Summary:
Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified includes 17 schools: 10 elementary, three middle, three high schools, and one alternative school serving students across elementary through high-school grades. Most schools post strong results compared with the state: all elementary and middle schools, plus both comprehensive high schools, are above state results in the subjects covered. But results vary widely within school levels, and the clearest exception is Rancho del Mar High (Continuation), whose 11th-grade results are below state levels in all three subjects.
Cornerstone at Pedregal Elementary leads elementary schools with 91% proficiency in ELA, 90% in math, and 89% in science; its science result is 10 percentage points above the next-highest elementary school. Ridgecrest Intermediate leads middle schools at 85% in ELA, 80% in math, and 75% in science, while Miraleste Intermediate is lowest among middle schools, though still above state results. Palos Verdes Peninsula High leads the comprehensive high schools. In contrast, Rancho del Mar’s 11th-grade results are 27% in ELA, 0% in math, and 9% in science. It also reports 85% chronic absenteeism, despite a 97% graduation rate.
Across 15 schools with results in both years, average results fell by 1 percentage point in ELA, 2 in math, and 4 in science, while state results rose by less than 1 point, 1 point, and 3 points, respectively. There are exceptions: Ridgecrest gained 9 points in science, while Mira Catalina Elementary fell 28 points in that subject. SchoolDigger ranks Cornerstone 24th of 5,804 elementary schools and Ridgecrest 41st of 2,703 middle schools; however, 11 of 16 schools with ranking histories have lower percentiles than in 2023–24. Context varies too: 2024–25 free/reduced lunch eligible measures range from 4% at Silver Spur Elementary to 21% at Point Vicente Elementary, without neatly matching school results.
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