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California Elementary

Q: Is California Elementary a good school?

California Elementary ranks 1039 th of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-6

1039^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 82% of California elementary schools

Summary

California Elementary is a K-6 public school serving 373 students in Costa Mesa, part of the consistently strong Newport-Mesa Unified district, and it stands out for achieving excellent academic results with a diverse student body.

The school's test scores in English and Math are notably higher than both district and state averages, and it shows particular strength in supporting Hispanic and low-income students, who perform at very high levels statewide. A major success story is the school's dramatic reduction in chronic absenteeism, dropping from over 25% to just 7.9%, which is better than most nearby schools in Newport-Mesa Unified like Paularino Elementary and Killybrooke Elementary. While it serves a population with a higher level of economic need than top-performing schools in the more affluent Fountain Valley Elementary district, such as Oka (Isojiro) Elementary, it delivers strong outcomes efficiently, spending less per student than some neighboring schools with lower results.

Parents should note that while performance is consistent across grade levels, science scores are an area for growth compared to English and Math, and the school faces significant challenges in serving its special education students effectively. Overall, California Elementary has made an impressive post-pandemic recovery and is a high-performing choice that successfully supports a wide range of learners within its community.

373

Students ?

17.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$24,155

Per pupil spending ?

41.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

3232 California Ave.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626-2231

(714) 424-7940

District: Newport-Mesa Unified

Students who attend California Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Charles W. Tewinkle Middle
High:	Estancia High

Racial breakdown:

White:

47.7%

Hispanic:

37.3%

Two or more races:

7.2%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare California Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 79th percentile in 2015 → 82nd in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (61% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 18% of California elementary schools

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school61%

District avg53%

California avg41%

1,039^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Top 18%▲ up 4 pts since 2015

From top 21% (2015) to top 18% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

10^th of 21Elementary Schools in the Newport-Mesa Unified

437^th of 1,543Newport-Mesa 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	82.6	1039 of 5857	82.3%	★★★★☆
2024	74.9	1368 of 5869	76.7%	★★★★☆
2023	78.1	1235 of 5859	78.9%	★★★★☆
2022	79.4	1214 of 5883	79.4%	★★★★☆
2021	80.5	266 of 1417	81.2%	★★★★☆
2019	81.0	1122 of 5789	80.6%	★★★★☆
2018	79.8	1142 of 5662	79.8%	★★★★☆
2017	84.5	934 of 5692	83.6%	★★★★☆
2016	80.4	1113 of 5614	80.2%	★★★★☆
2015	77.7	1201 of 5611	78.6%	★★★★☆
2013	56.8	2298 of 5530	58.4%	★★★☆☆
2012	62.5	1914 of 5390	64.5%	★★★☆☆
2011	62.1	1901 of 5377	64.6%	★★★☆☆
2010	58.2	2091 of 5314	60.7%	★★★☆☆
2009	67.5	1562 of 5193	69.9%	★★★☆☆
2008	71.0	1359 of 5113	73.4%	★★★★☆
2007	79.9	979 of 5113	80.9%	★★★★☆
2006	64.9	1546 of 4818	67.9%	★★★☆☆
2005	58.1	1829 of 4822	62.1%	★★★☆☆
2004	60.8	1671 of 4809	65.3%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	86.1	801 of 5597	85.7%	★★★★☆
2024	72.1	1398 of 5612	75.1%	★★★★☆
2023	74.3	1310 of 5609	76.6%	★★★★☆
2022	73.1	1391 of 5635	75.3%	★★★★☆
2021	72.0	324 of 1267	74.4%	★★★★☆
2019	71.2	1442 of 5492	73.7%	★★★★☆
2018	78.9	1093 of 5413	79.8%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	80.7	727 of 5107	85.8%	★★★★☆
2024	65.3	1397 of 5107	72.6%	★★★★☆
2023	79.0	791 of 5087	84.5%	★★★★☆
2022	76.5	881 of 5084	82.7%	★★★★☆
2019	77.9	792 of 4963	84.0%	★★★★☆
2018	73.8	956 of 4830	80.2%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	83.3	641 of 5460	88.3%	★★★★☆
2024	70.5	1249 of 5517	77.4%	★★★★☆
2023	81.2	728 of 5363	86.4%	★★★★☆
2022	80.5	739 of 5264	86.0%	★★★★☆
2021	74.9	185 of 1110	83.3%	★★★★☆
2019	79.1	761 of 5173	85.3%	★★★★☆
2018	81.6	620 of 5084	87.8%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	74.6	1299 of 5628	76.9%	★★★★☆
2024	74.8	1286 of 5643	77.2%	★★★★☆
2023	78.4	1159 of 5638	79.4%	★★★★☆
2022	82.7	972 of 5663	82.8%	★★★★☆
2021	83.5	209 of 1272	83.6%	★★★★☆
2019	85.7	794 of 5510	85.6%	★★★★☆
2018	78.8	1114 of 5431	79.5%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	22.7	2254 of 2635	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	68.0	855 of 2598	67.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	75.5	614 of 2651	76.8%	★★★★☆
2023	70.1	799 of 2661	70.0%	★★★★☆
2022	74.9	627 of 2726	77.0%	★★★★☆
2019	70.0	823 of 2834	71.0%	★★★★☆
2018	69.9	829 of 2737	69.7%	★★★☆☆

