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Vista del Mar Elementary

Public Grades K-5

286^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 95% of California elementary schools

Summary

Vista del Mar Elementary is a top-performing K-5 public school serving 692 students in San Clemente, part of the Capistrano Unified School District, consistently ranking in the top 5-7% of all California elementary schools for over a decade.

The school's academic results are outstanding, with proficiency rates in English, math, and science that are significantly higher than both the district and state averages. What truly sets Vista del Mar Elementary apart is its exceptional support for all students; for example, its special education students rank in the 99th percentile statewide. This level of success is achieved efficiently, as the school spends less per student than several nearby schools like Marblehead Elementary and Clarence Lobo Elementary, which have much lower test scores, suggesting effective teaching and a strong school culture are key drivers.

When compared to other local schools, Vista del Mar forms an "excellence cluster" with nearby Truman Benedict Elementary, another 5-star school, while outperforming others like Palisades Elementary and Las Palmas Elementary in core subjects. The school also shows more consistent year-to-year excellence than the nearby California Republic Leadership Academy Capistrano charter school. This record demonstrates Vista del Mar's reliable, high-quality education for every student.

692

Students ?

26.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$17,348

Per pupil spending ?

14.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1130 Avenue Talega
San Clemente, CA 92673

(949) 234-5950

District: Capistrano Unified

Students who attend Vista del Mar Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Vista del Mar Middle
High:	San Clemente High

Racial breakdown:

White:

66.5%

Hispanic:

16.3%

Two or more races:

13.7%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Vista del Mar Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 89th percentile in 2013 → 95th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (78% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 5% of California elementary schools

✓Ranking is trending up — up 6 percentile points since 2013

Worth a look

!Large classes — about 27 students per teacher

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school78%

District avg65%

California avg41%

286^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Top 5%▲ up 1 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

6^th of 35Elementary 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	95.5	286 of 5857	95.1%	★★★★★
2024	94.3	407 of 5869	93.1%	★★★★★
2023	95.9	282 of 5859	95.2%	★★★★★
2022	94.3	410 of 5883	93.0%	★★★★★
2019	93.7	392 of 5789	93.2%	★★★★★
2018	92.5	482 of 5662	91.5%	★★★★★
2017	93.9	398 of 5692	93.0%	★★★★★
2016	94.5	344 of 5614	93.9%	★★★★★
2015	94.8	340 of 5611	93.9%	★★★★★
2013	87.7	603 of 5530	89.1%	★★★★☆
2012	87.6	574 of 5390	89.4%	★★★★☆
2011	87.4	611 of 5377	88.6%	★★★★☆
2010	79.5	1028 of 5314	80.7%	★★★★☆
2009	82.9	837 of 5193	83.9%	★★★★☆
2008	87.5	628 of 5113	87.7%	★★★★☆
2007	85.6	728 of 5113	85.8%	★★★★☆
2006	80.4	946 of 4818	80.4%	★★★★☆
2005	72.5	1224 of 4822	74.6%	★★★★☆
2004	83.5	773 of 4809	83.9%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	89.2	169 of 2227	92.4%	★★★★★
2019	95.1	87 of 2585	96.6%	★★★★★
2018	87.8	180 of 2128	91.5%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	94.9	275 of 5597	95.1%	★★★★★
2024	93.8	378 of 5612	93.3%	★★★★★
2023	93.5	395 of 5609	93.0%	★★★★★
2022	91.6	545 of 5635	90.3%	★★★★★
2019	90.3	545 of 5492	90.1%	★★★★★
2018	87.8	677 of 5413	87.5%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	94.5	181 of 5107	96.5%	★★★★★
2024	93.5	225 of 5107	95.6%	★★★★★
2023	93.7	209 of 5087	95.9%	★★★★★
2022	94.6	204 of 5084	96.0%	★★★★★
2019	94.5	152 of 4963	96.9%	★★★★★
2018	97.3	78 of 4830	98.4%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	93.4	239 of 5460	95.6%	★★★★★
2024	87.9	520 of 5517	90.6%	★★★★★
2023	90.7	356 of 5363	93.4%	★★★★★
2022	74.4	985 of 5264	81.3%	★★★★☆
2019	58.0	1900 of 5173	63.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	61.5	1661 of 5084	67.3%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	94.5	295 of 5628	94.8%	★★★★★
2024	93.0	422 of 5643	92.5%	★★★★★
2023	96.2	213 of 5638	96.2%	★★★★★
2022	94.8	318 of 5663	94.4%	★★★★★
2019	94.6	271 of 5510	95.1%	★★★★★
2018	93.5	359 of 5431	93.4%	★★★★★

