Laguna Beach Unified

Laguna Beach Unified has four schools—two elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. Across the supplied All Grades results, school averages were 79% proficient in English language arts, 73% in math and 70% in science, ahead of state averages by 30, 35 and 34 percentage points, respectively. Because the schools serve different grade spans, these broad results are not like-for-like grade comparisons. The clearest overall finding is that every school scored above the state in all three subjects.

The school leaders differ by subject, and math and science show more separation than ELA. Laguna Beach High led All Grades ELA at 83%, 4 points above Top of the World Elementary at 78%; El Morro Elementary led math at 79.1%, just 0.2 points above Top of the World at 78.9%. Top of the World led science at 80%, while El Morro had the lowest result, 61%—a 19-point gap. In ELA, the range was narrower: 83% at Laguna Beach High versus 77% at Thurston Middle, a 6-point difference.

Average results rose from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026 by 1 point in ELA, 2 in math and 8 in science, though individual schools had exceptions: El Morro’s math improved 11 points, while Top of the World’s ELA fell 1 point and its math fell 2. SchoolDigger placed all four schools in the statewide 94th–96th percentiles in 2025–2026. Other measures offer context: 2024–2025 student-teacher ratios ranged from 16.6 at Thurston to 21.2 at El Morro, and free/reduced lunch eligible shares ranged from 16% at Top of the World to 25% at El Morro. Chronic absenteeism was highest at Laguna Beach High, at 15%, compared with 7%–10% at the other schools.