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)

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)88th percentile+6 vs school

Hispanic (2025)86th percentile+4 vs school

Female (2025)86th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2025)77th percentile-5 vs school

White (2025)67th percentile-15 vs school

Special Education (2024)14th percentile-62 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy66%+17 vs state

Mathematics62%+25 vs state

Science42%+9 vs state

★

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Schools Near California 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 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 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 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
California Elementary	Public	K-6	3232 California Ave.	Costa Mesa	92626	Orange County	Newport-Mesa Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 424-7940	373	21	17.3	41.3%	178 (47.7%)	7 (1.9%)	139 (37.3%)	18 (4.8%)	2 (0.5%)	2 (0.5%)	27 (7.2%)	82.6	1039^th of 5857 public elementary schools	82.3%		74.9	1368^th of 5869 public elementary schools	76.7%	329	41.5	41.5	68.2	67.6	69.8	58.5	65.8	72.7	56.8	64.2	54.7	62.0							$24,155	$1,642	$22,513
Killybrooke Elementary	Public	K-6	3155 Killybrooke Ln.	Costa Mesa	92626	Orange County	Newport-Mesa Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 424-7945	473	26	18.1	71.0%	98 (20.7%)	10 (2.1%)	294 (62.2%)	32 (6.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (8.0%)	76	1330^th of 5857 public elementary schools	77.3%		77	1292^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	78.0%	38	37.5	37.5	74.1	50.0	56.3	70.5	63.0	69.0	51.6	43.8	57.4	55.9	95.3			96.9			$24,573	$2,153	$22,420
Adams Elementary	Public	K-6	2850 Club House Rd.	Costa Mesa	92626	Orange County	Newport-Mesa Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 424-7935	321	23	13.7	73.8%	54 (16.8%)	6 (1.9%)	237 (73.8%)	12 (3.7%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.1%)	73	1473^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	74.9%		59.6	2081^st of 5869 public elementary schools	64.5%	608	40.0	40.0	65.6	65.6	57.6	68.2	64.5	48.5	59.4	45.7	40.0	47.6							$28,051	$2,405	$25,646
Gisler (Robert) Elementary	Public	K-5	18720 Las Flores St.	Fountain Valley	92708	Orange County	Fountain Valley Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 378-4211	470	20	23.5	25.5%	148 (31.5%)	4 (0.9%)	99 (21.1%)	151 (32.1%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.3%)	61 (13.0%)	95	338^th of 5857 public elementary schools	94.2%		93.6	461^st of 5869 public elementary schools	92.1%	123	60.5	60.5	76.8	82.1	82.6		80.7	91.3	77.2	65.1		76.9							$15,432	$1,079	$14,353
Paularino Elementary	Public	K-6	1060 Paularino Ave.	Costa Mesa	92626	Orange County	Newport-Mesa Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 424-7950	371	23	15.8	70.6%	63 (17.0%)	8 (2.2%)	242 (65.2%)	28 (7.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	28 (7.5%)	44.3	2928^th of 5857 public elementary schools	50.0%		46.6	2755^th of 5869 public elementary schools	53.1%	173	23.5	23.5	51.2	40.4	33.3	38.1	41.1	48.8	44.7	36.4	22.0	38.3							$27,777	$2,388	$25,389
