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Cesar E. Chavez Middle · WatsonvillePublic

Cesar E. Chavez Middle: The scores are below where anyone wants them. Here's what they don't tell you.

Cesar E. Chavez posts low test scores — and grade 8 tests above grade 6 here this year, by 0.1pp. If this is your zoned school, the numbers below are where to start a conversation, not where to end one.

440 Arthur Road, 95076 (opens in new tab)·Pajaro Valley Unified·Watsonville·Grades 6-8·548 students·91% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(831) 761-7699
2019–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
This schoolCA avg
Scope1239
% Exceeded2%17%
% Met+12%40%
Growth (2023 G6 → 2025 G8)Weak · p20Average · p50
Absence33.1%18.1%
Suspension1.5%3.6%
Scope Score
12
🌱 Building Momentum · Needs Support
ranked #2,185 statewide · #9 of 9 in Pajaro Valley Unified

Cesar E. Chavez Middle scores 12 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 2nd percentile of 2,177 California middle schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).

Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →

🌱 Building Momentum — This label means the data doesn't clearly sort the school one way or the other — ask what the school is proud of, and what it's working on.

CDE CAASPP 2025

Most rating sites would stop at “12% proficient” and call it done. Cesar E. Chavez deserves a closer read. The school sits in Watsonville, where four in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.

Test scores are one lens, and at this school they're a rough one right now. The sections below show the fuller picture — including the parts that are working.

The seven-year arc

Percentile among 2,177 middle schools statewide

Slipped from the 13th to the 2nd percentile since 2019.

CA Dashboard
ELAOrange(Increased)MathOrange(Increased)

This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 12% meet the standard today, versus 19% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.

ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 622%13%16%10%15%
Grade 731%25%15%11%18%
Grade 827%15%17%14%12%
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 612%8%10%8%5%
Grade 712%10%10%9%11%
Grade 810%6%12%5%8%

The story this school is actually telling

The school, grade by grade

ELA · CAASPP 2024–25

Different students, same year — each bar is one grade's proficiency mix.

14%
85%
Grade 6 · 15% proficient
16%
83%
Grade 7 · 17% proficient
11%
87%
Grade 8 · 13% proficient

The 6 things our score weighs

Exceeded standard
1.6%
State 17.2%
15.5pp below state avg
Met or exceeded
11.5%
State 40.0%
28.5pp below state avg
Growth (2023 G6 → 2025 G8)
Weak
State average
The school's returning cohort — mostly, not exactly, the same kids two years on — gained 22 scale-score points across the span. Almost every school gains points, so we rank the gain against every other California school in this level.
Chronic absenteeism
33.1%
State 18.1%
15.0pp above state avg
Suspension rate
1.5%
State 3.6%
2.2pp below state avg
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
25.6%
State 18.0%
7.7pp above state avg

California's own answer to the same question

Context — never part of the Scope Score

California runs its own growth model, following individual children in grades 4 through 8 rather than comparing school-wide averages the way we do. The two measures land in the same neighbourhood here — ours puts this school around the 20th percentile of California middle schools, the state's around the 12th in reading and math together. Two different methods agreeing is the most you can ask of one year of test data.

Both measures, ranked against every California school
Our growth measuresame cohort, G6→G8SchoolScope growth measure: 20th percentile among California middle schools.20th pctile
State model · readingmatched students, grades 4-8California growth model, reading: −20 scale-score points versus the state's expectation, 4th percentile of 7,519 reported schools.4th pctile · −20 pts
State model · mathmatched students, grades 4-8California growth model, math: −10 scale-score points versus the state's expectation, 21st percentile of 7,518 reported schools.21st pctile · −10 pts
this school| the tick is the middle of the California field

— pts vs expected is scale-score points above or below what California's model predicted for these same children from their own prior-year scores. It is not a percentage and not a percent of anything. A typical California middle school lands at −1 in reading, and the middle half of them fall between −8 and +6 — the spread is wide, so read the rank, not the sign. CDE blends two consecutive years into each published figure, so adjacent years share input data and no year-over-year trend can honestly be drawn from them. It covers grades 4-8 only, and it is not part of the Scope Score — we assessed it and left it out: it tracks school demographics roughly three times as strongly as our own growth measure does, and one published year is not enough to test how stable it is.

