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Pacific Trails Middle

Public Grades 7-8

28^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 99% of California middle schools

Summary

Pacific Trails Middle is a top-performing 7th–8th grade school with about 970 students, located in the highly-rated San Dieguito Union High district in San Diego.

The school stands out for its exceptional and consistent academic results, ranking in the top 1% of all California middle schools for over seven years. Its students achieve proficiency rates far above state and district averages in English, Math, and Science. Notably, Pacific Trails excels at supporting all students, with its programs for military-connected and special education students ranking among the very best in the state. The school also fosters a strong culture of attendance, with a chronic absenteeism rate less than half the district average.

What makes Pacific Trails particularly interesting is how it achieves this excellence. Compared to other high-performing nearby schools like Carmel Valley Middle and Earl Warren Middle, Pacific Trails has the largest student population and the lowest per-student spending, yet it delivers the highest test scores and lowest absenteeism. This demonstrates that the school's specific practices, curriculum, and culture are powerful drivers of its success, making it a benchmark for efficient and effective education within an already outstanding district.

971

Students ?

24.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$23,037

Per pupil spending ?

12%

Free/discounted lunch ?

5975 Village Center Loop Rd.
San Diego, CA 92130-2499

(858) 350-0253

District: San Dieguito Union High

Students who attend Pacific Trails Middle usually attend:

High:

Torrey Pines High

Feeder schools for Pacific Trails Middle:

Elementary:	Solana Ranch Elementary
	Sycamore Ridge

Racial breakdown:

Asian:

45.3%

White:

31.5%

Hispanic:

12.5%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Pacific Trails Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 99th percentile in 2017 → 99th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (82% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 1% of California middle schools

✓Among the top-ranked schools in San Dieguito Union High

Worth a look

!Large classes — about 24 students per teacher

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school82%

District avg71%

California avg41%

28^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Top 1%▬ steady since 2017

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 5Middle Schools in the San Dieguito Union High

105^th of 1,543San 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	98.5	28 of 2761	99.0%	★★★★★
2024	98.6	25 of 2783	99.1%	★★★★★
2023	98.8	23 of 2781	99.2%	★★★★★
2022	98.9	27 of 2740	99.0%	★★★★★
2019	98.4	24 of 2715	99.1%	★★★★★
2018	98.0	29 of 2480	98.8%	★★★★★
2017	98.3	29 of 2508	98.8%	★★★★★

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	88.1	13 of 739	98.2%	★★★★★
2024	88.7	16 of 743	97.8%	★★★★★
2023	87.7	20 of 715	97.2%	★★★★★
2022	88.7	21 of 733	97.1%	★★★★★
2019	86.9	26 of 745	96.5%	★★★★★
2018	82.2	78 of 700	88.9%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	99.8	4 of 1531	99.7%	★★★★★
2019	99.8	7 of 1491	99.5%	★★★★★
2018	90.4	77 of 1369	94.4%	★★★★★

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	91.4	50 of 1478	96.6%	★★★★★
2023	94.4	37 of 1521	97.6%	★★★★★
2022	96.3	23 of 1540	98.5%	★★★★★
2019	99.5	12 of 1442	99.2%	★★★★★
2018	99.8	9 of 1364	99.3%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	97.9	28 of 2533	98.9%	★★★★★
2024	98.0	29 of 2551	98.9%	★★★★★
2023	98.3	26 of 2531	99.0%	★★★★★
2022	98.2	36 of 2509	98.6%	★★★★★
2019	98.0	21 of 2380	99.1%	★★★★★
2018	97.3	27 of 2262	98.8%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	94.6	79 of 2395	96.7%	★★★★★
2024	89.7	147 of 2388	93.8%	★★★★★
2023	97.3	37 of 2374	98.4%	★★★★★
2022	95.9	60 of 2359	97.5%	★★★★★
2019	97.9	35 of 2213	98.4%	★★★★★
2018	97.9	29 of 2072	98.6%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	96.9	61 of 2542	97.6%	★★★★★
2024	96.3	75 of 2579	97.1%	★★★★★
2023	95.3	82 of 2531	96.8%	★★★★★
2022	98.6	28 of 2458	98.9%	★★★★★
2019	95.1	65 of 2369	97.3%	★★★★★
2018	97.7	34 of 2230	98.5%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	98.4	35 of 2534	98.6%	★★★★★
2024	98.6	29 of 2552	98.9%	★★★★★
2023	98.9	22 of 2538	99.1%	★★★★★
2022	99.1	24 of 2527	99.1%	★★★★★
2019	98.5	27 of 2407	98.9%	★★★★★
2018	98.1	30 of 2273	98.7%	★★★★★

