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Mar Vista Academy

Q: Is Mar Vista Academy a good school?

Mar Vista Academy ranks 1902 nd of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 7-8

1902^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 31% of California middle schools

Summary

Mar Vista Academy is a public middle school serving grades 7-8 with 462 students in the Sweetwater Union High district, showing recent signs of improvement but still performing below state averages.

Academically, the school has moved from a 1-star to a 2-star rating and ranks in the 31st percentile statewide, though test scores in English and especially math (17% proficient) remain well below district and state averages. It faces a significant challenge with chronic absenteeism at 25.7%, which is higher than both the district and state averages and is a key factor differentiating it from nearby schools; for example, Rancho del Rey Middle has much higher academic performance with an absenteeism rate of only 15.5%. Interestingly, Mar Vista Academy spends more per student ($14,786) and has a lower student-teacher ratio (18:1) than many comparable schools in the area, such as National City Middle, yet these structural advantages have not yet translated to higher overall test scores.

There are notable bright spots and patterns: science scores have shown dramatic recent improvement, and performance among English Language Learner students is relatively strong. The school's performance has been volatile but is currently on an upward trend, coinciding with a significant decrease in the percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. For parents, the analysis suggests that while Mar Vista Academy serves a community where several nearby schools also face challenges, targeted efforts to improve attendance and mathematics instruction could be crucial for continuing its recent academic gains.

462

Students ?

18.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

59.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1267 Thermal Ave.
San Diego, CA 92154-2802

(619) 628-5100

District: Sweetwater Union High

Students who attend Mar Vista Academy usually attend:

High:

Mar Vista Senior High

Feeder schools for Mar Vista Academy:

Elementary:	Bayside STEAM Academy
	Central Elementary
	Emory Elementary
	Imperial Beach Charter
	More...
	Oneonta Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

81.0%

Asian:

8.2%

White:

5.2%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Mar Vista Academy to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 10th percentile in 2015 → 31st in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 21 percentile points since 2015

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (25% vs 41% meeting standards)

!Mathematics scores 20 pts below the California average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school25%

District avg38%

California avg41%

1,902^nd of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 31%▲ up 21 pts since 2015

From bottom 10% (2015) to bottom 31% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

7^th of 11Middle Schools in the Sweetwater Union High

729^th of 1,543Sweetwater 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	27.9	1902 of 2761	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	24.5	2056 of 2783	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.1	2306 of 2781	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.4	2207 of 2740	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	21.1	731 of 894	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.8	1931 of 2715	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.8	1891 of 2480	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	23.9	1902 of 2508	24.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	17.6	2119 of 2497	15.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	14.2	2218 of 2477	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	27.1	1801 of 2379	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	31.5	1597 of 2259	29.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	52.3	1026 of 2236	54.1%	★★★☆☆
2010	34.8	1446 of 2179	33.6%	★★☆☆☆
2009	35.1	1327 of 2063	35.7%	★★☆☆☆
2008	30.7	1408 of 2005	29.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	42.6	1067 of 1999	46.6%	★★☆☆☆
2006	39.5	1018 of 1804	43.6%	★★☆☆☆
2005	36.0	1087 of 1777	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2004	32.1	1160 of 1769	34.4%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	78.0	96 of 627	84.7%	★★★★☆
2022	31.4	435 of 637	31.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	34.6	400 of 643	37.8%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	27.0	1176 of 1531	23.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	29.6	263 of 354	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	27.6	1105 of 1491	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.6	1108 of 1369	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	34.8	955 of 1478	35.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	39.9	776 of 1521	49.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	36.3	924 of 1540	40.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	33.8	269 of 363	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	47.8	478 of 1442	66.9%	★★★☆☆
2018	54.6	362 of 1364	73.5%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	23.4	1936 of 2533	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.3	1928 of 2551	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.4	2239 of 2531	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.4	2056 of 2509	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	22.0	593 of 738	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.2	1880 of 2380	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.1	1807 of 2262	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	26.3	1781 of 2395	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.6	1959 of 2388	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.0	2156 of 2374	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	19.1	2047 of 2359	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.7	1523 of 2213	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	23.7	1661 of 2072	19.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	30.6	1735 of 2542	31.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	27.0	1902 of 2579	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.7	1973 of 2531	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	24.3	1930 of 2458	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	24.8	592 of 721	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	32.1	1590 of 2369	32.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	29.9	1593 of 2230	28.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	31.4	1646 of 2534	35.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	24.4	1894 of 2552	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.0	1991 of 2538	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.0	2006 of 2527	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	21.1	631 of 763	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	29.9	1612 of 2407	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	23.8	1726 of 2273	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	8.3	623 of 677	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.8	626 of 665	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	7.3	520 of 554	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	16.5	410 of 462	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	29.9	1098 of 1566	29.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	32.1	1022 of 1552	34.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	24.1	1303 of 1531	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	19.0	1269 of 1537	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	12.2	1390 of 1543	9.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	20.9	1262 of 1555	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	15.8	1373 of 1602	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.6	1312 of 1496	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆

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 (2024)85th percentile+59 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)35th percentile+9 vs school

Male (2025)35th percentile+4 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)32nd percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)30th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)26th percentile-5 vs school

Female (2025)24th percentile-8 vs school

Disabled (2022)23rd percentile+4 vs school

White (2024)17th percentile-9 vs school

Multi-racial (2023)8th percentile-9 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy35%-14 vs state

