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Pajaro Middle

Public Grades 6-8

2615^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,740 California Middle Schools

Better than 5% of California middle schools

Summary

Pajaro Middle in Watsonville serves 398 students in grades 6–8 as part of Pajaro Valley Unified. Its clearest academic challenge is math: in 2025–26, 6% of students were proficient, compared with a 20% average among eight nearby schools serving the same grades.

ELA is Pajaro’s relative bright spot, though results remain below local, district and state levels. ELA proficiency was 22%, versus 28% in the district and 49% statewide; Pajaro was fifth of the nine schools in the nearby comparison group, whose average was 30%. Math proficiency was 18% in the district and 38% statewide, leaving Pajaro 13 and 33 percentage points behind, respectively; it was second-lowest among those nearby schools, ahead only of E. A. Hall Middle. Science was also low: 10% proficient at Pajaro, compared with 17% in the district and 36% statewide.

Over time, ELA proficiency rose from 18% in 2022–23 to 22% in 2025–26, while math fell from 8% to 6% and science increased from 8% to 10%; the state gap narrowed slightly in ELA but widened in math and science. Chronic absenteeism improved from 40% in 2021–22 to 19% in 2025–26, about 2 points below the district and 1 point above the state. SchoolDigger ranked Pajaro 2,580th of 2,703 California schools in 2025–26, at the 5th percentile with 0 stars. Its student-teacher ratio was 21.6 in 2024–25, and 97% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible that year. One notable exception to its low overall ranking: SchoolDigger placed special education students at the 33rd percentile in 2025–26, versus the school’s 5th percentile overall; its Migrant Students ranking also fell from the 36th percentile in 2024–25 to the 11th in 2025–26. These subgroup rankings compare statewide standing and are not direct measures of individual student progress.

398

Students ?

21.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$34,746

Per pupil spending ?

96.5%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in California receive free school meals.

250 Salinas Rd.
Watsonville, CA 95076-5229

(831) 728-6238

District: Pajaro Valley Unified

Students who attend Pajaro Middle usually attend:

High:

Watsonville High

Feeder schools for Pajaro Middle:

Elementary:	Hall District Elementary
	Ohlone Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

98.5%

White:

0.8%

Asian:

0.3%

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At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 18th percentile in 2015 → 5th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (13% vs 42% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (5th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 13 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school13%

District avg22%

California avg42%

2,615^th of 2,740

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 5%▼ down 8 pts since 2016

From bottom 13% (2016) to bottom 5% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^th of 6Middle Schools in the Pajaro Valley Unified

1255^th of 1,530Pajaro Valley 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
2026	9.5	2615 of 2740	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	10.4	2601 of 2761	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.0	2628 of 2783	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	12.6	2596 of 2781	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	15.1	2442 of 2740	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	9.8	2557 of 2715	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	9.9	2353 of 2480	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	13.7	2257 of 2508	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	16.0	2176 of 2497	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	19.7	2030 of 2477	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	30.0	1712 of 2379	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	15.2	2024 of 2259	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	24.9	1774 of 2236	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	20.3	1843 of 2179	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	27.6	1537 of 2063	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	26.1	1534 of 2005	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	28.0	1449 of 1999	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	19.7	1493 of 1804	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	21.7	1407 of 1777	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	15.9	1549 of 1769	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	21.3	1412 of 1531	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	18.1	1455 of 1491	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	19.4	1322 of 1369	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	33.6	1031 of 1478	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.3	1255 of 1521	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.0	1328 of 1540	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	23.9	1415 of 1442	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	27.0	1153 of 1364	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	8.8	2443 of 2516	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	9.1	2455 of 2533	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.4	2454 of 2551	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.2	2334 of 2531	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	17.0	2194 of 2509	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	9.3	2282 of 2380	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	9.5	2165 of 2262	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	11.4	2226 of 2357	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	12.4	2239 of 2395	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.3	2239 of 2388	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.6	2163 of 2374	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	19.8	2015 of 2359	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	12.2	2082 of 2213	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.1	1967 of 2072	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	20.1	391 of 442	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	20.7	426 of 477	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.8	310 of 394	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.8	278 of 320	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	25.4	273 of 336	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	11.3	2382 of 2529	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	12.6	2379 of 2542	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	14.3	2374 of 2579	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.7	2320 of 2531	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	17.5	2201 of 2458	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	13.2	2200 of 2369	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.8	2092 of 2230	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	10.7	2379 of 2514	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	12.3	2361 of 2534	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.1	2409 of 2552	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	12.1	2399 of 2538	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.3	2323 of 2527	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.4	2291 of 2407	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.6	2165 of 2273	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Migrant

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	22.3	94 of 106	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	32.0	61 of 95	35.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	24.6	77 of 94	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.3	65 of 86	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	31.9	1081 of 1605	32.6%	★★☆☆☆
2025	28.6	1153 of 1566	26.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	34.1	957 of 1552	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	18.9	1474 of 1531	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Special Education (2026)33rd percentile+28 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)30th percentile+25 vs school

Homeless (2026)12th percentile+7 vs school

Migrant (2026)11th percentile+7 vs school

Disabled (2022)8th percentile-3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)6th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2026)6th percentile~ school

