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Rudolph Rivera Middle

Public Grades 7-8

2318^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,703 California Middle Schools

Better than 14% of California middle schools

Summary

Located in Merced, California, Rudolph Rivera Middle serves 608 students in grades 7–8. The most important concern is that its 2025–2026 proficiency was low in all three tested subjects and below both state and district results: 30% in English language arts (ELA), 14% in math and 14% in science.

Compared with nearby schools, Rudolph Rivera is near the bottom in all-grades results: its ELA and math scores are each second-lowest among nine schools, and its science score is lowest. Its nearby-school averages are 39% in ELA, 23% in math and 21% in science. ELA is its strongest result relative to the state and nearby average, though still 19 and 9 points lower, respectively. Math is the largest shortfall against the state (24 points) and its district (7 points). By grade, grade 8 math is a particular weakness: 11%, the lowest among the nearby schools. Grade-specific comparisons are more like-for-like because some nearby schools also serve grade 6.

Scores have declined since 2022–2023, while state proficiency rose: Rudolph Rivera fell 7 points in ELA, 2 in math and 5 in science, widening its state gaps to 19, 24 and 22 points. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking dropped from the 36th percentile in 2022–2023 to the 14th percentile in 2025–2026; it currently gives the school 1 star and ranks it 2,318 of 2,703. Its percentile is second-lowest among the nearby schools, just above Tenaya Middle. Chronic absenteeism improved from 44% to 25% between 2021–2022 and 2025–2026, but remains above the state and district. Context figures include a student-teacher ratio of 28.7 in 2024–2025 and 82% free/reduced lunch eligible that year. SchoolDigger’s statewide subgroup percentiles also show sharp declines in its measure of how well the school serves Hispanic students (37 in 2023–2024 to 9 in 2025–2026) and students receiving special education services (32 in 2024–2025 to 2 in 2025–2026).

608

Students ?

28.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$23,442

Per pupil spending ?

81.7%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in California receive free school meals.

945 Buena Vista Dr.
Merced, CA 95348-2302

(209) 385-6680

District: Merced City Elementary

Students who attend Rudolph Rivera Middle usually attend:

High:

Buhach Colony High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

60.5%

Asian:

17.4%

White:

9.9%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Rudolph Rivera Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 31st percentile in 2015 → 14th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (20% vs 42% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (14th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 17 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school20%

District avg26%

California avg42%

2,318^th of 2,703

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 14%▼ down 23 pts since 2016

From bottom 37% (2016) to bottom 14% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 4Middle Schools in the Merced City Elementary

