How does Richard L. Graves Middle compare to other middle schools in Whittier?

Richard L. Graves Middle has a Scope Score of 28.9/100, ranked #1348 among California middle schools. 6% of students exceed standard, with a total of 919 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Richard L. Graves Middle?

6.4% of students at Richard L. Graves Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 27.2% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at Richard L. Graves Middle?

21.7% of students at Richard L. Graves 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.

Richard L. Graves Middle

Middle School

South Whittier Elementary WhittierLos Angeles County90605

📍 13243 East Los Nietos Road

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

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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

455 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

16:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

93%

Teachers

28 full-time

Dashboard indicators

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

ELA Year-over-Year

Maintained

-2.7 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Declined

-7.6 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

31.1%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 106 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic96.5%

White0.9%

Asian0.2%

Black1.1%

Other1.3%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Richard L. Graves Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	6.4%
Met Standard	20.8%
Below Standard	72.8%

Score Factors

Holding Back

▼Exceeded standard: 6.4%

10.9pp below state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

▼Met or exceeded: 27.2%

12.3pp below state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

▼Chronic absenteeism: 21.7%

2.4pp above state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% weight

▼Baseline proficiency: 27.2%

Below state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

10% weight

▼Suspension rate: 5.3%

1.2pp above state avg (state avg 4.1%)

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 5 dimensions. See full methodology →

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "27% proficient" for Richard L. Graves Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

6.4% of students exceeded standard while 20.8% met it. That exceeded rate is 10.9 points below the state average of 17.3%. That's 5.8 points below the South Whittier Elementary district average of 12.2%. The 4 nearby schools within ~3 miles average 24.1% exceeded — 17.7 points higher. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

California's Dashboard shows ELA performance maintained and Math declined year-over-year. 31.1% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 21.7%, above 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

6.4%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

27.2%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

N/A

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

21.7%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

5.3%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

919

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	—	—	—	—	—	—
7th	241	6.2%	25.7%	26.6%	41.5%	31.9%
8th	217	6.9%	27.2%	29.0%	36.9%	34.1%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	—	—	—	—	—	—
7th	242	7.4%	16.1%	28.1%	48.4%	23.6%
8th	219	5.0%	14.2%	26.0%	54.8%	19.2%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Lake Marie Elementary

61.3# in state

Howard J. McKibben Elementary

51.8# in state

Loma Vista Elementary

▼

Middle

Richard L. Graves Middle

28.9# 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.