Summary
The Heber middle school in Heber, California, serves 549 students in grades 5–8. Its 2025–2026 results are competitive with nearby schools overall, but the schoolwide averages mask a marked difference by grade: math is much stronger in grades 7–8 than in grades 5–6. In particular, the weakest picture is math in the lower grades, where results are well below the state.
Compared with the state and Heber Elementary district, ELA is Heber’s strongest subject: about 50% of students were proficient, slightly above the state and 1 point above the district. Math was about 35%, 3 points below the state and 5 below the district; science was about 34%, equal to the district and 2 points below the state. Among nearby schools, Heber ranked third in ELA, second in math and third in science, with results 7, 9 and 10 points above nearby-school averages, respectively. The grade-level contrast is especially clear in math: grades 5 and 6 were 27% and 26% proficient, 10 and 12 points below the state, while grades 7 and 8 were 40% and 45%, 3 and 9 points above. Heber also had the highest nearby grade 8 math and science results. Nearby schools generally serve grades 6–8, so all-grade comparisons are not fully like-for-like.
Results have risen since 2022–2023: ELA increased 4 percentage points, math 11 and science 11. Over that period, Heber narrowed its state gaps in math and science from 10 and 7 points below to 3 and 2 points below. SchoolDigger ranks Heber at the 64th percentile statewide and gives it 3 stars; it ranks just behind Holtville Middle among nearby schools. The student-teacher ratio is 20.7:1, slightly above the nearby average of 19.8:1. Heber reported 69% free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–2025, below the nearby average of 81%. SchoolDigger’s 2023–2024 ranking for English Language Learner Students was at the 96th percentile, compared with the school’s overall 60th percentile. Its Special Education Students ranking was at the 39th percentile in 2025–2026, down from 78th the year before, a sharp shift worth watching.
Thank you for your feedback!