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W. R. Nelson Elementary

Q: Is W. R. Nelson Elementary a good school?

W. R. Nelson Elementary ranks 4380 th of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

4380^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 25% of California elementary schools

Summary

W. R. Nelson Elementary is a K-5 public school serving 460 students in the Tustin Unified School District, located in a community where a high percentage of families qualify for economic assistance.

Academically, the school faces significant challenges, with proficiency rates in English, math, and science well below both district and state averages, resulting in a ranking in the bottom quartile of California elementary schools. This represents a notable decline from its performance a decade ago. The school has made commendable progress in reducing chronic student absences since the pandemic, though its rate remains higher than the district average. It's important to note that the school's student-teacher ratio is actually more favorable than some higher-performing schools nearby, indicating that class size alone isn't the defining factor.

Comparisons with nearby schools reveal stark differences within a small geographic area. For instance, Tustin Memorial Elementary, less than two miles away, has dramatically higher test scores and a much lower rate of economic need. Heritage Elementary and College Park Elementary in Irvine Unified also outperform Nelson. However, Nelson's academic results are similar to other high-need schools in Tustin Unified like Robert Heideman Elementary and Helen Estock Elementary, suggesting shared challenges and opportunities for targeted improvement.

460

Students ?

25.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,849

Per pupil spending ?

87.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

14392 Browning Ave.
Tustin, CA 92780-6338

(714) 730-7536

District: Tustin Unified

Students who attend W. R. Nelson Elementary usually attend:

High:

Tustin High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

78.9%

Asian:

8.0%

White:

6.7%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare W. R. Nelson Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 57th percentile in 2013 → 25th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (27% vs 41% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped — down 32 percentile points since 2013

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school27%

District avg56%

California avg41%

4,380^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 25%▼ down 27 pts since 2015

From top 48% (2015) to bottom 25% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

15^th of 18Elementary Schools in the Tustin Unified

420^th of 1,543Tustin 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	25.2	4380 of 5857	25.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.7	4502 of 5869	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.5	4403 of 5859	24.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.2	4228 of 5883	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	28.7	4038 of 5789	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	37.5	3308 of 5662	41.6%	★★☆☆☆
2017	43.5	2894 of 5692	49.2%	★★☆☆☆
2016	47.5	2629 of 5614	53.2%	★★★☆☆
2015	45.6	2703 of 5611	51.8%	★★★☆☆
2013	55.6	2377 of 5530	57.0%	★★★☆☆
2012	61.9	1943 of 5390	64.0%	★★★☆☆
2011	61.9	1910 of 5377	64.5%	★★★☆☆
2010	68.4	1541 of 5314	71.0%	★★★★☆
2009	72.2	1340 of 5193	74.2%	★★★★☆
2008	75.9	1145 of 5113	77.6%	★★★★☆
2007	68.5	1435 of 5113	71.9%	★★★★☆
2006	72.2	1252 of 4818	74.0%	★★★★☆
2005	74.6	1139 of 4822	76.4%	★★★★☆
2004	69.6	1316 of 4809	72.6%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2019	18.1	2492 of 2585	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	23.2	1802 of 2128	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	27.5	2721 of 3162	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	56.9	910 of 3245	72.0%	★★★★☆
2022	28.7	2706 of 3311	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.9	2417 of 3275	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	53.1	1121 of 3246	65.5%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	27.0	4083 of 5597	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.2	4054 of 5612	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	27.7	3996 of 5609	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	27.8	3946 of 5635	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	32.1	3661 of 5492	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	39.2	3137 of 5413	42.0%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	29.4	3799 of 5107	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.7	3899 of 5107	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.2	3772 of 5087	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	27.1	3948 of 5084	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	31.6	3581 of 4963	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	40.2	2848 of 4830	41.0%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	30.7	3930 of 5460	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.5	4414 of 5517	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	31.8	3747 of 5363	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	28.8	3937 of 5264	25.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	28.9	3936 of 5173	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	39.3	3065 of 5084	39.7%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	24.4	4347 of 5628	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.8	4554 of 5643	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	23.2	4414 of 5638	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	25.7	4162 of 5663	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	27.2	4005 of 5510	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	36.6	3240 of 5431	40.3%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	30.6	1958 of 2847	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	21.7	2306 of 2635	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	23.3	2006 of 2420	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆

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)31st percentile+6 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)28th percentile+3 vs school

Female (2025)27th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)26th percentile~ school

Male (2025)23rd percentile~ school

English Language Learner (2024)14th percentile-9 vs school

Disabled (2019)4th percentile-27 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy30%-19 vs state

