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Southwest Middle

Public Grades 7-8

2046^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,703 California Middle Schools

Better than 24% of California middle schools

Summary

Southwest Middle is a public school in San Diego serving grades 7–8, with 515 students, in the Sweetwater Union High district. The most important concern is that 2025–2026 proficiency remained below both state and district levels in all three subjects: Southwest scored 32% in English language arts (ELA), 21% in math and 17% in science.

Compared with nearby middle schools serving the same grades, Southwest is around the middle in ELA and math but near the bottom in science. Its scores were below nearby averages of 39% in ELA, 26% in math and 26% in science; among nine schools including Southwest, it ranked fifth in ELA and math and eighth in science. Science was also its largest gap from the state: 17% proficiency versus 36%, a 19-point difference. The gaps were 17 points in ELA (32% versus 49%) and 17 points in math (21% versus 38%). Grade 8 is a particular area of concern: compared with grade 7, its ELA score was 6 points lower and its math score 9 points lower.

Results have improved since 2022–2023: proficiency rose 5 points in ELA, 12 in math and 7 in science, though it still trails state levels. SchoolDigger places Southwest at the 24th percentile statewide, with one star, up from the 9th percentile in 2021–2022; the district is at the 50th percentile with three stars. Chronic absenteeism also fell from 33% in 2021–2022 to 16% in 2025–2026. For context, the 2024–2025 student–teacher ratio was 20.2, compared with a nearby-school average of 21.1. The school reported 86% of students as free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–2025, the highest rate among nearby schools. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking for English learners rose from the 40th percentile in 2021–2022 to the 78th in 2023–2024, suggesting a notably stronger ranking for how the school serves this group; its ranking for special education students rose from the 27th percentile in 2023–2024 to the 71st in 2025–2026.

515

Students ?

20.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$5,938

Per pupil spending ?

86.4%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in California receive free school meals.

2710 Iris St.
San Diego, CA 92154-3338

(619) 628-4000

District: Sweetwater Union High

Students who attend Southwest Middle usually attend:

High:

Southwest Senior High

Feeder schools for Southwest Middle:

Elementary:

George Nicoloff Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

95.1%

Asian:

1.7%

Two or more races:

1.4%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Southwest Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 12th percentile in 2016 → 24th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 12 percentile points since 2016

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (25% vs 42% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (24th percentile)

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

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school25%

District avg40%

California avg42%

2,046^th of 2,703

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 24%▲ up 12 pts since 2016

From bottom 12% (2016) to bottom 24% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

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

483^rd of 968Sweetwater 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
2026	23.3	2046 of 2703	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	22.4	2138 of 2761	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.5	2105 of 2783	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.5	2391 of 2781	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.3	2482 of 2740	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	16.0	800 of 894	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.7	2157 of 2715	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.1	2203 of 2480	11.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	16.1	2181 of 2508	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	15.4	2193 of 2497	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	14.9	2192 of 2477	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	17.9	2063 of 2379	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	27.4	1723 of 2259	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	42.4	1294 of 2236	42.1%	★★☆☆☆
2010	33.2	1493 of 2179	31.5%	★★☆☆☆
2009	34.1	1359 of 2063	34.1%	★★☆☆☆
2008	25.1	1561 of 2005	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	27.5	1465 of 1999	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	25.3	1365 of 1804	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	20.0	1447 of 1777	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	24.1	1339 of 1769	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	19.2	1467 of 1531	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	26.7	297 of 354	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.2	1161 of 1491	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.7	1061 of 1369	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	56.1	326 of 1478	77.9%	★★★★☆
2023	42.0	686 of 1521	54.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	36.0	931 of 1540	39.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	35.2	252 of 363	30.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	45.1	539 of 1442	62.6%	★★★☆☆
2018	37.5	693 of 1364	49.2%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	26.3	1795 of 2483	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	23.6	1931 of 2533	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.5	1782 of 2551	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	15.3	2283 of 2531	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.9	2269 of 2509	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	16.8	659 of 738	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	16.0	2073 of 2380	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	12.3	2087 of 2262	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	31.4	1569 of 2325	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2025	27.2	1740 of 2395	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.6	1661 of 2388	30.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	22.5	1915 of 2374	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.7	2058 of 2359	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.0	1708 of 2213	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	16.5	1851 of 2072	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	30.0	1735 of 2493	30.4%	★★☆☆☆
2025	25.8	1930 of 2542	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.5	1926 of 2579	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.4	2142 of 2531	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.0	2180 of 2458	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	23.6	602 of 721	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	28.2	1755 of 2369	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.1	1930 of 2230	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	19.7	2024 of 2478	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	20.4	2056 of 2534	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.5	2109 of 2552	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.0	2084 of 2538	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.3	2321 of 2527	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	16.8	686 of 763	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.4	1822 of 2407	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.1	2049 of 2273	9.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	58.3	454 of 1586	71.4%	★★★★☆
2025	43.7	713 of 1566	54.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	28.8	1140 of 1552	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	35.0	912 of 1531	40.4%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	5.4	1488 of 1537	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	3.2	1527 of 1543	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	1.6	1552 of 1555	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	21.8	1268 of 1602	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

