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Palermo Middle

Q: Is Palermo Middle a good school?

Palermo Middle ranks 1936 th of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

1936^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 30% of California middle schools

Summary

Palermo Middle is a public school serving 458 students in grades 6-8 within the Palermo Union Elementary district, operating in a high-need community where about 76% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Academically, the school faces significant challenges, with its statewide ranking in the 30th percentile and proficiency rates in English (37%), math (17%), and science (17%) that are well below state averages. This performance is notably lower than several nearby schools with similar student populations; for instance, Live Oak Middle and Sycamore Middle achieve much higher scores in all subjects. A particularly concerning trend is the sharp decline in math proficiency by 8th grade, dropping to just 11%. Despite these academic results, Palermo Middle spends more per student ($19,806) than many of these higher-performing peers.

However, the school has demonstrated a major strength in dramatically improving student attendance, reducing chronic absenteeism from 54% to 17% in just three years—a rate now better than the state average and far superior to schools like Ishi Hills Middle. It also shows a relative strength in supporting its Special Education students, who perform above the state average. The key takeaway for parents is that while the school has successfully gotten more students to class, it has not yet translated that improved attendance into stronger academic achievement, presenting both a current challenge and a significant opportunity for growth.

458

Students ?

18.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$19,806

Per pupil spending ?

76%

Free/discounted lunch ?

7350 Bulldog Way
Palermo, CA 95968-9700

(530) 533-4708

District: Palermo Union Elementary

Students who attend Palermo Middle usually attend:

High:

Las Plumas High

Feeder schools for Palermo Middle:

Elementary:	Golden Hills Elementary
	Helen M. Wilcox Elementary
	Honcut

Racial breakdown:

White:

42.1%

Hispanic:

34.5%

Two or more races:

14.4%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Palermo Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 47th percentile in 2013 → 30th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (26% vs 41% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped — down 17 percentile points since 2013

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school26%

District avg28%

California avg41%

1,936^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 30%▲ up 2 pts since 2015

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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	26.6	1936 of 2761	29.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.4	2064 of 2783	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	30.5	1788 of 2781	35.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	23.9	2038 of 2740	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	17.3	2302 of 2715	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	16.3	2138 of 2480	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	18.0	2104 of 2508	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	25.6	1810 of 2497	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	26.2	1775 of 2477	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	46.4	1256 of 2379	47.2%	★★☆☆☆
2012	48.6	1130 of 2259	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2011	35.6	1486 of 2236	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2010	47.8	1096 of 2179	49.7%	★★☆☆☆
2009	42.8	1136 of 2063	44.9%	★★☆☆☆
2008	35.8	1273 of 2005	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2007	23.9	1558 of 1999	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	34.6	1160 of 1804	35.7%	★★☆☆☆
2005	36.9	1066 of 1777	40.0%	★★☆☆☆
2004	32.4	1149 of 1769	35.0%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	31.5	1009 of 1531	34.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	21.2	1360 of 1491	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	29.9	954 of 1369	30.3%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	35.9	932 of 1521	38.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	21.2	1438 of 1442	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	22.6	1354 of 1364	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	21.9	1994 of 2533	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.5	2029 of 2551	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	31.3	1596 of 2531	36.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	20.9	2036 of 2509	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	12.6	2185 of 2380	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	17.3	1935 of 2262	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	29.2	1685 of 2395	29.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.8	1807 of 2388	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	36.7	1377 of 2374	42.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	20.6	1984 of 2359	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	13.4	2060 of 2213	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	15.5	1878 of 2072	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	26.6	1892 of 2542	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.5	1801 of 2579	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	36.5	1473 of 2531	41.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	27.8	1778 of 2458	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.9	1995 of 2369	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.9	2046 of 2230	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	31.4	1644 of 2534	35.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	27.5	1780 of 2552	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	30.3	1637 of 2538	35.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	28.3	1725 of 2527	31.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	22.1	1900 of 2407	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	16.0	2016 of 2273	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	7.2	692 of 726	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	6.3	668 of 701	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.2	615 of 665	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	16.1	473 of 554	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	8.3	432 of 462	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	42.3	742 of 1566	52.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	40.8	756 of 1552	51.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	32.1	1007 of 1531	34.2%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	13.0	1355 of 1520	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	11.2	1397 of 1537	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.5	1307 of 1543	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.6	1366 of 1555	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	5.4	1558 of 1602	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	5.1	1458 of 1496	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)53rd percentile+23 vs school

English Language Learner (2023)39th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2025)35th percentile+5 vs school

Disabled (2022)34th percentile+8 vs school

Hispanic (2025)30th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)26th percentile-4 vs school

Female (2025)21st percentile-9 vs school

White (2025)11th percentile-19 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)5th percentile-25 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy37%-12 vs state

