Ladera Ranch Middle

Ladera Ranch Middle serves grades 6–8 in Ladera Ranch, California, and enrolls 1,064 students. SchoolDigger ranks it 78th out of 2,703 California schools, in the 97th percentile with five stars. Its standout finding is strong achievement across all three subjects: in 2025–26, proficiency was 82% in English language arts (ELA), 76% in math and 70% in science, above results for both Capistrano Unified and California.

Among eight nearby middle schools serving grades 6–8, Ladera Ranch ranked first in ELA and math and second in science. Its results were 11 points above the nearby-school average in ELA, 16 points higher in math and 9 points higher in science. Science is its least dominant subject compared with nearby schools, but the school still outperformed the district by 11 points and the state by 34. Its strongest margins over the district and state were in math: 76% proficiency, compared with 62% for the district and 38% statewide.

Results have been generally flat to rising since 2022–23: ELA gained 1 percentage point, math 2 points and science 5 points, though results varied from year to year. The school’s SchoolDigger standing remains near the top statewide, slightly below its mostly 98th-percentile placements in earlier supplied years. In 2024–25, its student-teacher ratio was 23.0, the highest among nearby schools, and 19% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible—the lowest reported nearby share that year. Chronic absenteeism also improved, falling 4 points from 2021–22 to 2025–26; the latest rate of 10% was 4 points below the district and 8 below the state.