1. Home
  2. California
  3. Pine Valley
  4. Mountain Empire Unified
  5. Mountain Empire Junior High
Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Mountain Empire Junior High

Public Grades 7-8
2609th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 2,761 California Middle Schools
Better than 6% of California middle schools
Summary

Mountain Empire Junior High is a small school serving 245 students in grades 7-8 in the rural Pine Valley area, operating within the Mountain Empire Unified school district.

The school faces significant academic challenges, with fewer than 20% of students proficient in English and fewer than 10% proficient in Math, which is substantially below both state averages and the performance of nearby Joan MacQueen Middle. A critical issue is chronic absenteeism, where nearly half of the students miss a large portion of school, a rate more than double the state average and a likely major contributor to learning gaps. The school's statewide ranking has also fallen dramatically over the past decade.

While the school spends a comparable amount per student to Joan MacQueen Middle in the higher-performing Alpine Union Elementary district, these resources have not led to similar outcomes, suggesting differences in school-level practices or stability. The comparison shows that better results are possible in similar rural communities, indicating that Mountain Empire's struggles may be addressable with focused strategies, particularly on improving daily attendance and instructional support.

245
Students ?
21.1
Student/teacher ratio ?
$18,826
Per pupil spending ?
60.4%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 3305 Buckman Springs Rd.
       Pine Valley, CA  91962-4005

(619) 326-6662

District: Mountain Empire Unified


Students who attend Mountain Empire Junior High usually attend:

High:    Mountain Empire High

Feeder schools for Mountain Empire Junior High:

Elementary:    Campo Elementary
    Clover Flat Elementary
    Potrero Elementary
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
69.0%
White:
21.6%
Two or more races:
4.5%
more
 See top rated California middle schools

 Compare Mountain Empire Junior High to nearby middle schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 55th percentile in 2015 → 6th in 2025
Worth a look
!Test scores below the California average (12% vs 41% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (6th percentile)
!High chronic absenteeism (45% vs 19% California)
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school12%
District avg19%
California avg41%
2,609th of 2,761
California public middle schools ?
Bottom 6%▼ down 50 pts since 2015
From top 45% (2015) to bottom 6% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
1361st of 1,543Mountain Empire 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202510.22609 of 27615.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202413.42536 of 27838.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202315.02493 of 278110.4%★☆☆☆☆
202214.82462 of 274010.1%★☆☆☆☆
202113.4835 of 8946.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201918.02274 of 271516.2%★☆☆☆☆
201817.42091 of 248015.7%★☆☆☆☆
201732.31609 of 250835.8%★★☆☆☆
201640.31353 of 249745.8%★★☆☆☆
201549.51111 of 247755.1%★★★☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202260.9391 of 153174.5%★★★★☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202430.81187 of 147819.7%★☆☆☆☆
202345.9549 of 152163.9%★★★☆☆
202232.61111 of 154027.9%★☆☆☆☆
202132.6285 of 36321.5%★☆☆☆☆
201942.5602 of 144258.3%★★★☆☆
201842.4566 of 136458.5%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202512.52343 of 25337.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202412.62379 of 25516.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202316.32247 of 253111.2%★☆☆☆☆
202216.72203 of 250912.2%★☆☆☆☆
202114.5686 of 7387.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201912.62188 of 23808.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201814.62017 of 226210.8%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202510.32298 of 23954.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202413.02243 of 23886.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202318.02081 of 237412.3%★☆☆☆☆
202216.42143 of 23599.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201919.21908 of 221313.8%★☆☆☆☆
201819.51770 of 207214.6%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
20258.82467 of 25423.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202414.22377 of 25797.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202318.82209 of 253112.7%★☆☆☆☆
202213.32322 of 24585.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202121.1632 of 72112.3%★☆☆☆☆
201916.12138 of 23699.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201817.91969 of 223011.7%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
20259.02448 of 25343.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202414.72299 of 25529.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202314.62312 of 25388.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202215.32277 of 25279.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202114.8714 of 7636.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201922.71883 of 240721.8%★☆☆☆☆
201821.11828 of 227319.6%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202522.71370 of 156612.5%★☆☆☆☆
202420.71442 of 15527.1%☆☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
20259.81399 of 15208.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202410.11419 of 15377.7%☆☆☆☆☆
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)74th percentile+64 vs school
English Language Learner (2024)20th percentile+11 vs school
Special Education (2025)13th percentile+7 vs school
White (2025)8th percentile~ school
Female (2025)8th percentile~ school
Hispanic (2025)4th percentile~ school
Male (2025)3rd percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)3rd percentile-3 vs school
By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts/Literacy20%-29 vs state
Mathematics8%-29 vs state
Science5%-28 vs state

★
No ratings yet
Be the first to rate Mountain Empire Junior High and help other families decide.
Rate Mountain Empire Junior High
Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.
Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.
Tap a star to rate
Reviews
No written reviews yet. If you know this school, be the first to share what stands out.


Schools Near Mountain Empire Junior High

Sort
Ranking:
Map legend
E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private





Frequently Asked Questions about Mountain Empire Junior High

Mountain Empire Junior High ranks in the bottom 5.5% of California middle schools.

Students at Mountain Empire Junior High are 69% Hispanic, 22% White, 4% Two or more races, 4% American Indian.

Students who attend Mountain Empire Junior High usually go on to attend Mountain Empire High

In the 2024-25 school year, 245 students attended Mountain Empire Junior High.

Rate Mountain Empire Junior High!



Other helpful SchoolDigger resources...


Compare to nearby schools

CACalifornia Middle School Rankings

CACalifornia District Rankings

Schools in Pine Valley, CA

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Mountain Empire Junior High!


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.

Diagnostics