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Pacific Grove Middle

Public Grades 6-8

252^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 91% of California middle schools

Summary

Pacific Grove Middle is a high-performing public school serving 439 students in grades 6-8 within the affluent coastal community of Pacific Grove, part of the highly-ranked Pacific Grove Unified school district.

The school consistently earns top marks, recently improving to a 5-star rating and ranking in the 91st percentile statewide, with students significantly outperforming California averages in English, math, and science. It stands out from many nearby schools, such as those in Salinas, with dramatically higher test scores; for example, its English proficiency is nearly double that of El Sausal Middle or Washington Middle. Key strengths include exceptional support for special education students and substantial per-student funding, though it operates more efficiently than the similarly high-performing Carmel Middle, which spends significantly more.

While Pacific Grove Middle excels overall, mathematics is a relative area for improvement compared to English, and chronic absenteeism, though lower than at schools like Los Arboles Middle, remains a focus. The school effectively supports academic growth through all three grades, with 8th graders achieving their best results in math. The stark performance gap between Pacific Grove and schools in neighboring communities highlights the broader educational landscape of Monterey County.

439

Students ?

17.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$25,809

Per pupil spending ?

15.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

835 Forest Ave.
Pacific Grove, CA 93950-4837

(831) 646-6568

District: Pacific Grove Unified

Students who attend Pacific Grove Middle usually attend:

High:

Pacific Grove High

Feeder schools for Pacific Grove Middle:

Elementary:	Forest Grove Elementary
	Robert Down Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

54.7%

Hispanic:

19.6%

Asian:

13.2%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Pacific Grove Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 93rd percentile in 2013 → 91st in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (66% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 9% of California middle schools

Worth a look

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school66%

District avg66%

California avg41%

252^nd of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Top 9%▲ up 4 pts since 2015

From top 13% (2015) to top 9% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

124^th of 1,543Pacific Grove 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	91.0	252 of 2761	90.9%	★★★★★
2024	87.2	340 of 2783	87.8%	★★★★☆
2023	89.3	289 of 2781	89.6%	★★★★☆
2022	90.2	276 of 2740	89.9%	★★★★☆
2019	93.5	185 of 2715	93.2%	★★★★★
2018	91.3	210 of 2480	91.5%	★★★★★
2017	91.2	218 of 2508	91.3%	★★★★★
2016	82.3	390 of 2497	84.4%	★★★★☆
2015	85.1	329 of 2477	86.7%	★★★★☆
2013	85.6	176 of 2379	92.6%	★★★★★
2012	82.0	252 of 2259	88.8%	★★★★☆
2011	87.4	141 of 2236	93.7%	★★★★★
2010	91.7	68 of 2179	96.9%	★★★★★
2009	84.6	204 of 2063	90.1%	★★★★★
2008	88.8	130 of 2005	93.5%	★★★★★
2007	83.2	243 of 1999	87.8%	★★★★☆
2006	84.2	223 of 1804	87.6%	★★★★☆
2005	80.1	285 of 1777	84.0%	★★★★☆
2004	85.4	192 of 1769	89.1%	★★★★☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	69.9	250 of 739	66.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	72.0	210 of 743	71.7%	★★★★☆
2023	67.5	264 of 715	63.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	55.9	383 of 733	47.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	39.9	505 of 745	32.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	59.2	349 of 700	50.1%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	83.7	143 of 1531	90.7%	★★★★★
2019	86.9	116 of 1491	92.2%	★★★★★
2018	76.2	203 of 1369	85.2%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	91.1	220 of 2533	91.3%	★★★★★
2024	81.8	409 of 2551	84.0%	★★★★☆
2023	87.6	288 of 2531	88.6%	★★★★☆
2022	87.8	276 of 2509	89.0%	★★★★☆
2019	89.8	227 of 2380	90.5%	★★★★★
2018	89.6	227 of 2262	90.0%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	83.2	265 of 2395	88.9%	★★★★☆
2024	71.1	491 of 2388	79.4%	★★★★☆
2023	68.0	558 of 2374	76.5%	★★★★☆
2022	69.2	522 of 2359	77.9%	★★★★☆
2019	86.1	192 of 2213	91.3%	★★★★★
2018	79.6	281 of 2072	86.4%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	68.3	579 of 2542	77.2%	★★★★☆
2024	60.5	745 of 2579	71.1%	★★★★☆
2023	77.3	373 of 2531	85.3%	★★★★☆
2022	74.6	410 of 2458	83.3%	★★★★☆
2019	81.2	282 of 2369	88.1%	★★★★☆
2018	82.2	242 of 2230	89.1%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	88.3	286 of 2534	88.7%	★★★★☆
2024	89.4	268 of 2552	89.5%	★★★★☆
2023	88.5	282 of 2538	88.9%	★★★★☆
2022	90.5	231 of 2527	90.9%	★★★★★
2019	94.8	131 of 2407	94.6%	★★★★★
2018	91.6	192 of 2273	91.6%	★★★★★

