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Harden Middle

Public Grades 7-8

2150^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 22% of California middle schools

Summary

Harden Middle is a public school serving 1,101 students in grades 7 and 8 within the Salinas Union High School District, which serves a community in Salinas, California.

Academically, the school's proficiency rates in English, Math, and Science are below both state and district averages. When compared to nearby schools in the same district, such as Washington Middle and El Sausal Middle, Harden Middle generally has lower test scores. However, the school has made significant progress in reducing chronic student absenteeism over the past few years, bringing it closer to the district average. It's important to note that while the school serves a high-need population, some schools with similar student demographics in the area achieve higher academic results.

The school shows notable strengths in serving specific student groups, with its migrant and special education students performing relatively well compared to their peers across the state. However, performance trends for different groups have been volatile in recent years. Compared to middle schools in higher-performing neighboring districts like Washington Union Elementary (home to San Benancio Middle) and Spreckels Union Elementary (home to Buena Vista Middle), Harden and its closest district peers face broader systemic challenges that impact performance.

1,101

Students ?

21.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$17,583

Per pupil spending ?

82.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1561 McKinnon St.
Salinas, CA 93906-4100

(831) 796-7300

District: Salinas Union High

Students who attend Harden Middle usually attend:

High:

North Salinas High

Feeder schools for Harden Middle:

Elementary:	Boronda Meadows
	Creekside Elementary
	El Gabilan Elementary
	Henry F. Kammann Elementary
	More...
	John E. Steinbeck Elementary
	Loma Vista Elementary
	Natividad Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

92.3%

Asian:

3.1%

White:

2.6%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Harden Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 18th percentile in 2013 → 22nd in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (22% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (22nd percentile)

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school22%

District avg29%

California avg41%

2,150^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 22%▼ down 6 pts since 2015

From bottom 28% (2015) to bottom 22% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 4Middle Schools in the Salinas Union High

981^st of 1,543Salinas Union High 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	22.1	2150 of 2761	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.1	2078 of 2783	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	27.7	1907 of 2781	31.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	25.5	1971 of 2740	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.1	1960 of 2715	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	17.6	2085 of 2480	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	21.1	1991 of 2508	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	23.1	1908 of 2497	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	26.0	1784 of 2477	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	21.9	1951 of 2379	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	26.9	1738 of 2259	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	24.8	1776 of 2236	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	31.1	1541 of 2179	29.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	25.9	1576 of 2063	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	39.6	1170 of 2005	41.6%	★★☆☆☆
2007	30.4	1377 of 1999	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2006	35.3	1136 of 1804	37.0%	★★☆☆☆
2005	45.6	883 of 1777	50.3%	★★★☆☆
2004	34.4	1101 of 1769	37.8%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	24.2	1289 of 1531	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.5	1145 of 1491	23.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	18.3	1338 of 1369	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	31.6	1141 of 1478	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	37.1	882 of 1521	42.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	31.8	1159 of 1540	24.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	35.8	843 of 1442	41.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	36.1	736 of 1364	46.0%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	21.1	2025 of 2533	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.8	1872 of 2551	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	27.1	1777 of 2531	29.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	23.0	1931 of 2509	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	27.0	1721 of 2380	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	16.6	1952 of 2262	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	29.6	1671 of 2395	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	29.5	1667 of 2388	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	34.9	1450 of 2374	38.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	34.2	1484 of 2359	37.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	32.4	1467 of 2213	33.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	21.9	1709 of 2072	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	45.9	225 of 477	52.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	28.4	299 of 394	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	25.7	1932 of 2542	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	30.0	1775 of 2579	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	37.2	1452 of 2531	42.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	33.7	1554 of 2458	36.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	31.1	1645 of 2369	30.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	20.3	1891 of 2230	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	22.5	1974 of 2534	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.3	1992 of 2552	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.2	1727 of 2538	32.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	28.0	1734 of 2527	31.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	23.9	1843 of 2407	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	17.7	1949 of 2273	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Migrant

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	58.7	33 of 95	65.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	67.8	20 of 94	78.7%	★★★★☆
2023	60.4	22 of 86	74.4%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	41.6	762 of 1566	51.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	30.4	1082 of 1552	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	37.5	833 of 1531	45.6%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	7.0	1446 of 1520	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	20.5	1241 of 1537	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	32.0	1042 of 1543	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	38.7	936 of 1555	39.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	52.9	740 of 1602	53.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	29.8	1090 of 1496	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Migrant (2025)65th percentile+43 vs school

Homeless (2025)53rd percentile+31 vs school

Special Education (2025)51st percentile+29 vs school

Hispanic (2025)30th percentile+8 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)24th percentile~ school

English Language Learner (2024)23rd percentile-3 vs school

Male (2025)22nd percentile~ school

Female (2025)20th percentile~ school

Disabled (2022)16th percentile-12 vs school

White (2025)5th percentile-17 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy31%-18 vs state

