Margarita Middle, Temecula CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Margarita Middle

Margarita Middle is a mid-sized sixth through eighth grade school in Temecula serving a diverse student body. The enrollment reflects the broader Temecula community: somewhat more than half the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the racial and ethnic composition is roughly split between Hispanic and white students, with smaller Asian, multiracial, Black, and Native Hawaiian populations. The school's location on Margarita Road places it within one of Temecula's master-planned residential communities rather than in the historic downtown.

On state assessments, Margarita Middle's results show uneven performance across subjects. English language arts proficiency sits at about the midpoint, with the seventh grade cohort performing slightly above the sixth and eighth grade groups. Math proficiency is lower across all grades, ranging from around a quarter of students in sixth grade to about a third in the higher grades. Science proficiency among eighth graders is similarly modest. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile of districts in Riverside County, a positioning driven partly by strong earlier results in social studies, though that data is from over a decade ago and may not reflect current performance.

The school sits within Temecula Valley Unified, a district that has undergone significant governance and curricular shifts in recent years. A conservative board elected in 2022 made several changes that shape the school environment: the adoption of new state-approved social studies materials after initially resisting them, a ban on teaching critical race theory that a county judge upheld, a parental notification policy requiring schools to alert parents if a student shows signs of being transgender, and restrictions on flag displays on school grounds. In June 2024 voters recalled the board president in a special election, signaling community division over these policies and leaving the district's future direction uncertain. Parents enrolling students at Margarita Middle should be aware these policies are in effect and that the district is in a period of governance transition.

Temecula itself is a suburban community of master-planned neighborhoods between San Diego and Los Angeles, functioning as a regional shopping and tourism hub. The housing market is relatively strong, with median home values substantially above both state and national benchmarks, though prices have edged down slightly year over year. Median household income is solid. The area has been growing, though recent growth has slowed and the district faces questions about school capacity as new housing developments are approved. The community is car-dependent outside the compact Old Town historic district; schools like Margarita Middle are distributed across residential communities rather than anchored downtown.

A parent considering this school should expect a mainstream academic program with state-tested core subjects. The math results suggest a parent may want to look into the school's math support options and how the school approaches intervention. The broader context of district curriculum policy and recent governance changes are worth discussing directly with school leaders if those areas matter to your family's school choice.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 625%

School 25% · District 46% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 736%

School 36% · District 51% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 49% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 648%

School 48% · District 60% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 751%

School 51% · District 64% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 843%

School 43% · District 64% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Science

Grade 837%

School 37% · District 48% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 876%

School 76% · District 73% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

This schoolTemecula Valley Unified, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income40%Higher-income59%20 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income41%Higher-income64%22 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income32%Higher-income56%24 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income18%Higher-income34%16 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income22%Higher-income55%32 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income22%Higher-income41%19 pp gap