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What do you wish you knew before starting at Bernice Ayer Middle?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
919
Middle
DISTRICT 689 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CAPISTRANO UNIFIED·NCES 060744007587
Bernice Ayer Middle
1271 Sarmentoso, San Clemente, CA 92673 · (949) 366-9607 · Orange County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL919 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 98% of California public middle schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- AThree-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded California public middle schools
Student : Teacher
22.4:1
41 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.2:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
39%
362 students
DISTRICT 37% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 5 | 1 | 0% |
| Grade 6 | 309 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 298 | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 311 | 34% |
Student demographics
55%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
73.8%
CA avg 49.1% . +2.8pp since 2014
Math
69.0%
CA avg 37.7% . +11.0pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 74 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 69 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 3 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 11 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 39.5% | 34.3% | 15.7% | 10.5% |
| Math | 45.5% | 23.5% | 17.3% | 13.7% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 73.8% | 69.0% |
| 2023-24 | 70.3% | 66.5% |
| 2022-23 | 70.8% | 59.9% |
| 2021-22 | 73.5% | 51.9% |
| 2018-19 | 70.9% | 52.5% |
| 2017-18 | 67.5% | 53.0% |
| 2016-17 | 75.4% | 59.2% |
| 2015-16 | 71.0% | 54.0% |
| 2014-15 | 71.0% | 58.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
69.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
56.5%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+13.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 70% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 56% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Bernice Ayer Middle
Bernice Ayer Middle's state test result (69.9% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bernice Ayer Middle this school | 919 | 39.4% | 69.9% |
| Valley Middle Carlsbad | 807 | 36.6% | 52.0% |
| Laguna Middle San Luis Obispo | 780 | 43.3% | 64.3% |
| La Colina Junior High Santa Barbara | 832 | 41.5% | 63.5% |
| Oakdale Junior High Oakdale | 780 | 38.3% | 37.4% |
| Lakeside Middle Lakeside | 724 | 38.7% | 39.1% |
Matched among California middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Bernice Ayer Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Orange County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 69.9% | #122 of 1,224 | #21 of 85 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 69.0% | #95 of 1,227 ▲ 9 | #13 of 85 ▲ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 73.8% | #138 of 1,227 ▲ 21 | #22 of 85 ▲ 6 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +8.7pp | #121 of 1,214 | #8 of 84 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 919 | #285 of 1,377 | #22 of 88 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 22.4:1 | #878 of 1,279 | #47 of 87 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 55.4% | #542 of 1,278 | #45 of 87 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 39.4% | #1,055 of 1,329 | #61 of 88 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +2.6% | #191 of 257 | #4 of 9 |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
919
+88 (+11%) vs 2020
+5% since 2000-01, when it was 874
Student : Teacher
22.4:1
was 23.7:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 919 | 41 | 22.4:1 | 39% (362) |
| 2023-24 | 878 | 44.7 | 19.7:1 | 37% (326) |
| 2022-23 | 883 | 43.9 | 20.1:1 | 40% (351) |
| 2020-21 | 831 | 35 | 23.7:1 | 32% (264) |
| 2017-18 | 896 | 37.5 | 23.9:1 | 30% (270) |
| 2015-16 | 861 | 35 | 24.6:1 | 25% (216) |
| 2010-11 | 867 | N/A | N/A | 20% (175) |
| 2000-01 | 874 | 42 | 20.8:1 | 20% (174) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Bernice Ayer Middle.
Since 2017-18: students up 3% (896 to 919); teachers up 9% (37.5 to 41).
About Bernice Ayer Middle
Bernice Ayer Middle is one of the public schools in San Clemente, California. It is a medium-sized middle-grades school. The latest federal count shows 919 students in grades 6 through 8. The average for middle schools in California is about 659 students, so this school is 39% larger than average.
Capistrano Unified is responsible for 58 schools, Bernice Ayer Middle included, with 40,251 students in all.
Roughly 59% of students at Bernice Ayer Middle are White. The rest of enrollment is 30% Hispanic and 9% multiracial. Among all residents of Orange County, the White share is about 43%. Bernice Ayer Middle's diversity index is 55%, against a US figure of 70%.
At Bernice Ayer Middle, 41 full-time-equivalent teachers work with students, a ratio of about 22.4:1. That is higher than the 20.7:1 average for middle schools in California. Roughly 39% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. That is 16 points below the 55% average for public schools in Orange County.
Bernice Ayer Middle is graded A+ by allk12, scoring above 98% of California public middle schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For Bernice Ayer Middle, the prediction is 56.5% and the result is 69.9%.
Census Bureau estimates for Orange County show that the median household income is $116,289, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 44% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 7%. There are 649 public schools in Orange County, enrolling about 430,458 students in all.
The nearest public school is Truman Benedict Elementary, at less than a tenth of a mile. Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. The school's 69.9% average proficiency ranks 4th among 9 nearby schools.
Bernice Ayer Middle is coded as Suburb: Large in federal locale data.
Enrollment climbed 11% from its 2020-21 level of 831. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 23.7:1 in 2020-21 to 22.4:1 in 2024-25.
Posts about science fairs, picture day, and bus routes are welcome on this page. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Orange County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
3,165,820
Census ACS
Median income
$116,289
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
44%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
649
430,458 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Capistrano Unified
- San Clemente HighHigh · 2,740 students
- San Juan Hills HighHigh · 2,641 students
- Aliso Niguel HighHigh · 2,563 students
- Tesoro HighHigh · 2,030 students
- Capistrano Valley HighHigh · 1,991 students
- Dana Hills HighHigh · 1,725 students
Other schools in San Clemente
- San Clemente HighHigh · 2,740 students
- Las Palmas ElementaryElementary · 743 students
- Vista del Mar ElementaryElementary · 692 students
- Shorecliffs MiddleMiddle · 634 students
- Truman Benedict ElementaryElementary · 602 students
- Concordia ElementaryElementary · 533 students
Nearby schools
- Truman Benedict Elementary0.0 mi · 602
- Marblehead Elementary1.1 mi · 195
- Vista del Mar Middle1.6 mi · 499
- Vista del Mar Elementary1.6 mi · 692
- Shorecliffs Middle1.7 mi · 634
- San Clemente High1.9 mi · 2,740
Frequently asked questions
About Bernice Ayer MiddleHow many students attend Bernice Ayer Middle?
Bernice Ayer Middle enrolls approximately 919 students in grades 06-08.
Is Bernice Ayer Middle an elementary, middle, or high school?
Bernice Ayer Middle is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many teachers does Bernice Ayer Middle have?
Bernice Ayer Middle employs 41 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 22.4:1.
What is the student diversity at Bernice Ayer Middle?
Student demographics at Bernice Ayer Middle are roughly 59% White, 30% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 9% Two or more.
Is Bernice Ayer Middle public or private?
Bernice Ayer Middle is a public K-12 school, overseen by Capistrano Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.