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Paulding Middle

Q: Is Paulding Middle a good school?

Paulding Middle ranks 590 th of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 7-8

590^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 79% of California middle schools

Summary

Paulding Middle is a public school serving 544 students in grades 7 and 8 in Arroyo Grande, part of the Lucia Mar Unified School District, and it consistently ranks as a high-performing 4-star school.

Academically, Paulding Middle stands out in the region, with students scoring significantly higher in English, math, and science than both the district and state averages. It is the clear leader within its own district, outperforming nearby Mesa Middle and Judkins Middle by a wide margin. The school is also notable for its exceptional support for vulnerable students, ranking in the top 14% of schools statewide for serving homeless students and showing strong results for students with special needs and those from low-income families.

Beyond test scores, Paulding Middle maintains a lower rate of chronic absenteeism than many comparable schools and has shown resilience in recovering from pandemic disruptions. Interestingly, the school achieves these strong results while serving a more economically diverse population than some neighboring schools and doing so with efficient use of resources, spending less per student than some district peers while delivering superior outcomes.

544

Students ?

19.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$16,155

Per pupil spending ?

45.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

600 Crown Hill St.
Arroyo Grande, CA 93420-2869

(805) 474-3500

District: Lucia Mar Unified

Students who attend Paulding Middle usually attend:

High:	Arroyo Grande High
	Central Coast New Technical High

Feeder schools for Paulding Middle:

Elementary:	Branch Elementary
	Fairgrove Elementary
	Harloe Elementary
	Ocean View Elementary
	More...
	Oceano Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

49.6%

Hispanic:

38.8%

Two or more races:

7.7%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Paulding Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 85th percentile in 2013 → 79th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (51% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 21% of California middle schools

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 6 percentile points since 2013

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school51%

District avg45%

California avg41%

590^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Top 21%▲ up 18 pts since 2015

From top 40% (2015) to top 21% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 3Middle Schools in the Lucia Mar Unified

582^nd of 1,543Lucia Mar 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	74.6	590 of 2761	78.6%	★★★★☆
2024	72.7	639 of 2783	77.0%	★★★★☆
2023	77.1	544 of 2781	80.4%	★★★★☆
2022	76.1	563 of 2740	79.5%	★★★★☆
2019	69.9	692 of 2715	74.5%	★★★★☆
2018	64.7	751 of 2480	69.7%	★★★☆☆
2017	64.9	779 of 2508	68.9%	★★★☆☆
2016	63.4	792 of 2497	68.3%	★★★☆☆
2015	54.9	980 of 2477	60.4%	★★★☆☆
2013	78.4	360 of 2379	84.9%	★★★★☆
2012	67.7	633 of 2259	72.0%	★★★★☆
2011	74.8	421 of 2236	81.2%	★★★★☆
2010	77.0	368 of 2179	83.1%	★★★★☆
2009	79.3	307 of 2063	85.1%	★★★★☆
2008	82.2	251 of 2005	87.5%	★★★★☆
2007	84.7	221 of 1999	88.9%	★★★★☆
2006	79.6	297 of 1804	83.5%	★★★★☆
2005	80.5	276 of 1777	84.5%	★★★★☆
2004	78.4	311 of 1769	82.4%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	47.7	599 of 1531	60.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	60.3	395 of 1491	73.5%	★★★★☆
2018	53.1	444 of 1369	67.6%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	76.1	519 of 2533	79.5%	★★★★☆
2024	72.9	582 of 2551	77.2%	★★★★☆
2023	73.3	552 of 2531	78.2%	★★★★☆
2022	74.1	541 of 2509	78.4%	★★★★☆
2019	73.4	552 of 2380	76.8%	★★★★☆
2018	67.3	641 of 2262	71.7%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	62.7	682 of 2395	71.5%	★★★★☆
2024	57.2	800 of 2388	66.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	55.7	828 of 2374	65.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	56.7	810 of 2359	65.7%	★★★☆☆
2019	42.4	1177 of 2213	46.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	39.3	1206 of 2072	41.8%	★★☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	75.5	66 of 477	86.2%	★★★★☆
2024	92.4	15 of 394	96.2%	★★★★★
2023	69.8	59 of 320	81.6%	★★★★☆
2022	57.2	111 of 336	67.0%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	68.8	561 of 2542	77.9%	★★★★☆
2024	72.5	482 of 2579	81.3%	★★★★☆
2023	71.7	478 of 2531	81.1%	★★★★☆
2022	68.8	533 of 2458	78.3%	★★★★☆
2019	50.0	1015 of 2369	57.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	45.7	1090 of 2230	51.1%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	70.5	609 of 2534	76.0%	★★★★☆
2024	69.3	652 of 2552	74.5%	★★★★☆
2023	77.9	479 of 2538	81.1%	★★★★☆
2022	76.4	504 of 2527	80.1%	★★★★☆
2019	64.5	716 of 2407	70.3%	★★★★☆
2018	59.1	802 of 2273	64.7%	★★★☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	48.4	385 of 726	47.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	63.0	261 of 701	62.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	58.5	287 of 677	57.6%	★★★☆☆
2022	66.1	215 of 665	67.7%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	65.4	327 of 1566	79.1%	★★★★☆
2024	57.3	443 of 1552	71.5%	★★★★☆
2023	47.6	603 of 1531	60.6%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	70.5	415 of 1520	72.7%	★★★★☆
2024	64.4	510 of 1537	66.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	73.2	362 of 1543	76.5%	★★★★☆
2022	69.7	428 of 1555	72.5%	★★★★☆
2019	65.1	543 of 1602	66.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	56.9	647 of 1496	56.8%	★★★☆☆