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2018	75.5	107 of 462	76.8%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	92.4	73 of 1566	95.3%	★★★★★
2024	83.6	144 of 1552	90.7%	★★★★★
2023	65.5	330 of 1531	78.4%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	82.0	202 of 1520	86.7%	★★★★☆
2024	73.9	350 of 1537	77.2%	★★★★☆
2023	81.2	219 of 1543	85.8%	★★★★☆
2022	82.6	193 of 1555	87.6%	★★★★☆
2019	85.5	156 of 1602	90.3%	★★★★★
2018	82.3	207 of 1496	86.2%	★★★★☆

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)

Special Education (2025)95th percentile+4 vs school

Female (2025)91st percentile~ school

Disabled (2022)91st percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)89th percentile~ school

Male (2025)89th percentile~ school

White (2025)87th percentile-4 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)77th percentile-14 vs school

Multi-racial (2018)77th percentile-15 vs school

Asian (2025)66th percentile-25 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy74%+25 vs state

Science64%+31 vs state

Mathematics58%+21 vs state

★

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Schools Near Pacific Grove Middle

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 (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	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
Pacific Grove Middle	Public	6-8	835 Forest Ave.	Pacific Grove	93950	Monterey County	Pacific Grove Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 646-6568	439	25	17.2	15.9%	240 (54.7%)	9 (2.1%)	86 (19.6%)	58 (13.2%)	6 (1.4%)	5 (1.1%)	35 (8.0%)	91	252^nd of 2761 public middle schools	90.9%		87.2	340^th of 2783 public middle schools	87.8%	88	64.0	64.0	69.1	78.3	73.9	73.9	54.4	58.5	62.4	58.5	$25,809	$1,576	$24,233
Monterey Peninsula UNF School District COM Day MID	Public	6-8	200 Coe Ave.	Seaside	93955	Monterey County	Monterey Peninsula Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 392-3822	3	0	12.0		1 (33.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (66.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)											$101,228	$2,168	$99,060
Carmel Middle	Public	6-8	4380 Carmel Valley Rd.	Carmel	93922	Monterey County	Carmel Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 624-2785	468	36	13.1	17.3%	293 (62.6%)	0 (0.0%)	95 (20.3%)	20 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	58 (12.4%)	90.3	271^st of 2761 public middle schools	90.2%		91.2	250^th of 2783 public middle schools	91.0%	21	58.4	58.4	75.0	72.7	68.9	72.1	58.0	64.0	54.7	58.9	$38,867	$784	$38,083
Seaside Middle	Public	7-8	999 Coe Ave.	Seaside	93955	Monterey County	Monterey Peninsula Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 899-7080	521	27	19.5	83.5%	42 (8.1%)	26 (5.0%)	405 (77.7%)	20 (3.8%)	1 (0.2%)	12 (2.3%)	14 (2.7%)	27.4	1915^th of 2761 public middle schools	30.6%		24.2	2075^th of 2783 public middle schools	25.4%	160	19.5	19.5		36.6	36.1	36.4		16.6	19.2	17.9	$20,821	$2,471	$18,350
Los Arboles Middle	Public	7-8	294 Hillcrest Ave.	Marina	93933	Monterey County	Monterey Peninsula Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 384-3550	408	23	17.8	75.5%	48 (11.8%)	23 (5.6%)	258 (63.2%)	60 (14.7%)	3 (0.7%)	9 (2.2%)	6 (1.5%)	32.8	1722^nd of 2761 public middle schools	37.6%		24.8	2043^rd of 2783 public middle schools	26.6%	321	24.0	24.0		34.9	38.9	37.0		24.6	20.8	22.6	$21,578	$2,624	$18,954
