Nordhoff Jr. High, Ojai CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Nordhoff Jr. High

Nordhoff Jr. High sits at the middle school level in Ojai, a small Ventura County city defined by its walkable downtown of Spanish architecture, family-owned galleries and wellness retreats, and a surrounding landscape of residential neighborhoods and hillside properties. The school serves grades seven and eight from the enrollment drawn across the district, operating on the Nordhoff High School campus after a significant 2023 school consolidation that moved all the district's middle school students to that location.

The student body is about evenly split between White and Hispanic students, with a modest share qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment is small, typical of a rural or semi-rural junior high. Data on special education and English learner populations were not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the breadth of those support services.

The state testing results from spring 2025 show proficiency levels that are below the midpoint for overall performance when compared to the other districts in Ventura County. In English language arts across both grades, roughly one-third of students scored at the proficient level or above. In mathematics, the proficiency rate was closer to one-quarter of students across grades seven and eight. In the eighth-grade science assessment, slightly less than one-third of students reached proficiency. These results suggest that the school is serving a population where a substantial majority of students are working below the state standard in the tested subjects. An eighth-grade social studies assessment from an older state testing system, now discontinued, showed a higher proficiency rate from that era, but that data point does not carry forward to current conditions.

The school's setting reflects a district-wide reorganization completed in 2023. Facing enrollment decline and a state fiscal warning, the district consolidated its schools and moved middle school students from a standalone Matilija Middle School building onto the Nordhoff High School campus. This reshaping is now the operational reality for families. The district also approved a general obligation bond in 2020 that added property taxes to fund facility improvements and modernization. A new Nordhoff Aquatics Center opened recently as part of that investment, so families buying or renting in the area should factor in that ongoing tax commitment.

Housing in Ojai carries a relatively high price point relative to income, and rental costs are also steep as a share of household income. The community is supply-constrained, with development focused on infill and affordable units rather than large subdivisions. The town's civic and commercial life is concentrated in its historic downtown, while the school campuses sit on separated sites away from the central village.

Families considering Nordhoff Jr. High should expect a small-scale, rural-feeling school environment in a town with strong artistic and wellness character, paired with state test results that indicate students here are working well below proficiency in core subjects. The consolidation is a defining factor of the current district landscape, and a parent may want to discuss the specific academic supports and program continuity available as students transition from junior high to high school on the same campus.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 723%

School 23% · District 21% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 823%

School 23% · District 23%

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 735%

School 35% · District 35%

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Science

Grade 829%

School 29% · District 29% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 864%

School 64% · District 63% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

This schoolOjai 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-income17%Higher-income41%24 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income28%Higher-income46%18 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income18%Higher-income48%31 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income11%Higher-income30%18 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income17%Higher-income30%13 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income10%Higher-income36%26 pp gap