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Central Middle

Q: Is Central Middle a good school?

Central Middle ranks 1658 th of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 7-8

1658^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 40% of California middle schools

Summary

Central Middle is a public school serving 621 students in grades 7 and 8 in Riverside, California, operating within the Riverside Unified school district, and it faces significant academic challenges with proficiency rates below district and state averages, particularly in mathematics where only about 21% of students are proficient.

The school's most pressing issue is chronic absenteeism, with over 28% of students missing too much school, a rate that is the highest among its district peers like Matthew Gage Middle (15.8%) and Sierra Middle (19.6%), which likely impacts overall learning. While Central Middle spends more per student than nearby schools, its academic results do not yet reflect this investment, though it has shown improvement in its statewide ranking over recent years and has had notable success in raising performance for some groups of students.

When compared to other middle schools in the area, Central Middle performs similarly in math to most in Riverside Unified but is outperformed by Matthew Gage Middle; however, it generally achieves better academic outcomes than schools in neighboring districts such as Colton Joint Unified or Jurupa Unified. The analysis suggests that investigating the successful attendance and math strategies of higher-performing schools within its own district could be a valuable path for improvement.

621

Students ?

21.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$19,743

Per pupil spending ?

83.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4795 Magnolia Ave.
Riverside, CA 92506-0155

(951) 788-7282

District: Riverside Unified

Students who attend Central Middle usually attend:

High:	Polytechnic High
	Riverside STEM Academy

Feeder schools for Central Middle:

Elementary:	Bryant Elementary
	Magnolia Elementary
	Pachappa Elementary
	Patricia Beatty Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

76.3%

White:

12.4%

African American:

6.9%

See top rated California middle schools

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At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 40th percentile in 2013 → 40th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (30% vs 41% meeting standards)

!High chronic absenteeism (28% vs 19% California)

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school30%

District avg38%

California avg41%

1,658^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 40%▬ steady since 2015

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 7Middle Schools in the Riverside Unified

755^th of 1,543Riverside 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	34.6	1658 of 2761	39.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	33.8	1678 of 2783	39.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	32.0	1733 of 2781	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	30.7	1749 of 2740	36.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	20.3	2172 of 2715	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	29.2	1688 of 2480	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2017	33.9	1572 of 2508	37.3%	★★☆☆☆
2016	40.0	1360 of 2497	45.5%	★★☆☆☆
2015	34.1	1498 of 2477	39.5%	★★☆☆☆
2013	40.0	1423 of 2379	40.2%	★★☆☆☆
2012	60.1	816 of 2259	63.9%	★★★☆☆
2011	46.8	1179 of 2236	47.3%	★★☆☆☆
2010	41.6	1268 of 2179	41.8%	★★☆☆☆
2009	45.3	1077 of 2063	47.8%	★★☆☆☆
2008	36.5	1260 of 2005	37.2%	★★☆☆☆
2007	43.3	1057 of 1999	47.1%	★★☆☆☆
2006	39.1	1037 of 1804	42.5%	★★☆☆☆
2005	35.5	1097 of 1777	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2004	28.8	1221 of 1769	31.0%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	46.6	288 of 609	52.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	29.7	448 of 627	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	31.5	421 of 613	31.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	36.3	391 of 637	38.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	31.8	434 of 643	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	26.6	460 of 600	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	29.5	1074 of 1531	29.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.8	1340 of 1491	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	35.5	793 of 1369	42.1%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	40.1	729 of 1478	50.7%	★★★☆☆
2023	36.7	894 of 1521	41.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	33.3	1060 of 1540	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	32.1	1012 of 1442	29.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	37.8	684 of 1364	49.9%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	35.2	1512 of 2533	40.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	34.2	1535 of 2551	39.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.8	1516 of 2531	40.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	33.1	1560 of 2509	37.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	16.7	2050 of 2380	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	24.8	1679 of 2262	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	40.7	1311 of 2395	45.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	40.2	1301 of 2388	45.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	35.0	1447 of 2374	39.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	36.7	1401 of 2359	40.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	19.3	1903 of 2213	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	34.1	1364 of 2072	34.2%	★★☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	36.8	305 of 477	36.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	39.6	216 of 394	45.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	23.1	273 of 320	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	29.3	259 of 336	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	37.2	1510 of 2542	40.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	34.8	1575 of 2579	38.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	35.9	1494 of 2531	41.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	35.7	1488 of 2458	39.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	20.9	1996 of 2369	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	33.3	1481 of 2230	33.6%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	32.7	1596 of 2534	37.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	32.2	1599 of 2552	37.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.9	1657 of 2538	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	29.1	1690 of 2527	33.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	22.8	1874 of 2407	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	33.0	1440 of 2273	36.6%	★★☆☆☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	20.9	156 of 197	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	9.0	185 of 193	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	32.7	1023 of 1566	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	25.3	1267 of 1552	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	27.1	1173 of 1531	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	35.0	996 of 1520	34.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	40.7	885 of 1537	42.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	44.5	837 of 1543	45.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	40.5	904 of 1555	41.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	41.6	922 of 1602	42.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	38.2	941 of 1496	37.1%	★★☆☆☆

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)

African American (2025)53rd percentile+13 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)51st percentile+11 vs school

Hispanic (2025)45th percentile+5 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)41st percentile~ school

Female (2025)40th percentile~ school

Male (2025)37th percentile-3 vs school

Homeless (2025)36th percentile-4 vs school

Special Education (2025)35th percentile-5 vs school

White (2025)34th percentile-5 vs school

Disabled (2022)30th percentile-6 vs school

Military Connected (2023)21st percentile-17 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy43%-6 vs state

