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Walter F. Dexter Middle

Q: Is Walter F. Dexter Middle a good school?

Walter F. Dexter Middle ranks 1917 th of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

1917^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 31% of California middle schools

Summary

Walter F. Dexter Middle is a public middle school serving about 610 students in grades 6-8 within the Whittier City School District, but it faces significant academic challenges, ranking in the bottom third of all California schools.

The school's test scores in English, math, and science are substantially lower than most nearby middle schools, including Katherine Edwards Mid School STEAM & Dual Immersion Academy, which is in the same district just a mile away. A major concern is chronic absenteeism, with nearly 3 in 10 students missing too much school—a rate much higher than neighboring schools. While Dexter spends more per student than several higher-performing schools, this has not translated into better academic results, suggesting challenges with how resources are used.

Despite the overall struggles, the school shows a relative strength in supporting its English Language Learner students. The most telling comparison is with Katherine Edwards; both schools serve families with similar economic needs and have nearly identical funding, yet Katherine Edwards achieves far higher test scores and better attendance, indicating that factors like teaching quality or specific programs are critical. This gap highlights a significant opportunity for Dexter to learn from successful models within its own community.

610

Students ?

21.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,357

Per pupil spending ?

86.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

11532 East Floral Dr.
Whittier, CA 90601-2832

(562) 789-3090

District: Whittier City

Students who attend Walter F. Dexter Middle usually attend:

High:

Whittier High

Feeder schools for Walter F. Dexter Middle:

Elementary:	Longfellow Elementary
	Lou Henry Hoover School of Fine Arts
	Lydia Jackson College Preparatory Academy
	Mill School and Technology Academy

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

93.1%

White:

3.1%

Two or more races:

2.3%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Walter F. Dexter Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 44th percentile in 2013 → 31st in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (26% vs 41% meeting standards)

!High chronic absenteeism (29% vs 19% California)

!Ranking has slipped — down 13 percentile points since 2013

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school26%

District avg41%

California avg41%

1,917^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 31%▼ down 2 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 2Middle Schools in the Whittier City

590^th of 1,543Whittier City 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	27.3	1917 of 2761	30.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	28.0	1904 of 2783	31.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.0	1839 of 2781	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	25.0	1994 of 2740	27.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	39.2	1476 of 2715	45.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	30.7	1644 of 2480	33.7%	★★☆☆☆
2017	37.0	1477 of 2508	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2016	35.4	1477 of 2497	40.8%	★★☆☆☆
2015	28.5	1678 of 2477	32.3%	★★☆☆☆
2013	43.4	1336 of 2379	43.8%	★★☆☆☆
2012	47.7	1152 of 2259	49.0%	★★☆☆☆
2011	39.0	1387 of 2236	38.0%	★★☆☆☆
2010	33.7	1476 of 2179	32.3%	★★☆☆☆
2009	39.9	1212 of 2063	41.3%	★★☆☆☆
2008	44.8	1044 of 2005	47.9%	★★☆☆☆
2007	38.1	1164 of 1999	41.8%	★★☆☆☆
2006	36.5	1103 of 1804	38.9%	★★☆☆☆
2005	42.0	956 of 1777	46.2%	★★☆☆☆
2004	40.7	973 of 1769	45.0%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	24.2	1292 of 1531	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	32.9	936 of 1491	37.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	22.5	1235 of 1369	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	45.7	551 of 1478	62.7%	★★★☆☆
2023	39.3	799 of 1521	47.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	33.8	1035 of 1540	32.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	28.7	1188 of 1442	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.2	941 of 1364	31.0%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	26.5	1816 of 2533	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.4	1832 of 2551	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.9	1646 of 2531	35.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	22.5	1949 of 2509	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	45.7	1167 of 2380	51.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	34.3	1449 of 2262	35.9%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	34.8	1487 of 2395	37.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.8	1376 of 2388	42.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	40.4	1258 of 2374	47.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	33.3	1515 of 2359	35.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	53.1	855 of 2213	61.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	42.5	1118 of 2072	46.0%	★★☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	33.9	328 of 477	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	79.6	36 of 336	89.3%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	28.1	1843 of 2542	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.8	1699 of 2579	34.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	34.2	1577 of 2531	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	30.4	1680 of 2458	31.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	50.0	1012 of 2369	57.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	38.5	1309 of 2230	41.3%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	27.7	1763 of 2534	30.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	29.4	1705 of 2552	33.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	28.5	1712 of 2538	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	27.9	1742 of 2527	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	31.8	1554 of 2407	35.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	26.2	1645 of 2273	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	2.6	673 of 677	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	27.7	1183 of 1566	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.2	1307 of 1552	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	23.0	1347 of 1531	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2019	26.7	1186 of 1602	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	30.3	1077 of 1496	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆