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	97.8	3 of 194	98.5%	★★★★★
2024	98.2	1 of 192	99.5%	★★★★★
2023	98.1	1 of 197	99.5%	★★★★★
2022	97.8	1 of 193	99.5%	★★★★★

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	93.7	9 of 726	98.8%	★★★★★
2024	92.6	11 of 701	98.4%	★★★★★
2023	91.9	21 of 677	96.9%	★★★★★
2022	92.1	16 of 665	97.6%	★★★★★
2019	89.4	23 of 554	95.8%	★★★★★
2018	90.0	13 of 462	97.2%	★★★★★

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	98.6	18 of 1566	98.9%	★★★★★
2024	99.7	10 of 1552	99.4%	★★★★★
2023	98.6	22 of 1531	98.6%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	88.0	86 of 1520	94.3%	★★★★★
2024	89.4	81 of 1537	94.7%	★★★★★
2023	93.6	23 of 1543	98.5%	★★★★★
2022	94.1	27 of 1555	98.3%	★★★★★
2019	93.4	33 of 1602	97.9%	★★★★★
2018	92.6	31 of 1496	97.9%	★★★★★

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

Female (2025)99th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)99th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2025)99th percentile~ school

Male (2025)99th percentile~ school

Military Connected (2025)98th percentile~ school

Asian (2025)98th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)98th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)97th percentile~ school

English Language Learner (2024)97th percentile~ school

White (2025)94th percentile-5 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy86%+37 vs state

Mathematics81%+43 vs state

Science77%+45 vs state

★

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Schools Near Pacific Trails Middle

