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Poinsettia Elementary

Public Grades K-5

243^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 96% of California elementary schools

Summary

Poinsettia Elementary is a highly-rated K-5 public school in Carlsbad, CA, serving 481 students within the Carlsbad Unified School District, where it consistently ranks among the top elementary schools in the state.

The school is distinguished by its strong and equitable academic results, with student proficiency rates in English, Math, and Science that are significantly higher than both district and state averages. What makes Poinsettia Elementary particularly notable is its exceptional effectiveness in supporting all students, as it achieves these high outcomes while serving a more economically diverse population than many comparable top-performing schools in the area, such as Pacific Rim Elementary and El Camino Creek Elementary.

Poinsettia's performance is stable and efficient, showing a consistent upward trajectory over the past decade and achieving its excellent results with moderate per-student spending compared to neighboring schools in other districts like Encinitas Union Elementary. This combination of high achievement, effective support for diverse learners, and resource efficiency makes it a standout choice for families in the North County coastal area.

481

Students ?

22.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$25,822

Per pupil spending ?

28.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2445 Mica Rd.
Carlsbad, CA 92009-1733

(760) 331-6500

District: Carlsbad Unified

Students who attend Poinsettia Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Aviara Oaks Middle
High:	Carlsbad High

Racial breakdown:

White:

49.3%

Hispanic:

28.3%

Two or more races:

12.7%

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Compare Poinsettia Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 82nd percentile in 2013 → 96th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (79% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 4% of California elementary schools

✓Ranking is trending up — up 14 percentile points since 2013

Worth a look

!Large classes — about 22 students per teacher

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school79%

District avg65%

California avg41%

243^rd of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Top 4%▲ up 6 pts since 2015

From top 11% (2015) to top 4% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 9Elementary Schools in the Carlsbad Unified

156^th of 1,543Carlsbad 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	95.9	243 of 5857	95.9%	★★★★★
2024	97.3	135 of 5869	97.7%	★★★★★
2023	97.8	116 of 5859	98.0%	★★★★★
2022	97.0	202 of 5883	96.6%	★★★★★
2019	93.2	425 of 5789	92.7%	★★★★★
2018	90.5	610 of 5662	89.2%	★★★★☆
2017	92.0	521 of 5692	90.8%	★★★★★
2016	88.7	697 of 5614	87.6%	★★★★☆
2015	90.5	597 of 5611	89.4%	★★★★☆
2013	80.5	1022 of 5530	81.5%	★★★★☆
2012	68.5	1606 of 5390	70.2%	★★★★☆
2011	75.7	1220 of 5377	77.3%	★★★★☆
2010	75.0	1233 of 5314	76.8%	★★★★☆
2009	72.0	1346 of 5193	74.1%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2018	68.8	425 of 2128	80.0%	★★★★☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2018	79.8	340 of 3246	89.5%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	94.2	323 of 5597	94.2%	★★★★★
2024	97.9	60 of 5612	98.9%	★★★★★
2023	96.7	154 of 5609	97.3%	★★★★★
2022	95.7	246 of 5635	95.6%	★★★★★
2019	92.2	420 of 5492	92.4%	★★★★★
2018	90.1	570 of 5413	89.5%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	95.9	127 of 5107	97.5%	★★★★★
2024	99.5	13 of 5107	99.7%	★★★★★
2023	95.5	150 of 5087	97.1%	★★★★★
2022	88.2	427 of 5084	91.6%	★★★★★
2019	80.5	687 of 4963	86.2%	★★★★☆
2018	71.2	1081 of 4830	77.6%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	92.3	273 of 5460	95.0%	★★★★★
2024	99.1	48 of 5517	99.1%	★★★★★
2023	91.1	341 of 5363	93.6%	★★★★★
2022	72.4	1055 of 5264	80.0%	★★★★☆
2019	79.1	758 of 5173	85.3%	★★★★☆
2018	71.3	1113 of 5084	78.1%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	95.7	214 of 5628	96.2%	★★★★★
2024	95.1	276 of 5643	95.1%	★★★★★
2023	97.1	137 of 5638	97.6%	★★★★★
2022	96.8	170 of 5663	97.0%	★★★★★
2019	91.8	458 of 5510	91.7%	★★★★★
2018	88.9	637 of 5431	88.3%	★★★★☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	90.9	16 of 669	97.6%	★★★★★