Cox (James H.) Elementary	Public	K-5	17615 Los Jardines East	Fountain Valley	92708	Orange County	Fountain Valley Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 378-4240	607	25	24.2	35.7%	127 (20.9%)	5 (0.8%)	161 (26.5%)	245 (40.4%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	67 (11.0%)	88.5	744^th of 5857 public elementary schools	87.3%		86.1	903^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	84.6%	159	55.4	55.4	72.0	55.0	76.6		68.5	81.3	66.7	65.2		70.8							$14,606	$857	$13,749
Jim Thorpe Fundamental	Public	K-5	2450 West Alton	Santa Ana	92704	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 430-5800	738	29	25.3	71.8%	14 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	661 (89.6%)	45 (6.1%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	15 (2.0%)	49.2	2640^th of 5857 public elementary schools	54.9%		56.5	2214^th of 5869 public elementary schools	62.3%	426	26.5	26.5	40.3	54.4	48.7		47.7	41.5	43.7	30.8		38.9	97.4	97.4		98.0	97.4	98.0	$23,169	$823	$22,346
Greenville Fundamental Elementary	Public	K-5	3600 South Raitt St.	Santa Ana	92704	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 558-3400	817	34	23.9	79.9%	19 (2.3%)	6 (0.7%)	725 (88.7%)	46 (5.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (2.6%)	45.4	2858^th of 5857 public elementary schools	51.2%		47.9	2669^th of 5869 public elementary schools	54.5%	189	25.9	25.9	39.0	50.0	49.7		46.2	36.3	41.9	30.1		35.8	92.1	94.1	96.1	96.7	94.7	96.7	$23,601	$981	$22,620
Maude B. Davis Elementary	Public	K-6	1050 Arlington Dr.	Costa Mesa	92626	Orange County	Newport-Mesa Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 424-7930	570	24	23.3	33.2%	252 (44.2%)	4 (0.7%)	164 (28.8%)	64 (11.2%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.5%)	82 (14.4%)	93.5	440^th of 5857 public elementary schools	92.5%		90.5	669^th of 5869 public elementary schools	88.6%	229	57.1	57.1	84.4	80.8	70.2	80.0	78.7	81.8	79.5	61.9	68.8	72.7	97.0	97.0			97.0		$23,292	$1,674	$21,618
Sonora Elementary	Public	K-6	966 Sonora Rd.	Costa Mesa	92626	Orange County	Newport-Mesa Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 424-7955	367	19	18.8	74.7%	56 (15.3%)	1 (0.3%)	263 (71.7%)	19 (5.2%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.9%)	21 (5.7%)	67.1	1741^st of 5857 public elementary schools	70.3%		58.4	2129^th of 5869 public elementary schools	63.7%	388	43.2	43.2	48.9	64.8	57.1	58.8	57.7	44.7	51.8	40.9	41.2	45.0	96.7						$25,657	$2,278	$23,379

Frequently Asked Questions about California Elementary

Is California Elementary a good school?

California Elementary ranks 1039^th of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend California Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 373 students attended California Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of California Elementary?

Students at California Elementary are 48% White, 37% Hispanic, 7% Two or more races, 5% Asian, 2% African American.

What district is California Elementary in?

Newport-Mesa Unified

What schools do graduates of California Elementary attend?

Students who attend California Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Charles W. Tewinkle Middle
High : Estancia High

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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.