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Carmel Valley Middle

Public Grades 7-8
71st
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 2,740 California Middle Schools
Better than 97% of California middle schools
Summary

Carmel Valley Middle serves 697 students in grades 7–8 in San Diego, within the San Dieguito Union High district. Its latest supplied test results show a high-performing school, with proficiency above California’s in English, math, and science. The most important takeaway is that Carmel Valley is among the top two of the three nearby schools serving only grades 7–8 in every subject, although Pacific Trails leads it in all three.

Math is Carmel Valley’s clearest strength against nearby schools and the district; ELA is its relative soft spot. In 2025–2026, 82% of students were proficient in math, 43 points above the state and 11 points above the district; the school also beat the three nearby grade 7–8 schools’ 71% average by 11 points. Science proficiency was 72%, 36 points above the state and 7 above the district, and 8 points higher than the nearby schools’ average of 64%. ELA proficiency was 80%, 30 points above the state but just 0.2 points below the district. It was only 1 point above the nearby schools’ 79% average and below Pacific Trails. Those comparisons show strong results across the board, with the largest local advantage in math.

Results over time are mixed: from 2022–2023 to 2025–2026, ELA fell 2 points, math rose by less than 1 point, and science rose 3 points, while the school’s advantage over the state narrowed in all three subjects. SchoolDigger ranks Carmel Valley at the 97th percentile, 5 stars, and 70th out of 2,703 schools—still a high standing, though below its 99th-percentile results in 2021–2022 through 2023–2024. Its chronic absenteeism was 6% in 2025–2026, 5 points below the district and 12 below the state. The 2024–2025 student-teacher ratio was 23.5, near the middle of the local range; 15% of students were reported as free/reduced lunch eligible that year. One notable subgroup difference in SchoolDigger’s measure of how well the school serves students: its Asian Students ranking was at the 78th percentile in 2025–2026, down from the 95th percentile in 2023–2024, compared with the school’s overall 97th percentile.

697
Students ?
23.5
Student/teacher ratio ?
$23,014
Per pupil spending ?
15.4%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
All students in California receive free school meals.
 3800 Mykonos Ln.
       San Diego, CA  92024-3572

(858) 481-8221

District: San Dieguito Union High


Students who attend Carmel Valley Middle usually attend:

High:    Torrey Pines High

Feeder schools for Carmel Valley Middle:

Elementary:    Carmel Creek Elementary
    Carmel Del Mar Elementary
    Ocean Air
    Sage Canyon
    More...
Racial breakdown:

White:
39.5%
Asian:
34.6%
Hispanic:
14.2%
more
 See top rated California middle schools

 Compare Carmel Valley Middle to nearby middle schools!
At a glance
▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 99th percentile in 2015 → 97th in 2026
Strengths
✓Test scores above the California average (79% vs 42% meeting standards)
✓Ranks in the top 3% of California middle schools
Worth a look
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
!Large classes — about 24 students per teacher
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school79%
District avg73%
California avg42%
71st of 2,740
California public middle schools ?
Top 3%▼ down 1 pts since 2016
See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
2nd of 5Middle Schools in the San Dieguito Union High
64th of 1,530San Dieguito 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202697.271 of 274097.4%★★★★★
202597.856 of 276198.0%★★★★★
202498.336 of 278398.7%★★★★★
202398.440 of 278198.6%★★★★★
202298.734 of 274098.8%★★★★★
201998.229 of 271598.9%★★★★★
201897.737 of 248098.5%★★★★★
201798.132 of 250898.7%★★★★★
201696.844 of 249798.2%★★★★★
201597.537 of 247798.5%★★★★★
201387.8128 of 237994.6%★★★★★
201288.7110 of 225995.1%★★★★★
201188.7120 of 223694.6%★★★★★
201084.3211 of 217990.3%★★★★★
200990.890 of 206395.6%★★★★★
200890.696 of 200595.2%★★★★★
200788.6152 of 199992.4%★★★★★
200690.0124 of 180493.1%★★★★★
200591.887 of 177795.1%★★★★★
200493.472 of 176995.9%★★★★★

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202676.4178 of 77777.1%★★★★☆
202579.4135 of 73981.7%★★★★☆
202485.736 of 74395.2%★★★★★
202380.990 of 71587.4%★★★★☆
202287.130 of 73395.9%★★★★★
201984.940 of 74594.6%★★★★★
201883.660 of 70091.4%★★★★★

