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Cesar E. Chavez Middle

Public Grades 6-8

2649^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 4% of California middle schools

Summary

Cesar E. Chavez Middle is a public middle school located in Watsonville, California, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 547 students. The school is part of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, which is ranked 1254 out of 1565 districts in California and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Cesar E. Chavez Middle consistently performs significantly below the Pajaro Valley Unified School District and the state of California in standardized test scores across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 14.84% of students were proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy, compared to 26.26% for the district and 48.81% for the state. In Mathematics, the proficiency rate was just 7.98%, compared to 17.53% for the district and 37.3% for the state. The school also has high rates of chronic absenteeism, ranging from 20.4% to 36.6% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the state average.

When comparing Cesar E. Chavez Middle to other nearby middle schools in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, it consistently performs worse academically. For example, Aptos Junior High and Pajaro Middle, which are also in the district, have significantly higher proficiency rates in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science. Despite the relatively high spending per student at Cesar E. Chavez Middle, ranging from $13,178 to $16,189 over the past few years, the school's academic outcomes are still significantly below the state average, suggesting that simply increasing funding may not be enough to improve student performance.

548

Students ?

20.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

91.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

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 — 19th percentile in 2013 → 4th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (11% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (4th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (34% vs 19% California)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school11%

District avg21%

California avg41%

2,649^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 4%▼ down 11 pts since 2015

From bottom 15% (2015) to bottom 4% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

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

1253^rd of 1,543Pajaro 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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

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

Homeless (2025)10th percentile+6 vs school

Hispanic (2025)5th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)4th percentile~ school

Migrant (2024)4th percentile~ school

Female (2025)3rd percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)3rd percentile~ school

Male (2025)3rd percentile~ school

White (2019)2nd percentile-9 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy15%-34 vs state

Mathematics8%-29 vs state

Science7%-26 vs state

★

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Schools Near Cesar E. Chavez 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
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%)	8.9	2649^th of 2761 public middle schools	4.1%		9.3	2688^th of 2783 public middle schools	3.4%	39	7.0	7.0	15.3	17.6	12.1	14.8	4.9	10.8	8.3	8.0
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	2612^th of 2761 public middle schools	5.4%		10.1	2662^nd of 2783 public middle schools	4.3%	50	6.9	6.9	11.3	21.5	23.3	18.7	7.1	10.5	5.9	7.8
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%)	5.9	2719^th of 2761 public middle schools	1.5%		7.8	2719^th of 2783 public middle schools	2.3%		4.8	4.8	8.4	12.7	7.2	9.4	0.8	4.6	4.1	3.3
Pajaro Middle	Public	6-8	250 Salinas Rd.	Watsonville	95076	Monterey 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%)	10.4	2601^st of 2761 public middle schools	5.8%		11	2628^th of 2783 public middle schools	5.6%	27	11.6	11.6	17.2	22.2	20.0	19.8	5.7	5.8	6.2	5.9
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%)	8.3	2660^th of 2761 public middle schools	3.7%		9.9	2670^th of 2783 public middle schools	4.1%	10	8.8	8.8	11.2	18.1	14.1	14.5	3.2	9.2	5.4	5.9
Aptos Junior High	Public	7-8	1001 Huntington Dr.	Aptos	95003	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 688-3234	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%)	50	1181^st of 2761 public middle schools	57.2%		56.7	973^rd of 2783 public middle schools	65.0%	208	30.2	30.2		49.6	36.6	43.3		37.8	33.2	35.6
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
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%)	69.9	680^th of 2761 public middle schools	75.4%		64.7	792^nd of 2783 public middle schools	71.5%	112	42.6	42.6	56.4	64.8	53.1	57.9	43.5	47.6	35.1	41.8	$13,408	$799	$12,609
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	1296^th of 2761 public middle schools	53.1%		51.5	1121^st of 2783 public middle schools	59.7%	175	27.3	27.3	41.3	42.6	41.4	41.8	28.8	37.3	35.2	33.9	$18,120	$1,483	$16,637
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%)	44.7	1338^th of 2761 public middle schools	51.5%		59.6	897^th of 2783 public middle schools	67.8%	441	31.1	31.1	36.0	45.7	40.8	40.7	32.3	28.7	33.6	31.7	$19,040	$1,259	$17,781

Frequently Asked Questions about Cesar E. Chavez Middle

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

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

What district is Cesar E. Chavez Middle in?

Pajaro Valley Unified

Is Cesar E. Chavez Middle a good school?

Cesar E. Chavez Middle ranks in the bottom 4.1% of California middle schools.

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

How many students attend Cesar E. Chavez Middle?

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