How does John Gutierrez Middle compare to other middle schools in Salinas?

John Gutierrez Middle has a Scope Score of 36.9/100, ranked #1176 among California middle schools. 6% of students exceed standard, with a total of 1,084 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at John Gutierrez Middle?

5.8% of students at John Gutierrez Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 25.4% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is John Gutierrez Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, John Gutierrez Middle's proficiency rate increases by 3.1 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth. This suggests the school may be adding value over time.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at John Gutierrez Middle?

14.5% of students at John Gutierrez 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 the Scope Score.

John Gutierrez Middle

Middle School

Santa Rita Union Elementary SalinasMonterey County93906

📍 1031 Rogge Road

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

📈

On the Rise

On an upward trajectory — scores are improving faster than average. Worth a closer look.

Scope Scores are SchoolScope's analysis of public data from the California Dept. of Education (CAASPP, chronic absenteeism, suspension rates). They are not official CDE ratings and should not be the sole basis for school decisions. See methodology.

School overview

Enrollment

605 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

20:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

62%

Teachers

30 full-time

Dashboard indicators

How this school's scores changed from last year to this year

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased

+9.5 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased Significantly

+15.9 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

16.3%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 129 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic88.8%

White6.1%

Asian1.0%

Black1.2%

Other3.0%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for John Gutierrez Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	5.8%
Met Standard	19.7%
Below Standard	74.6%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Growth (G6→G8): +3.1pp

Scores improve across grades (state avg +0.8pp)

15% weight

✓Chronic absenteeism: 14.5%

4.8pp below state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% weight

✓Suspension rate: 3.4%

0.7pp below state avg (state avg 4.1%)

10% weight

Holding Back

▼Exceeded standard: 5.8%

11.5pp below state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

▼Met or exceeded: 25.4%

14.1pp below state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

▼Baseline proficiency: 25.4%

Below state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

10% weight

Unlike traditional school ratings, we show our work. Every factor, its weight, and how this school compares to the state average — so you can decide what matters most to your family. The middle school Scope Score is weighted across 6 dimensions. See full methodology →

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "25% proficient" for John Gutierrez Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

5.8% of students exceeded standard while 19.7% met it. That exceeded rate is 11.5 points below the state average of 17.3%. That's near the Santa Rita Union Elementary district average of 6.9%. Nearby schools (within ~3 miles) average 5.8% exceeded — about the same. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Students here improve by 3.1 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth, suggesting the school is adding value beyond what students arrive with.

California's Dashboard shows ELA performance increased and Math increased significantly year-over-year. 16.3% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 14.5%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

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

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

5.8%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

25.4%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

+3.1pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

14.5%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

3.4%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

1,084

Across all grades & subjects

Grade trajectory

How proficiency compares across grade levels this year (different students, same test year)

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	144	7.6%	24.3%	27.8%	40.3%	31.9%
7th	200	4.0%	26.5%	28.5%	41.0%	30.5%
8th	196	7.1%	30.6%	29.6%	32.6%	37.8%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	145	4.8%	11.0%	30.3%	53.8%	15.9%
7th	201	6.5%	13.9%	28.4%	51.2%	20.4%
8th	198	4.5%	11.6%	24.8%	59.1%	16.2%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

▼

Middle

John Gutierrez Middle

36.9# in state

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.