840^th of 968Merced 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	17.0	2318 of 2703	14.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	26.5	1942 of 2761	29.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.5	1829 of 2783	34.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	31.1	1769 of 2781	36.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	28.0	1862 of 2740	32.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	33.3	1675 of 2715	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	37.1	1456 of 2480	41.3%	★★☆☆☆
2017	32.5	1604 of 2508	36.0%	★★☆☆☆
2016	32.3	1571 of 2497	37.1%	★★☆☆☆
2015	28.0	1707 of 2477	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2013	26.9	1807 of 2379	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	33.6	1539 of 2259	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2011	41.7	1310 of 2236	41.4%	★★☆☆☆
2010	31.6	1528 of 2179	29.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	31.7	1426 of 2063	30.9%	★★☆☆☆
2008	34.1	1313 of 2005	34.5%	★★☆☆☆
2007	34.7	1263 of 1999	36.8%	★★☆☆☆
2006	35.9	1122 of 1804	37.8%	★★☆☆☆
2005	45.9	878 of 1777	50.6%	★★★☆☆
2004	41.1	959 of 1769	45.8%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	23.4	477 of 583	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	25.8	475 of 609	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.0	605 of 627	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.5	607 of 613	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	17.3	578 of 637	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	22.0	537 of 643	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	30.1	420 of 600	30.0%	★★☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	9.8	684 of 769	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	9.5	662 of 739	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	9.2	670 of 743	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	5.3	669 of 715	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	5.8	686 of 733	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.9	668 of 745	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	10.9	629 of 700	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	20.1	1445 of 1531	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	33.4	917 of 1491	38.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	25.0	1140 of 1369	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	39.3	765 of 1478	48.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	37.4	870 of 1521	42.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	56.5	346 of 1540	77.5%	★★★★☆
2019	35.1	872 of 1442	39.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	24.0	1308 of 1364	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	17.1	2148 of 2483	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	24.7	1887 of 2533	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.6	1953 of 2551	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.5	1709 of 2531	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	27.2	1756 of 2509	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	29.2	1644 of 2380	30.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	38.7	1331 of 2262	41.2%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	14.1	2126 of 2325	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	28.1	1717 of 2395	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	34.2	1495 of 2388	37.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	40.0	1272 of 2374	46.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	35.3	1451 of 2359	38.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	36.9	1348 of 2213	39.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	44.2	1062 of 2072	48.7%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	19.6	2114 of 2493	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	28.4	1832 of 2542	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	33.1	1650 of 2579	36.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	34.5	1557 of 2531	38.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	32.6	1590 of 2458	35.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	37.0	1422 of 2369	40.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	39.1	1283 of 2230	42.5%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	16.8	2149 of 2478	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	27.4	1778 of 2534	29.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	34.7	1509 of 2552	40.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.2	1546 of 2538	39.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	29.0	1694 of 2527	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	35.3	1452 of 2407	39.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	33.0	1441 of 2273	36.6%	★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	9.1	667 of 734	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	19.3	596 of 726	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	8.8	649 of 701	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	15.9	1562 of 1586	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	31.4	1059 of 1566	32.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	24.6	1295 of 1552	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.9	1082 of 1531	29.3%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	17.1	1248 of 1482	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	29.7	1084 of 1520	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.4	1176 of 1537	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.5	1104 of 1543	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	30.0	1100 of 1555	29.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.2	1265 of 1602	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.8	1147 of 1496	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆

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)48th percentile+14 vs school

African American (2026)18th percentile+4 vs school

White (2026)16th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)15th percentile~ school