Science19%-13 vs state

Mathematics16%-22 vs state

★

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Schools Near Harden 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
Harden Middle	Public	7-8	1561 McKinnon St.	Salinas	93906	Monterey County	Salinas Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-7300	1,101	52	21.1	82.2%	29 (2.6%)	10 (0.9%)	1,016 (92.3%)	34 (3.1%)	6 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	5 (0.5%)	22.1	2150^th of 2761 public middle schools	22.1%		24.1	2078^th of 2783 public middle schools	25.3%	72	19.2	19.2		31.9	29.1	30.5		16.3	14.8	15.6	$17,583	$1,591	$15,992
Gavilan View Middle	Public	6-8	18250 Van Buren Ave.	Salinas	93906	Monterey County	Santa Rita Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 443-7212	556	30	18.5	87.6%	19 (3.4%)	2 (0.4%)	508 (91.4%)	16 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	9 (1.6%)	24.6	2028^th of 2761 public middle schools	26.5%		18.1	2337^th of 2783 public middle schools	16.0%	309	21.1	21.1	34.5	30.2	36.4	33.6	16.5	15.1	16.8	16.1	$19,420	$1,914	$17,506
John Gutierrez Middle	Public	6-8	1031 Rogge Rd.	Salinas	93906	Monterey County	Santa Rita Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 443-3300	568	29	19.4	80.5%	32 (5.6%)	5 (0.9%)	513 (90.3%)	9 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	7 (1.2%)	24.8	2012^th of 2761 public middle schools	27.1%		22.7	2137^th of 2783 public middle schools	23.2%	125	18.3	18.3	31.9	30.5	37.8	33.5	15.9	20.4	16.2	17.7	$18,773	$1,915	$16,858
La Paz Middle	Public	7-8	1300 North Sanborn Rd.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Salinas Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-7900	1,099	55	20.0	93.4%	2 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	1,092 (99.4%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	22.8	2119^th of 2761 public middle schools	23.3%		23.7	2102^nd of 2783 public middle schools	24.5%	17	16.0	16.0		34.9	28.7	31.9		18.8	15.7	17.3	$17,531	$1,847	$15,684
El Sausal Middle	Public	7-8	1155 East Alisal St.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Salinas Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-7200	1,067	48	22.1	91.7%	10 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1,052 (98.6%)	4 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	32.8	1723^rd of 2761 public middle schools	37.6%		34.1	1661^st of 2783 public middle schools	40.3%	62	24.5	24.5		36.4	36.9	36.7		23.4	22.3	22.9	$17,859	$1,978	$15,881
Washington Middle	Public	7-8	560 Iverson St.	Salinas	93901	Monterey County	Salinas Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-7100	1,082	51	21.2	81.7%	62 (5.7%)	9 (0.8%)	977 (90.3%)	19 (1.8%)	9 (0.8%)	4 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	38.6	1531^st of 2761 public middle schools	44.5%		42.4	1386^th of 2783 public middle schools	50.2%	145	25.2	25.2		46.0	37.7	41.7		27.9	22.7	25.2	$17,463	$1,751	$15,712
Buena Vista Middle	Public	6-8	18250 Tara Dr.	Salinas	93908	Monterey County	Spreckels Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 455-8936	321	18	17.5	17.4%	121 (37.7%)	0 (0.0%)	163 (50.8%)	16 (5.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (6.5%)	69.4	688^th of 2761 public middle schools	75.1%		59.9	889^th of 2783 public middle schools	68.1%	201	41.4	41.4	51.7	54.1	64.0	57.0	46.1	45.0	37.8	42.7	$12,219	$1,010	$11,209
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
Los Arboles Middle	Public	7-8	294 Hillcrest Ave.	Marina	93933	Monterey County	Monterey Peninsula Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 384-3550	408	23	17.8	75.5%	48 (11.8%)	23 (5.6%)	258 (63.2%)	60 (14.7%)	3 (0.7%)	9 (2.2%)	6 (1.5%)	32.8	1722^nd of 2761 public middle schools	37.6%		24.8	2043^rd of 2783 public middle schools	26.6%	321	24.0	24.0		34.9	38.9	37.0		24.6	20.8	22.6	$21,578	$2,624	$18,954
San Benancio Middle	Public	6-8	43 San Benancio Rd.	Salinas	93908	Monterey County	Washington Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 484-1172	261	12	21.7	10.3%	138 (52.9%)	0 (0.0%)	75 (28.7%)	26 (10.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (8.4%)	84.8	373^rd of 2761 public middle schools	86.5%		85.2	379^th of 2783 public middle schools	86.4%	6	50.0	50.0	66.2	75.0	59.5	67.3	57.8	52.1	54.1	54.4

Frequently Asked Questions about Harden Middle

What high school do graduates of Harden Middle attend?

Students who attend Harden Middle usually go on to attend North Salinas High

What district is Harden Middle in?

Salinas Union High

Is Harden Middle a good school?

Harden Middle ranks in the bottom 22.1% of California middle schools.

How many students attend Harden Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,101 students attended Harden Middle.

What is the racial makeup of Harden Middle?

Students at Harden Middle are 92% Hispanic, 3% Asian, 3% White.

Rate Harden 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.