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Don Juan Avila Middle

Public Grades 6-8

197^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 93% of California middle schools

Summary

Don Juan Avila Middle is a consistently high-performing public school serving about 860 students in grades 6-8 within the Capistrano Unified School District in Aliso Viejo, ranking in the top 7% of all California middle schools.

The school stands out for its exceptional and consistent academic results, particularly in science, where its 69% proficiency rate notably outpaces nearby schools like Ladera Ranch Middle and Aliso Viejo Middle. While not the absolute top-ranked in the area, it shows remarkable stability, maintaining a 5-star rating for over a decade, unlike some peers such as Carl Hankey Middle, which has seen more fluctuation in its scores.

Parents will appreciate the school's effective support for all students, with historically strong performance across various groups, and its efficient management of resources, achieving great results even with a slightly higher student-teacher ratio than some neighbors. The school also excels in keeping chronic absenteeism low and shows a clear pattern of students making strong academic progress from 6th through 8th grade, especially in their final year.

863

Students ?

24.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,500

Per pupil spending ?

29.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

26278 Wood Canyon Dr.
Aliso Viejo, CA 92656-8060

(949) 362-0348

District: Capistrano Unified

Students who attend Don Juan Avila Middle usually attend:

High:

Aliso Niguel High

Feeder schools for Don Juan Avila Middle:

Elementary:	Canyon Vista Elementary
	Don Juan Avila Elementary
	Wood Canyon Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

45.7%

Hispanic:

22.6%

Asian:

19.8%

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Compare Don Juan Avila Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 94th percentile in 2013 → 93rd in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (70% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 7% of California middle schools

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

!Large classes — about 24 students per teacher

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school70%

District avg65%

California avg41%

197^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Top 7%▼ down 2 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

8^th of 13Middle Schools in the Capistrano Unified

193^rd of 1,543Capistrano Unified among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	93.1	197 of 2761	92.9%	★★★★★
2024	96.4	109 of 2783	96.1%	★★★★★
2023	94.0	172 of 2781	93.8%	★★★★★
2022	93.5	183 of 2740	93.3%	★★★★★
2019	94.7	142 of 2715	94.8%	★★★★★
2018	93.1	171 of 2480	93.1%	★★★★★
2017	94.3	145 of 2508	94.2%	★★★★★
2016	92.9	145 of 2497	94.2%	★★★★★
2015	93.6	137 of 2477	94.5%	★★★★★
2013	87.1	147 of 2379	93.8%	★★★★★
2012	88.1	127 of 2259	94.4%	★★★★★
2011	89.8	92 of 2236	95.9%	★★★★★
2010	90.2	99 of 2179	95.5%	★★★★★
2009	89.7	107 of 2063	94.8%	★★★★★
2008	87.7	150 of 2005	92.5%	★★★★★
2007	86.8	179 of 1999	91.0%	★★★★★
2006	86.1	181 of 1804	90.0%	★★★★★
2005	86.8	165 of 1777	90.7%	★★★★★
2004	86.3	176 of 1769	90.1%	★★★★★

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	79.4	134 of 739	81.9%	★★★★☆
2024	83.0	71 of 743	90.4%	★★★★★
2023	71.5	214 of 715	70.1%	★★★★☆
2022	77.3	157 of 733	78.6%	★★★★☆
2019	82.6	71 of 745	90.5%	★★★★★
2018	86.3	25 of 700	96.4%	★★★★★

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	76.4	216 of 1531	85.9%	★★★★☆
2019	95.1	53 of 1491	96.4%	★★★★★
2018	90.2	79 of 1369	94.2%	★★★★★

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	92.3	42 of 1478	97.2%	★★★★★
2023	83.7	87 of 1521	94.3%	★★★★★
2022	89.8	58 of 1540	96.2%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	93.4	165 of 2533	93.5%	★★★★★
2024	95.4	114 of 2551	95.5%	★★★★★
2023	93.0	176 of 2531	93.0%	★★★★★
2022	92.8	173 of 2509	93.1%	★★★★★
2019	94.1	122 of 2380	94.9%	★★★★★
2018	92.7	153 of 2262	93.2%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	83.6	257 of 2395	89.3%	★★★★☆
2024	94.5	81 of 2388	96.6%	★★★★★
2023	89.9	142 of 2374	94.0%	★★★★★
2022	87.6	171 of 2359	92.8%	★★★★★
2019	87.3	176 of 2213	92.0%	★★★★★
2018	84.2	206 of 2072	90.1%	★★★★★

