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Thurston Middle

Public Grades 6-8

115^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 96% of California middle schools

Summary

Thurston Middle is a top-performing public school serving about 524 students in grades 6-8 within the highly-regarded Laguna Beach Unified School District in an affluent coastal community.

The school consistently ranks in the top 4-6% of all California middle schools, with students demonstrating exceptional proficiency in English, math, and science—significantly above state averages. A standout feature is its remarkably low chronic absenteeism rate of 6.3%, which is less than a third of the state average and the best among nearby schools, indicating high student engagement. Thurston also excels in supporting special student populations, with its special education, Hispanic, and low-income student subgroups all ranking in the state's top 5%.

Compared to neighboring schools in larger districts like Capistrano Unified and Saddleback Valley Unified, Thurston benefits from very high per-student spending and a low student-teacher ratio. While a few schools, such as Ladera Ranch Middle and the charter school Oxford Preparatory Academy - Middle, achieve similar academic rankings, Thurston distinguishes itself with a decade-long record of elite, consistent performance across all key metrics and student groups.

524

Students ?

16.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$34,384

Per pupil spending ?

17.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2100 Park Ave.
Laguna Beach, CA 92651-2240

(949) 497-7785

District: Laguna Beach Unified

Students who attend Thurston Middle usually attend:

High:

Laguna Beach High

Feeder schools for Thurston Middle:

Elementary:	El Morro Elementary
	Top of the World Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

70.4%

Hispanic:

12.4%

Two or more races:

9.9%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Thurston Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 96th percentile in 2013 → 96th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (75% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 4% of California middle schools

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school75%

District avg73%

California avg41%

115^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Top 4%▲ up 1 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

70^th of 1,543Laguna Beach 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	96.0	115 of 2761	95.8%	★★★★★
2024	94.2	177 of 2783	93.6%	★★★★★
2023	96.2	115 of 2781	95.9%	★★★★★
2022	95.3	129 of 2740	95.3%	★★★★★
2019	96.5	89 of 2715	96.7%	★★★★★
2018	96.1	87 of 2480	96.5%	★★★★★
2017	95.9	95 of 2508	96.2%	★★★★★
2016	95.6	81 of 2497	96.8%	★★★★★
2015	93.6	138 of 2477	94.4%	★★★★★
2013	89.6	99 of 2379	95.8%	★★★★★
2012	91.7	52 of 2259	97.7%	★★★★★
2011	89.6	97 of 2236	95.7%	★★★★★
2010	88.0	134 of 2179	93.9%	★★★★★
2009	86.6	155 of 2063	92.5%	★★★★★
2008	83.4	226 of 2005	88.7%	★★★★☆
2007	82.0	267 of 1999	86.6%	★★★★☆
2006	82.2	252 of 1804	86.0%	★★★★☆
2005	78.2	313 of 1777	82.4%	★★★★☆
2004	91.4	98 of 1769	94.5%	★★★★★

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	89.0	18 of 733	97.5%	★★★★★
2019	79.4	113 of 745	84.8%	★★★★☆
2018	76.2	156 of 700	77.7%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	84.1	137 of 1531	91.1%	★★★★★
2019	91.7	74 of 1491	95.0%	★★★★★
2018	95.2	42 of 1369	96.9%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	94.3	144 of 2533	94.3%	★★★★★
2024	93.6	166 of 2551	93.5%	★★★★★
2023	96.0	104 of 2531	95.9%	★★★★★
2022	96.4	88 of 2509	96.5%	★★★★★
2019	95.5	82 of 2380	96.6%	★★★★★
2018	94.5	104 of 2262	95.4%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	95.2	68 of 2395	97.2%	★★★★★
2024	86.6	189 of 2388	92.1%	★★★★★
2023	89.4	146 of 2374	93.9%	★★★★★
2022	95.6	64 of 2359	97.3%	★★★★★
2019	92.4	103 of 2213	95.3%	★★★★★
2018	92.8	98 of 2072	95.3%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	92.3	134 of 2542	94.7%	★★★★★
2024	91.6	163 of 2579	93.7%	★★★★★
2023	93.6	104 of 2531	95.9%	★★★★★
2022	95.5	70 of 2458	97.2%	★★★★★
2019	91.2	128 of 2369	94.6%	★★★★★
2018	93.2	87 of 2230	96.1%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	96.4	99 of 2534	96.1%	★★★★★
2024	93.0	189 of 2552	92.6%	★★★★★
2023	94.8	137 of 2538	94.6%	★★★★★
2022	92.9	178 of 2527	93.0%	★★★★★
2019	96.7	81 of 2407	96.6%	★★★★★
2018	96.4	82 of 2273	96.4%	★★★★★