Worth a school visit

Ask what changed in the last two years, and what the school is asking families for. Growth shows up in these numbers a year or two after it shows up in classrooms.

  • Ask how the school follows up when a student starts missing days — chronic absence often starts outside the classroom, not inside it.
  • Ask whether the tour can step into a working classroom — watch how the teacher handles a student who's stuck.
  • Ask to tour while school's in session, and notice how hallways and transitions feel — culture shows up between classes, not just in them.
  • Ask how the school communicates with families when a child starts to struggle.
  • Ask what a typical day looks like for a new student in the first few weeks.

How every group of students does here

At Cesar E. Chavez Middle in Watsonville, 13.9% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 19.9% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Cesar E. Chavez Middle trails its district average for low-income students by 6.0 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (7.5% Math proficient); Hispanic students (15.0% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 13.7 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 468 students tested.

All students at this school: 11% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 11%, district —, state 40%11%
Hispanic/LatinoHispanic/Latino: this school 12%, district 17%, state 32%12% · +0 vs school
Socioeconomically DisadvantagedSocioeconomically Disadvantaged: this school 11%, district 16%, state 32%11% · −1 vs school
FemaleFemale: this school 13%, district 23%, state 44%13% · +2 vs school
MaleMale: this school 10%, district 21%, state 42%10% · −2 vs school
English LearnersEnglish Learners: this school 2%, district 5%, state 11%2% · −10 vs school
Students with DisabilitiesStudents with Disabilities: this school 1%, district 7%, state 15%1% · −10 vs school
HomelessHomeless: this school 9%, district 10%, state 22%9% · −3 vs school
WhiteWhite: too few students to report‹11
Two or More RacesTwo or More Races: too few students to report‹11
Foster YouthFoster Youth: too few students to report‹11
this school district, same group California, same group
Subgroup growth by grade

Change in proficiency from the lowest tested grade — which groups gain ground the longer they stay. Groups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.

Low-income student ELA proficiency falls by 3.6pp from grade 6 to grade 8 at this school. District average: -0.8pp.

The state's growth model, by student group

California follows these children individually and predicts each one's score from their own prior year. Each row is read against the same group at a typical California middle school — not against zero, and not against this school's all-students figure, because the state's expectation already differs by group.

Reading
Hispanic or Latino students490 studentsHispanic or Latino students, reading: −20 scale-score points versus expectation, against −2 for the same group at a typical California middle school, 490 students.−20 pts · −18 vs typical
Low-income students462 studentsLow-income students, reading: −19 scale-score points versus expectation, against −3 for the same group at a typical California middle school, 462 students.−19 pts · −16 vs typical
English Learner315 studentsEnglish Learner, reading: −20 scale-score points versus expectation, against −5 for the same group at a typical California middle school, 315 students.−20 pts · −15 vs typical
English learners only177 studentsEnglish learners only, reading: −24 scale-score points versus expectation, against −15 for the same group at a typical California middle school, 177 students.−24 pts · −9 vs typical
Long-term English learners151 studentsLong-term English learners, reading: −24 scale-score points versus expectation, against −7 for the same group at a typical California middle school, 151 students.−24 pts · −17 vs typical
Math
Hispanic or Latino students493 studentsHispanic or Latino students, math: −10 scale-score points versus expectation, against −6 for the same group at a typical California middle school, 493 students.−10 pts · −4 vs typical
Low-income students464 studentsLow-income students, math: −10 scale-score points versus expectation, against −5 for the same group at a typical California middle school, 464 students.−10 pts · −5 vs typical
English Learner316 studentsEnglish Learner, math: −8 scale-score points versus expectation, against −3 for the same group at a typical California middle school, 316 students.−8 pts · −5 vs typical
English learners only177 studentsEnglish learners only, math: −7 scale-score points versus expectation, against −5 for the same group at a typical California middle school, 177 students.−7 pts · −2 vs typical
Long-term English learners151 studentsLong-term English learners, math: −10 scale-score points versus expectation, against −6 for the same group at a typical California middle school, 151 students.−10 pts · −4 vs typical
this school typical California middle school, same group| the centre tick is 0 = as predicted

— A group not listed at all had fewer than 11 students with a growth score, so California published nothing for it here. That is a privacy protection, not a judgment about those students. — Long-Term English Learners are counted in grades 6-8 only (CDE's own rule), so that row is not comparable to this school's all-students figure. — Context only. None of this enters the Scope Score.

