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Nelson Avenue Middle

Q: Is Nelson Avenue Middle a good school?

Nelson Avenue Middle ranks 1625 th of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

1625^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 41% of California middle schools

Summary

Nelson Avenue Middle is a public school serving 456 students in grades 6-8 in Oroville, California, operating within the Thermalito Union Elementary district and showing steady academic improvement in recent years despite serving a community with significant economic needs.

The school is on a positive trajectory, having climbed from a 1-star to a 2-star rating and improving its statewide ranking significantly since 2016. While test scores in English, Math, and Science are below the state average, the school performs notably well compared to other local schools with similar student demographics, such as Palermo Middle and Ishi Hills Middle. A particular strength is its exceptional support for English Language Learner students, who perform well above state averages for their subgroup. Furthermore, the school has made impressive strides in improving student attendance, now boasting a chronic absenteeism rate better than the state average and significantly better than nearby schools like The Studios @ Central and Paradise Junior High.

Nelson Avenue Middle spends more per student than several higher-performing schools in the region, such as Paradise Charter Middle and Sycamore Middle. The school shows a clear pattern of being stronger in English Language Arts and Science than in Mathematics, and its performance varies across different student groups. Overall, it represents a comparatively strong educational option within its immediate geographic area, demonstrating effective management of key challenges and consistent year-over-year progress.

456

Students ?

19.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$20,724

Per pupil spending ?

85.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2255 Sixth St.
Oroville, CA 95965-3260

(530) 538-2940

District: Thermalito Union Elementary

Students who attend Nelson Avenue Middle usually attend:

High:

Oroville High

Feeder schools for Nelson Avenue Middle:

Elementary:	Plumas Avenue Elementary
	Poplar Avenue Elementary
	Sierra Avenue Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

35.5%

Asian:

35.5%

Hispanic:

15.6%

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At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 27th percentile in 2015 → 41st in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 14 percentile points since 2015

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (31% vs 41% meeting standards)

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

!Mathematics scores 14 pts below the California average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school31%

District avg29%

California avg41%

1,625^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 41%▲ up 15 pts since 2015

From bottom 27% (2015) to bottom 41% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1123^rd of 1,543Thermalito Union Elementary 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	35.8	1625 of 2761	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	33.5	1691 of 2783	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.1	1837 of 2781	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	26.8	1908 of 2740	30.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	21.6	725 of 894	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.6	2112 of 2715	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.0	2001 of 2480	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	13.3	2267 of 2508	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	18.9	2064 of 2497	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	25.1	1820 of 2477	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	26.2	1838 of 2379	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	30.4	1624 of 2259	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	31.4	1609 of 2236	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	18.6	1883 of 2179	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	19.2	1752 of 2063	15.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	21.6	1638 of 2005	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	29.0	1416 of 1999	29.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	30.3	1239 of 1804	31.3%	★★☆☆☆
2005	30.4	1223 of 1777	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2004	30.0	1190 of 1769	32.7%	★★☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	11.6	651 of 739	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	6.4	685 of 743	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	5.4	667 of 715	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	5.7	687 of 733	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	3.9	711 of 745	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	2.0	683 of 700	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	30.6	1042 of 1531	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	23.0	336 of 354	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	22.1	1331 of 1491	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.5	1032 of 1369	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	51.1	429 of 1478	71.0%	★★★★☆
2023	48.1	488 of 1521	67.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	48.4	516 of 1540	66.5%	★★★☆☆
2021	25.2	357 of 363	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	36.4	818 of 1442	43.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	22.5	1362 of 1364	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	37.0	1466 of 2533	42.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	34.4	1529 of 2551	40.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	28.2	1730 of 2531	31.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	22.3	1958 of 2509	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	20.2	628 of 738	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.1	1940 of 2380	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	18.0	1910 of 2262	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	37.5	1405 of 2395	41.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	42.3	1225 of 2388	48.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	37.2	1356 of 2374	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	44.3	1155 of 2359	51.0%	★★★☆☆
2019	19.0	1916 of 2213	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	35.4	1319 of 2072	36.3%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	42.0	1333 of 2542	47.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	41.8	1310 of 2579	49.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	38.7	1380 of 2531	45.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	29.8	1707 of 2458	30.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	29.6	535 of 721	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	27.2	1798 of 2369	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.1	1720 of 2230	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	33.7	1581 of 2534	37.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	33.0	1562 of 2552	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	30.1	1647 of 2538	35.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	32.5	1562 of 2527	38.2%	★★☆☆☆
2021	24.4	585 of 763	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.8	1880 of 2407	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.1	1779 of 2273	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	12.5	644 of 726	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	7.0	665 of 701	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.3	579 of 677	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	2.6	545 of 554	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	31.5	1054 of 1566	32.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	31.0	1059 of 1552	31.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	28.8	1119 of 1531	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	9.5	1403 of 1520	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	15.9	1320 of 1537	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	8.9	1447 of 1543	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.7	1473 of 1555	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	6.7	1539 of 1602	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	5.9	1445 of 1496	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)71st percentile+32 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)48th percentile+6 vs school

Female (2025)42nd percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)41st percentile~ school

Male (2025)38th percentile-4 vs school

Special Education (2025)33rd percentile-8 vs school

Disabled (2022)32nd percentile~ school

Asian (2025)12th percentile-29 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)11th percentile-30 vs school

White (2025)8th percentile-33 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy39%-10 vs state

Science29%-4 vs state

Mathematics23%-14 vs state

★

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Schools Near Nelson Avenue Middle