San Benancio Middle	Public	6-8	43 San Benancio Rd.	Salinas	93908	Monterey County	Washington Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 484-1172	261	12	21.7	10.3%	138 (52.9%)	0 (0.0%)	75 (28.7%)	26 (10.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (8.4%)	84.8	373^rd of 2761 public middle schools	86.5%		85.2	379^th of 2783 public middle schools	86.4%	6	50.0	50.0	66.2	75.0	59.5	67.3	57.8	52.1	54.1	54.4
North Monterey County Middle	Public	7-8	10301 Seymour St.	Castroville	95012	Monterey County	North Monterey County Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 633-3391	624	30	20.8	87.8%	30 (4.8%)	2 (0.3%)	586 (93.9%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	13.1	2513^th of 2761 public middle schools	9.0%		18.5	2317^th of 2783 public middle schools	16.7%	196	12.1	12.1		21.3	26.5	23.9		8.7	7.1	7.9	$15,204	$2,436	$12,768
Washington Middle	Public	7-8	560 Iverson St.	Salinas	93901	Monterey County	Salinas Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-7100	1,082	51	21.2	81.7%	62 (5.7%)	9 (0.8%)	977 (90.3%)	19 (1.8%)	9 (0.8%)	4 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	38.6	1531^st of 2761 public middle schools	44.5%		42.4	1386^th of 2783 public middle schools	50.2%	145	25.2	25.2		46.0	37.7	41.7		27.9	22.7	25.2	$17,463	$1,751	$15,712
Buena Vista Middle	Public	6-8	18250 Tara Dr.	Salinas	93908	Monterey County	Spreckels Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 455-8936	321	18	17.5	17.4%	121 (37.7%)	0 (0.0%)	163 (50.8%)	16 (5.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (6.5%)	69.4	688^th of 2761 public middle schools	75.1%		59.9	889^th of 2783 public middle schools	68.1%	201	41.4	41.4	51.7	54.1	64.0	57.0	46.1	45.0	37.8	42.7	$12,219	$1,010	$11,209
Harden Middle	Public	7-8	1561 McKinnon St.	Salinas	93906	Monterey County	Salinas Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-7300	1,101	52	21.1	82.2%	29 (2.6%)	10 (0.9%)	1,016 (92.3%)	34 (3.1%)	6 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	5 (0.5%)	22.1	2150^th of 2761 public middle schools	22.1%		24.1	2078^th of 2783 public middle schools	25.3%	72	19.2	19.2		31.9	29.1	30.5		16.3	14.8	15.6	$17,583	$1,591	$15,992

Frequently Asked Questions about Pacific Grove Middle

What district is Pacific Grove Middle in?

Pacific Grove Unified

What is the racial makeup of Pacific Grove Middle?

Students at Pacific Grove Middle are 55% White, 20% Hispanic, 13% Asian, 8% Two or more races, 2% African American, 1% American Indian, 1% Pacific Islander.

How many students attend Pacific Grove Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 439 students attended Pacific Grove Middle.

Is Pacific Grove Middle a good school?

Yes. Pacific Grove Middle ranks in the top 9.1% of California middle schools.

What high school do graduates of Pacific Grove Middle attend?

Students who attend Pacific Grove Middle usually go on to attend Pacific Grove High

Rate Pacific Grove Middle!

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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.