Mathematics27%-10 vs state

Science19%-14 vs state

★

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Schools Near W. R. Nelson Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CSA Spanish Overall (2025)						CSA Spanish Listening (2025)						CSA Spanish Writing (2025)						CSA Spanish Reading (2025)						CAST Science (2025)			Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)							Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)							% Completely Immunized (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	CSA Spanish Overall 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	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	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
W. R. Nelson Elementary	Public	K-5	14392 Browning Ave.	Tustin	92780	Orange County	Tustin Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 730-7536	460	18	25.5	87.2%	31 (6.7%)	2 (0.4%)	363 (78.9%)	37 (8.0%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	25 (5.4%)	25.2	4380^th of 5857 public elementary schools	25.2%		23.7	4502^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	23.3%	122																									18.8		18.8	29.4	31.3	29.5				30.0	35.7	27.7	19.8				27.3			$15,849	$2,039	$13,810
Benjamin F. Beswick Elementary	Public	K-5	1362 Mitchell Ave.	Tustin	92780	Orange County	Tustin Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 730-7385	426	17	25.0	90.8%	16 (3.8%)	7 (1.6%)	366 (85.9%)	27 (6.3%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	7 (1.6%)	31.3	3855^th of 5857 public elementary schools	34.2%		33.6	3638^th of 5869 public elementary schools	38.0%	217																									15.9		15.9	28.6	37.3	35.3				33.7	20.6	32.9	43.5				32.1			$16,347	$2,062	$14,285
Sycamore Magnet Academy	Public	K-8	1402 Sycamore Ave.	Tustin	92780	Orange County	Tustin Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 730-7360	1,085	43	25.1	87.2%	37 (3.4%)	8 (0.7%)	1,001 (92.3%)	18 (1.7%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	18 (1.7%)	14.3	5323^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	9.1%		13.6	5426^th of 5869 public elementary schools	7.5%	103	5.2	11.5	3.1	0.0	0.0	5.5	20.8	15.4	14.1	7.7	10.5	15.8	5.2	16.7	1.6	7.7	10.5	8.6	3.1	10.3	3.1	3.9	0.0	4.8	9.4	7.3	8.1	21.9	15.8	27.1	25.2	29.6	29.6	25.7	29.2	13.7	15.0	11.0	13.2	14.0	15.3			$16,495	$2,174	$14,321
Heritage Elementary	Public	K-5	15400 Lansdowne Rd.	Tustin	92782	Orange County	Tustin Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 430-2066	567	21	27.0	32.5%	112 (19.8%)	5 (0.9%)	115 (20.3%)	261 (46.0%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.5%)	70 (12.3%)	92	544^th of 5857 public elementary schools	90.7%		88.8	764^th of 5869 public elementary schools	87.0%	220																									67.5		67.5	75.6	69.8	80.7				75.3	74.4	62.7	68.7				68.7			$15,435	$1,711	$13,724
Tustin Ranch Elementary	Public	K-5	12950 Robinson Dr.	Tustin	92782	Orange County	Tustin Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 730-7580	520	20	26.0	61.3%	107 (20.6%)	16 (3.1%)	265 (51.0%)	84 (16.2%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	45 (8.7%)	67.4	1720^th of 5857 public elementary schools	70.6%		74.8	1372^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	76.6%	348																									39.3		39.3	42.4	58.5	64.4				55.3	48.8	58.1	45.6				50.8			$15,479	$1,769	$13,710
College Park Elementary	Public	K-6	3700 Chaparral Ave.	Irvine	92606	Orange County	Irvine Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 936-5550	430	16	26.1	19.3%	106 (24.7%)	9 (2.1%)	77 (17.9%)	197 (45.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	39 (9.1%)	90.5	627^th of 5857 public elementary schools	89.3%		93.6	463^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	92.1%	164																									68.3		68.3	80.0	67.1	77.1	67.6			72.2	81.8	68.0	52.4	67.6			67.0			$17,289	$422	$16,867
Irvine Unified School District Virtual Academy	Public, Virtual	K-6	3700 Chaparral Ave.	Irvine	92606	Orange County	Irvine Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(949) 517-1500	58	3	19.4	20.7%	11 (19.0%)	3 (5.2%)	19 (32.8%)	16 (27.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (15.5%)	91.8	560^th of 5857 public elementary schools	90.4%		92.5	538^th of 5869 public elementary schools	90.8%	22																									73.7		73.7		76.9	79.0				83.3		76.9	52.6				66.7			$20,128	$620	$19,508
Tustin Memorial Elementary	Public	K-5	12712 Browning Ave.	Santa Ana	92705	Orange County	Tustin Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 730-7546	613	22	27.8	22.5%	130 (21.2%)	4 (0.7%)	69 (11.3%)	322 (52.5%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	85 (13.9%)	97.7	102^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	98.3%		97.6	109^th of 5869 public elementary schools	98.1%	7																									61.8		61.8	83.8	89.1	90.0				87.7	89.9	93.1	83.6				88.7			$14,962	$1,683	$13,279
Robert Heideman Elementary	Public	K-5	15571 Williams St.	Tustin	92780	Orange County	Tustin Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 730-7521	502	19	26.4	97.0%	9 (1.8%)	1 (0.2%)	469 (93.4%)	8 (1.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (2.8%)	23.5	4544^th of 5857 public elementary schools	22.4%		20.3	4832^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	17.7%	288																									7.2		7.2	28.8	30.3	24.4				27.9	46.3	24.4	20.5				29.2			$17,543	$1,972	$15,571
Barbara Benson Elementary	Public	K-5	12712 Elizabeth Way	Tustin	92780	Orange County	Tustin Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 730-7531	313	14	22.3	73.2%	43 (13.7%)	4 (1.3%)	222 (70.9%)	26 (8.3%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.0%)	15 (4.8%)	49.6	2617^th of 5857 public elementary schools	55.3%		64	1877^th of 5869 public elementary schools	68.0%	740																									38.1		38.1	18.4	50.0	45.2				37.7	31.6	55.9	45.2				43.9	96.9	96.9	$16,610	$2,106	$14,504

Frequently Asked Questions about W. R. Nelson Elementary

How many students attend W. R. Nelson Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 460 students attended W. R. Nelson Elementary.

What schools do graduates of W. R. Nelson Elementary attend?

Students who attend W. R. Nelson Elementary usually go on to attend:

High : Tustin High

What is the racial makeup of W. R. Nelson Elementary?

Students at W. R. Nelson Elementary are 79% Hispanic, 8% Asian, 7% White, 5% Two or more races.

Is W. R. Nelson Elementary a good school?

W. R. Nelson Elementary ranks 4380^th of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

What district is W. R. Nelson Elementary in?

Tustin Unified

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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.