Science24%-9 vs state

Mathematics17%-20 vs state

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Schools Near Mar Vista Academy

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	Total
Mar Vista Academy	Public	7-8	1267 Thermal Ave.	San Diego	92154	San Diego County	Sweetwater Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 628-5100	462	26	18.0	59.5%	24 (5.2%)	13 (2.8%)	374 (81.0%)	38 (8.2%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	10 (2.2%)	27.9	1902^nd of 2761 public middle schools	31.1%		24.5	2056^th of 2783 public middle schools	26.1%	154	23.7	23.7		35.5	33.9	34.6		14.0	20.1	17.3
Southwest Middle	Public	7-8	2710 Iris St.	San Diego	92154	San Diego County	Sweetwater Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 628-4000	515	25	20.2	86.4%	3 (0.6%)	6 (1.2%)	490 (95.1%)	9 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.4%)	22.4	2138^th of 2761 public middle schools	22.6%		23.5	2105^th of 2783 public middle schools	24.4%	33	14.7	14.7		31.2	36.5	34.0		18.0	11.4	14.6
Montgomery Middle	Public	7-8	1051 Picador Blvd.	San Diego	92154	San Diego County	Sweetwater Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 662-4000	734	34	21.4	63.5%	11 (1.5%)	18 (2.5%)	648 (88.3%)	45 (6.1%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	9 (1.2%)	24.8	2011^th of 2761 public middle schools	27.2%		30.3	1800^th of 2783 public middle schools	35.3%	211	17.4	17.4		30.8	35.9	33.4		17.0	19.0	18.0
Sweetwater Community Day	Public	7-9	1355 Second Ave.	Chula Vista	91911	San Diego County	Sweetwater Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 498-6000	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Castle Park Middle	Public	7-8	160 Quintard St.	Chula Vista	91911	San Diego County	Sweetwater Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 691-5490	703	36	19.5	63.3%	15 (2.1%)	7 (1.0%)	651 (92.6%)	23 (3.3%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	5 (0.7%)	15.4	2416^th of 2761 public middle schools	12.5%		19.6	2275^th of 2783 public middle schools	18.3%	141	12.0	12.0		15.8	26.8	20.7		11.4	18.9	14.8
San Ysidro Middle	Public	7-8	4345 Otay Mesa Rd.	San Ysidro	92154	San Diego County	San Ysidro Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 428-5551	500	26	18.9	66.8%	9 (1.8%)	3 (0.6%)	479 (95.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.4%)	17.7	2328^th of 2761 public middle schools	15.7%		20.4	2246^th of 2783 public middle schools	19.3%	82	19.5	19.5		27.3	25.0	26.1		10.8	11.2	11.0
Vista Del Mar	Public	6-8	4885 Del Sol Blvd.	San Diego	92154	San Diego County	San Ysidro Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 661-6753	541	25	21.4	35.9%	17 (3.1%)	38 (7.0%)	418 (77.3%)	48 (8.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (3.7%)	53	1102^nd of 2761 public middle schools	60.1%		55.5	1001^st of 2783 public middle schools	64.0%	101	25.4	25.4	56.1	43.3	52.0	49.7	41.6	35.7	28.7	35.1
Chula Vista Middle	Public	7-8	415 Fifth Ave.	Chula Vista	91910	San Diego County	Sweetwater Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 498-6800	678	32	21.0	59.3%	44 (6.5%)	16 (2.4%)	592 (87.3%)	13 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.4%)	10 (1.5%)	27	1927^th of 2761 public middle schools	30.2%		27.6	1915^th of 2783 public middle schools	31.2%	12	17.9	17.9		35.3	30.6	32.7		25.4	18.9	21.8
Hilltop Middle	Public	7-8	44 East J St.	Chula Vista	91910	San Diego County	Sweetwater Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 498-2700	866	39	22.3	52.2%	62 (7.2%)	12 (1.4%)	738 (85.2%)	24 (2.8%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	27 (3.1%)	29.2	1853^rd of 2761 public middle schools	32.9%		32.6	1723^rd of 2783 public middle schools	38.1%	130	17.8	17.8		40.9	34.2	37.5		24.6	15.9	20.3
Rancho del Rey Middle	Public	7-8	1174 East J St.	Chula Vista	91910	San Diego County	Sweetwater Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 397-2500	1,705	73	23.4	27.8%	140 (8.2%)	125 (7.3%)	843 (49.4%)	457 (26.8%)	3 (0.2%)	10 (0.6%)	127 (7.4%)	83.4	400^th of 2761 public middle schools	85.5%		78	528^th of 2783 public middle schools	81.0%	128	48.3	48.3		70.4	68.8	69.7		48.1	50.2	49.1

Frequently Asked Questions about Mar Vista Academy

Is Mar Vista Academy a good school?

Mar Vista Academy ranks 1902^nd of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Mar Vista Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 462 students attended Mar Vista Academy.

What high school do graduates of Mar Vista Academy attend?

Students who attend Mar Vista Academy usually go on to attend Mar Vista Senior High

What district is Mar Vista Academy in?

Sweetwater Union High

What is the racial makeup of Mar Vista Academy?

Students at Mar Vista Academy are 81% Hispanic, 8% Asian, 5% White, 3% African American, 2% Two or more races.

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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.