Showing up, and staying in class

Chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeism: this school 33.1%, district 23.9%, state 18.1%33.1% · +15.0pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 1.5%, district —, state 3.6%1.5% · −2.2pp vs state
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 4–629.1%
Grades 7–835.4%

Where the path goes

The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.

K-12 Feeder Path
▼
Middle
Cesar E. Chavez Middle
12/100
This school

Feeder patterns derived from NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries are approximate and may have changed — verify with your school district for current assignments.

Pajaro Valley HighScope 50direct feeder

The road from this school ends at Pajaro Valley High, which sent 10 graduates to UC campuses last fall and teaches 12 AP subjects. Those numbers describe past cohorts — a child starting here today would reach Pajaro Valley High around 2031, and 6 years is a long time for a school to hold still, and by the state's 2023 count 73% of Pajaro Valley High's graduates enrolled in college somewhere, UC or not.

10 UC ENROLLEES (FALL 2025) · 12 AP SUBJECTS TAUGHT → full record on Pajaro Valley High's page
Source: UC & College Board

The people teaching here

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Student : teacherStudent to teacher ratio: this school 21:1, district 22:121:1
PrincipalJason Rooney
Teaching staff27 teachers
Avg. experience10.1 years
Fully credentialed81%
First-year teachers7%
Intern / emergency permit2.3%
Salary Schedule
Teacher salary schedule$58,520 – $109,309
Principal salary$122,944 – $142,021
Superintendent salary$268,536

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

What gets spent here

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $22,667, CA average $14,491$22,667 · spent at this school
Federal share$1,443 per student

$1,443 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.

District current expense · FY 2024–25$24,632 per student

The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.

Where the district's dollars go · FY 2024–25 · CDE SACS
Instruction56%
Instruction support17%
Student services13%
Administration4%
Buildings & maintenance8%
Other1%

District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.

district detail, 2016–2020 — the newest published
2020$15,608 per pupil
2019$15,165 per pupil
2018$15,343 per pupil
2017$13,924 per pupil
2016$12,975 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood it serves

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Hispanic98.7%
District 84.6% · CA 56.1%
White1.1%
District 12.4% · CA 19.9%
Other0.2%
District 2.2% · CA 9.0%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 91.1% (27pp above CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Median income$91K · CA $85K
Median home value$809K · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+18% · CA 35%
ZIP population82,806
Median age36 years

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level

Worth Knowing

On the state's science test (CAST), 7% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 and once in high school, and it never enters the Scope Score.

Frequently asked questions

Is Cesar E. Chavez Middle a good middle school?

Cesar E. Chavez Middle has a Scope Score of 12 out of 100, placing it in the 2nd percentile of California middle schools and ranked #2,185 statewide. 1.6% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 15.5 percentage points below the California average of 17.2%. The Scope Score weights 6 dimensions for middle schools: exceeded standard (42%), met or exceeded (proficient) (23%), grade 6-to-8 growth (20%), chronic absenteeism (5%), suspension rate (5%), and ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.

What are Cesar E. Chavez Middle's CAASPP test scores?

On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 11.5% of students at Cesar E. Chavez Middle met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 1.6% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 9.9% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 1.6% pushed past it. Most rating sites report only the combined "proficient" number. SchoolScope surfaces the exceeded-vs-met split because it reveals whether a school's curriculum challenges students beyond minimum proficiency or paces toward it. 1,026 student-subject combinations were assessed.

How does Cesar E. Chavez Middle rank in California?

Cesar E. Chavez Middle ranks #2,185 among California middle schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 2nd percentile. This ranking is based on a weighted composite of 2025 CAASPP test performance (exceeded and met rates), same-cohort growth (2023 G6 → 2025 G8), chronic absenteeism, and suspension rate. Unlike single-number ratings, the Scope Score shows what drives the ranking so parents can decide what matters most to their family. See full methodology.