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	37.1	196 of 320	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	81.2	31 of 336	90.8%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	85.9	238 of 2542	90.6%	★★★★★
2024	91.1	169 of 2579	93.4%	★★★★★
2023	93.0	118 of 2531	95.3%	★★★★★
2022	87.0	186 of 2458	92.4%	★★★★★
2019	89.9	143 of 2369	94.0%	★★★★★
2018	87.1	176 of 2230	92.1%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	90.9	227 of 2534	91.0%	★★★★★
2024	96.1	103 of 2552	96.0%	★★★★★
2023	93.6	159 of 2538	93.7%	★★★★★
2022	93.0	177 of 2527	93.0%	★★★★★
2019	94.1	153 of 2407	93.6%	★★★★★
2018	92.3	174 of 2273	92.3%	★★★★★

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	77.6	39 of 194	79.9%	★★★★☆
2024	92.5	5 of 192	97.4%	★★★★★
2023	77.0	43 of 197	78.2%	★★★★☆
2022	84.9	19 of 193	90.2%	★★★★★

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	79.7	138 of 726	81.0%	★★★★☆
2024	74.4	168 of 701	76.0%	★★★★☆
2023	82.5	92 of 677	86.4%	★★★★☆
2022	69.5	193 of 665	71.0%	★★★★☆
2019	87.6	34 of 554	93.9%	★★★★★
2018	79.0	81 of 462	82.5%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	90.5	89 of 1566	94.3%	★★★★★
2024	97.3	29 of 1552	98.1%	★★★★★
2023	90.6	84 of 1531	94.5%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	81.8	208 of 1520	86.3%	★★★★☆
2024	89.4	82 of 1537	94.7%	★★★★★
2023	80.2	234 of 1543	84.8%	★★★★☆
2022	83.6	174 of 1555	88.8%	★★★★☆
2019	85.2	166 of 1602	89.6%	★★★★☆
2018	82.4	204 of 1496	86.4%	★★★★☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

English Language Learner (2024)97th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)94th percentile~ school

Female (2025)93rd percentile~ school

Male (2025)91st percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)91st percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)89th percentile-4 vs school

White (2025)86th percentile-7 vs school

Disabled (2022)86th percentile-7 vs school

Asian (2025)82nd percentile-11 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)81st percentile-12 vs school

Military Connected (2025)80th percentile-13 vs school

Homeless (2023)39th percentile-55 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy73%+24 vs state

Science69%+36 vs state

Mathematics66%+29 vs state

★

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Schools Near Don Juan Avila Middle

