 public middle schools	48.4%	147	24.5	24.5	97.0	39.9	39.1	42.0	75.8	23.8	21.7	25.1	$14,867	$1,047	$13,820

Frequently Asked Questions about Gifford C. Cole Middle

Is Gifford C. Cole Middle a good school?

Gifford C. Cole Middle ranks in the bottom 7.8% of California middle schools.

What high school do graduates of Gifford C. Cole Middle attend?

Students who attend Gifford C. Cole Middle usually go on to attend Eastside High

How many students attend Gifford C. Cole Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 697 students attended Gifford C. Cole Middle.

What is the racial makeup of Gifford C. Cole Middle?

Students at Gifford C. Cole Middle are 68% Hispanic, 22% African American, 4% White, 4% Two or more races.

What district is Gifford C. Cole Middle in?

Eastside Union Elementary

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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.