Summary:
In the Mission Viejo area (zip code 92692), there are two public middle schools, Fred Newhart Middle and Carl Hankey Middle, both serving grades 6-8 within the Capistrano Unified School District, and both consistently performing well above California state averages.
Fred Newhart Middle stands out as the higher-performing and more consistent school, earning a 5-star rating and ranking in the top 6% of all state middle schools. It excels academically, with over 77% of students proficient in English and nearly 68% in math, significantly outpacing both district and state averages. The school also reports a very low chronic absenteeism rate of 8%. In comparison, Carl Hankey Middle is a much smaller school that also performs above state standards but below the district average, with a 4-star rating and rankings that have been more variable in recent years.
An interesting finding is that the higher-performing Fred Newhart Middle operates with larger class sizes and receives less funding per student than Carl Hankey Middle, suggesting factors like school culture and instructional quality are crucial. Both schools show a notable dip in 7th-grade math scores, a pattern that may be worth exploring. For parents, this area offers strong educational options within Capistrano Unified, with Fred Newhart Middle demonstrating particularly strong and consistent results.
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