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Southwest Middle

Public Grades 7-8

2138^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 23% of California middle schools

Summary

Southwest Middle is a public school serving 515 students in grades 7 and 8 within the Sweetwater Union High school district in San Diego, consistently ranking among the lowest-performing middle schools in the state.

The school faces significant challenges, with over 86% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch and academic proficiency rates well below district and state averages, especially in mathematics where only 14.6% of students are proficient. While chronic absenteeism is a concern, the school spends more per student ($16,539) than higher-performing schools in the same district like Rancho del Rey Middle and Bonita Vista Middle, which achieve much better results with less funding.

Despite overall struggles, Southwest Middle shows notable effectiveness with its English Language Learner students. The performance gap with nearby schools is stark, indicating that factors beyond just district policy are at play. For improvement, the school may need to re-examine how it allocates its substantial resources and learn from the successful strategies of its higher-achieving peers within the Sweetwater Union High district.

515

Students ?

20.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$5,938

Per pupil spending ?

86.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

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%

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Compare Southwest Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 12th percentile in 2015 → 23rd in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 11 percentile points since 2015

Worth a look

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

!In the lower quartile statewide (23rd percentile)

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school22%

District avg38%

California avg41%

2,138^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 23%▲ up 11 pts since 2015

From bottom 12% (2015) to bottom 23% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

10^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	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
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
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
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
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
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 (2025)54th percentile+32 vs school

Hispanic (2025)27th percentile+5 vs school

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

Female (2025)24th percentile~ school

Male (2025)19th percentile-4 vs school

Disabled (2022)4th percentile-5 vs school

White (2024)3rd percentile-21 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy34%-15 vs state

Science15%-18 vs state

Mathematics15%-23 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 (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 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%)	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	$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%)	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	$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%)	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	$10,097	$8,426	$1,671
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	$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	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	$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%)	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	$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%)	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	$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%)	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	$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%)	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	$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 22.6% of California middle schools.

What district is Southwest Middle in?

Sweetwater Union High

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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.