Citrus Middle: Scores climb 6.3 points from grade 6 to grade 8. But suspensions run 4× the state rate.
Citrus has real strengths and one number that complicates them. Most rating sites show you one or the other. Both belong on the same page.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 51 | 17% | 44% | +6.3 | 12.3% | 13.1% |
| CA average · Middle School | 43 | 17% | 39% | +1.5 | 18.5% | 3.7% |
Citrus Middle scores 51 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 73rd percentile of 2,238 California middle schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).
Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →
🚀 Growth Engine — Ask how the school tracks each kid's growth year to year, and what happens when a kid stalls instead of gaining.
Most rating sites would stop at “44% proficient” and call it done. Citrus deserves a closer read. The school sits in Orange Cove, where nearly all students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
Citrus's low-income kids hit 50.2% proficiency in ELA — a number the same group reaches at 38.2% statewide. If you're trying to read past zip-code-driven test scores, that's the signal worth weighing.
The seven-year arc
Climbed from the 38th to the 73rd percentile since 2019 — past roughly 600 middle schools.
The pandemic drop is behind this school: 44% of students meet the standard today, above the 36% who did in 2019.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 40% | 38% | 30% | 42% | 46% |
| Grade 7 | 49% | 38% | 40% | 52% | 51% |
| Grade 8 | 47% | 49% | 53% | 54% | 56% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 23% | 23% | 26% | 22% | 37% |
| Grade 7 | 36% | 23% | 23% | 26% | 33% |
| Grade 8 | 22% | 27% | 24% | 31% | 40% |
The story this school is actually telling
separates this year's grade 6 from its grade 8. The state average falls 0.5pp over the same span. Following the same students from 2023 G6 → 2025 G8 points the same way.
of students were suspended, versus 3.7% statewide — worth asking about on a tour.
The school, grade by grade
ELA · CAASPP 2024–25Different students, same year — each bar is one grade's proficiency mix.
The honest read: the share exceeding rises 4.1pp across grades; the floor rises 10.0pp. The state average falls 0.5pp over the same span. Kids here gain ground the longer they stay — the pattern you want to see. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
Citrus's most underrated number
50.2% of low-income students met the ELA standard — versus 38.2% for the same group statewide. That's the strongest kind of signal a school can post: it holds across income lines.
The 6 things our score weighs
Ask about the discipline philosophy and what a typical suspension is for. Numbers can't tell you whether a campus feels strict or chaotic — a visit can.
- Ask what typically leads to a suspension, and what happens before it gets there.
- Ask how teachers track each child's growth over the year, not just where the class lands on test day.
- Ask whether extra support — tutoring, counseling, small groups — reaches kids across income lines, not just the students already ahead.
- 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.
How every group of students does here
At Citrus Middle in Orange Cove, 50.2% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 53.6% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Citrus Middle trails its district average for low-income students by 3.4 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (35.6% Math proficient); Hispanic students (51.5% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 47.5 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 549 students tested.
7 of 14 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.
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 rises by 9.1pp from grade 6 to grade 8 at this school. District average: +6.8pp.
Showing up, and staying in class
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
Feeder patterns derived from NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries are approximate and may have changed — verify with your school district for current assignments.
The people teaching here
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
What gets spent here
$1,053 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.
The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.
District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.
Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →
The neighborhood it serves
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
On the state's science test (CAST), 24% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Citrus Middle a good middle school?
What are Citrus Middle's CAASPP test scores?
How does Citrus Middle rank in California?
Is Citrus Middle getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Citrus Middle?
How does Citrus Middle compare to other schools in Orange Cove?
How does Citrus Middle serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 46
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 209 | 19% | 27% | 24% | 29% | 46% | −0 |
| Grade 7 | 187 | 13% | 38% | 20% | 28% | 51% | +4 |
| Grade 8 | 172 | 23% | 33% | 26% | 18% | 56% | +10 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 209 | 15% | 22% | 26% | 37% | 37% | +2 |
| Grade 7 | 187 | 15% | 18% | 27% | 40% | 33% | −1 |
| Grade 8 | 177 | 15% | 24% | 25% | 35% | 40% | +7 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 178 | 5% | 19% | 65% | 12% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| Subgroup · ELA | Tested | MET+ | vs district | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 549 | 50.2% | −3 | +12 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 556 | 51.5% | −4 | +13 |
| English Learners | 103 | 4.9% | −15 | −6 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Citrus Middle ← | — | 51 | 16.8% | 44.0% | +6.3 | 13.1% |
| California average | — | 43 | 16.8% | 39.3% | +1.5 | 3.7% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 34 | 38 | #1246 | 10.0% | 36.0% | 6.9% | 5.0% | +3.2pp |
| 2022 | 39 | 56 | #952 | 9.9% | 33.1% | 14.9% | 7.0% | +7.5pp |
| 2023 | 45 | 60 | #879 | 11.8% | 32.8% | 12.7% | 9.8% | +10.4pp |
| 2024 | 44 | 64 | #796 | 13.2% | 37.8% | 10.3% | 13.0% | +10.9pp |
| 2025 | 51 | 73 | #611 | 16.8% | 44.0% | 12.3% | 13.1% | +6.3pp |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 6.9% | 11.1% | +4.2pp |
| Male | 7.0% | 12.9% | +5.9pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 6.6% | 12.0% | +5.4pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 12.1% | 18.2% | +6.1pp |
| English Learners | 9.9% | 13.8% | +3.9pp |
| Military-Connected | 5.3% | 15.8% | +10.5pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 6.8% | 12.3% | +5.5pp |
| All Students | 6.9% | 12.1% | +5.2pp |
| Homeless | — | 40.0% | — |
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