Middle school (grades 6-8) · Riverside, CA

Matthew Gage Middle

Federal NCES profile for Matthew Gage Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 33/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 063315005138
0/100100/10033/100
👥 S:T ratio
14
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
16
📋 Attendance
32
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Matthew Gage Middle earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.

#4 of 11
middle schools in Riverside · Resource Index
33
Resource Index · Typical
21.5:1
students per teacher
58.0%
free-lunch eligible

Matthew Gage Middle has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Matthew Gage Middle ranks #4 of 11 middle schools in Riverside, CA.

School address

Enrollment

840

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

39.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

21.5:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+0% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

58.0%

vs 55.5% California avg

+5% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Matthew Gage Middle compares with California and U.S. medians

At or below state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Matthew Gage Middle

Matthew Gage Middle is a higher-need, mid-sized middle school in Riverside, California, enrolling 840 students.

At 21.5:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the California median, within a few percentage points of the 21.5:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Its free-meal eligibility rate of 58.0% lands close to the California typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.

Enrollment of 840 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 9,998 scored California schools.

Against 1,221 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #252.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (68%) and White (22%) (diversity index 49/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 420 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 27.4% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

The federal civil-rights collection also records 3 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.

Among Riverside's middle schools, it stands alongside Ysmael Villegas Middle (1,136 students): Matthew Gage Middle is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (21.5:1 vs 21:1).

Riverside Unified also operates Martin Luther King Jr. High (2,699 students) and Polytechnic High (2,484 students) alongside Matthew Gage Middle.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Matthew Gage Middle compares

Matthew Gage Middle on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs California California avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 21.5:1 ▼ 0% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 58.0% ▲ 5% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 840 top 16% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

21.5:1
Leaner classes than 12% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
840
Bigger than 87% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
58.0%
free-lunch eligible - 5% above the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
21.5:1
students per teacher - 0% above state mean
Top 48% in California - lower ratio than 52% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
27.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$14,545
per pupil, district-wide - below California avg of $16,509
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 420 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 93 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 3 expulsions.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

Hispanic or Latino 68.1%
White 21.7%
African American 3.7%
Two or More 3.3%
Asian 2.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 68.1% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 48.6/100

Simpson diversity index - at 48.6, Matthew Gage Middle is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Riverside Unified, which includes Matthew Gage Middle.

$14,545
Per student
-12%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-12%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 24.1%
State 64.5%
Federal 11.4%

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.

How Matthew Gage Middle Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Martin Luther King Jr. High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Polytechnic High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Ramona High Larger Higher economic need Higher S:T ratio
John W. North High Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Arlington High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Matthew Gage Middle's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Riverside Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools in Riverside

6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.

Similar middle schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of California, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Matthew Gage Middle's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Matthew Gage Middle

How many students attend Matthew Gage Middle?

Matthew Gage Middle has 840 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Riverside, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Matthew Gage Middle?

The student-teacher ratio at Matthew Gage Middle is 21.5:1, which is 0% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 37% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Matthew Gage Middle?

58.0% of students at Matthew Gage Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Matthew Gage Middle?

The largest demographic group at Matthew Gage Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 68.1% of enrollment, in Riverside, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Matthew Gage Middle?

Matthew Gage Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Matthew Gage Middle rank among middle schools in Riverside?

By Resource Investment Index, Matthew Gage Middle ranks #4 of 11 middle schools in Riverside, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Riverside on the city page.

Is Matthew Gage Middle a good school?

Matthew Gage Middle earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Riverside Unified?

Besides Matthew Gage Middle, Riverside Unified also operates Martin Luther King Jr. High (2,699 students), Polytechnic High (2,484 students), and Ramona High (2,142 students). See the Riverside Unified district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.