How does Ethel Dwyer Middle compare to other middle schools in Huntington Beach?

Ethel Dwyer Middle has a SchoolScope composite score of 54.0/100, placing it at the 80th percentile statewide. 33% of students exceed standard, with a total of 1,701 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Ethel Dwyer Middle?

32.9% of students at Ethel Dwyer Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 63.3% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Ethel Dwyer Middle improving or declining?

Ethel Dwyer Middle's proficiency rate decreases by 8.5 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth, suggesting the school is not sustaining early academic gains.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at Ethel Dwyer Middle?

15.4% of students at Ethel Dwyer Middle are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days). This metric reflects school culture and family engagement, and is weighted at 15% in our composite score.

Ethel Dwyer Middle

Middle School

Huntington Beach City Elementary Huntington BeachOrange County92648

Composite Score

out of 100

State Percentile

of middle schools

State Rank

of California middle schools

School overview

Enrollment

943 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

25:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

38%

Teachers

37 full-time

Dashboard indicators

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased

+4.3 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased

+4.7 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

17.6%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 51 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic26.3%

White47.7%

Asian10.5%

Black0.4%

Other15.1%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Ethel Dwyer Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	32.9%
Met Standard	30.4%
Below Standard	36.7%

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "63% proficient" for Ethel Dwyer Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

32.9% of students exceeded standard while 30.4% merely met it. That exceeded rate is 15.6 points above the state average of 17.3%. That's 9.4 points below the Huntington Beach City Elementary district average of 42.3%. The 3 nearby schools within ~3 miles average 43.9% exceeded — 11.1 points higher. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" is the difference between a school that clears the bar and one that raises it.

Proficiency drops by 8.5 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth — a signal that the school may not be sustaining early gains.

California's Dashboard shows ELA performance increased and Math increased year-over-year. 17.6% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 15.4%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

32.9%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

63.3%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

-8.5pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

15.4%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

3.5%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

1,701

Across all grades & subjects

Grade trajectory

ELA Trajectory

G6 → G7 → G8

Math Trajectory

G6 → G7 → G8

ELA scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	273	37.4%	32.2%	18.7%	11.7%	69.6%
7th	295	32.9%	38.6%	18.0%	10.5%	71.5%
8th	281	22.4%	40.9%	18.5%	18.1%	63.4%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	274	38.0%	22.3%	22.6%	17.1%	60.2%
7th	295	38.3%	27.1%	19.7%	14.9%	65.4%
8th	283	28.3%	21.2%	24.0%	26.5%	49.5%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Agnes L. Smith Elementary

61.184th pctile

Zoned

Huntington Seacliff Elementary

70.395th pctile

Zoned

John R. Peterson Elementary

60.383rd pctile

Also serves area

▼

Middle

Ethel Dwyer Middle

54.080th pctile

This school

▼

High School

No feeder data available for this level

Feeder patterns derived from 2015-16 NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries may have changed. Contact your school district for current information.