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Don Juan Avila Middle	Public	6-8	26278 Wood Canyon Dr.	Aliso Viejo	92656	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 362-0348	863	36	24.1	29.7%	394 (45.7%)	14 (1.6%)	195 (22.6%)	171 (19.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	88 (10.2%)	93.1	197^th of 2761 public middle schools	92.9%		96.4	109^th of 2783 public middle schools	96.1%	88	69.2	69.2	67.6	71.9	78.9	73.1	60.8	65.5	71.4	66.1	$18,500	$1,379	$17,121
Aliso Viejo Middle	Public	6-8	111 Park Ave.	Aliso Viejo	92656	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 831-2622	803	36	22.3	35.4%	433 (53.9%)	16 (2.0%)	154 (19.2%)	109 (13.6%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.5%)	87 (10.8%)	91.6	233^rd of 2761 public middle schools	91.6%		93.1	208^th of 2783 public middle schools	92.5%	25	55.2	55.2	70.5	70.7	72.9	71.4	62.7	65.2	66.8	65.0	$19,508	$1,401	$18,107
Thurston Middle	Public	6-8	2100 Park Ave.	Laguna Beach	92651	Orange County	Laguna Beach Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 497-7785	524	31	16.6	17.7%	369 (70.4%)	6 (1.1%)	65 (12.4%)	29 (5.5%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	52 (9.9%)	96	115^th of 2761 public middle schools	95.8%		94.2	177^th of 2783 public middle schools	93.6%	62	70.2	70.2	74.0	77.2	78.8	76.7	72.0	74.9	77.1	74.7	$34,384	$1,134	$33,250
Los Alisos Intermediate	Public	7-8	25171 Moor Ave.	Mission Viejo	92691	Orange County	Saddleback Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 830-9700	595	29	20.5	74.5%	93 (15.6%)	2 (0.3%)	429 (72.1%)	47 (7.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (3.5%)	52.8	1104^th of 2761 public middle schools	60.0%		53.1	1066^th of 2783 public middle schools	61.7%	38	33.0	33.0		48.4	40.1	44.3		41.5	31.9	36.7	$19,306	$1,735	$17,571
Niguel Hills Middle	Public	6-8	29070 Shark Bay	Laguna Niguel	92677	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 234-5360	693	35	19.5	44.6%	384 (55.4%)	8 (1.2%)	212 (30.6%)	36 (5.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	53 (7.6%)	87.6	318^th of 2761 public middle schools	88.5%		92.4	219^th of 2783 public middle schools	92.1%	99	50.3	50.3	72.3	65.5	71.8	69.6	61.3	52.2	61.1	57.9	$20,684	$1,423	$19,261
Oxford Preparatory Academy - Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	22882 Loumont Dr.	Lake Forest	92630	Orange County	Oxford Preparatory Academy - Middle District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 600-9050	495	22	22.6	18.4%	172 (34.7%)	12 (2.4%)	100 (20.2%)	152 (30.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	58 (11.7%)	95.2	150^th of 2761 public middle schools	94.6%		95.2	147^th of 2783 public middle schools	94.7%	3	67.7	67.7	77.0	84.0	79.0	80.0	67.3	65.4	62.9	65.2
La Paz Intermediate	Public	7-8	25151 Pradera Dr.	Mission Viejo	92691	Orange County	Saddleback Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 830-1720	713	33	21.8	39.7%	310 (43.5%)	7 (1.0%)	223 (31.3%)	89 (12.5%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	82 (11.5%)	90.2	274^th of 2761 public middle schools	90.1%		90.8	261^st of 2783 public middle schools	90.6%	13	57.1	57.1		75.4	64.1	69.5		70.4	55.7	62.8	$19,045	$1,362	$17,683
Serrano Intermediate	Public	7-8	24642 Jeronimo Rd.	Lake Forest	92630	Orange County	Saddleback Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 586-3221	868	39	22.3	48.7%	272 (31.3%)	16 (1.8%)	391 (45.0%)	108 (12.4%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	78 (9.0%)	75.3	578^th of 2761 public middle schools	79.1%		79.1	501^st of 2783 public middle schools	82.0%	77	49.5	49.5		55.0	58.4	56.6		48.8	46.0	47.4	$19,308	$1,376	$17,932
Carl Hankey Middle	Public	6-8	27252 Nubles	Mission Viejo	92692	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 234-5315	181	12	15.6	49.7%	69 (38.1%)	3 (1.7%)	75 (41.4%)	18 (9.9%)	2 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (7.7%)	86.9	338^th of 2761 public middle schools	87.8%		79.1	499^th of 2783 public middle schools	82.1%	161	51.7	51.7	69.1	73.7	65.5	69.4	73.2	44.8	57.9	58.5	$24,837	$1,745	$23,092
Fred Newhart Middle	Public	6-8	25001 Veterans Way	Mission Viejo	92692	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 855-0162	1,105	51	21.6	33.6%	466 (42.2%)	16 (1.4%)	295 (26.7%)	150 (13.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	174 (15.7%)	94.5	168^th of 2761 public middle schools	93.9%		94.6	167^th of 2783 public middle schools	94.0%	1	59.3	59.3	75.0	78.0	78.8	77.2	69.4	63.9	70.8	67.9	$19,113	$1,344	$17,769

Frequently Asked Questions about Don Juan Avila Middle

What district is Don Juan Avila Middle in?

Capistrano Unified

What is the racial makeup of Don Juan Avila Middle?

Students at Don Juan Avila Middle are 46% White, 23% Hispanic, 20% Asian, 10% Two or more races, 2% African American.

Is Don Juan Avila Middle a good school?

Yes. Don Juan Avila Middle ranks in the top 7.1% of California middle schools.

What high school do graduates of Don Juan Avila Middle attend?

Students who attend Don Juan Avila Middle usually go on to attend Aliso Niguel High

How many students attend Don Juan Avila Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 863 students attended Don Juan Avila Middle.

Rate Don Juan Avila Middle!

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.