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	94.0	131 of 2635	95.0%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	87.6	143 of 2598	94.5%	★★★★★
2024	90.3	84 of 2651	96.8%	★★★★★
2023	91.8	54 of 2661	98.0%	★★★★★
2022	91.5	68 of 2726	97.5%	★★★★★
2019	83.6	314 of 2834	88.9%	★★★★☆
2018	87.0	183 of 2737	93.3%	★★★★★

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)

Multi-racial (2023)98th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)98th percentile~ school

Male (2025)96th percentile~ school

Special Education (2024)95th percentile-3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)95th percentile~ school

White (2025)94th percentile~ school

Female (2025)94th percentile~ school

English Language Learner (2018)90th percentile~ school

Disabled (2018)80th percentile-9 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy82%+34 vs state

Mathematics81%+44 vs state

Science62%+30 vs state

5.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Tuesday, July 11, 2017

I love the staff - they are very involved with the students. My on has an IEP and the special ed teachers are fabulous!!!! Close Quote

Schools Near Poinsettia Elementary

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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 (2025)
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
Poinsettia Elementary	Public	K-5	2445 Mica Rd.	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Carlsbad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 331-6500	481	22	22.3	28.9%	237 (49.3%)	4 (0.8%)	136 (28.3%)	41 (8.5%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	61 (12.7%)	95.9	243^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	95.9%		97.3	135^th of 5869 public elementary schools	97.7%	108	62.5		62.5	82.4	89.4	75.0				82.4	88.0	83.3	70.3				81.0							$25,822	$25,384	$438
Carrillo Elementary	Public	K-5	2875 Poinsettia Ln.	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	San Marcos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 290-2900	725	29	25.0	22.6%	384 (53.0%)	6 (0.8%)	174 (24.0%)	77 (10.6%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	81 (11.2%)	90.3	639^th of 5857 public elementary schools	89.1%		84.5	972^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	83.4%	333	54.9		54.9	70.6	71.8	69.7				70.7	78.0	70.2	65.6				71.0	93.8	96.1	96.9	95.3	94.5	96.1	$24,692	$24,116	$576
La Costa Meadows Elementary	Public	K-5	6889 El Fuerte St.	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	San Marcos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 290-2121	725	31	23.6	17.1%	470 (64.8%)	2 (0.3%)	131 (18.1%)	41 (5.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	80 (11.0%)	91.4	586^th of 5857 public elementary schools	90.0%		91.3	622^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	89.4%	36	61.3		61.3	71.0	68.6	74.5				71.4	78.0	66.7	69.5				71.4	95.6				97.1		$24,852	$24,276	$576
Aviara Oaks Elementary	Public	K-5	6900 Ambrosia Ln.	Carlsbad	92011	San Diego County	Carlsbad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 331-6000	612	25	24.4	22.1%	343 (56.0%)	9 (1.5%)	123 (20.1%)	64 (10.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	71 (11.6%)	96	241^st of 5857 public elementary schools	95.9%		97.5	123^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	97.9%	118	65.5		65.5	76.3	80.4	85.1				81.2	79.2	76.6	80.1				78.8							$23,250	$22,812	$438
La Costa Heights Elementary	Public	K-6	3035 Levante St.	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Encinitas Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 944-4375	552	23	24.0	14.5%	369 (66.8%)	2 (0.4%)	82 (14.9%)	21 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	78 (14.1%)	94.7	360^th of 5857 public elementary schools	93.9%		95.4	311^th of 5869 public elementary schools	94.7%	49	66.7		66.7	75.0	79.6	77.7	85.2			79.6	69.2	71.3	73.8	82.5			74.3							$24,419	$23,620	$799