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202299.77 of 153199.5%★★★★★
201999.86 of 149199.6%★★★★★
201899.79 of 136999.3%★★★★★

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202492.441 of 147897.2%★★★★★
202394.436 of 152197.6%★★★★★
202298.410 of 154099.4%★★★★★
201999.99 of 144299.4%★★★★★
201899.122 of 136498.4%★★★★★

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202696.469 of 251697.3%★★★★★
202597.834 of 253398.7%★★★★★
202498.523 of 255199.1%★★★★★
202398.039 of 253198.5%★★★★★
202298.138 of 250998.5%★★★★★
201997.234 of 238098.6%★★★★★
201896.742 of 226298.1%★★★★★

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202697.827 of 235798.9%★★★★★
202598.029 of 239598.8%★★★★★
202496.059 of 238897.5%★★★★★
202398.227 of 237498.9%★★★★★
202298.032 of 235998.6%★★★★★
201997.343 of 221398.1%★★★★★
201898.722 of 207298.9%★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202696.063 of 252997.5%★★★★★
202598.825 of 254299.0%★★★★★
202494.4115 of 257995.5%★★★★★
202396.464 of 253197.5%★★★★★
202298.627 of 245898.9%★★★★★
201996.937 of 236998.4%★★★★★
201897.142 of 223098.1%★★★★★

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202697.265 of 251497.4%★★★★★
202597.074 of 253497.1%★★★★★
202497.370 of 255297.3%★★★★★
202398.338 of 253898.5%★★★★★
202298.832 of 252798.7%★★★★★
201998.530 of 240798.8%★★★★★
201898.131 of 227398.6%★★★★★

Military Connected

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202591.39 of 19495.4%★★★★★
202489.610 of 19294.8%★★★★★
202396.24 of 19798.0%★★★★★
202291.97 of 19396.4%★★★★★

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202684.375 of 73589.8%★★★★☆
202588.051 of 72693.0%★★★★★
202492.214 of 70198.0%★★★★★
202394.08 of 67798.8%★★★★★
202290.326 of 66596.1%★★★★★
201992.88 of 55498.6%★★★★★
201888.918 of 46296.1%★★★★★

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202699.510 of 160599.4%★★★★★
202598.420 of 156698.7%★★★★★
202499.219 of 155298.8%★★★★★
202399.94 of 153199.7%★★★★★

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202690.860 of 149096.0%★★★★★
202592.047 of 152096.9%★★★★★
202488.893 of 153793.9%★★★★★
202392.041 of 154397.3%★★★★★
202293.334 of 155597.8%★★★★★
201991.459 of 160296.3%★★★★★
201890.362 of 149695.9%★★★★★
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)100th percentile~ school
Special Education (2026)99th percentile~ school
Hispanic (2026)99th percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)98th percentile~ school
Male (2026)97th percentile~ school
Female (2026)97th percentile~ school
English Language Learner (2024)97th percentile~ school
White (2026)96th percentile~ school
Military Connected (2025)95th percentile-3 vs school
Multi-racial (2026)90th percentile-8 vs school
Asian (2026)77th percentile-20 vs school
By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?
Mathematics82%+43 vs state
English Language Arts/Literacy80%+30 vs state
Science72%+36 vs state

3.0
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What people are saying
Facebook Profile Picture by a parent on FaceBook
Friday, August 2, 2013

Open Quote CVMS is clean and safe. The intelligence at school helps immensely and I am not quite sure this is a school that would cater to children with slight disabilities. The teachers are responsive if you have the time to stay involved. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Carmel Valley Middle

Yes! Carmel Valley Middle is one of the best middle schools in the state. It ranks 71st of 2740 California middle schools.

Students who attend Carmel Valley Middle usually go on to attend Torrey Pines High

In the 2024-25 school year, 697 students attended Carmel Valley Middle.

Students at Carmel Valley Middle are 39% White, 35% Asian, 14% Hispanic, 11% Two or more races.

Rate Carmel Valley Middle!



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Latest California data All new data »
2013–14 through 2024–25 immunization rates (updated)NewOct 19, 2026
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


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.

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