Chaparral Middle, Moorpark CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Chaparral Middle

Chaparral Middle serves the middle grades of Moorpark, a suburban Ventura County community, and sits in a district contending with structural budget pressures that warrant attention from families considering the area.

The school's academic profile shows uneven performance across subjects. In English language arts, proficiency runs in the low-to-middle range, with sixth-grade students outperforming seventh and eighth graders. Math is a softer spot: proficiency rates decline noticeably as students progress through the grades, with eighth-grade math proficiency substantially lower than sixth-grade. Science proficiency at eighth grade is similarly modest. On the most recent state assessments, the school's overall proficiency sits above the midpoint when compared with other middle schools in Ventura County, a meaningful position that suggests the school is holding steady relative to its peers, though absolute proficiency numbers indicate room for growth across both the ELA and math programs. State testing data for prior years was not available, so trends cannot be drawn; only the current year snapshot exists.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial white population and smaller Asian, Black and multiracial groups. About a third of students qualify for free- or reduced-price lunch, a marker of economic diversity. The school enrolls a modest population across the three middle grades, distributed fairly evenly. Data on English learner or special education populations was not available.

The wider Moorpark Unified context shapes what families should know. The district is running a structural deficit, with revenue from its main funding source declining due to both falling enrollment and lower attendance across the district. The board is managing this by drawing down reserves. This budget pressure is real and affects the long-term trajectory of staffing and program capacity. On the positive side, the district operates an elementary Schools of Choice model in which families can apply to any of six specialized elementary schools during open enrollment; this school-choice structure does not extend to middle school, but it is worth understanding as a feature of the district experience.

Moorpark itself is a car-oriented residential suburb with a historic walkable downtown along High Street, where a Metrolink station offers commuter rail access. The city is actively improving pedestrian infrastructure downtown and planning for more mixed-use development. Housing in the area is relatively expensive; median home values run well above California's state benchmark, and rental costs are high as well. Several specific-plan developments in the city's pipeline will add significant new residential units over the coming years, which may affect school enrollment and housing markets. The city retains a working commercial base alongside its dominant residential character, with employers including a manufacturing and electronics sector, the local community college, and the school district itself.

For families considering Chaparral Middle, the math performance trend downward by grade warrants a direct conversation with the school about supports and interventions in place. The budget pressures in the district are transparent and real, not hidden, and parents may want to understand how program changes or staffing decisions could affect their child's pathway through middle and into high school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 42% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 734%

School 34% · District 39% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 829%

School 29% · District 33% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 661%

School 61% · District 58% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 750%

School 50% · District 53% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 849%

School 49% · District 50% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 832%

School 32% · District 32%

▲ 7 pts above state median · even with county median

Social studies

Grade 867%

School 67% · District 69% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

This schoolMoorpark 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-income76%36 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income35%Higher-income61%27 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income30%Higher-income67%37 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income23%Higher-income52%30 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income14%Higher-income49%36 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income18%Higher-income39%21 pp gap