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Ethel Dwyer Middle

Public Grades 6-8
305th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 2,703 California Middle Schools
Better than 89% of California middle schools
Summary

Ethel Dwyer Middle serves 884 students in grades 6–8 in Huntington Beach, where families have several nearby middle-school options. In 2025–26, 70% of students met the state standard in English language arts (ELA), 57% in math and 52% in science. Chronic absenteeism has improved but remains a concern: it fell from 25% in 2021–22 to 15% in 2025–26, still above the district’s 8%. The clearest takeaway is that the school performs well above California statewide, but its strongest local showing is in ELA, not math or science.

ELA is Ethel’s relative strength among nearby schools serving grades 6–8: its 70% rate was 3 points above their average, ranking fifth of nine schools including Ethel. Its math rate was 2 points below the nearby average and ranked sixth; science was 5 points below average and ranked seventh. Ethel was 21 points above California in ELA, 19 in math and 16 in science, but was about level with the Huntington Beach City Elementary district in ELA and below it by 7 points in math and 6 in science. Several nearby schools had higher SchoolDigger percentiles, including Sarah McGarvin Intermediate at the 96th and Fulton (Harry C.) Middle at the 98th.

Results have risen since 2022–23: ELA increased by 5 points, math by 5 and science by 11, while Ethel’s advantage over the state grew in all three subjects. SchoolDigger ranked the school 305th of 2,703 California schools, at the 89th percentile with 4 stars. Its 2024–25 student-teacher ratio was 25.9, near the high end among nearby schools; 37% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible that year, below the nearby-school average of 50%. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking for how well the school serves multiracial students was at the 63rd percentile, below its overall 89th-percentile standing. Its ranking for English Language Learner students rose from the 59th percentile in 2022–23 to the 72nd in 2023–24.

884
Students ?
25.9
Student/teacher ratio ?
$16,561
Per pupil spending ?
37.1%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
All students in California receive free school meals.
 1502 Palm Ave.
       Huntington Beach, CA  92648-4007

(714) 536-7507

District: Huntington Beach City Elementary


Students who attend Ethel Dwyer Middle usually attend:

High:    Huntington Beach High

Feeder schools for Ethel Dwyer Middle:

Elementary:    Agnes L. Smith Elementary
    Huntington Seacliff Elementary
    John R. Peterson Elementary
Racial breakdown:

White:
44.8%
Hispanic:
27.9%
Two or more races:
13.9%
more
 See top rated California middle schools

 Compare Ethel Dwyer Middle to nearby middle schools!
At a glance
▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 90th percentile in 2015 → 89th in 2026
Strengths
✓Test scores above the California average (62% vs 42% meeting standards)
✓Ranks in the top 11% of California middle schools
Worth a look
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
!Large classes — about 26 students per teacher
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school62%
District avg66%
California avg42%
305th of 2,703
California public middle schools ?
Top 11%▼ down 2 pts since 2016
See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
2nd of 2Middle Schools in the Huntington Beach City Elementary
82nd of 968Huntington Beach City 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202687.0305 of 270388.7%★★★★☆
202586.2351 of 276187.3%★★★★☆
202487.1341 of 278387.7%★★★★☆
202384.7378 of 278186.4%★★★★☆
202289.4287 of 274089.5%★★★★☆
201988.4297 of 271589.1%★★★★☆
201889.7246 of 248090.1%★★★★★
201789.0262 of 250889.6%★★★★☆
201689.5239 of 249790.4%★★★★★
201588.6258 of 247789.6%★★★★☆
201384.0220 of 237990.8%★★★★★
201280.7278 of 225987.7%★★★★☆
201184.0217 of 223690.3%★★★★★
201085.6178 of 217991.8%★★★★★
200984.9198 of 206390.4%★★★★★
200882.9241 of 200588.0%★★★★☆
200786.1196 of 199990.2%★★★★★
200679.3303 of 180483.2%★★★★☆
200582.6247 of 177786.1%★★★★☆
200484.2215 of 176987.8%★★★★☆

