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Jefferson Middle

Public Grades 6-8
276th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 2,703 California Middle Schools
Better than 90% of California middle schools
Summary

Jefferson Middle enrolls 674 students in grades 6–8 in Torrance, California, and is part of Torrance Unified. SchoolDigger ranks it 276th of 2,703 California schools for 2025–26, at the 90th percentile with four stars. Its clearest academic strength is science: 65% of students are proficient, compared with 36% statewide and 56% districtwide.

Compared with nearby middle schools, science is also Jefferson’s strongest subject: it ranks third among 10 schools, with 65% proficiency versus their 58% average. English language arts (ELA) is strong against the state and district—72% proficient versus 49% statewide and 68% districtwide—but ranks fourth among nearby schools, whose average is 68%. Math is the relative weak spot: 59% are proficient, well above the state’s 38% but 2 percentage points below the district and 1 point below the nearby-school average of 61%; Jefferson ranks seventh among the 10 nearby schools.

Science proficiency rose 11 points over four reported years, from 53% in 2022–23 to 65% in 2025–26. ELA stayed nearly flat, moving from 72% to 72%, while math rose 2 points over that period but fell 5 points from its 2024–25 peak. SchoolDigger’s overall percentile has remained between 85 and 92 in the reported rankings. Its statewide effectiveness ranking for White students dropped from the 86th percentile in 2023–24 to the 68th in 2025–26; for Asian students, it was at the 72nd percentile in 2025–26, below the school’s overall 90th percentile. In 2024–25, Jefferson reported a student-teacher ratio of 26.6 and 32% free/reduced lunch eligible; nearby schools averaged about 25 students per teacher and 30% free/reduced lunch eligible.

674
Students ?
26.6
Student/teacher ratio ?
$14,197
Per pupil spending ?
32.2%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
All students in California receive free school meals.
 21717 Talisman St.
       Torrance, CA  90503-6441

(310) 533-4794

District: Torrance Unified


Students who attend Jefferson Middle usually attend:

High:    West High

Feeder schools for Jefferson Middle:

Elementary:    Anza Elementary
Racial breakdown:

Asian:
32.8%
Hispanic:
27.3%
White:
19.4%
more
 See top rated California middle schools

 Compare Jefferson Middle to nearby middle schools!
At a glance
▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 85th percentile in 2015 → 90th in 2026
Strengths
✓Test scores above the California average (65% vs 42% meeting standards)
✓Ranks in the top 10% of California middle schools
✓Ranking is trending up — up 5 percentile points since 2015
Worth a look
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
!Large classes — about 27 students per teacher
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school65%
District avg63%
California avg42%
276th of 2,703
California public middle schools ?
Top 10%▬ steady since 2016
See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
4th of 8Middle Schools in the Torrance Unified
121st of 968Torrance Unified 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202689.1276 of 270389.8%★★★★☆
202592.3216 of 276192.2%★★★★★
202492.2225 of 278391.9%★★★★★
202391.7245 of 278191.2%★★★★★
202291.2248 of 274090.9%★★★★★
201989.2284 of 271589.5%★★★★☆
201890.4230 of 248090.7%★★★★★
201791.3216 of 250891.4%★★★★★
201688.8257 of 249789.7%★★★★☆
201583.5362 of 247785.4%★★★★☆
201376.2422 of 237982.3%★★★★☆
201278.3348 of 225984.6%★★★★☆
201174.9418 of 223681.3%★★★★☆
201079.5313 of 217985.6%★★★★☆
200970.5499 of 206375.8%★★★★☆
200864.9601 of 200570.0%★★★★☆
200768.1526 of 199973.7%★★★★☆
200667.1500 of 180472.3%★★★★☆
200569.6449 of 177774.7%★★★★☆
200474.9352 of 176980.1%★★★★☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202679.476 of 58387.0%★★★★☆
202590.424 of 60996.1%★★★★★
202487.052 of 62791.7%★★★★★
202391.827 of 61395.6%★★★★★
202296.714 of 63797.8%★★★★★

