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Coming soon: We're expecting this year's test scores from the California Department of Education any day now — new rankings will be posted the moment they're released!

Coming soon: This year's test scores are expected from the California Department of Education any day now — new rankings will follow the moment they're released!

Richland Junior High

Public Grades 7-8

2145^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 22% of California middle schools

Summary

Richland Junior High is a public middle school serving about 560 students in grades 7 and 8 in Shafter, California, operating within the Richland Union Elementary district, which ranks in the bottom quarter of all districts in the state.

Academically, the school faces significant challenges, with less than a third of students proficient in English and less than a fifth proficient in Math, consistently earning it a low statewide ranking. The student population has a very high rate of economic need, with over 90% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Despite these challenges, the school spends over $22,900 per student, which is much higher than nearby schools like Fruitvale Junior High ($14,854) and Freedom Middle ($11,973), yet those schools achieve better academic results. Chronic absenteeism, while improved, remains higher than the state average at 25.3%, though it is lower than some peers like Standard Middle.

There are some positive signs: the school maintains a lower student-teacher ratio than many area schools, allowing for more individual attention, and it shows relative strength in supporting English Learner and Special Education students. A direct comparison with Palm Avenue Middle, which has similar demographics, shows that school achieves higher proficiency with lower spending, highlighting a key area for potential improvement at Richland. The most pressing question is why such high investment per student has not yet led to stronger overall academic outcomes.

558

Students ?

16.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$23,179

Per pupil spending ?

91.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

331 Shafter Ave.
Shafter, CA 93263-1967

(661) 746-8630

District: Richland Union Elementary

Students who attend Richland Junior High usually attend:

High:

Shafter High

Feeder schools for Richland Junior High:

Elementary:	Golden Oak Elementary
	Redwood Elementary
	Sequoia Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

93.5%

White:

4.3%

Asian:

1.1%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Richland Junior High to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 17th percentile in 2015 → 22nd in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 5 percentile points since 2015

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (22% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (22nd percentile)

!English Language Arts/Literacy scores 21 pts below the California average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school22%

District avg25%

California avg41%

2,145^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 22%▲ up 5 pts since 2015

From bottom 17% (2015) to bottom 22% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1282^nd of 1,543Richland 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	22.2	2145 of 2761	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	17.5	2369 of 2783	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.1	2311 of 2781	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.4	2334 of 2740	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.4	766 of 894	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.4	2120 of 2715	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.7	1933 of 2480	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	16.5	2165 of 2508	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	17.8	2112 of 2497	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	18.8	2054 of 2477	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	36.6	1531 of 2379	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2012	35.5	1493 of 2259	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2011	28.5	1690 of 2236	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	13.6	1992 of 2179	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	16.1	1819 of 2063	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	17.1	1744 of 2005	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	18.1	1693 of 1999	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	15.3	1589 of 1804	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	16.4	1543 of 1777	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	13.6	1603 of 1769	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	20.1	1447 of 1531	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	30.1	259 of 354	26.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	35.0	863 of 1491	42.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	28.9	988 of 1369	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	39.5	751 of 1478	49.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	46.1	542 of 1521	64.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	35.4	949 of 1540	38.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	33.5	273 of 363	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.7	1351 of 1442	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	31.3	935 of 1364	31.5%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	27.3	1789 of 2533	29.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.9	2141 of 2551	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.7	2099 of 2531	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.8	2121 of 2509	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	21.0	610 of 738	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	23.6	1838 of 2380	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.2	1764 of 2262	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	29.7	1662 of 2395	30.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	23.0	1898 of 2388	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.7	1802 of 2374	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	23.6	1879 of 2359	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	29.1	1568 of 2213	29.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	29.3	1488 of 2072	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	30.8	359 of 477	24.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	29.4	1792 of 2542	29.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.8	2076 of 2579	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	23.1	2036 of 2531	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.0	2095 of 2458	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	23.2	612 of 721	15.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	23.9	1905 of 2369	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	29.4	1609 of 2230	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.3	2129 of 2534	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.4	2226 of 2552	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	18.5	2158 of 2538	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.1	2251 of 2527	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	16.9	685 of 763	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.2	2053 of 2407	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.4	1806 of 2273	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	38.0	845 of 1566	46.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	32.8	1005 of 1552	35.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	31.2	1035 of 1531	32.4%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	11.8	1395 of 1543	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	8.4	1466 of 1555	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	11.2	1450 of 1602	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	27.4	1117 of 1496	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆

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)49th percentile+34 vs school

Special Education (2025)46th percentile+24 vs school

Hispanic (2025)31st percentile+8 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)30th percentile+7 vs school

Female (2025)29th percentile+7 vs school

Homeless (2025)25th percentile~ school

Male (2025)16th percentile-6 vs school

White (2023)10th percentile-7 vs school

Disabled (2022)5th percentile-9 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy28%-21 vs state

Science19%-14 vs state

Mathematics18%-19 vs state

★

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Schools Near Richland Junior High

