Enrollment
324
Elementary
DISTRICT 480 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CAPISTRANO UNIFIED·NCES 060744000692
Harold Ambuehl Elementary
28001 San Juan Creek Rd., San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675 · (949) 661-0400 · Orange County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL324 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 66% of California public elementary schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- A-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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
23.2:1
14 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 23.7:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
35%
114 students
DISTRICT 37% · STATE 65%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 73 | 23% |
| Grade 1 | 49 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 52 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 51 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 42 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 57 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (73) is 28% larger than its 5th grade class (57).
Student demographics
60%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
54.2%
CA avg 49.1% . +0.2pp since 2014
Math
60.4%
CA avg 37.7% . +20.4pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 54 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 60 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2014, while math scores are up about 20 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 29.9% | 24.3% | 18.8% | 27.1% |
| Math | 32.6% | 27.8% | 18.1% | 21.5% |
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 | 54.2% | 60.4% |
| 2023-24 | 56.5% | 55.1% |
| 2022-23 | 60.1% | 52.5% |
| 2021-22 | 49.3% | 47.0% |
| 2018-19 | 48.3% | 40.8% |
| 2017-18 | 55.0% | 48.2% |
| 2016-17 | 47.3% | 39.1% |
| 2015-16 | 61.0% | 45.0% |
| 2014-15 | 54.0% | 40.0% |
% 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
56.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
58.9%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 57% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 59% 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 Harold Ambuehl Elementary
Harold Ambuehl Elementary's state test result (56.6% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harold Ambuehl Elementary this school | 324 | 35.2% | 56.6% |
| Shell Beach Elementary Pismo Beach | 330 | 33.0% | 68.0% |
| George White Elementary Laguna Niguel | 378 | 36.2% | 63.9% |
| Poinsettia Elementary Ventura | 351 | 38.5% | 50.2% |
| Sycamore Canyon Elementary Santee | 373 | 37.0% | 64.9% |
| Pacific Beach Elementary San Diego | 312 | 34.9% | 65.6% |
Matched among California elementary 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 Harold Ambuehl Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Orange County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 56.6% | #1,301 of 5,151 | #172 of 381 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 60.4% | #1,046 of 5,172 ▲ 179 | #150 of 382 ▲ 20 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 54.2% | #1,734 of 5,172 ▼ 272 | #204 of 382 ▼ 17 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +9.1pp | #733 of 5,116 | #40 of 381 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 324 | #4,530 of 5,915 | #357 of 404 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 23.2:1 | #3,116 of 5,352 | #160 of 398 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 59.5% | #1,881 of 5,354 | #161 of 398 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 35.2% | #4,546 of 5,625 | #275 of 400 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -14.1% | #2,137 of 3,837 | #205 of 324 |
Ranked against other public elementary 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
324
+27 (+9%) vs 2020
-61% since 1990-91, when it was 833
Student : Teacher
23.2:1
was 21.2:1
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 | 324 | 14 | 23.2:1 | 35% (114) |
| 2023-24 | 312 | 15 | 20.8:1 | 42% (132) |
| 2022-23 | 308 | 15 | 20.6:1 | 41% (125) |
| 2020-21 | 297 | 14 | 21.2:1 | 30% (90) |
| 2017-18 | 377 | 14 | 26.9:1 | 38% (142) |
| 2015-16 | 416 | 14 | 29.7:1 | 36% (149) |
| 2010-11 | 500 | N/A | N/A | 32% (160) |
| 2000-01 | 779 | 35 | 22.3:1 | 10% (75) |
| 1990-91 | 833 | 33 | 25.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Harold Ambuehl Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 14% (377 to 324); teachers unchanged (14 to 14).
About Harold Ambuehl Elementary
Harold Ambuehl Elementary is a small elementary school located in San Juan Capistrano, California. Enrolled students number 324 students, in kindergarten through 5. Statewide, elementary schools in California average about 465 students each.
Harold Ambuehl Elementary is run by Capistrano Unified, whose 58 schools enroll 40,251 students.
White students are the majority at Harold Ambuehl Elementary, with 56% of enrollment. Other groups include 27% Hispanic and 14% multiracial. The county population is about 43% White. Harold Ambuehl Elementary's diversity index is 60%, against a US figure of 70%.
At Harold Ambuehl Elementary, 14 full-time-equivalent teachers work with students, a ratio of about 23.2:1. On average, elementary schools in California have 22.3:1, compared with 23.2:1 here. Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch make up 35% of enrollment. The rate at public schools in Orange County averages 55%, higher than here.
The allk12 Grade for Harold Ambuehl Elementary is B+. Compared with California public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 66% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Harold Ambuehl Elementary sits between the top and bottom 10% of California schools on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate on state tests of 56.6% and a predicted 58.9%.
Harold Ambuehl Elementary is located in Orange County, where the median household income is $116,289, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 44%, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. Besides Harold Ambuehl Elementary, Orange County has 648 other public schools.
The closest other public school is California Republic Leadership Academy Capistrano, less than a tenth of a mile away. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools.
Harold Ambuehl Elementary is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more, a location NCES labels Suburb: Large.
Enrollment is up 9% from 2020-21, when Harold Ambuehl Elementary had 297 students, to 2024-25, when it had 324. Students per teacher rose from 21.2 in 2020-21 to 23.2 in 2024-25.
Questions about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news can be posted here. 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 Juan Capistrano
- California Online Public Schools Southern CaliforniaCombined · 3,933 students
- San Juan Hills HighHigh · 2,641 students
- Marco Forster MiddleMiddle · 930 students
- San Juan ElementaryElementary · 662 students
- Del Obispo ElementaryElementary · 310 students
- Kinoshita ElementaryElementary · 302 students
Nearby schools
- California Republic Leadership Academy Capistrano0.1 mi · 260
- San Juan Elementary0.9 mi · 662
- Opportunities for Learning - Capistrano0.9 mi · 185
- Bridges Community Day1.0 mi · 12
- OCASA College Prep1.0 mi · 83
- Capistrano Union High1.1 mi · 103
Frequently asked questions
About Harold Ambuehl ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Harold Ambuehl Elementary?
Harold Ambuehl Elementary enrolls approximately 324 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Harold Ambuehl Elementary serve?
Harold Ambuehl Elementary serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Harold Ambuehl Elementary?
Approximately 23.2:1 students per teacher at Harold Ambuehl Elementary.
What is the student diversity at Harold Ambuehl Elementary?
Student demographics at Harold Ambuehl Elementary are roughly 56% White, 27% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Asian, 14% Two or more.
Who oversees Harold Ambuehl Elementary?
Harold Ambuehl Elementary is overseen by Capistrano Unified in Orange County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.