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202676.6167 of 76978.3%★★★★☆
202577.3166 of 73977.5%★★★★☆
202474.2193 of 74374.0%★★★★☆
202370.8223 of 71568.8%★★★☆☆
202280.0112 of 73384.7%★★★★☆
201979.8108 of 74585.5%★★★★☆
201878.7121 of 70082.7%★★★★☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202284.8133 of 153191.3%★★★★★
201988.3100 of 149193.3%★★★★★
201892.855 of 136996.0%★★★★★

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202451.8414 of 147872.0%★★★★☆
202343.9625 of 152158.9%★★★☆☆
202284.185 of 154094.5%★★★★★
201984.2106 of 144292.6%★★★★★
201860.1298 of 136478.2%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202686.5294 of 248388.2%★★★★☆
202586.7315 of 253387.6%★★★★☆
202486.0329 of 255187.1%★★★★☆
202383.8362 of 253185.7%★★★★☆
202287.8278 of 250988.9%★★★★☆
201987.2285 of 238088.0%★★★★☆
201889.0236 of 226289.6%★★★★☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202681.5273 of 232588.3%★★★★☆
202580.4315 of 239586.8%★★★★☆
202483.1254 of 238889.4%★★★★☆
202384.5227 of 237490.4%★★★★★
202283.1236 of 235990.0%★★★★★
201979.9308 of 221386.1%★★★★☆
201875.1357 of 207282.8%★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202679.2335 of 249386.6%★★★★☆
202581.3314 of 254287.6%★★★★☆
202477.6398 of 257984.6%★★★★☆
202369.1533 of 253178.9%★★★★☆
202274.4418 of 245883.0%★★★★☆
201978.2343 of 236985.5%★★★★☆
201878.6308 of 223086.2%★★★★☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202684.6331 of 247886.6%★★★★☆
202582.8394 of 253484.5%★★★★☆
202485.8329 of 255287.1%★★★★☆
202383.7361 of 253885.8%★★★★☆
202289.5259 of 252789.8%★★★★☆
201987.7289 of 240788.0%★★★★☆
201888.8248 of 227389.1%★★★★☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202665.5272 of 73462.9%★★★☆☆
202563.4272 of 72662.5%★★★☆☆
202465.7243 of 70165.3%★★★☆☆
202358.1292 of 67756.9%★★★☆☆
202269.2195 of 66570.7%★★★★☆
201976.2122 of 55478.0%★★★★☆
201873.4119 of 46274.2%★★★★☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202679.7192 of 158687.9%★★★★☆
202561.5402 of 156674.3%★★★★☆
202475.3223 of 155285.6%★★★★☆
202371.5249 of 153183.7%★★★★☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202670.6393 of 148273.5%★★★★☆
202569.1450 of 152070.4%★★★★☆
202469.2443 of 153771.2%★★★★☆
202361.6553 of 154364.2%★★★☆☆
202273.7351 of 155577.4%★★★★☆
201972.3406 of 160274.7%★★★★☆
201880.7248 of 149683.4%★★★★☆
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)
Disabled (2022)91st percentile~ school
Hispanic (2026)88th percentile~ school
Female (2026)88th percentile~ school
Special Education (2026)88th percentile~ school
Male (2026)87th percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)87th percentile~ school
Asian (2026)78th percentile-10 vs school
White (2026)73rd percentile-15 vs school
English Language Learner (2024)72nd percentile-16 vs school
Multi-racial (2026)63rd percentile-26 vs school
By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts/Literacy70%+21 vs state
Mathematics57%+19 vs state
Science52%+16 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Ethel Dwyer Middle

Ethel Dwyer Middle ranks 305th of 2703 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

In the 2024-25 school year, 884 students attended Ethel Dwyer Middle.

Students who attend Ethel Dwyer Middle usually go on to attend Huntington Beach High

Students at Ethel Dwyer Middle are 45% White, 28% Hispanic, 14% Two or more races, 13% Asian.

Rate Ethel Dwyer Middle!



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Latest California data All new data »
2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNewOct 15, 2026
2025–26 CAST, CSA Spanish & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresNewOct 15, 2026
2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026
2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026


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.

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