Is Cesar E. Chavez Middle getting better or worse?

SchoolScope follows the same cohort of students across grades rather than comparing two different grades in the same year. At Cesar E. Chavez Middle that cohort is 2023 G6 → 2025 G8, measured in SBAC scale-score points. Its gain ranks weak among California middle schools — roughly the 20th percentile, behind the typical school at this level. Read the ranking, not the raw point gain: scale scores rise with age, so nearly every school posts a positive number and only the relative position tells you anything. Growth is weighted at 20% in the middle Scope Score because it is the least demographically confounded signal available — it tracks change over time rather than the level students arrived at. See full methodology.

What is the attendance and school culture like at Cesar E. Chavez Middle?

33.1% of students at Cesar E. Chavez Middle are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), compared to the California average of 18.1%. The suspension rate is 1.5%, indicating a low-discipline-incident environment. SchoolScope includes these culture metrics in the Scope Score because they reflect day-to-day school experience in ways test scores alone cannot.

How does Cesar E. Chavez Middle compare to other schools in Watsonville?

Cesar E. Chavez Middle scores 12/100 (2nd percentile) among California middle schools. To compare with nearby schools, SchoolScope shows the same metrics side by side: exceeded rate, proficiency, growth trajectory, and school culture indicators. The school serves 548 students. Use the schools in Watsonville page or the map view to compare all middle schools nearby.

How does Cesar E. Chavez Middle serve low-income and underrepresented students?

At Cesar E. Chavez Middle in Watsonville, 13.9% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 19.9% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Cesar E. Chavez Middle trails its district average for low-income students by 6.0 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (7.5% Math proficient); Hispanic students (15.0% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 13.7 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 468 students tested. SchoolScope shows disaggregated test scores by demographic subgroup so you can see how a school performs for your child's specific group — not just the school-wide average. Subgroup data is context, not part of the Scope Score: we don't penalize schools for who they serve. See our equity approach.

What high school does Cesar E. Chavez Middle feed into?

By attendance boundary, Cesar E. Chavez Middle is zoned to Pajaro Valley High. Pajaro Valley High has a Scope Score of 50 out of 100. Boundaries come from the U.S. Department of Education's School Attendance Boundary Survey, a 2015-16 collection and the most recent national one — they are approximate and may since have changed. A boundary is also not a placement guarantee: magnet, charter, open-enrollment and inter-district transfer options mean students from one school often continue to several different ones. Confirm your address with the district before making an enrollment or housing decision. Data source: NCES School Attendance Boundary Survey, analyzed by SchoolScope.

Your other options

All schools in Watsonville →

Private alternatives nearby

Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.

A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means

For the data nerds

Every number on this page

Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and nearest schools.

01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Exceeded standard · 42%
1.6%
↓ vs CA 17.2% · 33th pctile
Met or exceeded · 23%
11.5%
↓ vs CA 40.0% · 27th pctile
Growth (2023 G6 → 2025 G8) · 20%
Weak
↓ vs CA average · 20th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
33.1%
↓ vs CA 18.1% · 30th pctile
▼ 3.1pp lower vs 2024
Suspension rate · 5%
1.5%
↑ vs CA 3.6% · 59th pctile
▼ 5.3pp lower vs 2024
EL proficiency (ELPAC) · 5%
25.6%
↑ vs CA 18.0% · 56th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 61631%14%28%56%15%−31
Grade 71591%16%26%57%18%−30
Grade 81902%11%21%67%12%−34
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 61641%4%22%73%5%−30
Grade 71582%9%23%66%11%−23
Grade 81923%6%16%76%8%−24

We show the grade rows CDE publishes for this school. A missing grade or dash can mean the school does not serve that grade, no valid result was published, or the tested group was too small to report. It does not mean zero.

Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Schoolwide1860%7%57%36%

CAST is tested in grades 5 and 8, then once in grade 10, 11, or 12. This row is the school's all-student aggregate. Not part of the Scope Score.