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)

Homeless (2025)86th percentile+8 vs school

Female (2025)80th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)79th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)78th percentile~ school

Male (2025)76th percentile-3 vs school

White (2025)73rd percentile-6 vs school

Hispanic (2025)72nd percentile-7 vs school

Disabled (2022)61st percentile-19 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)47th percentile-32 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy65%+16 vs state

Mathematics44%+6 vs state

Science40%+8 vs state

★

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Schools Near Paulding Middle

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 (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	CSA Spanish Overall 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	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 4th Grade	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
Paulding Middle	Public	7-8	600 Crown Hill St.	Arroyo Grande	93420	San Luis Obispo County	Lucia Mar Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 474-3500	544	27	19.9	45.8%	270 (49.6%)	4 (0.7%)	211 (38.8%)	14 (2.6%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	42 (7.7%)	74.6	590^th of 2761 public middle schools	78.6%		72.7	639^th of 2783 public middle schools	77.0%	49																						40.3	40.3				73.0	56.7	64.8				49.2	38.5	43.8	$16,155	$1,469	$14,686
Mesa Middle	Public	7-8	2555 Halcyon Rd.	Arroyo Grande	93420	San Luis Obispo County	Lucia Mar Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 474-3400	474	25	18.9	73.8%	131 (27.6%)	3 (0.6%)	311 (65.6%)	9 (1.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.0%)	44.6	1341^st of 2761 public middle schools	51.4%		41.8	1399^th of 2783 public middle schools	49.7%	58																						29.3	29.3				44.4	49.0	46.7				29.0	22.6	25.7	$18,195	$1,529	$16,666
Judkins Middle	Public	7-8	680 Wadsworth St.	Pismo Beach	93449	San Luis Obispo County	Lucia Mar Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 474-3600	431	25	17.5	60.3%	154 (35.7%)	0 (0.0%)	235 (54.5%)	10 (2.3%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (6.0%)	60.9	885^th of 2761 public middle schools	67.9%		61.8	842^nd of 2783 public middle schools	69.7%	43																						28.5	28.5				61.5	54.2	57.9				41.3	31.2	36.3	$17,070	$1,506	$15,564
Kermit McKenzie Intermediate	Public	4-8	4710 West Main St.	Guadalupe	93434	Santa Barbara County	Guadalupe Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 343-1951	585	32	18.2	87.9%	6 (1.0%)	1 (0.2%)	571 (97.6%)	3 (0.5%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	18.2	2307^th of 2761 public middle schools	16.4%		20.6	2238^th of 2783 public middle schools	19.6%	69	5.0	23.8	20.0	16.7	14.1	40.0	19.1	20.0	38.9	31.3	5.0	23.8	30.0	11.1	15.2	7.5	19.1	20.0	16.7	14.1	18.6	13.9	16.3		20.0	24.3	27.7	34.8	26.7		9.7	10.9	14.4	14.0	12.3	$17,662	$2,284	$15,378