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202673.8213 of 76972.3%★★★★☆
202582.088 of 73988.1%★★★★☆
202471.7215 of 74371.1%★★★★☆
202376.9140 of 71580.4%★★★★☆
202271.9218 of 73370.3%★★★★☆
201972.3227 of 74569.5%★★★☆☆
201869.7241 of 70065.6%★★★☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202298.030 of 153198.0%★★★★★
201988.1101 of 149193.2%★★★★★
201889.583 of 136993.9%★★★★★

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202490.353 of 147896.4%★★★★★
202397.824 of 152198.4%★★★★★
202294.638 of 154097.5%★★★★★
201990.166 of 144295.4%★★★★★
201897.332 of 136497.7%★★★★★

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202686.5293 of 248388.2%★★★★☆
202588.7276 of 253389.1%★★★★☆
202491.8204 of 255192.0%★★★★★
202390.9234 of 253190.8%★★★★★
202288.8259 of 250989.7%★★★★☆
201988.6257 of 238089.2%★★★★☆
201892.1165 of 226292.7%★★★★★

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202679.9310 of 232586.7%★★★★☆
202578.4354 of 239585.2%★★★★☆
202479.8330 of 238886.2%★★★★☆
202373.4437 of 237481.6%★★★★☆
202282.0263 of 235988.9%★★★★☆
201983.4241 of 221389.1%★★★★☆
201889.6145 of 207293.0%★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202676.3403 of 249383.8%★★★★☆
202586.8225 of 254291.1%★★★★★
202495.297 of 257996.2%★★★★★
202387.1209 of 253191.7%★★★★★
202290.8136 of 245894.5%★★★★★
201976.8357 of 236984.9%★★★★☆
201887.4169 of 223092.4%★★★★★

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202689.3243 of 247890.2%★★★★★
202593.5175 of 253493.1%★★★★★
202490.6237 of 255290.7%★★★★★
202390.6235 of 253890.7%★★★★★
202291.8203 of 252792.0%★★★★★
201987.8286 of 240788.1%★★★★☆
201886.3298 of 227386.9%★★★★☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202681.0104 of 73485.8%★★★★☆
202577.4155 of 72678.7%★★★★☆
202482.198 of 70186.0%★★★★☆
202374.5165 of 67775.6%★★★★☆
202274.4156 of 66576.5%★★★★☆
201966.6195 of 55464.8%★★★☆☆
201867.0164 of 46264.5%★★★☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202693.070 of 158695.6%★★★★★
202582.1157 of 156690.0%★★★★★
202494.655 of 155296.5%★★★★★
202390.192 of 153194.0%★★★★★

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202666.7469 of 148268.4%★★★☆☆
202580.6236 of 152084.5%★★★★☆
202480.8214 of 153786.1%★★★★☆
202380.9224 of 154385.5%★★★★☆
202271.8386 of 155575.2%★★★★☆
201966.7514 of 160267.9%★★★☆☆
201875.4348 of 149676.7%★★★★☆
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)98th percentile+7 vs school
English Language Learner (2024)96th percentile+4 vs school
Special Education (2026)96th percentile+6 vs school
Male (2026)90th percentile~ school
Female (2026)88th percentile~ school
African American (2026)87th percentile-3 vs school
Hispanic (2026)87th percentile-3 vs school
Multi-racial (2026)86th percentile-4 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)84th percentile-6 vs school
Asian (2026)72nd percentile-17 vs school
White (2026)68th percentile-21 vs school
By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts/Literacy72%+22 vs state
Science65%+29 vs state
Mathematics59%+21 vs state

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Schools Near Jefferson Middle

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Frequently Asked Questions about Jefferson Middle

Students who attend Jefferson Middle usually go on to attend West High

Jefferson Middle ranks 276th of 2703 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Students at Jefferson Middle are 33% Asian, 27% Hispanic, 19% White, 13% Two or more races, 7% African American.

In the 2024-25 school year, 674 students attended Jefferson 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.

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