Science22%-11 vs state

Mathematics21%-17 vs state

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Schools Near Central 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
Central Middle	Public	7-8	4795 Magnolia Ave.	Riverside	92506	Riverside County	Riverside Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 788-7282	621	29	21.1	83.3%	77 (12.4%)	43 (6.9%)	474 (76.3%)	11 (1.8%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (2.3%)	34.6	1658^th of 2761 public middle schools	39.9%		33.8	1678^th of 2783 public middle schools	39.7%	20	21.5	21.5		41.2	43.9	42.6		22.5	19.2	20.8	$19,743	$1,297	$18,446
Sierra Middle	Public	7-8	4950 Central Ave.	Riverside	92504	Riverside County	Riverside Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 788-7501	829	37	22.2	88.5%	63 (7.6%)	46 (5.5%)	690 (83.2%)	13 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	14 (1.7%)	31.9	1762^nd of 2761 public middle schools	36.2%		34.3	1654^th of 2783 public middle schools	40.6%	108	21.7	21.7		42.7	35.9	39.3		21.0	19.8	20.4	$18,810	$1,400	$17,410
Matthew Gage Middle	Public	7-8	6400 Lincoln Ave.	Riverside	92506	Riverside County	Riverside Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 788-7350	840	40	21.1	70.1%	182 (21.7%)	31 (3.7%)	572 (68.1%)	22 (2.6%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	28 (3.3%)	47.6	1246^th of 2761 public middle schools	54.9%		40.5	1442^nd of 2783 public middle schools	48.2%	196	25.4	25.4		51.1	43.4	47.0		35.8	27.7	31.5	$18,335	$1,414	$16,921
Mission Middle	Public	7-8	5961 Mustang Ln.	Jurupa Valley	92509	Riverside County	Jurupa Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 222-7842	612	31	20.0	87.7%	15 (2.5%)	18 (2.9%)	561 (91.7%)	6 (1.0%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	10 (1.6%)	13	2519^th of 2761 public middle schools	8.8%		14	2514^th of 2783 public middle schools	9.7%	5	5.9	5.9		22.2	22.5	22.3		13.9	11.5	12.8	$22,111	$2,304	$19,807
University Heights Middle	Public	7-8	1155 Massachusetts Ave.	Riverside	92507	Riverside County	Riverside Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 788-7388	870	39	22.5	91.4%	56 (6.4%)	53 (6.1%)	697 (80.1%)	33 (3.8%)	2 (0.2%)	5 (0.6%)	23 (2.6%)	30.7	1805^th of 2761 public middle schools	34.6%		28.4	1885^th of 2783 public middle schools	32.3%	80	14.8	14.8		44.9	36.5	40.8		23.7	17.0	20.4	$18,541	$1,368	$17,173
Chemawa Middle	Public	7-8	8830 Magnolia Ave.	Riverside	92503	Riverside County	Riverside Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 352-8244	885	37	23.6	89.0%	67 (7.6%)	39 (4.4%)	726 (82.0%)	23 (2.6%)	4 (0.5%)	6 (0.7%)	18 (2.0%)	27.6	1910^th of 2761 public middle schools	30.8%		26.8	1959^th of 2783 public middle schools	29.6%	49	21.0	21.0		35.0	34.5	34.7		19.3	18.9	19.1	$17,745	$1,546	$16,199
Jurupa Middle	Public	7-8	8700 Galena St.	Jurupa Valley	92509	Riverside County	Jurupa Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 360-2846	1,105	51	21.6	77.1%	86 (7.8%)	30 (2.7%)	930 (84.2%)	26 (2.4%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.3%)	29 (2.6%)	25	2003^rd of 2761 public middle schools	27.5%		30	1813^th of 2783 public middle schools	34.9%	190	14.7	14.7		36.7	32.9	34.7		19.6	17.8	18.6	$19,130	$1,696	$17,434
Wells Middle	Public	6-8	10000 Wells Ave.	Riverside	92503	Riverside County	Alvord Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 358-1705	768	34	22.2	95.8%	15 (2.0%)	7 (0.9%)	731 (95.2%)	12 (1.6%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	12.7	2527^th of 2761 public middle schools	8.5%		11.7	2604^th of 2783 public middle schools	6.4%	77	15.0	15.0	18.5	21.2	22.7	20.9	8.8	9.4	9.6	9.3	$18,171	$1,462	$16,709
Ruth O. Harris Middle	Public	7-8	11150 Alder Ave.	Bloomington	92316	San Bernardino County	Colton Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 580-5020	562	28	19.7	85.9%	14 (2.5%)	29 (5.2%)	498 (88.6%)	14 (2.5%)	3 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.5%)	15.4	2418^th of 2761 public middle schools	12.4%		18	2348^th of 2783 public middle schools	15.6%	70	12.3	12.3		19.6	28.7	24.4		15.1	9.2	12.0	$23,380	$4,818	$18,562
Terrace Hills Middle	Public	7-8	22579 DeBerry St.	Grand Terrace	92313	San Bernardino County	Colton Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 580-5022	852	39	21.8	79.5%	66 (7.7%)	75 (8.8%)	669 (78.5%)	24 (2.8%)	2 (0.2%)	5 (0.6%)	10 (1.2%)	18	2316^th of 2761 public middle schools	16.1%		19	2296^th of 2783 public middle schools	17.5%	20	14.5	14.5		23.8	26.6	25.1		16.7	15.3	16.0	$24,080	$5,080	$19,000

Frequently Asked Questions about Central Middle

Is Central Middle a good school?

Central Middle ranks 1658^th of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What high school do graduates of Central Middle attend?

Students who attend Central Middle usually go on to attend Polytechnic High

What is the racial makeup of Central Middle?

Students at Central Middle are 76% Hispanic, 12% White, 7% African American, 2% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

How many students attend Central Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 621 students attended Central Middle.

What district is Central Middle in?

Riverside Unified

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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.