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)63rd percentile+31 vs school

Hispanic (2025)38th percentile+7 vs school

Homeless (2025)31st percentile~ school

Male (2025)30th percentile~ school

Female (2025)28th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)27th percentile-3 vs school

White (2019)26th percentile-20 vs school

Special Education (2025)24th percentile-6 vs school

Disabled (2022)16th percentile-12 vs school

Multi-racial (2023)1st percentile-33 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy35%-14 vs state

Science20%-12 vs state

Mathematics19%-19 vs state

★

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Schools Near Walter F. Dexter Middle

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CSA Spanish Overall (2025)				CSA Spanish Listening (2025)				CSA Spanish Writing (2025)				CSA Spanish Reading (2025)				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	CSA Spanish Overall 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	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
Walter F. Dexter Middle	Public	6-8	11532 East Floral Dr.	Whittier	90601	Los Angeles County	Whittier City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 789-3090	610	29	21.3	86.7%	19 (3.1%)	3 (0.5%)	568 (93.1%)	5 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (2.3%)	27.3	1917^th of 2761 public middle schools	30.6%		28	1904^th of 2783 public middle schools	31.6%	13																	20.2	20.2	30.2	42.4	33.0	35.2	16.1	25.1	14.8	18.7	$21,357	$2,063	$19,294
Katherine Edwards Mid School STEAM & Dual Immersion Academy	Public	6-8	6812 South Norwalk Blvd.	Whittier	90606	Los Angeles County	Whittier City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 789-3115	894	43	21.0	77.3%	23 (2.6%)	1 (0.1%)	832 (93.1%)	9 (1.0%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	27 (3.0%)	62.4	844^th of 2761 public middle schools	69.4%		55.5	1002^nd of 2783 public middle schools	64.0%	158		8.5		8.5		25.5		25.5		23.4		23.4		4.3		4.3	29.1	29.1	56.9	50.9	53.9	54.0	39.9	42.0	40.4	40.7	$21,158	$2,100	$19,058
North Park Academy of the Arts	Public	6-8	4450 South Durfee Ave.	Pico Rivera	90660	Los Angeles County	El Rancho Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 801-7570	512	23	22.2	87.5%	6 (1.2%)	3 (0.6%)	492 (96.1%)	10 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	19.3	2256^th of 2761 public middle schools	18.3%		24.4	2063^rd of 2783 public middle schools	25.9%	193																	14.0	14.0	24.0	34.3	23.9	27.7	13.9	21.5	12.1	16.0	$19,718	$1,140	$18,578
Los Nietos Middle	Public	7-8	11425 East Rivera Rd.	Los Nietos	90606	Los Angeles County	Los Nietos	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 695-0637	262	15	18.0	89.3%	2 (0.8%)	2 (0.8%)	251 (95.8%)	5 (1.9%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	64.1	804^th of 2761 public middle schools	70.9%		54.1	1038^th of 2783 public middle schools	62.7%	234																	24.0	24.0		61.7	63.1	61.9		37.6	40.8	38.9	$26,524	$2,918	$23,606
Rivera Middle	Public	6-8	7200 Citronell Ave.	Pico Rivera	90660	Los Angeles County	El Rancho Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 801-7580	544	24	22.2	86.9%	6 (1.1%)	1 (0.2%)	533 (98.0%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	26.2	1946^th of 2761 public middle schools	29.5%		27.9	1907^th of 2783 public middle schools	31.5%	39	0.0	5.9	0.0	1.9	20.0	29.4	8.3	20.4	8.0	5.9	0.0	5.6	0.0	0.0	8.3	1.9	18.1	18.1	30.1	31.4	28.8	30.1	18.5	22.5	28.3	23.0	$19,910	$1,177	$18,733
