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Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

Public Grades 7-8

2686^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 3% of California middle schools

Summary

Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle is a public middle school for grades 7-8 in the Fresno Unified School District, serving 814 students in a high-poverty area where nearly all qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Academically, the school faces significant challenges, with proficiency rates in English, math, and science far below both the district and state averages; for example, only about 13% of students are proficient in English compared to 48% statewide. The school also struggles with chronic absenteeism, with about 39% of students missing a large amount of school, which is double the state average and likely impacts learning. Interestingly, the school spends more per student—over $20,000—than most other middle schools in Fresno Unified, including higher-performing ones, yet has the lowest academic rankings in the area.

A striking comparison is with the nearby school Edison Computech, located less than half a mile away, which serves a similar student population but achieves dramatically better results with lower spending and larger class sizes, suggesting different programs or approaches can lead to different outcomes. While Gaston's performance has been declining, it does show a relative strength in supporting its English Language Learner students. For parents, this summary highlights that while the school receives substantial resources, it has profound difficulties with student attendance and academic achievement that set it apart from other local options like Scandinavian Middle or Kings Canyon Middle.

814

Students ?

17.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$27,978

Per pupil spending ?

95.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1100 East Church Ave.
Fresno, CA 93706

(559) 457-3400

District: Fresno Unified

Students who attend Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle usually attend:

High:

Edison High

Feeder schools for Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle:

Elementary:	Addams Elementary
	Columbia Elementary
	King Elementary
	Kirk Elementary
	More...
	Lincoln Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

74.2%

African American:

14.1%

Asian:

5.7%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 5th percentile in 2017 → 3rd in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (9% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (3rd percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (39% vs 19% California)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school9%

District avg30%

California avg41%

2,686^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 3%▼ down 2 pts since 2017

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

14^th of 14Middle Schools in the Fresno Unified

1061^st of 1,543Fresno 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	7.7	2686 of 2761	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.4	2685 of 2783	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.2	2645 of 2781	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	10.7	2614 of 2740	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.5	2540 of 2715	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.2	2315 of 2480	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	10.0	2384 of 2508	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	12.8	590 of 609	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	14.6	601 of 627	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.4	594 of 613	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	10.3	634 of 637	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	17.5	588 of 643	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	17.9	541 of 600	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	1.2	725 of 739	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	0.7	737 of 743	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	0.9	710 of 715	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	1.2	724 of 733	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	11.5	663 of 745	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	2.6	676 of 700	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	18.8	1474 of 1531	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	23.3	1289 of 1491	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.4	1237 of 1369	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	29.8	1227 of 1478	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	30.5	1192 of 1521	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	34.0	1019 of 1540	33.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	29.1	1169 of 1442	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.6	1225 of 1364	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	7.6	2492 of 2533	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.6	2478 of 2551	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.9	2440 of 2531	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.9	2435 of 2509	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	8.3	2308 of 2380	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.6	2187 of 2262	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	9.4	2319 of 2395	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.0	2271 of 2388	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.2	2171 of 2374	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.6	2193 of 2359	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	13.1	2064 of 2213	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	15.9	1870 of 2072	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	9.2	2449 of 2542	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.3	2466 of 2579	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.7	2374 of 2531	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.1	2292 of 2458	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	13.8	2182 of 2369	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	15.5	2031 of 2230	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	8.0	2470 of 2534	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.3	2492 of 2552	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.9	2407 of 2538	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.2	2399 of 2527	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.3	2236 of 2407	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.7	2086 of 2273	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Migrant

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	19.6	83 of 95	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.0	83 of 94	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	46.2	40 of 86	53.5%	★★★☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	4.6	681 of 701	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	4.9	656 of 677	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	19.0	1496 of 1566	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	18.5	1492 of 1552	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	19.3	1463 of 1531	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)17th percentile+13 vs school

Migrant (2025)13th percentile+10 vs school

Special Education (2025)4th percentile~ school

Disabled (2022)4th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)4th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)3rd percentile~ school

African American (2025)3rd percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2024)3rd percentile~ school

Male (2025)3rd percentile~ school

Asian (2025)2nd percentile~ school

Female (2025)2nd percentile~ school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy13%-35 vs state

Mathematics8%-30 vs state

Science2%-30 vs state

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What people are saying

by a teacher
Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Horrible students that refuse to do work and will not get punished for it. I will never substitute here ever again. Kids called me the nicest words "F you, you cant make me do my work". It was so bad the principal had to sit in with me. Sad these kids dont care about their education. Close Quote