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	89.6	11 of 153	92.8%	★★★★★
2023	92.7	6 of 140	95.7%	★★★★★

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	77.9	138 of 718	80.8%	★★★★☆
2024	84.6	69 of 670	89.7%	★★★★☆
2023	82.3	81 of 669	87.9%	★★★★☆
2022	86.3	37 of 610	93.9%	★★★★★
2019	84.4	34 of 445	92.4%	★★★★★
2018	79.4	55 of 339	83.8%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	98.2	38 of 2847	98.7%	★★★★★
2024	93.0	148 of 2635	94.4%	★★★★★
2023	92.6	137 of 2420	94.3%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	84.4	261 of 2598	90.0%	★★★★☆
2024	79.1	455 of 2651	82.8%	★★★★☆
2023	83.7	286 of 2661	89.3%	★★★★☆
2022	79.7	464 of 2726	83.0%	★★★★☆
2019	78.3	521 of 2834	81.6%	★★★★☆
2018	75.6	624 of 2737	77.2%	★★★★☆

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)

Special Education (2025)99th percentile+4 vs school

Hispanic (2025)96th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)96th percentile~ school

Female (2025)95th percentile~ school

Male (2025)95th percentile~ school

Military Connected (2025)93rd percentile~ school

Disabled (2022)92nd percentile~ school

White (2025)90th percentile-5 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)81st percentile-14 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy82%+33 vs state