Female (2026)13th percentile~ school

Male (2026)13th percentile~ school

Asian (2026)11th percentile-3 vs school

Multi-racial (2026)9th percentile-5 vs school

Hispanic (2026)9th percentile-6 vs school

Disabled (2022)6th percentile-26 vs school

Special Education (2026)2nd percentile-13 vs school

By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy30%-19 vs state

Science14%-22 vs state

Mathematics14%-24 vs state

★

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Schools Near Rudolph Rivera 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 (2026)				Ranking (2025)				CAST Science (2026)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2026)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2026)				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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	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
Rudolph Rivera Middle	Public	7-8	945 Buena Vista Dr.	Merced	95348	Merced County	Merced City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 385-6680	608	21	28.7	81.7%	60 (9.9%)	45 (7.4%)	368 (60.5%)	106 (17.4%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	25 (4.1%)	17	2318^th of 2703 public middle schools	14.2%		26.5	1942^nd of 2761 public middle schools	29.7%	376	14.2	14.2		28.9	31.2	30.1		17.2	10.9	13.9	$23,442	$22,562	$880
Herbert H. Cruickshank Middle	Public	7-8	601 Mercy Ave.	Merced	95340	Merced County	Merced City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 385-6330	624	21	30.1	58.5%	112 (17.9%)	32 (5.1%)	360 (57.7%)	75 (12.0%)	7 (1.1%)	3 (0.5%)	35 (5.6%)	30	1808^th of 2703 public middle schools	33.1%		43	1391^st of 2761 public middle schools	49.6%	417	15.5	15.5		33.1	48.2	40.6		21.5	24.4	22.9	$22,126	$21,182	$944
Herbert Hoover Middle	Public	7-8	800 East 26th St.	Merced	95340	Merced County	Merced City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 385-6631	629	21	29.6	87.3%	102 (16.2%)	19 (3.0%)	459 (73.0%)	19 (3.0%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	27 (4.3%)	24.2	2003^rd of 2703 public middle schools	25.9%		25.8	1967^th of 2761 public middle schools	28.8%	36	18.9	18.9		39.2	32.8	36.1		18.9	17.1	18.0	$21,503	$20,524	$979
Tenaya Middle	Public	7-8	760 West Eighth St.	Merced	95340	Merced County	Merced City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 385-6687	607	22	27.2	91.6%	21 (3.5%)	35 (5.8%)	504 (83.0%)	27 (4.4%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	18 (3.0%)	15.2	2392^nd of 2703 public middle schools	11.5%		18.4	2299^th of 2761 public middle schools	16.7%	93	15.6	15.6		26.3	28.7	27.5		11.6	12.8	12.2	$23,430	$22,158	$1,272
Weaver Middle	Public	6-8	3076 East Childs Ave.	Merced	95341	Merced County	Weaver Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 723-2174	1,073	48	22.1	93.7%	83 (7.7%)	40 (3.7%)	744 (69.3%)	165 (15.4%)	3 (0.3%)	4 (0.4%)	33 (3.1%)	27.8	1894^th of 2703 public middle schools	29.9%		30.8	1804^th of 2761 public middle schools	34.7%	90	15.3	15.3	29.2	35.1	35.4	33.3	16.9	31.4	29.2	26.1	$21,757	$19,880	$1,877
Bellevue Senior Elementary	Public	7-8	1020 East Bellevue Rd.	Atwater	95301	Merced County	Atwater Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 357-6140	178	12	15.2	93.8%	8 (4.5%)	5 (2.8%)	161 (90.4%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.7%)	33	1688^th of 2703 public middle schools	37.6%		33.1	1712^th of 2761 public middle schools	38.0%	24	21.2	21.2		39.8	48.8	44.4		20.5	21.2	20.8	$14,567	$12,890	$1,677
Mitchell Intermediate	Public	7-8	1753 Fifth St.	Atwater	95301	Merced County	Atwater Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 357-6124	744	31	23.8	75.9%	97 (13.0%)	15 (2.0%)	577 (77.6%)	37 (5.0%)	3 (0.4%)	3 (0.4%)	12 (1.6%)	33	1689^th of 2703 public middle schools	37.5%		38.9	1520^th of 2761 public middle schools	44.9%	169	19.4	19.4		45.1	41.8	43.5		23.5	22.7	23.1	$19,052	$17,048	$2,004
Atwater Senior Academy	Public	6-8	1800 Juniper Ave.	Atwater	95301	Merced County	Atwater Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 357-6515	5	1	4.9	—	0 (0.0%)	2 (40.0%)	3 (60.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)						23.1				0.0
Winton Middle	Public	6-8	6300 North Cypress Ave.	Winton	95388	Merced County	Winton	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 357-6189	579	25	22.7	92.1%	39 (6.7%)	4 (0.7%)	499 (86.2%)	33 (5.7%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	48	1229^th of 2703 public middle schools	54.5%		47.3	1256^th of 2761 public middle schools	54.5%	27	26.3	26.3	46.2	47.5	45.2	46.3	37.5	35.7	32.3	35.2	$21,373	$20,082	$1,291
Cesar E. Chavez Middle	Public	6-8	161 South Plainsburg Rd.	Planada	95365	Merced County	Planada Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 382-0768	305	17	17.4	89.8%	4 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	299 (98.0%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	47	1259^th of 2703 public middle schools	53.4%		42.4	1416^th of 2761 public middle schools	48.7%	157	33.7	33.7	37.9	46.9	53.0	46.3	23.9	31.3	37.6	31.2	$22,091	$944	$21,147

Frequently Asked Questions about Rudolph Rivera Middle

What district is Rudolph Rivera Middle in?

Merced City Elementary

How many students attend Rudolph Rivera Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 608 students attended Rudolph Rivera Middle.

Is Rudolph Rivera Middle a good school?

Rudolph Rivera Middle ranks in the bottom 14.2% of California middle schools.

What high school do graduates of Rudolph Rivera Middle attend?

Students who attend Rudolph Rivera Middle usually go on to attend Buhach Colony High

What is the racial makeup of Rudolph Rivera Middle?

Students at Rudolph Rivera Middle are 61% Hispanic, 17% Asian, 10% White, 7% African American, 4% Two or more races.

Rate Rudolph Rivera 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.