STEAM Academy @ Burke	Public	6-8	8101 Orange Ave.	Pico Rivera	90660	Los Angeles County	El Rancho Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 801-7590	534	23	22.9	82.2%	6 (1.1%)	4 (0.7%)	514 (96.3%)	8 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	51.1	1155^th of 2761 public middle schools	58.2%		46.1	1274^th of 2783 public middle schools	54.2%	119																	28.4	28.4	45.5	50.6	41.2	45.6	37.2	32.4	37.6	35.7	$19,142	$1,142	$18,000
La Merced Intermediate	Public	6-8	215 East Avenida de la Merced	Montebello	90640	Los Angeles County	Montebello Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 722-7262	682	32	21.5	92.4%	13 (1.9%)	6 (0.9%)	650 (95.3%)	12 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25.7	1972^nd of 2761 public middle schools	28.6%		31.1	1765^th of 2783 public middle schools	36.6%	207																	15.0	15.0	30.5	30.1	29.3	30.0	19.4	24.2	27.2	23.4	$14,377	$1,105	$13,272
East Whittier Middle	Public	6-8	14421 East Whittier Blvd.	Whittier	90605	Los Angeles County	East Whittier City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 789-7220	985	44	22.3	69.1%	81 (8.2%)	5 (0.5%)	866 (87.9%)	17 (1.7%)	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (1.1%)	73.7	613^th of 2761 public middle schools	77.8%		74.8	594^th of 2783 public middle schools	78.7%	19																	42.2	42.2	57.4	58.7	58.5	58.3	45.7	46.2	47.6	46.6	$18,574	$1,445	$17,129
Richard L. Graves Middle	Public	6-8	13243 East Los Nietos Rd.	Whittier	90605	Los Angeles County	South Whittier Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 944-0135	484	25	19.5	92.4%	7 (1.4%)	4 (0.8%)	461 (95.2%)	10 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	26	1954^th of 2761 public middle schools	29.2%		30.1	1808^th of 2783 public middle schools	35.0%	146																	15.5	15.5		32.0	34.1	32.8		23.6	19.2	21.3	$26,922	$3,701	$23,221
Orange Grove Middle	Public	6-8	14505 Orange Grove Ave.	Hacienda Heights	91745	Los Angeles County	Hacienda la Puente Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 933-7000	287	14	21.0	82.9%	6 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	255 (88.9%)	17 (5.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.8%)	29	1862^nd of 2761 public middle schools	32.6%		31	1769^th of 2783 public middle schools	36.4%	93																	19.4	19.4	29.2	32.7	40.2	34.7	13.5	27.7	21.3	21.6	$20,262	$1,567	$18,695

Frequently Asked Questions about Walter F. Dexter Middle

Is Walter F. Dexter Middle a good school?

Walter F. Dexter Middle ranks 1917^th of 2761 California middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What district is Walter F. Dexter Middle in?

Whittier City

What high school do graduates of Walter F. Dexter Middle attend?

Students who attend Walter F. Dexter Middle usually go on to attend Whittier High

What is the racial makeup of Walter F. Dexter Middle?

Students at Walter F. Dexter Middle are 93% Hispanic, 3% White, 2% Two or more races.

How many students attend Walter F. Dexter Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 610 students attended Walter F. Dexter Middle.

Rate Walter F. Dexter 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.