Summary:
ZIP code 92672 has one middle school, Shorecliffs Middle, serving grades 6–8 and enrolling 634 students. With no other listed middle schools in the ZIP code, families have one local school to consider rather than a group of schools to compare. In 2025–2026, Shorecliffs’ clearest academic strength was science: 65% of students were proficient, 6 percentage points above Capistrano Unified and 29 points above the state. Science is the only reported all-grades subject in which Shorecliffs outperformed its district.
Shorecliffs is the only school in the local list, so there is no in-ZIP top or bottom performer. Its all-grades ELA and math results were above the state but below the district: 66% in ELA was 17 points above the state and 4 below the district, while 52% in math was 14 points above the state and 10 below the district. Grade-level results add an important exception: 8th-grade ELA reached 75%, about 1 point above the district, while 6th- and 7th-grade ELA were 15 and 8 points below. All three reported math grades were below district results.
Scores improved from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026: Shorecliffs gained 3 percentage points in ELA, 7 in math, and 12 in science, widening its leads over the state by 3, 6, and 8 points, respectively. SchoolDigger gives the school 4 stars; its statewide ranking improved from 668 of 2,783 schools (76th percentile) in 2023–2024 to 398 of 2,703 (85th percentile) in 2025–2026. One concern to weigh alongside achievement is attendance: chronic absenteeism was 24%, compared with 14% in the district and 18% statewide in 2025–2026. The reported student–teacher ratio is 19.8:1, and the school’s reported low-income measure is 44% free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–2025.
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