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La Joya Middle

Public Grades 7-8
1573rd
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 2,761 California Middle Schools
Better than 43% of California middle schools
Summary

La Joya Middle is a public school serving about 730 students in grades 7 and 8 within the Visalia Unified School District, presenting a mixed academic profile with some notable strengths and areas for growth.

Academically, the school performs in the lower-middle tier compared to other Visalia Unified middle schools, sitting between higher-performing schools like Ridgeview Middle and lower-performing ones. A clear bright spot is in 8th grade English, where students outperform both district and state averages, which is unusual as most nearby schools see a dip in 8th grade. However, math scores are a significant challenge, lagging behind the state average. The school shows a remarkable strength in supporting English Language Learners, ranking in the top 15% of schools statewide for that group.

Beyond test scores, La Joya Middle has made impressive progress in improving student attendance, with its chronic absenteeism rate now better than both the district and state averages and lower than most area schools like Divisadero Middle. The school spends more per student than most of its local peers, though this higher funding hasn't yet translated to superior overall academic results. Performance varies widely between different student groups, and the school's statewide ranking has declined over the past decade, suggesting a need to better align its resources and teaching strategies to boost outcomes for all students.

727
Students ?
23.2
Student/teacher ratio ?
$17,114
Per pupil spending ?
71.1%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 4711 West La Vida
       Visalia, CA  93277-1219

(559) 730-7921

District: Visalia Unified


Students who attend La Joya Middle usually attend:

High:    El Diamante High

Feeder schools for La Joya Middle:

Elementary:    Cottonwood Creek Elementary
    Crestwood Elementary
    Goshen Elementary
    Linwood Elementary
    More...
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
75.4%
White:
17.3%
Asian:
2.9%
more
 See top rated California middle schools

 Compare La Joya Middle to nearby middle schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Rebounding — 32nd percentile in 2023 → 43rd in 2025
Strengths
Ranking is rebounding — up to 43rd (2025) from a 32nd-percentile low (2023)
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 17 pts below the California average
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school31%
District avg36%
California avg41%
1,573rd of 2,761
California public middle schools ?
Bottom 43%▼ down 13 pts since 2015
From top 44% (2015) to bottom 43% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
3rd of 5Middle Schools in the Visalia Unified
878th of 1,543Visalia 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
202537.11573 of 276143.0%★★☆☆☆
202439.01506 of 278345.9%★★☆☆☆
202327.81904 of 278131.5%★★☆☆☆
202231.91708 of 274037.7%★★☆☆☆
202167.4245 of 89472.6%★★★★☆
201950.31142 of 271557.9%★★★☆☆
201859.5860 of 248065.3%★★★☆☆
201758.6904 of 250864.0%★★★☆☆
201660.1874 of 249765.0%★★★☆☆
201550.31084 of 247756.2%★★★☆☆
201356.9969 of 237959.3%★★★☆☆
201262.2762 of 225966.3%★★★☆☆
201160.5808 of 223663.9%★★★☆☆
201047.91093 of 217949.8%★★☆☆☆
200948.01019 of 206350.6%★★★☆☆
200841.61117 of 200544.3%★★☆☆☆
200737.71178 of 199941.1%★★☆☆☆
200642.4959 of 180446.8%★★☆☆☆
200533.31144 of 177735.6%★★☆☆☆
200442.5927 of 176947.6%★★☆☆☆

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202320.1588 of 71517.8%★☆☆☆☆
201844.5461 of 70034.1%★★☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202226.61201 of 153121.6%★☆☆☆☆
201956.7450 of 149169.8%★★★☆☆
201872.5230 of 136983.2%★★★★☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202465.4205 of 147886.1%★★★★☆
202341.2730 of 152152.0%★★★☆☆
202253.0402 of 154073.9%★★★★☆
201947.8476 of 144267.0%★★★☆☆
201835.6764 of 136444.0%★★☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202534.61534 of 253339.4%★★☆☆☆
202436.21468 of 255142.5%★★☆☆☆
202329.11688 of 253133.3%★★☆☆☆
202236.01464 of 250941.7%★★☆☆☆
201945.61168 of 238050.9%★★★☆☆
201858.7820 of 226263.7%★★★☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202541.91283 of 239546.4%★★☆☆☆
202441.31267 of 238846.9%★★☆☆☆
202329.91640 of 237430.9%★★☆☆☆
202238.51342 of 235943.1%★★☆☆☆
201955.8791 of 221364.3%★★★☆☆
201863.8583 of 207271.9%★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202540.41401 of 254244.9%★★☆☆☆
202438.41438 of 257944.2%★★☆☆☆
202329.01790 of 253129.3%★☆☆☆☆
202233.41564 of 245836.4%★★☆☆☆
201951.5976 of 236958.8%★★★☆☆
201862.6639 of 223071.3%★★★★☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202538.61418 of 253444.0%★★☆☆☆
202440.41336 of 255247.6%★★☆☆☆
202326.11815 of 253828.5%★☆☆☆☆
202227.71749 of 252730.8%★★☆☆☆
201952.5975 of 240759.5%★★★☆☆
201858.5814 of 227364.2%★★★☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202439.5431 of 70138.5%★★☆☆☆
202321.6539 of 67720.4%★☆☆☆☆
202217.3543 of 66518.3%★☆☆☆☆
201943.3341 of 55438.4%★★☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202534.1970 of 156638.1%★★☆☆☆
202435.9897 of 155242.2%★★☆☆☆
202329.41096 of 153128.4%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202533.81016 of 152033.2%★★☆☆☆
202442.1864 of 153743.8%★★☆☆☆
202324.91171 of 154324.1%★☆☆☆☆
202222.41231 of 155520.8%★☆☆☆☆
201938.9974 of 160239.2%★★☆☆☆
201858.9618 of 149658.7%★★★☆☆
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)
English Language Learner (2024)86th percentile+40 vs school
Hispanic (2025)46th percentile+3 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)45th percentile~ school
Male (2025)44th percentile~ school
Female (2025)39th percentile-4 vs school
Multi-racial (2024)39th percentile-7 vs school
Special Education (2025)38th percentile-5 vs school
White (2025)33rd percentile-10 vs school
Disabled (2022)22nd percentile-16 vs school
Asian (2023)18th percentile-14 vs school
By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts/Literacy44%-5 vs state
Science26%-7 vs state
Mathematics20%-17 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about La Joya Middle

In the 2024-25 school year, 727 students attended La Joya Middle.

Students who attend La Joya Middle usually go on to attend El Diamante High

Students at La Joya Middle are 75% Hispanic, 17% White, 3% Asian, 2% Two or more races, 1% African American.

La Joya Middle ranks 1573rd of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.


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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.





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