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	85.7	66 of 726	90.9%	★★★★★
2024	78.3	136 of 701	80.6%	★★★★☆
2023	86.5	54 of 677	92.0%	★★★★★
2022	87.4	42 of 665	93.7%	★★★★★
2019	92.4	11 of 554	98.0%	★★★★★
2018	89.3	16 of 462	96.5%	★★★★★

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	97.5	30 of 1566	98.1%	★★★★★
2024	96.1	44 of 1552	97.2%	★★★★★
2023	96.3	46 of 1531	97.0%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	86.6	118 of 1520	92.2%	★★★★★
2024	83.6	168 of 1537	89.1%	★★★★☆
2023	88.0	105 of 1543	93.2%	★★★★★
2022	82.6	195 of 1555	87.5%	★★★★☆
2019	90.0	80 of 1602	95.0%	★★★★★
2018	89.0	86 of 1496	94.3%	★★★★★

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)

Special Education (2025)98th percentile~ school

Asian (2022)98th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)97th percentile~ school

Male (2025)96th percentile~ school

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

Female (2025)94th percentile~ school

White (2025)92nd percentile-4 vs school

Disabled (2022)91st percentile-4 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)91st percentile-5 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy77%+28 vs state

Mathematics75%+37 vs state

Science70%+38 vs state

★

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Schools Near Thurston Middle

