General Grant Middle, Reedley CA

Original Research by School Decision on General Grant Middle

General Grant Middle is a public middle school serving grades six through eight in Reedley, a small agricultural city in eastern Fresno County. The school enrolls a substantial population, distributed nearly evenly across its three grades. The student body is predominantly Latino, and a very high share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of Reedley's working families in agriculture and food production.

On state assessments in English language arts, the school shows uneven results by grade. Sixth graders perform below the middle, while seventh graders stand notably higher, and eighth graders land in the middle range. In mathematics, performance is lower overall. Sixth graders sit well below the middle, seventh graders are closer to the middle, and eighth graders are slightly below. Science proficiency in eighth grade is quite low. When proficiency rates across all tested subjects and grades are averaged together, General Grant sits in the top quartile among districts in Fresno County, a meaningful position that reflects strengths in language arts offsetting weaker mathematics and science results.

The grade-level pattern in ELA is striking: seventh-grade proficiency jumps substantially above sixth grade, then eighth-grade results dip somewhat but remain well above sixth grade. This could reflect a particular strength in seventh-grade instruction, or it could point to cohort differences. A parent might want to ask the school directly what explains the seventh-grade strength and whether that momentum carries forward for those students.

Mathematics is more consistently soft across all three grades, and science proficiency at the eighth-grade level is notably low. These are areas where the school faces real instructional challenges. The earlier state assessment data available for eighth-grade social studies also showed low proficiency, suggesting that quantitative and analytical subjects may be a district-wide pattern worth understanding.

General Grant is part of Kings Canyon Joint Unified School District, which serves Reedley and surrounding communities. The district has recently expanded free after-school programming to all elementary and middle school sites through California's state-funded Expanded Learning Program, running from the end of the school day until 6:00 p.m., a concrete resource for working families. The district also participates in the Community Eligibility Provision, providing free breakfast and lunch to all students at qualifying sites, addressing food insecurity directly.

Reedley itself is a small, close-knit Central Valley city with agricultural roots. Housing costs are moderate, and the community is organized around a walkable downtown with historic architecture and local shops, as well as the Reedley Parkway, a Rails-to-Trails corridor that runs across the city. Schools and civic anchors, including the new Reedley Library, cluster near the downtown rather than on isolated campuses, keeping the community anchored. The city is in a measured growth phase, with new residential developments being built and a focus on sustainable planning aligned with state housing requirements.

Data on special populations, including the count of English learners and students receiving special education services, was not available, so a parent should contact the school directly to understand these populations and the support structures in place.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 641%

School 41% · District 41%

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

Grade 754%

School 54% · District 42% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

Grade 851%

School 51% · District 47% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 658%

School 58% · District 52% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 775%

School 75% · District 63% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

Grade 865%

School 65% · District 59% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Science

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 30% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 36% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

This schoolKings Canyon Joint 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-income55%Higher-income87%32 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income74%Higher-income82%8 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income64%Higher-income75%11 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income39%Higher-income60%21 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income53%Higher-income61%8 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income49%Higher-income77%28 pp gap