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Tenaya Middle

Public Grades 7-8

2299^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 17% of California middle schools

Summary

Tenaya Middle is a public school serving 607 students in grades 7-8 in Merced, California, operating within the Merced City Elementary district, which faces significant academic challenges across all its schools.

Academically, Tenaya Middle faces considerable hurdles, with student proficiency in English, math, and science significantly below state averages and the lowest among its direct peers in the Merced City Elementary district, including Herbert H. Cruickshank Middle, Herbert Hoover Middle, and Rudolph Rivera Middle. The school serves a community with very high economic need, and chronic student absenteeism, while improving, remains an issue. Interestingly, despite receiving more funding per student than most nearby schools, it has the weakest academic outcomes, suggesting other factors like its high student-teacher ratio may be influencing results.

However, the school's context shows that improvement is possible; nearby schools like Winton Middle and Cesar E. Chavez Middle serve students with similar economic needs but achieve notably higher proficiency rates. Tenaya has also demonstrated relative success with its English Language Learner programs, indicating it has effective practices that could be built upon. For parents, the key takeaways are that the school is actively working in a challenging environment, has areas of strength to leverage, and can look to comparable local schools for proven strategies to boost attendance and academic achievement.

607

Students ?

27.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$23,430

Per pupil spending ?

91.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

760 West Eighth St.
Merced, CA 95341-5935

(209) 385-6687

District: Merced City Elementary

Students who attend Tenaya Middle usually attend:

High:

El Capitan High

Feeder schools for Tenaya Middle:

Elementary:	Alicia Reyes Elementary
	John C. Fremont Elementary
	Leontine Gracey Elementary
	Margaret Sheehy Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

83.0%

African American:

5.8%

Asian:

4.4%

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At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 14th percentile in 2013 → 17th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (20% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (17th percentile)

!Mathematics scores 23 pts below the California average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school20%

District avg27%

California avg41%

2,299^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 17%▲ up 5 pts since 2015

From bottom 12% (2015) to bottom 17% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 4Middle Schools in the Merced City Elementary

1221^st of 1,543Merced 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
2025	18.4	2299 of 2761	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.9	2264 of 2783	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.8	2214 of 2781	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.9	2229 of 2740	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	15.9	2351 of 2715	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.8	1974 of 2480	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	15.2	2214 of 2508	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	20.6	2005 of 2497	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	15.4	2176 of 2477	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	18.6	2039 of 2379	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	22.7	1845 of 2259	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	22.6	1841 of 2236	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	23.4	1751 of 2179	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	21.2	1711 of 2063	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	24.2	1588 of 2005	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	30.3	1383 of 1999	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2006	24.5	1387 of 1804	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	24.6	1343 of 1777	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	16.0	1545 of 1769	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	45.0	301 of 609	50.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	26.6	479 of 627	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	9.6	640 of 643	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	5.3	692 of 739	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	3.9	703 of 743	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	2.9	689 of 715	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	9.2	681 of 745	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	3.7	667 of 700	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	22.2	1375 of 1531	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	17.9	1459 of 1491	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	17.3	1368 of 1369	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	36.5	874 of 1478	40.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	41.1	734 of 1521	51.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	46.1	571 of 1540	62.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	26.7	1306 of 1442	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	28.0	1100 of 1364	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	19.9	2085 of 2533	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.7	2152 of 2551	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.7	2095 of 2531	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.0	1985 of 2509	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	16.1	2070 of 2380	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.9	1642 of 2262	27.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	23.0	1908 of 2395	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.7	1775 of 2388	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	27.0	1750 of 2374	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.2	1697 of 2359	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.6	1866 of 2213	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.1	1587 of 2072	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	24.4	1986 of 2542	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.6	1919 of 2579	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	27.9	1844 of 2531	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	27.0	1815 of 2458	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.5	1980 of 2369	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	29.0	1624 of 2230	27.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	16.6	2214 of 2534	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.9	2048 of 2552	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.0	1990 of 2538	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.7	2162 of 2527	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	15.1	2157 of 2407	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	16.4	2003 of 2273	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	24.3	1301 of 1566	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.4	1341 of 1552	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.4	1242 of 1531	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	24.4	1179 of 1543	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	10.5	1440 of 1555	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	14.7	1305 of 1496	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

African American (2025)51st percentile+34 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)41st percentile+22 vs school

White (2023)24th percentile+3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)22nd percentile+5 vs school

Hispanic (2025)20th percentile+4 vs school

Female (2025)18th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)17th percentile~ school

Male (2025)13th percentile-4 vs school

Disabled (2022)10th percentile-8 vs school

Asian (2025)6th percentile-10 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy29%-20 vs state

Mathematics14%-23 vs state

Science13%-20 vs state

★

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Schools Near Tenaya 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 (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	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 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
Tenaya Middle	Public	7-8	760 West Eighth St.	Merced	95341	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%)	18.4	2299^th of 2761 public middle schools	16.7%		19.9	2264^th of 2783 public middle schools	18.6%	35	12.6	12.6		31.0	27.2	29.2		14.4	13.6	14.0	$23,430	$22,158	$1,272
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%)	25.8	1967^th of 2761 public middle schools	28.8%		28.2	1893^rd of 2783 public middle schools	32.0%	74	15.0	15.0		34.0	35.3	34.7		22.4	16.9	19.7	$21,503	$20,524	$979
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%)	26.5	1942^nd of 2761 public middle schools	29.7%		29.5	1829^th of 2783 public middle schools	34.3%	113	21.8	21.8		31.8	40.9	36.3		12.1	16.7	14.3	$23,442	$22,562	$880
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%)	30.8	1804^th of 2761 public middle schools	34.7%		29.3	1842^nd of 2783 public middle schools	33.8%	38	17.3	17.3	34.0	35.5	27.8	32.5	24.6	29.6	28.1	27.3	$21,757	$19,880	$1,877
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%)	43	1391^st of 2761 public middle schools	49.6%		39	1508^th of 2783 public middle schools	45.8%	117	16.0	16.0		50.7	45.9	48.3		28.5	29.3	28.9	$22,126	$21,182	$944
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%)	33.1	1712^th of 2761 public middle schools	38.0%		37.7	1538^th of 2783 public middle schools	44.7%	174	23.3	23.3		41.9	38.1	40.0		21.6	19.8	20.7	$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%)	38.9	1520^th of 2761 public middle schools	44.9%		43.6	1352^nd of 2783 public middle schools	51.4%	168	17.6	17.6		48.1	45.0	46.5		25.0	24.3	24.7	$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)						6.3				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%)	47.3	1256^th of 2761 public middle schools	54.5%		39.2	1492^nd of 2783 public middle schools	46.4%	236	27.2	27.2	47.4	39.4	52.1	46.3	30.2	27.6	34.9	30.9	$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%)	42.4	1416^th of 2761 public middle schools	48.7%		45.5	1298^th of 2783 public middle schools	53.4%	118	30.1	30.1	40.8	52.5	41.3	44.9	19.8	27.0	29.0	25.1	$22,091	$944	$21,147

Frequently Asked Questions about Tenaya Middle

What is the racial makeup of Tenaya Middle?

Students at Tenaya Middle are 83% Hispanic, 6% African American, 4% Asian, 3% White, 3% Two or more races.

How many students attend Tenaya Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 607 students attended Tenaya Middle.

What district is Tenaya Middle in?

Merced City Elementary

What high school do graduates of Tenaya Middle attend?

Students who attend Tenaya Middle usually go on to attend El Capitan High

Is Tenaya Middle a good school?

Tenaya Middle ranks in the bottom 16.7% of California middle schools.

Rate Tenaya Middle!

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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.