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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LOS ALAMITOS UNIFIED·NCES 062259008885

J. H. McGaugh Elementary

1698 Bolsa Ave., Seal Beach, CA 90740 · (562) 799-4560 · Orange County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL721 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 54% of California public elementary schools
  • A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
  • CBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
  • FThree-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

Enrollment
721
Elementary
DISTRICT 629 · STATE 465
Student : Teacher
22.5:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 25.0:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
18%
130 students
DISTRICT 18% · STATE 65%
Community
6
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

GradeStudentsShare
Kindergarten15021%
Grade 110715%
Grade 210314%
Grade 311917%
Grade 413018%
Grade 511216%

This year's kindergarten class (150) is 34% larger than its 5th grade class (112).

Student demographics
66%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 72% · STATE 62% · US 70%
White
35249%
DISTRICT 37% · STATE 20% · US 43%
Hispanic
19427%
DISTRICT 30% · STATE 56% · US 30%
Black
122%
DISTRICT 2% · STATE 5% · US 15%
Asian
598%
DISTRICT 17% · STATE 12% · US 6%
Two+
10114%
DISTRICT 12% · STATE 6% · US 5%
Pacific Islander
30%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 0% · US 0%
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
Male
38553%
Female
33647%

Discussions

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Test scores

CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standard
English Language Arts
66.2%
CA avg 49.1% . +1.2pp since 2014
Math
62.3%
CA avg 37.7% . -8.7pp since 2014

What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 66 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 62 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 1 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 9 points.

Performance levels, 2024-25

SubjectStandard ExceededStandard MetStandard Nearly MetStandard Not Met
English Language Arts38.4%27.8%20.3%13.5%
Math32.9%29.4%22.9%14.9%
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 yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2566.2%62.3%
2023-2464.6%68.2%
2022-2370.8%74.0%
2021-2268.2%74.5%
2018-1974.9%74.7%
2017-1875.7%76.4%
2016-1772.8%73.1%
2015-1674.0%75.0%
2014-1565.0%71.0%
% 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 · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
65.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
69.0%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.6pp
below demographic expectation

What this means: About 65% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 69% 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 J. H. McGaugh Elementary

J. H. McGaugh Elementary's state test result (65.4% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
J. H. McGaugh Elementary this school72118.0%65.4%
Community Montessori
Escondido
79517.6%N/A
Crocker/Riverside Elementary
Sacramento
63114.7%78.9%
Phoebe A. Hearst Elementary
Sacramento
64714.7%79.7%
Woods (Harold L.) Elementary
Clovis
66120.7%76.1%
Los Primeros School of Sciences & Arts
Camarillo
61418.2%59.6%
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 J. H. McGaugh Elementary ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn CaliforniaIn Orange County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
65.4%#863 of 5,151#129 of 381
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
62.3%#952 of 5,172
▼ 261
#139 of 382
▼ 38
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
66.2%#951 of 5,172
▲ 25
#140 of 382
no change
3-year test score change
ranked biggest drop first
-7.1pp#288 of 5,116#11 of 381
Enrollment
ranked largest first
721#662 of 5,915#48 of 404
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
22.5:1#2,621 of 5,352#129 of 398
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
66.3%#1,091 of 5,354#100 of 398
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
18.0%#5,212 of 5,625#369 of 400
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-9.0%#2,818 of 3,837#253 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 2024-25
Enrollment
721
-25 (-3%) vs 2020
-7% since 1990-91, when it was 777
Student : Teacher
22.5:1
was 22.6:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-257213222.5:118% (130)
2023-247273222.7:116% (114)
2022-237513422.1:114% (104)
2020-217463322.6:115% (113)
2017-1879236.521.7:114% (114)
2015-168403921.5:110% (86)
2010-11745N/AN/A6% (42)
2000-017974318.5:110% (83)
1990-917773621.6:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for J. H. McGaugh Elementary.

Since 2017-18: students down 9% (792 to 721); teachers down 12% (36.5 to 32).

About J. H. McGaugh Elementary

J. H. McGaugh Elementary is a high-enrollment elementary school in Seal Beach, California. The school serves 721 students in kindergarten through 5 in 2024-25. For comparison, elementary schools in California average about 465 students.

J. H. McGaugh Elementary reports to Los Alamitos Unified, which has 9 schools and 8,702 students.

At J. H. McGaugh Elementary, the largest share of students is White, at 49%. The next largest groups are 27% Hispanic, 14% multiracial, and 8% Asian. Pick two students at random and there is a 66% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.

The school reports 32 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to about 22.5 students per teacher. For comparison, elementary schools in California average 22.3:1. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility covers 18% of students. Compared with the 55% average for public schools in Orange County, the school's rate is lower.

J. H. McGaugh Elementary is graded B- by allk12, scoring above 54% of California public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.

J. H. McGaugh Elementary posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 65.4%, compared with a predicted 69.0%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of California schools on BeatsExpectations.

Orange County has these Census figures: 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. In all, Orange County has 649 public schools and roughly 430,458 students.

The shortest distance from J. H. McGaugh Elementary to another public school is about 2.0 miles, to Naples Elementary. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. J. H. McGaugh Elementary places 7th of 9 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.

For locale, NCES codes J. H. McGaugh Elementary as Suburb: Large.

2024-25 enrollment was 721, a 3% decrease from 746 in 2020-21.

Parents and students can post about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week at J. H. McGaugh Elementary. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.

Orange County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
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

School name
J. H. McGaugh Elementary
District
Los Alamitos Unified
Address
1698 Bolsa Ave., Seal Beach, CA 90740
Phone
(562) 799-4560
County
Orange County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
KG–05
Total enrollment
721
Teachers (FTE)
32
Student–teacher ratio
22.5:1
Free and reduced lunch
130 (18%)
Locale
21-Suburb: Large
NCES ID
062259008885
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Los Alamitos Unified
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About J. H. McGaugh Elementary
How many students attend J. H. McGaugh Elementary?
J. H. McGaugh Elementary enrolls approximately 721 students in grades KG-05.
Is J. H. McGaugh Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
J. H. McGaugh Elementary is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many teachers does J. H. McGaugh Elementary have?
J. H. McGaugh Elementary employs 32 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 22.5:1.
What is the student diversity at J. H. McGaugh Elementary?
Student demographics at J. H. McGaugh Elementary are roughly 49% White, 27% Hispanic, 2% Black, 8% Asian, 14% Two or more.
Who oversees J. H. McGaugh Elementary?
J. H. McGaugh Elementary is overseen by Los Alamitos Unified in Orange County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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