Male (2026)5th percentile~ school

Female (2026)3rd percentile~ school

By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy22%-27 vs state

Science10%-26 vs state

Mathematics6%-33 vs state

★

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Schools Near Pajaro 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
Pajaro Middle	Public	6-8	250 Salinas Rd.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 728-6238	398	18	21.6	96.5%	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	392 (98.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	9.5	2615^th of 2740 public middle schools	4.6%		10.4	2601^st of 2761 public middle schools	5.8%	14	9.9	9.9	14.4	26.5	25.4	21.9	5.3	5.8	5.7	5.6	$34,746	$31,508	$3,238
E. A. Hall Middle	Public	6-8	201 Brewington Ave.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 728-6270	491	23	21.8	97.4%	7 (1.4%)	1 (0.2%)	478 (97.4%)	4 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6	2695^th of 2740 public middle schools	1.6%		5.9	2719^th of 2761 public middle schools	1.5%	24	6.9	6.9	9.7	9.0	17.3	12.1	0.6	9.1	3.9	4.2	$26,764	$24,252	$2,512
Cesar E. Chavez Middle	Public	6-8	440 Arthur Rd.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 761-7699	548	27	20.3	91.1%	6 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	541 (98.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	12.9	2506^th of 2740 public middle schools	8.5%		8.9	2649^th of 2761 public middle schools	4.1%	143	15.4	15.4	21.2	17.4	20.5	19.6	15.4	8.6	17.2	13.7	$27,312	$24,258	$3,054
Rolling Hills Middle	Public	6-8	130 Herman Ave.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 728-6341	588	28	21.1	94.6%	5 (0.9%)	1 (0.2%)	568 (96.6%)	11 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	10.1	2593^rd of 2740 public middle schools	5.4%		10	2612^th of 2761 public middle schools	5.4%	19	12.1	12.1	12.5	12.4	26.9	17.3	6.9	10.2	12.2	9.8	$23,339	$20,522	$2,817
Lakeview Middle	Public	6-8	2350 East Lake Ave.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 728-6455	425	19	22.3	92.5%	3 (0.7%)	3 (0.7%)	406 (95.5%)	8 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.7%)	11.1	2562^nd of 2740 public middle schools	6.5%		8.3	2660^th of 2761 public middle schools	3.7%	98	12.1	12.1	14.7	19.1	25.0	19.6	8.5	11.5	13.6	11.3	$33,575	$31,182	$2,393
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%)	15.4	2416^th of 2740 public middle schools	11.8%		13.1	2513^th of 2761 public middle schools	9.0%	97	12.6	12.6		27.8	26.4	27.1		17.2	11.9	14.5	$19,268	$17,662	$1,606
Aptos Junior High	Public	7-8	1001 Huntington Dr.	Aptos	95003	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 728-7834	587	27	22.0	51.1%	254 (43.3%)	3 (0.5%)	295 (50.3%)	10 (1.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (4.1%)	47	1275^th of 2740 public middle schools	53.5%		50	1181^st of 2761 public middle schools	57.2%	94	36.8	36.8		45.0	39.9	42.4		36.6	31.2	33.8	$22,668	$20,784	$1,884
Solorsano Middle	Public	6-8	7121 Grenache Way	Gilroy	95020	Santa Clara County	Gilroy Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(669) 205-5000	749	34	22.0	48.9%	97 (13.0%)	16 (2.1%)	490 (65.4%)	78 (10.4%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	64 (8.5%)	46.4	1299^th of 2740 public middle schools	52.6%		46	1296^th of 2761 public middle schools	53.1%	3	34.3	34.3	36.5	44.3	43.6	41.3	34.3	34.9	37.1	35.5	$20,270	$19,624	$646
Brownell Middle	Public	6-8	7800 Carmel St.	Gilroy	95020	Santa Clara County	Gilroy Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(669) 205-5100	672	31	21.5	56.3%	99 (14.7%)	10 (1.5%)	474 (70.5%)	42 (6.3%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (6.4%)	39.7	1512^th of 2740 public middle schools	44.8%		44.7	1338^th of 2761 public middle schools	51.5%	174	27.8	27.8	35.9	46.7	38.9	40.5	35.4	32.1	24.5	30.7	$17,912	$17,050	$862
New Brighton Middle	Public	6-8	250 Washburn Ave.	Capitola	95010	Santa Cruz County	Soquel Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 464-5660	585	28	20.9	30.3%	329 (56.2%)	4 (0.7%)	198 (33.8%)	10 (1.7%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	36 (6.2%)	65	813^th of 2740 public middle schools	70.3%		69.9	680^th of 2761 public middle schools	75.4%	133	52.5	52.5	56.5	56.1	58.2	57.0	26.6	37.4	43.4	36.2	$16,622	$16,288	$334

Frequently Asked Questions about Pajaro Middle

What is the racial makeup of Pajaro Middle?

Students at Pajaro Middle are 98% Hispanic.

How many students attend Pajaro Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 398 students attended Pajaro Middle.

What high school do graduates of Pajaro Middle attend?

Students who attend Pajaro Middle usually go on to attend Watsonville High

Is Pajaro Middle a good school?

Pajaro Middle ranks in the bottom 4.6% of California middle schools.

What district is Pajaro Middle in?

Pajaro Valley Unified

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Latest California data All new data »

2013–14 through 2024–25 immunization rates (updated)NewOct 19, 2026

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

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.