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Needles Middle

Public Grades 6-8
2298th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 2,703 California Middle Schools
Better than 15% of California middle schools
Summary

Needles Middle is a public school serving 196 students in grades 6–8 in Needles, California, with no other schools within 20 miles. Its latest test results trail the state in every tested subject, and mathematics is the clearest concern: 12% of students were proficient, 27 percentage points below California and 6 points below Needles Unified.

ELA is the school’s relative bright spot: 31% were proficient, 18 points below the state but about half a point above the district. Science was also below both benchmarks, at 15%—21 points below the state and 7 below the district. Seventh grade was weakest in both ELA and math: proficiency was 25% in ELA and 10% in math, with the largest state gaps in each subject. Chronic absenteeism is another concern: 27% of students were chronically absent in 2025–2026, compared with 18% statewide and 25% in the district. With no nearby schools to compare, local standings cannot be established.

Results over time are mixed: ELA proficiency rose 4 percentage points from 2022–2023 to 2025–2026, and its gap with the state narrowed from 19 to 18 points. Math proficiency rose by about 1 point, but its state gap widened from 24 to 27 points; science’s gap widened from 14 to 21 points. Chronic absenteeism rose 6 points in the latest year after falling to 21% in 2024–2025. For 2025–2026, SchoolDigger ranks the school 2,298th of 2,703 California schools, at the 15th percentile with one star; its percentile fell 12 points from 2023–2024. The 2024–2025 student–teacher ratio was 17.3, and 83% of students were reported as free/reduced lunch eligible; California’s statewide free-meals designation does not make that school figure 100%. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking for how well the school serves Special Education Students was 38th percentile, above its overall 15th, but fell 18 points since 2023–2024. Its ranking for how well it serves Female Students fell 22 points, from the 39th to the 17th percentile.

196
Students ?
17.3
Student/teacher ratio ?
$19,702
Per pupil spending ?
83.2%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
All students in California receive free school meals.
 720 Bailey Ave.
       Needles, CA  92363

(760) 326-3894

District: Needles Unified


Students who attend Needles Middle usually attend:

High:    Needles High

Feeder schools for Needles Middle:

Elementary:    Vista Colorado Elementary
Racial breakdown:

White:
41.8%
Hispanic:
36.7%
American Indian:
11.2%
more
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 Compare Needles Middle to nearby middle schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 30th percentile in 2016 → 15th in 2026
Worth a look
!Test scores below the California average (20% vs 42% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (15th percentile)
!High chronic absenteeism (27% vs 18% California)
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school20%
District avg24%
California avg42%
2,298th of 2,703
California public middle schools ?
Bottom 15%▼ down 15 pts since 2016
From bottom 30% (2016) to bottom 15% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
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
202617.42298 of 270315.0%★☆☆☆☆
202519.42251 of 276118.5%★☆☆☆☆
202425.32019 of 278327.5%★☆☆☆☆
202320.12256 of 278118.9%★☆☆☆☆
202214.72468 of 27409.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202117.2785 of 89412.2%★☆☆☆☆
201916.22342 of 271513.7%★☆☆☆☆
201818.42062 of 248016.9%★☆☆☆☆
201717.42133 of 250815.0%★☆☆☆☆
201627.51738 of 249730.4%★★☆☆☆
201527.61726 of 247730.3%★★☆☆☆
201329.41729 of 237927.3%★☆☆☆☆
201222.61849 of 225918.1%★☆☆☆☆
201124.31790 of 223619.9%★☆☆☆☆
201027.71641 of 217924.7%★☆☆☆☆
200937.11279 of 206338.0%★★☆☆☆
200849.0949 of 200552.7%★★★☆☆
200742.21073 of 199946.3%★★☆☆☆
200643.0940 of 180447.9%★★☆☆☆
200538.41029 of 177742.1%★★☆☆☆
200437.21034 of 176941.5%★★☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202225.51242 of 153118.9%★☆☆☆☆
201944.3659 of 149155.8%★★★☆☆
201818.31337 of 13692.3%☆☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202619.12071 of 248316.6%★☆☆☆☆
202525.01877 of 253325.9%★☆☆☆☆
202433.61562 of 255138.8%★★☆☆☆
202323.81930 of 253123.7%★☆☆☆☆
202218.42136 of 250914.9%★☆☆☆☆
202119.0641 of 73813.1%★☆☆☆☆
201916.82048 of 238013.9%★☆☆☆☆
201820.21841 of 226218.6%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202626.21747 of 232524.9%★☆☆☆☆
202526.01791 of 239525.2%★☆☆☆☆
202436.11431 of 238840.1%★★☆☆☆
202321.61963 of 237417.3%★☆☆☆☆
202214.32201 of 23596.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201929.41560 of 221329.5%★☆☆☆☆
201828.41520 of 207226.6%★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202245.0166 of 33650.6%★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202621.02066 of 249317.1%★☆☆☆☆
202519.22172 of 254214.6%★☆☆☆☆
202424.12018 of 257921.8%★☆☆☆☆
202322.22076 of 253118.0%★☆☆☆☆
202216.02250 of 24588.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202120.7638 of 72111.5%★☆☆☆☆
201917.62107 of 236911.1%★☆☆☆☆
201818.31956 of 223012.3%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202617.62110 of 247814.9%★☆☆☆☆
202515.12247 of 253411.3%★☆☆☆☆
202419.32117 of 255217.0%★☆☆☆☆
202318.52156 of 253815.1%★☆☆☆☆
202212.62388 of 25275.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202115.9701 of 7638.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201916.32123 of 240711.8%★☆☆☆☆
201816.61997 of 227312.1%★☆☆☆☆

Native American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202343.89 of 1643.8%★★★☆☆
201923.716 of 1915.8%★☆☆☆☆
201839.413 of 1827.8%★★☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202634.4977 of 158638.4%★★☆☆☆
202532.61029 of 156634.3%★★☆☆☆
202444.0684 of 155255.9%★★★☆☆
202341.9727 of 153152.5%★★★☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
20267.31407 of 14825.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20259.81400 of 15207.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202411.01404 of 15378.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202311.61401 of 15439.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202212.01422 of 15558.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20197.21527 of 16024.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20188.71409 of 14965.8%☆☆☆☆☆
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 (2022)51st percentile+41 vs school
Native American (2023)44th percentile+25 vs school
Special Education (2026)38th percentile+23 vs school
Hispanic (2026)25th percentile+10 vs school
Disabled (2022)19th percentile+9 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)17th percentile~ school
Female (2026)17th percentile~ school
Male (2026)15th percentile~ school
White (2026)5th percentile-10 vs school
By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts/Literacy31%-18 vs state
Science15%-21 vs state
Mathematics12%-27 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Needles Middle

Students who attend Needles Middle usually go on to attend Needles High

Students at Needles Middle are 42% White, 37% Hispanic, 11% American Indian, 8% Two or more races, 2% African American.

In the 2024-25 school year, 196 students attended Needles Middle.

Needles Middle ranks in the bottom 15.0% of California middle schools.

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Schools in Needles, CA

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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.

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