Mathematics76%+38 vs state

Science72%+39 vs state

★

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Schools Near Vista del Mar Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations 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)							% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	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 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	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 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Vista del Mar Elementary	Public	K-5	1130 Avenue Talega	San Clemente	92673	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 234-5950	692	26	26.6	14.6%	460 (66.5%)	1 (0.1%)	113 (16.3%)	21 (3.0%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	95 (13.7%)	95.5	286^th of 5857 public elementary schools	95.1%		94.3	407^th of 5869 public elementary schools	93.1%	121	71.6		71.6	76.5	82.8	85.3				81.6	70.4	80.0	75.9				75.7	97.2		98.2				$17,348	$1,235	$16,113
Truman Benedict Elementary	Public	K-5	1251 Sarmentoso	San Clemente	92673	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 498-6617	602	24	25.0	19.9%	448 (74.4%)	0 (0.0%)	62 (10.3%)	14 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	78 (13.0%)	94.9	339^th of 5857 public elementary schools	94.2%		92.6	527^th of 5869 public elementary schools	91.0%	188	54.4		54.4	80.7	86.7	78.1				81.5	81.7	84.4	79.0				81.5							$18,715	$1,154	$17,561
Marblehead Elementary	Public	K-5	2410 Via Turqueza	San Clemente	92673	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 234-5339	195	8	24.3	43.6%	93 (47.7%)	2 (1.0%)	73 (37.4%)	2 (1.0%)	2 (1.0%)	1 (0.5%)	22 (11.3%)	45.4	2859^th of 5857 public elementary schools	51.2%		47	2733^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	53.4%	126	21.2		21.2	61.8	45.5	36.4				48.3	45.7	47.8	15.2				35.2							$21,940	$2,299	$19,641
Clarence Lobo Elementary	Public	K-5	200 Avenida Vista Montana	San Clemente	92672	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 366-6740	328	16	20.5	54.3%	142 (43.3%)	0 (0.0%)	123 (37.5%)	6 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	56 (17.1%)	53.1	2420^th of 5857 public elementary schools	58.7%		54.7	2305^th of 5869 public elementary schools	60.7%	115	27.5		27.5	40.0	45.7	54.9				47.5	50.0	45.7	37.3				43.8							$21,549	$1,822	$19,727
Las Palmas Elementary	Public	K-5	1101 Calle Puente	San Clemente	92672	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 234-5333	743	29	25.6	48.9%	284 (38.2%)	4 (0.5%)	389 (52.4%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	62 (8.3%)	70.1	1598^th of 5857 public elementary schools	72.7%		58.1	2141^st of 5869 public elementary schools	63.5%	543	47.0		47.0	49.1	50.4	60.9				53.6	52.7	50.4	57.4				53.6	98.3		98.3		98.3		$17,675	$1,511	$16,164
California Republic Leadership Academy Capistrano	Public, Charter	K-8	31711 San Juan Creek Rd.	San Juan Capistrano	92675	Orange County	California Republic Leadership Academy Capistrano District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 298-6040	260	10	25.8	17.7%	190 (73.1%)	2 (0.8%)	40 (15.4%)	5 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	22 (8.5%)	72.3	1505^th of 5857 public elementary schools	74.3%		95.1	338^th of 5869 public elementary schools	94.2%	1167	39.3		39.3	50.0	46.4	60.7	59.3			54.1	60.7	75.0	50.0	48.2			58.6							$13,770	$2,185	$11,585
Harold Ambuehl Elementary	Public	K-5	28001 San Juan Creek Rd.	San Juan Capistrano	92675	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 661-0400	324	14	23.1	35.2%	181 (55.9%)	3 (0.9%)	88 (27.2%)	6 (1.9%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (13.6%)	75.8	1340^th of 5857 public elementary schools	77.1%		70.7	1568^th of 5869 public elementary schools	73.3%	228	51.8		51.8	46.9	51.3	62.5				54.2	65.3	53.9	60.7				60.4	92.0			94.0	96.0	94.0	$19,118	$1,509	$17,609
Palisades Elementary	Public	K-5	26462 Via Sacramento	Capistrano Beach	92624	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 496-5942	332	15	22.1	47.9%	181 (54.5%)	0 (0.0%)	89 (26.8%)	4 (1.2%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	55 (16.6%)	80.6	1134^th of 5857 public elementary schools	80.6%		81.3	1096^th of 5869 public elementary schools	81.3%	38	53.7		53.7	65.1	52.3	69.1				62.0	53.5	70.5	58.5				60.9	93.3	96.2	98.1	93.3	94.2	94.2	$20,204	$1,376	$18,828
San Juan Elementary	Public	K-5	31642 El Camino Real	San Juan Capistrano	92675	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 493-4533	662	25	26.4	73.4%	70 (10.6%)	5 (0.8%)	557 (84.1%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (4.2%)	27.6	4161^st of 5857 public elementary schools	29.0%		19.2	4925^th of 5869 public elementary schools	16.1%	764	12.3		12.3	28.6	37.5	34.5				33.3	27.3	33.3	29.0				29.6	95.7	97.4		96.6	97.4	97.4	$18,777	$2,334	$16,443
Capistrano Home/Virtual	Public, Virtual	K-8	32972 Calle Perfecto	San Juan Capistrano	92675	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(949) 234-9374	82	5	17.3	31.7%	49 (59.8%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (19.5%)	5 (6.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (13.4%)								(n/a)		47.5	47.8				76.2	90.9	65.9	72.0				61.9	72.7	43.9	54.0							$21,306	$979	$20,327

Frequently Asked Questions about Vista del Mar Elementary

What district is Vista del Mar Elementary in?

Capistrano Unified

Is Vista del Mar Elementary a good school?

Yes! Vista del Mar Elementary is one of the best elementary schools in the state. It ranks 286^th of 5857 California elementary schools.

What schools do graduates of Vista del Mar Elementary attend?

Students who attend Vista del Mar Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Vista del Mar Middle
High : San Clemente High

What is the racial makeup of Vista del Mar Elementary?

Students at Vista del Mar Elementary are 66% White, 16% Hispanic, 14% Two or more races, 3% Asian.

How many students attend Vista del Mar Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 692 students attended Vista del Mar Elementary.

Rate Vista del Mar Elementary!

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Schools in San Clemente, CA

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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.