English Language Learner (2024)78th percentile+54 vs school

Special Education (2026)71st percentile+47 vs school

Hispanic (2026)33rd percentile+8 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)30th percentile+6 vs school

Female (2026)28th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2026)18th percentile-6 vs school

Disabled (2022)4th percentile-5 vs school

White (2024)3rd percentile-21 vs school

By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy32%-17 vs state

Mathematics21%-17 vs state

Science17%-19 vs state

★

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Schools Near Southwest 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 (2026)				Ranking (2025)				CAST Science (2026)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2026)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2026)				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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	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
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%)	23.3	2046^th of 2703 public middle schools	24.3%		22.4	2138^th of 2761 public middle schools	22.6%	92	16.9	16.9		35.2	29.6	32.4		25.7	16.9	21.3	$5,938	$4,070	$1,868
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%)	21.7	2118^th of 2703 public middle schools	21.6%		24.8	2011^th of 2761 public middle schools	27.2%	107	18.2	18.2		31.1	29.9	30.5		18.6	21.3	20.0	$6,358	$5,008	$1,350
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%)	21	2144^th of 2703 public middle schools	20.7%		27.9	1902^nd of 2761 public middle schools	31.1%	242	25.1	25.1		30.2	30.1	30.1		13.2	16.3	14.8	$10,097	$8,426	$1,671
San Ysidro Middle	Public	7-8	4345 Otay Mesa Rd.	San Ysidro	92173	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%)	15.1	2399^th of 2703 public middle schools	11.2%		17.7	2328^th of 2761 public middle schools	15.7%	71	17.6	17.6		26.6	19.9	23.3		15.3	13.1	14.2	$19,855	$17,936	$1,919
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)
Vista Del Mar	Public	6-8	4885 Del Sol Blvd.	San Diego	92173	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%)	57.1	982^nd of 2703 public middle schools	63.7%		53	1102^nd of 2761 public middle schools	60.1%	120	25.8	25.8	66.5	52.3	51.2	56.2	45.1	32.5	35.9	37.6	$17,688	$16,114	$1,574
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%)	18.6	2249^th of 2703 public middle schools	16.8%		15.4	2416^th of 2761 public middle schools	12.5%	167	12.0	12.0		32.1	27.5	29.5		16.7	20.2	18.7	$9,436	$7,834	$1,602
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%)	31.9	1736^th of 2703 public middle schools	35.8%		29.2	1853^rd of 2761 public middle schools	32.9%	117	24.2	24.2		41.3	37.7	39.6		25.2	21.7	23.4	$5,410	$4,218	$1,192
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%)	32.3	1719^th of 2703 public middle schools	36.4%		27	1927^th of 2761 public middle schools	30.2%	208	29.9	29.9		36.0	32.5	34.3		31.5	20.0	25.7	$8,130	$6,400	$1,730
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%)	79.7	472^nd of 2703 public middle schools	82.5%		83.4	400^th of 2761 public middle schools	85.5%	72	45.1	45.1		73.3	62.5	67.8		54.4	46.7	50.5	$3,994	$3,510	$484

Frequently Asked Questions about Southwest Middle

What is the racial makeup of Southwest Middle?

Students at Southwest Middle are 95% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 1% Two or more races, 1% African American.

What high school do graduates of Southwest Middle attend?

Students who attend Southwest Middle usually go on to attend Southwest Senior High

How many students attend Southwest Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 515 students attended Southwest Middle.

Is Southwest Middle a good school?

Southwest Middle ranks in the bottom 24.3% of California middle schools.

What district is Southwest Middle in?

Sweetwater Union High

Rate Southwest Middle!

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Latest California data All new data »

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

2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 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.