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores 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)				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 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	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 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Thurston Middle	Public	6-8	2100 Park Ave.	Laguna Beach	92651	Orange County	Laguna Beach Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 497-7785	524	31	16.6	17.7%	369 (70.4%)	6 (1.1%)	65 (12.4%)	29 (5.5%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	52 (9.9%)	96	115^th of 2761 public middle schools	95.8%		94.2	177^th of 2783 public middle schools	93.6%	62	70.2	70.2	74.0	77.2	78.8	76.7	72.0	74.9	77.1	74.7	$34,384	$1,134	$33,250
Don Juan Avila Middle	Public	6-8	26278 Wood Canyon Dr.	Aliso Viejo	92656	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 362-0348	863	36	24.1	29.7%	394 (45.7%)	14 (1.6%)	195 (22.6%)	171 (19.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	88 (10.2%)	93.1	197^th of 2761 public middle schools	92.9%		96.4	109^th of 2783 public middle schools	96.1%	88	69.2	69.2	67.6	71.9	78.9	73.1	60.8	65.5	71.4	66.1	$18,500	$1,379	$17,121
Aliso Viejo Middle	Public	6-8	111 Park Ave.	Aliso Viejo	92656	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 831-2622	803	36	22.3	35.4%	433 (53.9%)	16 (2.0%)	154 (19.2%)	109 (13.6%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.5%)	87 (10.8%)	91.6	233^rd of 2761 public middle schools	91.6%		93.1	208^th of 2783 public middle schools	92.5%	25	55.2	55.2	70.5	70.7	72.9	71.4	62.7	65.2	66.8	65.0	$19,508	$1,401	$18,107
Niguel Hills Middle	Public	6-8	29070 Shark Bay	Laguna Niguel	92677	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 234-5360	693	35	19.5	44.6%	384 (55.4%)	8 (1.2%)	212 (30.6%)	36 (5.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	53 (7.6%)	87.6	318^th of 2761 public middle schools	88.5%		92.4	219^th of 2783 public middle schools	92.1%	99	50.3	50.3	72.3	65.5	71.8	69.6	61.3	52.2	61.1	57.9	$20,684	$1,423	$19,261
Los Alisos Intermediate	Public	7-8	25171 Moor Ave.	Mission Viejo	92691	Orange County	Saddleback Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 830-9700	595	29	20.5	74.5%	93 (15.6%)	2 (0.3%)	429 (72.1%)	47 (7.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (3.5%)	52.8	1104^th of 2761 public middle schools	60.0%		53.1	1066^th of 2783 public middle schools	61.7%	38	33.0	33.0		48.4	40.1	44.3		41.5	31.9	36.7	$19,306	$1,735	$17,571
Carl Hankey Middle	Public	6-8	27252 Nubles	Mission Viejo	92692	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 234-5315	181	12	15.6	49.7%	69 (38.1%)	3 (1.7%)	75 (41.4%)	18 (9.9%)	2 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (7.7%)	86.9	338^th of 2761 public middle schools	87.8%		79.1	499^th of 2783 public middle schools	82.1%	161	51.7	51.7	69.1	73.7	65.5	69.4	73.2	44.8	57.9	58.5	$24,837	$1,745	$23,092
La Paz Intermediate	Public	7-8	25151 Pradera Dr.	Mission Viejo	92691	Orange County	Saddleback Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 830-1720	713	33	21.8	39.7%	310 (43.5%)	7 (1.0%)	223 (31.3%)	89 (12.5%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	82 (11.5%)	90.2	274^th of 2761 public middle schools	90.1%		90.8	261^st of 2783 public middle schools	90.6%	13	57.1	57.1		75.4	64.1	69.5		70.4	55.7	62.8	$19,045	$1,362	$17,683
Marco Forster Middle	Public	6-8	25601 Camino del Avion	San Juan Capistrano	92675	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 234-5907	930	46	20.4	75.1%	216 (23.2%)	0 (0.0%)	651 (70.0%)	10 (1.1%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.3%)	49 (5.3%)	57.3	971^st of 2761 public middle schools	64.8%		59.3	902^nd of 2783 public middle schools	67.6%	69	36.3	36.3	44.4	48.7	53.2	48.8	32.0	36.6	43.2	37.3	$20,607	$2,219	$18,388
Oxford Preparatory Academy - Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	22882 Loumont Dr.	Lake Forest	92630	Orange County	Oxford Preparatory Academy - Middle District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 600-9050	495	22	22.6	18.4%	172 (34.7%)	12 (2.4%)	100 (20.2%)	152 (30.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	58 (11.7%)	95.2	150^th of 2761 public middle schools	94.6%		95.2	147^th of 2783 public middle schools	94.7%	3	67.7	67.7	77.0	84.0	79.0	80.0	67.3	65.4	62.9	65.2
Serrano Intermediate	Public	7-8	24642 Jeronimo Rd.	Lake Forest	92630	Orange County	Saddleback Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 586-3221	868	39	22.3	48.7%	272 (31.3%)	16 (1.8%)	391 (45.0%)	108 (12.4%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	78 (9.0%)	75.3	578^th of 2761 public middle schools	79.1%		79.1	501^st of 2783 public middle schools	82.0%	77	49.5	49.5		55.0	58.4	56.6		48.8	46.0	47.4	$19,308	$1,376	$17,932

Frequently Asked Questions about Thurston Middle

What is the racial makeup of Thurston Middle?

Students at Thurston Middle are 70% White, 12% Hispanic, 10% Two or more races, 6% Asian, 1% African American.

What high school do graduates of Thurston Middle attend?

Students who attend Thurston Middle usually go on to attend Laguna Beach High

What district is Thurston Middle in?

Laguna Beach Unified

Is Thurston Middle a good school?

Yes! Thurston Middle is one of the best middle schools in the state. It ranks 115^th of 2761 California middle schools.

How many students attend Thurston Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 524 students attended Thurston Middle.

Rate Thurston Middle!

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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.