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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 (2025)	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 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	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 5th Grade	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
Richland Junior High	Public	7-8	331 Shafter Ave.	Shafter	93263	Kern County	Richland Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 746-8630	558	34	16.3	91.4%	24 (4.3%)	5 (0.9%)	522 (93.5%)	6 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	22.2	2145^th of 2761 public middle schools	22.3%		17.5	2369^th of 2783 public middle schools	14.9%	224		18.6	18.6			31.0	25.9	28.3			21.0	15.1	17.9	$23,179	$19,666	$3,513
Rio Bravo-Greeley Elementary	Public	3-8	6601 Enos Ln.	Bakersfield	93314	Kern County	Rio Bravo-Greeley Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 589-2505	466	22	21.1	50.9%	187 (40.1%)	3 (0.6%)	257 (55.2%)	15 (3.2%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	66.7	747^th of 2761 public middle schools	72.9%		69.9	687^th of 2783 public middle schools	75.3%	60	37.4	44.8	40.8	58.5	52.7	49.5	63.9	56.2	37.7	38.4	36.6	45.0	39.3	$19,531	$18,456	$1,075
Palm Avenue Middle	Public	6-8	1017 Palm Ave.	Wasco	93280	Kern County	Wasco Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 758-7130	631	29	21.4	89.1%	8 (1.3%)	7 (1.1%)	613 (97.1%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	31	1802^nd of 2761 public middle schools	34.7%		29.6	1824^th of 2783 public middle schools	34.5%	22		16.8	16.8		51.3	35.1	36.9	40.8		24.2	13.3	19.5	18.8	$16,030	$14,688	$1,342
Thomas Jefferson Middle	Public	6-8	305 Griffith Ave.	Wasco	93280	Kern County	Wasco Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 758-7140	591	27	21.7	90.9%	12 (2.0%)	7 (1.2%)	567 (95.9%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	23.9	2056^th of 2761 public middle schools	25.5%		24.2	2071^st of 2783 public middle schools	25.6%	15		19.5	19.5		33.0	33.0	32.3	32.7		16.2	16.9	17.9	17.0	$15,065	$13,688	$1,377
Freedom Middle	Public	7-8	11445 Noriega Rd.	Bakersfield	93312	Kern County	Rosedale Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 588-6044	712	34	20.8	38.6%	287 (40.3%)	16 (2.2%)	350 (49.2%)	22 (3.1%)	4 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	32 (4.5%)	51.4	1148^th of 2761 public middle schools	58.4%		65.6	780^th of 2783 public middle schools	72.0%	368		29.4	29.4			49.9	57.7	53.9			29.2	25.9	27.5	$17,731	$17,482	$249
Norris Middle	Public	6-8	6940 Calloway Dr.	Bakersfield	93312	Kern County	Norris Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 387-7060	992	39	25.1	33.4%	441 (44.5%)	17 (1.7%)	413 (41.6%)	64 (6.5%)	6 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	50 (5.0%)	61.5	864^th of 2761 public middle schools	68.7%		65	788^th of 2783 public middle schools	71.7%	76		31.6	31.6			55.3	53.4	54.4			44.2	33.3	38.8	$17,229	$16,582	$647
Rosedale Middle	Public	7-8	12463 Rosedale Hwy.	Bakersfield	93312	Kern County	Rosedale Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 588-6030	810	38	21.0	29.6%	362 (44.7%)	19 (2.3%)	337 (41.6%)	49 (6.0%)	7 (0.9%)	1 (0.1%)	35 (4.3%)	64.1	803^rd of 2761 public middle schools	70.9%		77.9	530^th of 2783 public middle schools	81.0%	273		44.4	44.4			51.1	56.3	53.5			38.3	34.5	36.3	$17,028	$16,780	$248
McFarland Junior High	Public	7-8	405 Mast Ave.	Mc Farland	93250	Kern County	McFarland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 792-3340	494	22	22.1	88.1%	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	488 (98.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	25.3	1985^th of 2761 public middle schools	28.1%		22.4	2152^nd of 2783 public middle schools	22.7%	167		13.9	13.9			32.4	28.4	30.5			26.5	19.7	23.3	$22,337	$19,674	$2,663
Fruitvale Junior High	Public	7-8	2114 Calloway Dr.	Bakersfield	93312	Kern County	Fruitvale Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 589-3933	693	31	22.4	72.6%	249 (35.9%)	33 (4.8%)	335 (48.3%)	44 (6.3%)	7 (1.0%)	5 (0.7%)	20 (2.9%)	66.8	746^th of 2761 public middle schools	73.0%		67	745^th of 2783 public middle schools	73.2%	1		31.0	31.0			59.5	57.6	58.4			41.4	43.1	42.2	$19,057	$18,774	$283
Beardsley Junior High	Public	7-8	1001 Roberts Ln.	Bakersfield	93308	Kern County	Beardsley Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 392-9254	383	20	18.9	97.4%	100 (26.1%)	25 (6.5%)	239 (62.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (4.7%)	16.6	2375^th of 2761 public middle schools	14.0%		17.3	2378^th of 2783 public middle schools	14.6%	3		14.8	14.8			29.2	25.3	27.3			11.1	10.9	11.0	$22,305	$20,460	$1,845

Frequently Asked Questions about Richland Junior High

What district is Richland Junior High in?

Richland Union Elementary

What is the racial makeup of Richland Junior High?

Students at Richland Junior High are 94% Hispanic, 4% White, 1% Asian.

What high school do graduates of Richland Junior High attend?

Students who attend Richland Junior High usually go on to attend Shafter High

Is Richland Junior High a good school?

Richland Junior High ranks in the bottom 22.3% of California middle schools.

How many students attend Richland Junior High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 558 students attended Richland Junior High.

Rate Richland Junior High!

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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.