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Cesar E. Chavez Middle

Public Grades 6-8

2473^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,703 California Middle Schools

Better than 9% of California middle schools

Summary

Cesar E. Chavez Middle serves 548 students in grades 6–8 in Watsonville, within the Pajaro Valley Unified area. In 2025–26, about 20% of students met proficiency in English language arts (ELA), 14% in math, and 15% in science. The most important takeaway is that proficiency was below both district and California results in all three subjects, with the largest gap in ELA.

Among the school’s clearest relative strengths, math was closer to nearby grade 6–8 schools’ average and to the district result than ELA was: math proficiency was 14%, compared with 21% for nearby peers and 18% districtwide. ELA was 20%, versus a nearby-peer average of 32% and a district result of 28%—the widest shortfall. Science was 15%, below the nearby average of 25% and district’s 19%, but its 21-point gap from California was smaller than the state gaps in math (25 points) and ELA (30 points). Overall, the school was below the nearby-peer average in every subject.

Scores have improved since 2022–23: ELA rose 4 percentage points, math 3, and science 6. ELA’s gap with California narrowed by about 1 point, while the math gap widened by about 1 point and the science gap changed very little. SchoolDigger ranked the school in the 9th percentile statewide and gave it 0 stars in 2025–26; its percentile had risen from 3 in 2023–24. The school reported a student-teacher ratio of 20.3 in 2024–25 and 91% free/reduced lunch eligible that year. SchoolDigger’s historical rankings suggest stronger relative standing for English Language Learner Students: the group ranked in the 32nd percentile in 2022–23, compared with the school’s overall 8th percentile, and in the 19th percentile in 2023–24, compared with 3rd overall.

548

Students ?

20.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$27,312

Per pupil spending ?

91.1%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in California receive free school meals.

440 Arthur Rd.
Watsonville, CA 95076-3701

(831) 761-7699

District: Pajaro Valley Unified

Students who attend Cesar E. Chavez Middle usually attend:

High:

Pajaro Valley High

Feeder schools for Cesar E. Chavez Middle:

Elementary:	H. A. Hyde Elementary
	Starlight Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

98.7%

White:

1.1%

Two or more races:

0.2%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Cesar E. Chavez Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 15th percentile in 2015 → 9th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (16% vs 42% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (9th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (30% vs 18% California)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school16%

District avg22%

California avg42%

2,473^rd of 2,703

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 9%▼ down 5 pts since 2016

From bottom 13% (2016) to bottom 9% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 6Middle Schools in the Pajaro Valley Unified

799^th of 968Pajaro 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	12.9	2473 of 2703	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	8.9	2649 of 2761	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.3	2688 of 2783	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.2	2565 of 2781	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.2	2602 of 2740	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	14.1	2418 of 2715	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.5	2190 of 2480	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	14.5	2234 of 2508	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	16.4	2162 of 2497	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	17.2	2111 of 2477	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	22.6	1932 of 2379	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	28.3	1686 of 2259	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	21.5	1867 of 2236	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	31.8	1521 of 2179	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2009	30.0	1472 of 2063	28.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	31.5	1387 of 2005	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2007	23.3	1576 of 1999	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	30.5	1043 of 1531	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	25.2	1200 of 1491	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	33.0	855 of 1369	37.5%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	30.4	1204 of 1478	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	33.7	1040 of 1521	31.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	32.1	1138 of 1540	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	29.6	1141 of 1442	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	30.0	998 of 1364	26.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	12.9	2291 of 2483	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	9.6	2445 of 2533	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.9	2501 of 2551	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.5	2356 of 2531	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	10.8	2404 of 2509	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.7	2177 of 2380	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.8	2043 of 2262	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	16.9	2043 of 2325	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	10.8	2285 of 2395	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.2	2292 of 2388	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	17.3	2111 of 2374	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.3	2204 of 2359	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	18.8	1922 of 2213	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.6	1765 of 2072	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	27.8	342 of 442	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	20.0	431 of 477	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.2	384 of 394	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	25.2	264 of 320	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.5	306 of 336	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	16.2	2231 of 2493	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	10.4	2429 of 2542	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.9	2476 of 2579	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.7	2322 of 2531	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.5	2312 of 2458	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	19.2	2048 of 2369	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	18.8	1938 of 2230	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	13.9	2242 of 2478	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	8.8	2451 of 2534	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.2	2471 of 2552	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.7	2335 of 2538	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.6	2383 of 2527	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	15.4	2147 of 2407	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.7	2028 of 2273	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Migrant

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	14.1	90 of 94	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	17.6	1540 of 1586	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	18.2	1512 of 1566	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	22.4	1375 of 1552	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	23.1	1341 of 1531	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2019	4.1	1572 of 1602	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)32nd percentile+27 vs school

Homeless (2026)23rd percentile+14 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)19th percentile+15 vs school

Hispanic (2026)12th percentile+4 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)11th percentile~ school

Male (2026)10th percentile~ school

Female (2026)8th percentile~ school

Migrant (2024)4th percentile~ school

Special Education (2026)3rd percentile-6 vs school

White (2019)2nd percentile-9 vs school

By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy20%-30 vs state

Science15%-21 vs state

Mathematics14%-25 vs state

★

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Schools Near Cesar E. Chavez 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
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	2473^rd of 2703 public middle schools	8.5%		8.9	2649^th of 2761 public middle schools	4.1%	176	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	2559^th of 2703 public middle schools	5.3%		10	2612^th of 2761 public middle schools	5.4%	53	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
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	2659^th of 2703 public middle schools	1.6%		5.9	2719^th of 2761 public middle schools	1.5%	60	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
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	2580^th of 2703 public middle schools	4.6%		10.4	2601^st of 2761 public middle schools	5.8%	21	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
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	2528^th of 2703 public middle schools	6.5%		8.3	2660^th of 2761 public middle schools	3.7%	132	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
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	1257^th of 2703 public middle schools	53.5%		50	1181^st of 2761 public middle schools	57.2%	76	36.8	36.8		45.0	39.9	42.4		36.6	31.2	33.8	$22,668	$20,784	$1,884
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	2384^th of 2703 public middle schools	11.8%		13.1	2513^th of 2761 public middle schools	9.0%	129	12.6	12.6		27.8	26.4	27.1		17.2	11.9	14.5	$19,268	$17,662	$1,606
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	804^th of 2703 public middle schools	70.3%		69.9	680^th of 2761 public middle schools	75.4%	124	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
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	1281^st of 2703 public middle schools	52.6%		46	1296^th of 2761 public middle schools	53.1%	15	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	1490^th of 2703 public middle schools	44.9%		44.7	1338^th of 2761 public middle schools	51.5%	152	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

Frequently Asked Questions about Cesar E. Chavez Middle

How many students attend Cesar E. Chavez Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 548 students attended Cesar E. Chavez Middle.

Is Cesar E. Chavez Middle a good school?

Cesar E. Chavez Middle ranks in the bottom 8.5% of California middle schools.

What is the racial makeup of Cesar E. Chavez Middle?

Students at Cesar E. Chavez Middle are 99% Hispanic, 1% White.

What high school do graduates of Cesar E. Chavez Middle attend?

Students who attend Cesar E. Chavez Middle usually go on to attend Pajaro Valley High

What district is Cesar E. Chavez Middle in?

Pajaro Valley Unified

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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.