Pacific Rim Elementary	Public	K-5	1100 Camino de las Ondas	Carlsbad	92011	San Diego County	Carlsbad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 331-6200	642	26	24.6	17.4%	410 (63.9%)	3 (0.5%)	106 (16.5%)	54 (8.4%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	67 (10.4%)	98	70^th of 5857 public elementary schools	98.8%		98.3	60^th of 5869 public elementary schools	99.0%	10	72.5		72.5	87.3	91.4	89.0				89.2	90.8	80.0	78.9				83.5	93.8			95.8		95.8	$22,946	$22,508	$438
El Camino Creek Elementary	Public	K-6	7885 Paseo Aliso	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Encinitas Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 943-2051	409	16	25.5	5.1%	306 (74.8%)	1 (0.2%)	38 (9.3%)	15 (3.7%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (11.2%)	98.2	58^th of 5857 public elementary schools	99.0%		96.6	203^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	96.5%	145	72.2		72.2	89.3	85.3	85.7	89.3			87.4	91.1	96.7	76.7	80.0			85.2							$22,157	$21,796	$361
Mission Estancia Elementary	Public	K-6	3330 Calle Barcelona	Carlsbad	92009	San Diego County	Encinitas Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 943-2004	355	16	22.1	12.7%	239 (67.3%)	5 (1.4%)	40 (11.3%)	30 (8.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (11.3%)	90	657^th of 5857 public elementary schools	88.8%		91.4	616^th of 5869 public elementary schools	89.5%	41	55.2		55.2	70.8	83.9	72.4	74.5			75.8	79.2	72.6	51.7	57.5			65.1							$28,278	$27,656	$622
High Technical Elementary North County	Public, Charter	K-5	1480 West San Marcos Blvd.	San Marcos	92078	San Diego County	High Technical Elementary North County District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 759-2785	438	18	24.3	50.2%	112 (25.6%)	10 (2.3%)	230 (52.5%)	65 (14.8%)	5 (1.1%)	7 (1.6%)	9 (2.1%)	28.3	4114^th of 5857 public elementary schools	29.8%		40.7	3145^th of 5869 public elementary schools	46.4%	969	19.4		19.4	36.5	37.0	34.7				36.1	41.9	16.4	13.9				24.2	97.1		97.1				$30,292	$29,234	$1,058
La Mirada Academy	Public	K-8	3697 La Mirada Dr.	San Marcos	92078	San Diego County	San Marcos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 290-2000	868	37	23.3	77.4%	37 (4.3%)	3 (0.3%)	785 (90.4%)	26 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.3%)	14 (1.6%)	26.7	4250^th of 5857 public elementary schools	27.4%		32.1	3777^th of 5869 public elementary schools	35.6%	473	26.1	8.7	15.9	27.2	23.4	52.3	26.8	24.0	23.0	28.7	25.9	30.5	27.3	11.8	14.9	4.8	17.8							$26,078	$24,938	$1,140

Frequently Asked Questions about Poinsettia Elementary

What district is Poinsettia Elementary in?

Carlsbad Unified

How many students attend Poinsettia Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 481 students attended Poinsettia Elementary.

Is Poinsettia Elementary a good school?

Yes! Poinsettia Elementary is one of the best elementary schools in the state. It ranks 243^rd of 5857 California elementary schools.

What schools do graduates of Poinsettia Elementary attend?

Students who attend Poinsettia Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Aviara Oaks Middle
High : Carlsbad High

What is the racial makeup of Poinsettia Elementary?

Students at Poinsettia Elementary are 49% White, 28% Hispanic, 13% Two or more races, 9% Asian.

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Latest California data All new data »

2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026

2024–25 CSA Spanish test scoresDec 22, 2025

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 14, 2025

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.