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	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Nelson Avenue Middle	Public	6-8	2255 Sixth St.	Oroville	95965	Butte County	Thermalito Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 538-2940	456	23	19.4	85.7%	162 (35.5%)	8 (1.8%)	71 (15.6%)	162 (35.5%)	10 (2.2%)	2 (0.4%)	41 (9.0%)	35.8	1625^th of 2761 public middle schools	41.1%		33.5	1691^st of 2783 public middle schools	39.2%	66	28.9	28.9	33.3	44.3	39.9	39.0	17.6	25.2	28.2	23.3	$20,724	$2,062	$18,662
Heritage Community Day	Public	4-8	2255 Sixth St.	Oroville	95965	Butte County	Thermalito Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 538-4376	5	1	4.9		4 (80.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (20.0%)								(n/a)											$66,947	$6,514	$60,433
The Studios @ Central	Public	5-8	2565 Mesa Ave.	Oroville	95966	Butte County	Oroville City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 532-3002	300	20	15.3	76.3%	124 (41.3%)	15 (5.0%)	71 (23.7%)	53 (17.7%)	7 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (10.0%)	17.2	2347^th of 2761 public middle schools	15.0%		15.2	2471^st of 2783 public middle schools	11.2%	124	22.2	22.2	32.9	12.5	24.4	22.5	16.7	0.0	13.2	9.5	$20,786	$2,089	$18,697
Ishi Hills Middle	Public	6-8	1 Ishi Hills Way	Oroville	95966	Butte County	Oroville City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 532-3078	294	17	17.0	68.0%	153 (52.0%)	9 (3.1%)	59 (20.1%)	14 (4.8%)	9 (3.1%)	1 (0.3%)	49 (16.7%)	20.1	2217^th of 2761 public middle schools	19.7%		22.1	2169^th of 2783 public middle schools	22.1%	48	13.2	13.2	32.2	32.5	31.1	31.9	9.2	14.5	16.5	13.4	$21,104	$1,888	$19,216
Palermo Middle	Public	6-8	7350 Bulldog Way	Palermo	95968	Butte County	Palermo Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 533-4708	458	24	18.7	76.0%	193 (42.1%)	5 (1.1%)	158 (34.5%)	22 (4.8%)	14 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	66 (14.4%)	26.6	1936^th of 2761 public middle schools	29.9%		24.4	2064^th of 2783 public middle schools	25.8%	128	16.8	16.8	34.5	41.5	34.4	36.9	19.4	20.3	11.5	17.2	$19,806	$2,006	$17,800
Sycamore Middle	Public	6-8	1125 Sycamore St.	Gridley	95948	Butte County	Gridley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 846-3636	423	20	21.0	73.0%	139 (32.9%)	2 (0.5%)	256 (60.5%)	13 (3.1%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.1%)	52.3	1123^rd of 2761 public middle schools	59.3%		43.2	1364^th of 2783 public middle schools	51.0%	241	33.3	33.3	43.6	52.9	52.3	49.5	24.3	35.0	34.9	31.3	$16,221	$1,635	$14,586
Durham Intermediate	Public	6-8	9416 Putney Dr.	Durham	95938	Butte County	Durham Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 895-4690	233	12	19.1	39.9%	164 (70.4%)	0 (0.0%)	53 (22.7%)	1 (0.4%)	4 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (4.7%)	65.5	772^nd of 2761 public middle schools	72.0%		68.4	714^th of 2783 public middle schools	74.3%	58	38.4	38.4	50.6	64.5	43.2	52.8	41.8	57.9	32.9	44.3	$19,491	$1,225	$18,266
Paradise Junior High	Public	7-8	5657 Recreation Dr.	Paradise	95969	Butte County	Paradise Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 872-6465	197	12	16.5	70.6%	138 (70.1%)	1 (0.5%)	39 (19.8%)	1 (0.5%)	6 (3.0%)	1 (0.5%)	11 (5.6%)	35	1644^th of 2761 public middle schools	40.5%		18.8	2307^th of 2783 public middle schools	17.1%	663	24.7	24.7		26.4	40.0	32.8		25.8	32.5	28.9	$21,246	$4,055	$17,191
Paradise Charter Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	6473 Clark Rd.	Paradise	95969	Butte County	Paradise Charter Middle District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 872-7277	143	7	20.4	51.0%	114 (79.7%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (12.6%)	3 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (5.6%)	65.3	780^th of 2761 public middle schools	71.7%		48.2	1211^th of 2783 public middle schools	56.5%	431	51.9	51.9	56.1	50.0	53.9	53.2	31.7	26.0	61.5	40.6	$9,826	$00	$9,826
Foothill Intermediate	Public	6-8	5351 Fruitland Rd.	Marysville	95901	Yuba County	Marysville Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 741-6130	237	13	17.6	65.0%	152 (64.1%)	2 (0.8%)	50 (21.1%)	4 (1.7%)	8 (3.4%)	1 (0.4%)	19 (8.0%)	44.1	1358^th of 2761 public middle schools	50.8%		40.8	1433^rd of 2783 public middle schools	48.5%	75	25.9	25.9	49.4	39.3	56.0	49.1	29.9	19.7	22.6	24.3	$21,695	$3,214	$18,481

Frequently Asked Questions about Nelson Avenue Middle

What district is Nelson Avenue Middle in?

Thermalito Union Elementary

What high school do graduates of Nelson Avenue Middle attend?

Students who attend Nelson Avenue Middle usually go on to attend Oroville High

Is Nelson Avenue Middle a good school?

Nelson Avenue Middle ranks 1625^th of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Nelson Avenue Middle?

Students at Nelson Avenue Middle are 36% White, 36% Asian, 16% Hispanic, 9% Two or more races, 2% American Indian, 2% African American.

How many students attend Nelson Avenue Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 456 students attended Nelson Avenue Middle.

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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.