Subgroup · ELATestedMET+vs districtvs CA
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged46813.9%−6−24
Hispanic/Latino50515.0%−6−24
English Learners1883.2%−2−7
03Nearest middle schoolssorted by Scope Score · Grade gap = grade 3 vs grade 5, this year, different students; Cohort growth = one school's returning cohort tracked across grades (mostly, not exactly, the same kids), in scale-score points — that's the measurement the Scope Score weights
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+Grade gapCohort growthSusp
Cesar E. Chavez Middle ←—121.6%11.5%+0.1pp+22 pts1.5%
Rolling Hills Middle0.9 mi262.2%13.3%+5.4pp—7.6%
Pajaro Middle1.9 mi172.9%12.8%+1.7pp—8.7%
E. A. Hall Middle0.9 mi151.0%6.3%+1.1pp—11.7%
California average—3917.2%40.0%+1.5pp—3.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
YearScopePctileRankExcMet+AbsentSuspGrade gap
20192013#17523.1%19.0%11.1%2.6%+1.6pp
2022156#20301.6%12.8%40.0%2.6%-0.1pp
2023147#20292.1%13.2%40.0%2.9%+2.0pp
2024144#21251.5%9.4%36.1%6.7%+0.5pp
2025122#21851.6%11.5%33.1%1.5%+0.1pp
Grade gap = this year's grade 3 vs grade 5 result, two different sets of students, not a trend for any one child — it is not the measurement the Scope Score's growth dimension uses. See §01 above and /methodology#verdicts for the school's actual scored (cohort) growth.
NO STATEWIDE TESTING 2020–21 (COVID) · SCORE AND PERCENTILE ARE RELATIVE TO EACH YEAR'S FIELD
What we can't show
  • — Low-income students here trail the state average for their group by 24 points in ELA — worth asking how the school is closing that gap.
05Climate by student groupchronic absenteeism · 2019 vs 2025 — the two years CDE publishes at subgroup level
Group20192025Δ
Female10.0%32.5%+22.5pp
Male12.0%34.4%+22.4pp
Hispanic/Latino10.7%33.2%+22.5pp
Students with Disabilities19.0%44.3%+25.3pp
English Learners13.1%30.1%+17.0pp
Homeless10.0%30.4%+20.4pp
Military-Connected12.5%21.6%+9.1pp
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged10.9%33.4%+22.5pp
All Students11.1%33.5%+22.4pp
11California growth model, by student group2025 · scale-score points vs the state's prediction · shown, never scored
GroupReadingnCDE bandMathnCDE band
All Students−20495Moderate−10498Moderate
Hispanic or Latino−20490Moderate−10493Moderate
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged−19462Moderate−10464Moderate
English Learner−20315Moderate−8316Moderate
English Learners Only−24177not categorised−7177not categorised
Long-Term English Learner (grades 6-8 only)−24151Minimal−10151Moderate
Recently Reclassified Fluent-English Proficient Only−18138not categorised−10139not categorised
English Only−18128not categorised−10130not categorised
Students with Disabilities−3276Minimal−877Moderate
Homeless Youth−1967Moderate−1567Moderate

Whole scale-score points above or below what CDE's model predicted for these same children from their own prior-year scores — not a percentage, not a percentile. Statewide a typical school lands near +1 with a spread of about 13 points either side, so read a figure against its group's own typical value, not against zero. “Not categorised” is CDE assigning no band — English Only, Recently Reclassified, and English Learners Only receive a value and no band, for every school in the state. It is not a missing number. Long-Term English Learner counts cover grades 6-8 only (CDE), so that row is not comparable to the All Students row. Most figures blend two consecutive years, so adjacent published years share input data and no trend line can honestly be drawn across them. A group absent from this table had fewer than 11 students with a growth score and was never published. Grades 4-8 only. None of this enters the Scope Score — it is more strongly correlated with school demographics than our own growth measure, and one published year is not enough to test its reliability.

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EXC = exceeded standard · MET+ = met or exceeded ("proficient") · Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=2,177 middle schools · Vintages: climate subgroups 2019+2025 · district finance per its label · ACS 2022 · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue

SchoolScope scores and verdicts are our interpretation of public California Department of Education data — independent analysis, not an official rating. How we analyze · Request a correction

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