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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CAPISTRANO UNIFIED·NCES 060744003383

John Malcom Elementary

32261 Charles Ave., Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 · (949) 248-0542 · Orange County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL553 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 78% of California public elementary schools
  • ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
  • B-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
  • B+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

Enrollment
553
Elementary
DISTRICT 480 · STATE 465
Student : Teacher
24.1:1
23 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 23.7:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
25%
136 students
DISTRICT 37% · 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
Kindergarten11821%
Grade 17614%
Grade 210319%
Grade 38816%
Grade 47313%
Grade 59517%

This year's kindergarten class (118) is 24% larger than its 5th grade class (95).

Student demographics
53%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · STATE 62% · US 70%
White
35765%
DISTRICT 51% · STATE 20% · US 43%
Hispanic
7213%
DISTRICT 27% · STATE 56% · US 30%
Black
41%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 5% · US 15%
Asian
143%
DISTRICT 9% · STATE 12% · US 6%
Two+
10619%
DISTRICT 12% · STATE 6% · US 5%
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
28752%
Female
26648%

Discussions

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Test scores

CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standard
English Language Arts
72.7%
CA avg 49.1% . +3.7pp since 2014
Math
66.0%
CA avg 37.7% . +6.0pp since 2014

What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 73 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 66 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 4 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 6 points.

Performance levels, 2024-25

SubjectStandard ExceededStandard MetStandard Nearly MetStandard Not Met
English Language Arts40.0%32.6%14.7%12.7%
Math41.8%24.2%23.4%10.7%
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 yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2572.7%66.0%
2023-2467.2%62.3%
2022-2371.1%67.7%
2021-2266.4%61.8%
2018-1970.4%66.5%
2017-1873.5%62.6%
2016-1771.0%68.1%
2015-1668.0%66.0%
2014-1569.0%60.0%
% 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
66.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
65.1%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.8pp
above demographic expectation

What this means: About 67% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 65% 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 John Malcom Elementary

John Malcom Elementary's state test result (66.9% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
John Malcom Elementary this school55324.6%66.9%
Chico Country Day
Chico
58526.3%N/A
Los Ranchos Elementary
San Luis Obispo
52123.6%68.6%
Mariners Elementary
Newport Beach
57321.6%72.2%
Holmes Elementary
San Diego
49523.8%87.2%
Bowman Charter
Auburn
60625.1%58.3%
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 John Malcom Elementary ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn CaliforniaIn Orange County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
66.9%#792 of 5,151#126 of 381
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
66.0%#779 of 5,172
▲ 144
#121 of 382
▲ 16
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
72.7%#614 of 5,172
▲ 241
#95 of 382
▲ 33
3-year test score change
ranked biggest gain first
+5.2pp#1,585 of 5,116#105 of 381
Enrollment
ranked largest first
553#1,829 of 5,915#137 of 404
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
24.1:1#3,800 of 5,352#209 of 398
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
52.9%#2,531 of 5,354#206 of 398
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
24.6%#4,986 of 5,625#335 of 400
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-9.9%#2,698 of 3,837#243 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
553
+55 (+11%) vs 2020
-34% since 2000-01, when it was 841
Student : Teacher
24.1:1
was 26.2:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-255532324.1:125% (136)
2023-245512423.0:125% (139)
2022-235482323.9:129% (158)
2020-214981926.2:114% (68)
2017-1861420.130.6:114% (84)
2015-166862231.2:19% (59)
2010-11670N/AN/A7% (50)
2000-018413722.7:13% (28)
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for John Malcom Elementary.

Since 2017-18: students down 10% (614 to 553); teachers up 14% (20.1 to 23).

About John Malcom Elementary

John Malcom Elementary is an elementary school with a street address in Laguna Niguel, California. Enrollment totals 553 students across kindergarten through 5.

Capistrano Unified runs 58 schools with a combined 40,251 students. John Malcom Elementary is one of them.

Of every 100 students at John Malcom Elementary, about 65 are White. The school is also 19% multiracial, 13% Hispanic, and 3% Asian. The White share of the county population is lower, at 43%. The diversity index for John Malcom Elementary is 53%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.

The school lists 23 full-time-equivalent teachers and a student-to-teacher ratio of 24.1:1. Statewide, elementary schools in California average 22.3:1. Free or reduced-price lunch covers 25% of the student body. Across public schools in Orange County, the average is 55%.

Among California public elementary schools, John Malcom Elementary outscored 78%, which works out to an A- on the allk12 Grade.

John Malcom Elementary scores 66.9% on state tests, averaged across results. The predicted figure, based on its student poverty level, is 65.1%.

In the wider Orange County area, median household income comes to about $116,289, roughly 44% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. Orange County counts 649 public schools with about 430,458 students.

Dana Hills High sits about 1.3 miles from John Malcom Elementary. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. By average proficiency, John Malcom Elementary is 1st among 7 schools close by.

By NCES locale, the school is Suburb: Large, or in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.

Enrollment increased 11% over 4 years, reaching 553 in 2024-25. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 26.2:1 to 24.1:1.

Use the discussion section to ask about open houses, carpools, and field trips at John Malcom Elementary. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.

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
John Malcom Elementary
District
Capistrano Unified
Address
32261 Charles Ave., Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
Phone
(949) 248-0542
County
Orange County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
KG–05
Total enrollment
553
Teachers (FTE)
23
Student–teacher ratio
24.1:1
Free and reduced lunch
136 (25%)
Locale
21-Suburb: Large
NCES ID
060744003383
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Capistrano Unified
Other schools in Laguna Niguel
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About John Malcom Elementary
How large is John Malcom Elementary?
John Malcom Elementary enrolls approximately 553 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does John Malcom Elementary serve?
John Malcom Elementary serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at John Malcom Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at John Malcom Elementary is approximately 24.1:1 (23 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at John Malcom Elementary?
At John Malcom Elementary, the student body is approximately 65% White, 13% Hispanic, 1% Black, 3% Asian, 19% Two or more.
Is John Malcom Elementary public or private?
John Malcom Elementary 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.
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