Mathematics17%-20 vs state

Science17%-16 vs state

★

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Schools Near Palermo 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
Palermo Middle	Public	6-8	7350 Bulldog Way	Palermo	95968	Butte County	Palermo Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 533-4708	458	24	18.7	76.0%	193 (42.1%)	5 (1.1%)	158 (34.5%)	22 (4.8%)	14 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	66 (14.4%)	26.6	1936^th of 2761 public middle schools	29.9%		24.4	2064^th of 2783 public middle schools	25.8%	128	16.8	16.8	34.5	41.5	34.4	36.9	19.4	20.3	11.5	17.2	$19,806	$2,006	$17,800
The Studios @ Central	Public	5-8	2565 Mesa Ave.	Oroville	95966	Butte County	Oroville City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 532-3002	300	20	15.3	76.3%	124 (41.3%)	15 (5.0%)	71 (23.7%)	53 (17.7%)	7 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (10.0%)	17.2	2347^th of 2761 public middle schools	15.0%		15.2	2471^st of 2783 public middle schools	11.2%	124	22.2	22.2	32.9	12.5	24.4	22.5	16.7	0.0	13.2	9.5	$20,786	$2,089	$18,697
Ishi Hills Middle	Public	6-8	1 Ishi Hills Way	Oroville	95966	Butte County	Oroville City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 532-3078	294	17	17.0	68.0%	153 (52.0%)	9 (3.1%)	59 (20.1%)	14 (4.8%)	9 (3.1%)	1 (0.3%)	49 (16.7%)	20.1	2217^th of 2761 public middle schools	19.7%		22.1	2169^th of 2783 public middle schools	22.1%	48	13.2	13.2	32.2	32.5	31.1	31.9	9.2	14.5	16.5	13.4	$21,104	$1,888	$19,216
Heritage Community Day	Public	4-8	2255 Sixth St.	Oroville	95965	Butte County	Thermalito Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 538-4376	5	1	4.9		4 (80.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (20.0%)								(n/a)											$66,947	$6,514	$60,433
Nelson Avenue Middle	Public	6-8	2255 Sixth St.	Oroville	95965	Butte County	Thermalito Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 538-2940	456	23	19.4	85.7%	162 (35.5%)	8 (1.8%)	71 (15.6%)	162 (35.5%)	10 (2.2%)	2 (0.4%)	41 (9.0%)	35.8	1625^th of 2761 public middle schools	41.1%		33.5	1691^st of 2783 public middle schools	39.2%	66	28.9	28.9	33.3	44.3	39.9	39.0	17.6	25.2	28.2	23.3	$20,724	$2,062	$18,662
Sycamore Middle	Public	6-8	1125 Sycamore St.	Gridley	95948	Butte County	Gridley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 846-3636	423	20	21.0	73.0%	139 (32.9%)	2 (0.5%)	256 (60.5%)	13 (3.1%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.1%)	52.3	1123^rd of 2761 public middle schools	59.3%		43.2	1364^th of 2783 public middle schools	51.0%	241	33.3	33.3	43.6	52.9	52.3	49.5	24.3	35.0	34.9	31.3	$16,221	$1,635	$14,586
Foothill Intermediate	Public	6-8	5351 Fruitland Rd.	Marysville	95901	Yuba County	Marysville Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 741-6130	237	13	17.6	65.0%	152 (64.1%)	2 (0.8%)	50 (21.1%)	4 (1.7%)	8 (3.4%)	1 (0.4%)	19 (8.0%)	44.1	1358^th of 2761 public middle schools	50.8%		40.8	1433^rd of 2783 public middle schools	48.5%	75	25.9	25.9	49.4	39.3	56.0	49.1	29.9	19.7	22.6	24.3	$21,695	$3,214	$18,481
Live Oak Middle	Public	6-8	2082 Pennington Rd.	Live Oak	95953	Sutter County	Live Oak Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 695-5435	413	24	17.5	82.6%	93 (22.5%)	5 (1.2%)	263 (63.7%)	45 (10.9%)	4 (1.0%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.5%)	56.1	996^th of 2761 public middle schools	63.9%		49	1195^th of 2783 public middle schools	57.1%	199	36.4	36.4	64.4	39.7	53.3	52.1	36.1	27.8	35.0	32.9	$18,552	$1,064	$17,488
Anna McKenney Intermediate	Public	6-8	1904 Huston	Marysville	95901	Yuba County	Marysville Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 741-6187	590	28	21.2	76.4%	199 (33.7%)	34 (5.8%)	258 (43.7%)	39 (6.6%)	8 (1.4%)	1 (0.2%)	51 (8.6%)	23.1	2095^th of 2761 public middle schools	24.1%		23	2126^th of 2783 public middle schools	23.6%	31	21.4	21.4	30.2	26.5	38.8	31.6	14.6	14.7	16.9	15.4	$17,230	$2,436	$14,794

Frequently Asked Questions about Palermo Middle

What is the racial makeup of Palermo Middle?

Students at Palermo Middle are 42% White, 34% Hispanic, 14% Two or more races, 5% Asian, 3% American Indian, 1% African American.

What high school do graduates of Palermo Middle attend?

Students who attend Palermo Middle usually go on to attend Las Plumas High

How many students attend Palermo Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 458 students attended Palermo Middle.

Is Palermo Middle a good school?

Palermo Middle ranks 1936^th of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

What district is Palermo Middle in?

Palermo Union Elementary

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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.