Schools Near Rutherford B. Gaston Senior 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)				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 (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	CSA Spanish Overall 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	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
Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle	Public	7-8	1100 East Church Ave.	Fresno	93706	Fresno County	Fresno Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 457-3400	814	46	17.5	95.6%	21 (2.6%)	115 (14.1%)	604 (74.2%)	46 (5.7%)	8 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (2.5%)	7.7	2686^th of 2761 public middle schools	2.7%		9.4	2685^th of 2783 public middle schools	3.5%	1													2.4	2.4		13.8	13.2	13.5		9.3	6.0	7.7	$27,978	$24,906	$3,072
Edison Computech	Public	7-8	555 East Belgravia	Fresno	93706	Fresno County	Fresno Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 457-2640	788	34	23.1	70.9%	93 (11.8%)	43 (5.5%)	524 (66.5%)	90 (11.4%)	4 (0.5%)	2 (0.3%)	29 (3.7%)	95.9	122^nd of 2761 public middle schools	95.6%		92	228^th of 2783 public middle schools	91.8%	106													59.6	59.6		88.9	82.8	85.8		73.5	61.3	67.2	$22,487	$19,978	$2,509
West Fresno Middle	Public	6-8	2888 South Ivy St.	Fresno	93706	Fresno County	Washington Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 495-5607	296	18	16.3	93.6%	9 (3.0%)	21 (7.1%)	235 (79.4%)	27 (9.1%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.7%)	15.5	2415^th of 2761 public middle schools	12.5%		16.9	2404^th of 2783 public middle schools	13.6%	11													15.1	15.1	21.5	20.0	28.0	23.0	14.0	13.1	12.9	13.4	$33,593	$30,660	$2,933
Sequoia Middle	Public	7-8	4050 East Hamilton Ave.	Fresno	93702	Fresno County	Fresno Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 457-3210	829	44	18.9	95.4%	10 (1.2%)	29 (3.5%)	676 (81.5%)	103 (12.4%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (1.1%)	21.5	2167^th of 2761 public middle schools	21.5%		24.5	2051^st of 2783 public middle schools	26.3%	116													12.5	12.5		31.6	27.6	29.5		22.4	16.2	19.1	$28,450	$25,576	$2,874
Tehipite Middle	Public	7-8	630 North Augusta	Fresno	93701	Fresno County	Fresno Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 457-3420	481	24	19.7	95.4%	7 (1.5%)	27 (5.6%)	407 (84.6%)	27 (5.6%)	5 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.7%)	13.4	2503^rd of 2761 public middle schools	9.3%		12.2	2579^th of 2783 public middle schools	7.3%	76													10.2	10.2		26.7	21.2	24.1		13.9	5.1	9.7	$31,481	$27,516	$3,965
Elizabeth Terronez Middle	Public	6-8	2300 South Willow	Fresno	93725	Fresno County	Fresno Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 253-6570	659	38	17.3	88.6%	20 (3.0%)	49 (7.4%)	425 (64.5%)	147 (22.3%)	5 (0.8%)	2 (0.3%)	11 (1.7%)	18.3	2301^st of 2761 public middle schools	16.7%		19	2299^th of 2783 public middle schools	17.4%	2													12.6	12.6		25.6	23.9	24.7		17.6	17.9	17.7	$31,812	$27,934	$3,878
Yosemite Middle	Public	7-8	1292 North Ninth St.	Fresno	93703	Fresno County	Fresno Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 457-3450	613	33	18.6	94.5%	11 (1.8%)	25 (4.1%)	519 (84.7%)	48 (7.8%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.3%)	15.6	2408^th of 2761 public middle schools	12.8%		16.2	2429^th of 2783 public middle schools	12.7%	21	3.9	4.7	4.2	13.5	9.3	11.6	15.4	7.0	11.6	1.9	4.7	3.2	6.6	6.6		23.8	23.3	23.6		16.6	16.7	16.6	$30,638	$26,518	$4,120
Kings Canyon Middle	Public	7-8	5117 East Tulare St.	Fresno	93727	Fresno County	Fresno Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 253-6470	862	44	19.5	92.9%	17 (2.0%)	42 (4.9%)	638 (74.0%)	153 (17.7%)	4 (0.5%)	2 (0.2%)	6 (0.7%)	27.2	1921^st of 2761 public middle schools	30.4%		24.5	2053^rd of 2783 public middle schools	26.2%	132													12.3	12.3		38.0	33.7	35.8		26.3	17.5	21.9	$26,666	$23,522	$3,144
Fort Miller Middle	Public	7-8	1302 East Dakota Ave.	Fresno	93704	Fresno County	Fresno Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 248-7100	652	36	18.1	97.9%	42 (6.4%)	91 (14.0%)	451 (69.2%)	40 (6.1%)	7 (1.1%)	1 (0.2%)	17 (2.6%)	11.1	2586^th of 2761 public middle schools	6.3%		11.1	2623^rd of 2783 public middle schools	5.7%	37													7.2	7.2		15.0	23.9	19.6		7.7	10.4	9.1	$32,879	$29,032	$3,847
El Capitan Middle	Public	7-8	4443 West Weldon Ave.	Fresno	93722	Fresno County	Central Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 276-5270	738	37	19.9	87.4%	38 (5.1%)	51 (6.9%)	499 (67.6%)	129 (17.5%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (2.3%)	28.5	1877^th of 2761 public middle schools	32.0%		29.5	1830^th of 2783 public middle schools	34.2%	47													14.9	14.9		43.4	29.9	36.7		27.2	14.3	20.9	$16,915	$15,854	$1,061

Frequently Asked Questions about Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle

What district is Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle in?

Fresno Unified

What is the racial makeup of Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle?

Students at Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle are 74% Hispanic, 14% African American, 6% Asian, 3% White, 2% Two or more races.

What high school do graduates of Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle attend?

Students who attend Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle usually go on to attend Edison High

Is Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle a good school?

Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle ranks in the bottom 2.7% of California middle schools.

How many students attend Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 814 students attended Rutherford B. Gaston Senior Middle.

Rate Rutherford B. Gaston Senior 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.