March Middle, Moreno Valley CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on March Middle

March Middle is a regular public middle school serving grades six through eight in Moreno Valley, a built-out suburban city in the Inland Empire of Riverside County. The school enrolls a substantial and diverse cohort, with the large majority of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The population is predominantly Hispanic, with meaningful shares of Black and Asian students and smaller populations of other backgrounds.

Academic performance at March Middle is well below proficiency benchmarks across tested subjects. In English language arts, between roughly one-quarter and one-third of students at each grade level meet or exceed proficiency. Mathematics performance is significantly lower, ranging from about one-tenth of sixth graders to roughly one-seventh of eighth graders meeting the standard. In science, assessed at grade eight, about one-quarter of students achieve proficiency. Among Riverside County's districts, March Middle's overall proficiency index falls below the midpoint, meaning it sits in the lower half of academic performance across the county's schools.

The most recent state testing data available is from the current school year. Prior testing from 2012-13 showed higher results in social studies, but that assessment and proficiency standard are no longer in use, so direct comparison is not possible. With only one year of recent data in hand, the school's academic trajectory cannot yet be determined.

Val Verde Unified, the district that operates March Middle, recently adopted a new mathematics curriculum across all grades, aligned to California's 2023 Mathematics Framework and supported by teacher training and differentiated instruction for students working below standard. This district-wide shift shapes how math is being taught here. The district also completed a voter-approved school improvement bond (approved in March 2020) that has funded campus safety upgrades, repairs, and modernization of science and career-technical education facilities, though the bulk of those investments may still be rolling out.

The broader Moreno Valley context is one of sustained suburban growth and car-dependent living. Housing costs in the area are moderate for Southern California, with home values and rents both slightly declining year-over-year. The city is predominantly single-family detached homes and has a substantial logistics and distribution sector alongside retail and public sector anchors such as March Air Reserve Base. Most daily activities and school commutes are automobile-based; walkability is low. The city is pursuing a planned town center to create a civic core, and new residential construction continues.

A parent considering March Middle should understand that this is a school where the majority of students face economic hardship, and where current academic performance is substantially below state standards in all subjects. The new curriculum adoption and district investments signal intentional effort to build instructional capacity, but the year-to-year academic trajectory and the school's response to current proficiency gaps remain to be seen. A parent may want to look into the school's specific supports for students below standard and the timeline for curriculum implementation results.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 613%

School 13% · District 19% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 710%

School 10% · District 17% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 815%

School 15% · District 15%

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

English language arts

Grade 632%

School 32% · District 40% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 729%

School 29% · District 36% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 836%

School 36% · District 37% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Science

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 18% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · even with county median

Social studies

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 57% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

This schoolVal Verde 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-income31%Higher-income39%8 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income27%Higher-income41%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income34%Higher-income52%18 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income11%Higher-income30%20 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income11%Higher-income7%3 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income12%Higher-income33%21 pp gap