Laguna Middle	Public	7-8	11050 Los Osos Valley Rd.	San Luis Obispo	93405	San Luis Obispo County	San Luis Coastal Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 596-4055	780	39	19.8	43.3%	427 (54.7%)	11 (1.4%)	234 (30.0%)	45 (5.8%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	57 (7.3%)	90.6	261^st of 2761 public middle schools	90.5%		91	256^th of 2783 public middle schools	90.8%	5																						61.0	61.0				68.7	72.0	70.5				57.5	60.1	58.9	$15,576	$1,008	$14,568
Kunst (Tommie) Junior High	Public	7-8	930 Hidden Pines Way	Santa Maria	93458	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-5800	912	50	18.0	87.5%	23 (2.5%)	2 (0.2%)	852 (93.4%)	24 (2.6%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (0.9%)	24.8	2017^th of 2761 public middle schools	26.9%		27.7	1914^th of 2783 public middle schools	31.2%	103																						17.5	17.5				31.4	34.4	32.9				18.3	18.9	18.6	$21,183	$2,682	$18,501
Teach Elementary	Public	4-6	165 Grand Ave.	San Luis Obispo	93405	San Luis Obispo County	San Luis Coastal Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 596-4100	193	6	32.1	25.4%	135 (69.9%)	3 (1.6%)	15 (7.8%)	15 (7.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (11.9%)								(n/a)																					72.3		72.3	95.2	84.6	91.9			90.5	95.2	75.4	83.6			84.7	$15,949	$559	$15,390
El Camino Junior High	Public	7-8	219 West El Camino	Santa Maria	93458	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-7800	830	45	18.2	97.0%	4 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	820 (98.8%)	4 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13.7	2489^th of 2761 public middle schools	9.9%		15.1	2475^th of 2783 public middle schools	11.1%	14																						9.4	9.4				24.1	22.0	23.1				13.9	10.1	12.0	$21,698	$2,635	$19,063
Fesler (Isaac) Junior High	Public	7-8	1100 East Fesler St.	Santa Maria	93454	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-7880	974	49	20.0	94.5%	6 (0.6%)	4 (0.4%)	954 (97.9%)	5 (0.5%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	13.2	2510^th of 2761 public middle schools	9.1%		13.6	2531^st of 2783 public middle schools	9.1%	21																						14.0	14.0				22.3	18.2	20.3				11.8	9.3	10.5	$20,610	$2,313	$18,297
Arellanes Junior High	Public	7-8	1890 Sandalwood Dr.	Santa Maria	93455	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-6820	668	37	18.1	93.1%	17 (2.5%)	4 (0.6%)	631 (94.5%)	14 (2.1%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18.4	2297^th of 2761 public middle schools	16.8%		16.5	2419^th of 2783 public middle schools	13.1%	122																						13.4	13.4				32.3	24.9	28.8				14.4	13.5	14.0	$21,144	$2,495	$18,649

Frequently Asked Questions about Paulding Middle

Is Paulding Middle a good school?

Paulding Middle ranks 590^th of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Paulding Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 544 students attended Paulding Middle.

What high school do graduates of Paulding Middle attend?

Students who attend Paulding Middle usually go on to attend Arroyo Grande High

What district is Paulding Middle in?

Lucia Mar Unified

What is the racial makeup of Paulding Middle?

Students at Paulding Middle are 50% White, 39% Hispanic, 8% Two or more races, 3% Asian.

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Schools in Arroyo Grande, CA

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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.