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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Capistrano Valley High?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,991
High
DISTRICT 1,556 · STATE 838
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CAPISTRANO UNIFIED·NCES 060744000685
Capistrano Valley High
26301 Via Escolar, Mission Viejo, CA 92692 · (949) 364-6100 · Orange County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,991 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 73% of California public high schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C-Three-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 high schools
Student : Teacher
21.8:1
91 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 19.1:1 · STATE 18.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
41%
807 students
DISTRICT 37% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 539 | 27% |
| Grade 10 | 453 | 23% |
| Grade 11 | 503 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 496 | 25% |
Student demographics
68%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
74.8%
CA avg 49.1% . +8.8pp since 2014
Math
50.8%
CA avg 37.7% . +1.8pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 75 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 51 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 9 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 2 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 51.1% | 23.7% | 12.8% | 12.4% |
| Math | 28.7% | 22.1% | 20.8% | 28.5% |
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 | 74.8% | 50.8% |
| 2023-24 | 70.0% | 43.2% |
| 2022-23 | 79.2% | 47.8% |
| 2021-22 | 77.8% | 52.7% |
| 2020-21 | 70.9% | 53.5% |
| 2018-19 | 70.7% | 43.1% |
| 2017-18 | 66.6% | 41.7% |
| 2016-17 | 72.5% | 48.4% |
| 2015-16 | 75.0% | 51.0% |
| 2014-15 | 66.0% | 49.0% |
% 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
59.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
55.8%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 60% 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 Capistrano Valley High
Capistrano Valley High's state test result (59.7% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capistrano Valley High this school | 1,991 | 40.5% | 59.7% |
| Mission Viejo High Mission Viejo | 1,566 | 40.9% | 55.8% |
| College Park High Pleasant Hill | 1,948 | 40.5% | 52.5% |
| West Hills High Santee | 1,624 | 42.7% | 54.6% |
| Simi Valley High Simi Valley | 1,910 | 36.5% | 35.3% |
| San Juan Hills High San Juan Capistrano | 2,641 | 38.1% | 67.6% |
Matched among California high 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 Capistrano Valley High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Orange County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 59.7% | #181 of 1,052 | #30 of 68 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 50.8% | #162 of 1,056 ▲ 56 | #25 of 69 ▲ 9 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 74.8% | #169 of 1,056 ▲ 66 | #20 of 69 ▲ 10 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -2.5pp | #230 of 1,044 | #19 of 68 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,991 | #294 of 2,093 | #34 of 105 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.8:1 | #817 of 1,352 | #38 of 85 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 67.5% | #188 of 1,351 | #16 of 85 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 40.5% | #1,280 of 1,575 | #72 of 95 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -5.4% | #621 of 802 | #64 of 71 |
Ranked against other public high 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
1,991
-77 (-4%) vs 2020
-17% since 1990-91, when it was 2,394
Student : Teacher
21.8:1
was 26.2:1
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 | 1,991 | 91.4 | 21.8:1 | 41% (807) |
| 2023-24 | 1,981 | 94.7 | 20.9:1 | 39% (774) |
| 2022-23 | 2,029 | 91.8 | 22.1:1 | 39% (799) |
| 2020-21 | 2,068 | 79 | 26.2:1 | 27% (557) |
| 2017-18 | 2,105 | 82.8 | 25.4:1 | 27% (568) |
| 2015-16 | 2,241 | 82 | 27.3:1 | 23% (517) |
| 2010-11 | 2,734 | N/A | N/A | 21% (584) |
| 2000-01 | 3,201 | 137 | 23.4:1 | 13% (418) |
| 1990-91 | 2,394 | 102 | 23.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Capistrano Valley High.
Since 2017-18: students down 5% (2,105 to 1,991); teachers up 10% (82.8 to 91.4).
About Capistrano Valley High
Capistrano Valley High is the name of a large high school in Mission Viejo, California. The school's enrollment of 1,991 students covers grades 9 through 12. Statewide, high schools in California average about 838 students each.
Capistrano Valley High is in Capistrano Unified, a district with 40,251 students across 58 schools.
White students form the largest group at Capistrano Valley High, 45% of enrollment. Other groups include 31% Hispanic, 12% multiracial, and 10% Asian. The county population is about 43% White, within a few points of the school. By the diversity index, Capistrano Valley High comes in at 68%.
The school reported 91.4 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25 and a ratio of 21.8:1. For comparison, high schools in California average 18.2:1. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 41%. Across public schools in Orange County, the average is 55%.
Capistrano Valley High is graded B+ by allk12, scoring above 73% of California public high schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Compared with California schools that have similar shares of low-income students, Capistrano Valley High's results are 3.9 points above predicted: 59.7% against 55.8%.
In the county around the school, Orange County, median household income is about $116,289, 44% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Capistrano Valley High is among the 649 public schools in Orange County.
The nearest other public school, Niguel Hills Middle, is about 1.0 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. Capistrano Valley High is 6th of 7 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
The school's federal locale classification is Suburb: Large.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, Capistrano Valley High went from 2,068 students to 1,991. The ratio was 26.2:1 in 2020-21 and 21.8:1 in 2024-25.
Topics for discussion here include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
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
- Dana Hills HighHigh · 1,725 students
- Fred Newhart MiddleMiddle · 1,105 students
Other schools in Mission Viejo
- Trabuco Hills HighHigh · 2,475 students
- Mission Viejo HighHigh · 1,566 students
- Fred Newhart MiddleMiddle · 1,105 students
- La Paz IntermediateMiddle · 713 students
- Oxford Preparatory Academy - South Orange CountyElementary · 704 students
- Los Alisos IntermediateMiddle · 595 students
Nearby schools
- Niguel Hills Middle1.0 mi · 693
- Marian Bergeson Elementary1.4 mi · 423
- Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts1.6 mi · 249
- Hidden Hills Elementary1.6 mi · 330
- Community Roots Academy1.6 mi · 780
- Oso Grande Elementary1.7 mi · 867
Frequently asked questions
About Capistrano Valley HighWhat is the total enrollment at Capistrano Valley High?
Capistrano Valley High enrolls approximately 1,991 students in grades 09-12.
Is Capistrano Valley High an elementary, middle, or high school?
Capistrano Valley High is a high school covering grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Capistrano Valley High?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Capistrano Valley High is approximately 21.8:1 (91 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Capistrano Valley High?
Capistrano Valley High reports a student body of 45% White, 31% Hispanic, 1% Black, 10% Asian, 12% Two or more.
What district is Capistrano Valley High in?
Capistrano Valley High is part of Capistrano Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.