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What's the one class at Costa Mesa High every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,730
High
DISTRICT 1,038 · STATE 838
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NEWPORT-MESA UNIFIED·NCES 062724004110
Costa Mesa High
2650 Fairview Rd., Costa Mesa, CA 92626 · (714) 424-8700 · Orange County
GRADES 07–12HIGH12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,730 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 48% of California public high schools
- B-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.
- CThree-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
19.5:1
89 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.9:1 · STATE 18.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
73%
1,267 students
DISTRICT 54% · 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 7 | 289 | 17% |
| Grade 8 | 290 | 17% |
| Grade 9 | 295 | 17% |
| Grade 10 | 277 | 16% |
| Grade 11 | 275 | 16% |
| Grade 12 | 304 | 18% |
Student demographics
48%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 63% · 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
49.9%
CA avg 49.1% . +6.9pp since 2014
Math
29.4%
CA avg 37.7% . -3.6pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 50 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 29 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 7 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 4 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 18.5% | 31.5% | 22.6% | 27.5% |
| Math | 15.4% | 14.0% | 23.7% | 46.9% |
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 | 49.9% | 29.4% |
| 2023-24 | 47.1% | 28.9% |
| 2022-23 | 45.5% | 28.9% |
| 2021-22 | 50.5% | 29.4% |
| 2020-21 | 65.0% | 30.5% |
| 2018-19 | 51.3% | 32.6% |
| 2017-18 | 45.1% | 33.4% |
| 2016-17 | 44.8% | 33.5% |
| 2015-16 | 44.0% | 30.0% |
| 2014-15 | 43.0% | 33.0% |
% 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
38.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
36.6%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 39% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 37% 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 Costa Mesa High
Costa Mesa High's state test result (38.9% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costa Mesa High this school | 1,730 | 73.2% | 38.9% |
| Mt. Whitney High Visalia | 1,637 | 74.0% | 34.0% |
| El Modena High Orange | 1,795 | 69.0% | 44.2% |
| Pioneer High Woodland | 1,582 | 71.1% | 36.4% |
| San Pasqual High Escondido | 1,846 | 73.2% | 46.6% |
| Golden West High Visalia | 2,059 | 70.7% | 30.1% |
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 Costa Mesa High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Orange County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 38.9% | #557 of 1,052 | #55 of 68 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 29.4% | #443 of 1,056 ▼ 50 | #49 of 69 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 49.9% | #709 of 1,056 ▲ 11 | #56 of 69 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -0.3pp | #364 of 1,044 | #27 of 68 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,730 | #422 of 2,093 | #43 of 105 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.5:1 | #470 of 1,352 | #19 of 85 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 47.6% | #725 of 1,351 | #47 of 85 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 73.2% | #791 of 1,575 | #45 of 95 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -7.0% | #560 of 802 | #61 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
1,730
+65 (+4%) vs 2020
+12% since 1990-91, when it was 1,550
Student : Teacher
19.5:1
was 22.2:1
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 | 1,730 | 88.9 | 19.5:1 | 73% (1,267) |
| 2023-24 | 1,761 | 94.4 | 18.6:1 | 75% (1,324) |
| 2022-23 | 1,776 | 90.8 | 19.6:1 | 75% (1,335) |
| 2020-21 | 1,665 | 75 | 22.2:1 | 65% (1,074) |
| 2017-18 | 1,861 | 82.4 | 22.6:1 | 63% (1,171) |
| 2015-16 | 1,814 | 75 | 24.2:1 | 67% (1,207) |
| 2010-11 | 1,731 | N/A | N/A | 64% (1,103) |
| 2000-01 | 1,897 | 79 | 24.0:1 | 42% (792) |
| 1990-91 | 1,550 | 68 | 22.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Costa Mesa High.
Since 2017-18: students down 7% (1,861 to 1,730); teachers up 8% (82.4 to 88.9).
About Costa Mesa High
Costa Mesa High is a high school with a street address in Costa Mesa, California. It enrolls 1,730 students in 2024-25. The grades offered are 7 through 12. It has 106% more students than the average for high schools in California (about 838).
Newport-Mesa Unified enrolls 17,540 students in 31 schools, including Costa Mesa High.
The share of Hispanic students at Costa Mesa High is 70%, a majority. Other students are 15% White, 6% Asian, and 6% multiracial. That is higher than the 34% Hispanic share among all Orange County residents. A diversity index of 48% means there is a 48% chance two randomly chosen students at Costa Mesa High are from different groups.
There are 88.9 full-time-equivalent teachers at Costa Mesa High, giving a ratio of 19.5:1. The school's 19.5:1 compares with an average of 18.2:1 for high schools in California. By family income, 73% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That is higher than the 55% average for public schools in Orange County.
On the allk12 Grade, Costa Mesa High lands at B-, ahead of 48% of California public high schools.
Compared with California schools that have similar shares of low-income students, Costa Mesa High's results are 2.2 points above predicted: 38.9% against 36.6%.
For Orange County, Census Bureau data show the median household earns about $116,289 a year, roughly 44% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. Public schools in Orange County number 649, with about 430,458 students.
Costa Mesa High's nearest public school is Maude B. Davis Elementary (about 0.3 miles). The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 50.7%; Costa Mesa High's is 38.9%, ranking 5th of 6.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as City: Mid-size, meaning it is inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
The 2020-21-to-2024-25 change in enrollment was a 4% rise, from 1,665 to 1,730. The student-to-teacher ratio went down from 22.2:1 to 19.5:1.
The discussion board for Costa Mesa High is open to topics like pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
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 Newport-Mesa Unified
- Corona del Mar HighHigh · 2,106 students
- Newport Harbor HighHigh · 2,084 students
- Estancia HighHigh · 976 students
- Horace Ensign IntermediateMiddle · 875 students
- Mariners ElementaryElementary · 573 students
- Maude B. Davis ElementaryElementary · 570 students
Other schools in Costa Mesa
- ACCESS County CommunityCombined · 1,315 students
- Estancia HighHigh · 976 students
- Maude B. Davis ElementaryElementary · 570 students
- Heinz Kaiser ElementaryElementary · 539 students
- Charles W. Tewinkle MiddleMiddle · 501 students
- Woodland ElementaryElementary · 487 students
Nearby schools
- Maude B. Davis Elementary0.3 mi · 570
- Monte Vista Independent Study0.4 mi · 48
- Sonora Elementary0.7 mi · 367
- College Park Elementary0.7 mi · 473
- Paularino Elementary0.9 mi · 371
- Killybrooke Elementary1.1 mi · 473
Frequently asked questions
About Costa Mesa HighHow many students attend Costa Mesa High?
Costa Mesa High enrolls approximately 1,730 students in grades 07-12.
What age range does Costa Mesa High serve?
Costa Mesa High serves students from grade 07 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at Costa Mesa High?
Approximately 19.5:1 students per teacher at Costa Mesa High.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Costa Mesa High?
At Costa Mesa High, the student body is approximately 15% White, 70% Hispanic, 1% Black, 6% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Who oversees Costa Mesa High?
Costa Mesa High is overseen by Newport-Mesa Unified in Orange County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.