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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 (2025)
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 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	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 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	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
Pacific Trails Middle	Public	7-8	5975 Village Center Loop Rd.	San Diego	92130	San Diego County	San Dieguito Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 350-0253	971	40	24.4	12.0%	306 (31.5%)	6 (0.6%)	121 (12.5%)	440 (45.3%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	94 (9.7%)	98.5	28^th of 2761 public middle schools	99.0%		98.6	25^th of 2783 public middle schools	99.1%	3		77.4	77.4				89.2	82.0	85.7				82.8	78.6	80.8	$23,037	$22,722	$315
Mesa Verde Middle	Public	6-8	8375 Entreken Way	San Diego	92129	San Diego County	Poway Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 538-5478	1,178	47	25.1	11.2%	350 (29.7%)	12 (1.0%)	124 (10.5%)	536 (45.5%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	151 (12.8%)	97.1	80^th of 2761 public middle schools	97.1%		98	51^st of 2783 public middle schools	98.2%	29		70.8	70.8			78.6	81.2	81.2	80.2			73.3	78.8	79.9	77.1	$19,795	$19,426	$369
Solana Pacific Elementary	Public	4-6	3901 Townsgate Dr.	San Diego	92130	San Diego County	Solana Beach Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 794-4500	375	16	23.4	14.1%	134 (35.7%)	3 (0.8%)	31 (8.3%)	156 (41.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (13.6%)								(n/a)	79.1		79.1	91.0	84.7	90.0			88.3	88.2	88.8	90.1			89.1	$30,896	$30,518	$378
Carmel Valley Middle	Public	7-8	3800 Mykonos Ln.	San Diego	92130	San Diego County	San Dieguito Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 481-8221	697	30	23.5	15.4%	275 (39.5%)	6 (0.9%)	99 (14.2%)	241 (34.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	74 (10.6%)	97.8	56^th of 2761 public middle schools	98.0%		98.3	36^th of 2783 public middle schools	98.7%	20		71.9	71.9				84.0	79.9	82.0				82.1	77.3	79.7	$23,014	$22,424	$590
Challenger Middle	Public	6-8	10810 Parkdale Ave.	San Diego	92126	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 302-3000	960	39	24.5	48.8%	148 (15.4%)	26 (2.7%)	189 (19.7%)	455 (47.4%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.3%)	138 (14.4%)	91	249^th of 2761 public middle schools	91.0%		90.9	260^th of 2783 public middle schools	90.7%	11		51.2	51.2			72.4	75.4	70.3	72.8			60.3	63.1	66.3	63.1	$21,799	$20,326	$1,473
Black Mountain Middle	Public	6-8	9353 Oviedo St.	San Diego	92129	San Diego County	Poway Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 484-1300	1,077	47	22.6	20.7%	379 (35.2%)	33 (3.1%)	222 (20.6%)	299 (27.8%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	141 (13.1%)	88.4	303^rd of 2761 public middle schools	89.0%		89.3	293^rd of 2783 public middle schools	89.5%	10		54.6	54.6			72.5	70.7	64.6	69.2			55.9	59.2	59.7	58.3	$22,223	$21,770	$453
R. Roger Rowe Middle	Public	6-8	5927 La Granada	Rancho Santa Fe	92067	San Diego County	Rancho Santa Fe Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 756-1141	189	17	11.0	6.3%	127 (67.2%)	2 (1.1%)	23 (12.2%)	16 (8.5%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (10.6%)	98	47^th of 2761 public middle schools	98.3%		97	89^th of 2783 public middle schools	96.8%	42		64.4	64.4			88.5	85.5	81.4	85.2			82.0	88.7	77.6	83.2	$25,984	$25,984	$00
Wangenheim Middle	Public	6-8	9230 Gold Coast Dr.	San Diego	92126	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 605-2250	703	29	24.5	67.6%	72 (10.2%)	46 (6.5%)	248 (35.3%)	255 (36.3%)	2 (0.3%)	3 (0.4%)	77 (11.0%)	57.5	965^th of 2761 public middle schools	65.0%		60.6	872^nd of 2783 public middle schools	68.7%	93		34.5	34.5			51.9	55.9	49.0	52.5			32.6	38.7	31.0	34.4	$24,616	$23,316	$1,300
Earl Warren Middle	Public	7-8	155 Stevens St.	Solana Beach	92075	San Diego County	San Dieguito Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 755-1558	476	20	23.5	18.1%	324 (68.1%)	2 (0.4%)	87 (18.3%)	15 (3.2%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	44 (9.2%)	96.1	113^th of 2761 public middle schools	95.9%		96.3	114^th of 2783 public middle schools	95.9%	1		63.6	63.6				81.2	75.5	78.5				75.5	70.5	73.1	$54,597	$54,330	$267
Oak Valley Middle	Public	6-8	16055 Winecreek Rd.	San Diego	92127	San Diego County	Poway Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 487-2939	1,503	60	24.9	8.4%	468 (31.1%)	12 (0.8%)	141 (9.4%)	729 (48.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.1%)	150 (10.0%)	96.7	97^th of 2761 public middle schools	96.5%		96.1	120^th of 2783 public middle schools	95.7%	23		74.3	74.3			79.3	81.0	77.0	79.0			70.0	74.5	78.0	74.2	$19,922	$19,594	$328

Frequently Asked Questions about Pacific Trails Middle

Is Pacific Trails Middle a good school?

Yes! Pacific Trails Middle is one of the best middle schools in the state. It ranks 28^th of 2761 California middle schools.

What high school do graduates of Pacific Trails Middle attend?

Students who attend Pacific Trails Middle usually go on to attend Torrey Pines High

What district is Pacific Trails Middle in?

San Dieguito Union High

What is the racial makeup of Pacific Trails Middle?

Students at Pacific Trails Middle are 45% Asian, 32% White, 12% Hispanic, 10% Two or more races.

How many students attend Pacific Trails Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 971 students attended Pacific Trails Middle.

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Latest California data All new data »

2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026

2024–25 CSA Spanish test scoresDec 22, 2025

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 14, 2025

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.