1
Enrollment
863
Elementary
DISTRICT 474 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ORANGE UNIFIED·NCES 062865007195
McPherson Magnet
333 South Prospect St., Orange, CA 92869 · (714) 997-6384 · Orange County
GRADES KG–08ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL863 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 92% 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.
- A-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- AThree-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
25.7:1
34 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 25.1:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
42%
363 students
DISTRICT 60% · 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
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 90 | 10% |
| Grade 1 | 89 | 10% |
| Grade 2 | 90 | 10% |
| Grade 3 | 90 | 10% |
| Grade 4 | 99 | 11% |
| Grade 5 | 99 | 11% |
| Grade 6 | 109 | 13% |
| Grade 7 | 103 | 12% |
| Grade 8 | 94 | 11% |
This year's kindergarten class (90) is about the same size as its 8th grade class (94).
Student demographics
63%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 60% · 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
74.2%
CA avg 49.1% . +17.2pp since 2014
Math
56.0%
CA avg 37.7% . +1.0pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 74 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 56 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 17 points since 2014, while math scores have held steady.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 40.4% | 33.9% | 17.9% | 7.9% |
| Math | 31.4% | 24.6% | 26.1% | 17.9% |
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 | 74.2% | 56.0% |
| 2023-24 | 71.5% | 55.9% |
| 2022-23 | 65.3% | 55.4% |
| 2021-22 | 61.7% | 51.4% |
| 2018-19 | 72.0% | 63.2% |
| 2017-18 | 70.2% | 61.2% |
| 2016-17 | 64.7% | 56.0% |
| 2015-16 | 63.0% | 57.0% |
| 2014-15 | 57.0% | 55.0% |
% 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
64.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
54.9%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+9.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 64% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 55% 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 McPherson Magnet
McPherson Magnet's state test result (64.5% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| McPherson Magnet this school | 863 | 42.1% | 64.5% |
| Pepper Tree Elementary Upland | 719 | 41.2% | 69.6% |
| J. Marion Roynon Elementary La Verne | 842 | 42.5% | 67.8% |
| Eagle Rock Elementary Los Angeles | 755 | 37.6% | 70.9% |
| Luigi Aprea Elementary Gilroy | 722 | 36.0% | 46.2% |
| Las Animas Elementary Gilroy | 800 | 41.3% | 53.5% |
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 McPherson Magnet ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Orange County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 64.5% | #905 of 5,151 | #136 of 381 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 56.0% | #1,261 of 5,172 ▼ 74 | #172 of 382 ▼ 9 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 74.2% | #527 of 5,172 ▲ 108 | #86 of 382 ▲ 12 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +8.6pp | #814 of 5,116 | #47 of 381 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 863 | #229 of 5,915 | #26 of 404 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 25.7:1 | #4,744 of 5,352 | #286 of 398 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 63.1% | #1,487 of 5,354 | #130 of 398 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 42.1% | #4,254 of 5,625 | #244 of 400 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -1.7% | #3,671 of 3,837 | #314 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
863
+18 (+2%) vs 2020
+19% since 2000-01, when it was 725
Student : Teacher
25.7:1
was 26.4:1
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 | 863 | 33.6 | 25.7:1 | 42% (363) |
| 2023-24 | 853 | 31.7 | 26.9:1 | 43% (365) |
| 2022-23 | 848 | 32.5 | 26.1:1 | 40% (342) |
| 2020-21 | 845 | 32 | 26.4:1 | 24% (205) |
| 2017-18 | 878 | 36.8 | 23.9:1 | 25% (223) |
| 2015-16 | 861 | 31 | 27.8:1 | 19% (167) |
| 2010-11 | 894 | N/A | N/A | 10% (92) |
| 2000-01 | 725 | 34 | 21.3:1 | 12% (88) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for McPherson Magnet.
Since 2017-18: students down 2% (878 to 863); teachers down 9% (36.8 to 33.6).
About McPherson Magnet
This page covers McPherson Magnet, a large elementary school in Orange, California. Students in kindergarten through 8 attend, and enrollment is 863 students. The school's enrollment is 86% larger than the 465 average for elementary schools in California.
Orange Unified includes 40 schools. Together they enroll 23,790 students.
Hispanic students are the majority at McPherson Magnet, with 53% of enrollment. The school is also 25% White, 12% Asian, and 8% multiracial. The Hispanic share of the county population is lower, at 34%. McPherson Magnet's diversity index is 63%, against a US figure of 70%.
The teaching staff at McPherson Magnet is 33.6 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the ratio is 25.7:1. The school has more students per teacher than the 22.3:1 average for elementary schools in California. About 42% of students, or 363, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. For comparison, public schools in Orange County average 55%.
allk12 grades McPherson Magnet an A. The grade compares the school only with California public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, McPherson Magnet would be expected to post about 54.9%. Its actual average proficiency rate on state tests is 64.5%.
Orange County has these Census figures: the median household income is $116,289, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 44% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. Orange County is home to 649 public schools and about 430,458 public school students.
The closest public school to McPherson Magnet is La Veta Elementary, about 0.5 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Of 6 schools in the immediate area with test results, McPherson Magnet ranks 1st on average proficiency.
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.
Enrollment went from 845 in 2020-21 to 863 in 2024-25, a change of 18 students.
Questions about school safety, transportation, and start times can be posted here. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
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 Orange Unified
- Canyon HighHigh · 2,183 students
- Villa Park HighHigh · 2,023 students
- El Modena HighHigh · 1,795 students
- Orange HighHigh · 1,728 students
- El Rancho CharterMiddle · 1,144 students
- Crescent ElementaryElementary · 805 students
Other schools in Orange
- El Modena HighHigh · 1,795 students
- Orange HighHigh · 1,728 students
- Santiago Charter MiddleMiddle · 1,137 students
- Orange County Classical AcademyCombined · 740 students
- California iInspire AcademyElementary · 699 students
- Fletcher Mandarin Language & GATE AcademyElementary · 493 students
Nearby schools
- La Veta Elementary0.5 mi · 408
- El Modena High0.6 mi · 1,795
- Jordan Academy of Language and Computer Science0.6 mi · 430
- OUSD EDGE Virtual Academy0.6 mi · 229
- OUSD Home Sch0.6 mi · 27
- OUSD Community Day0.6 mi · 4
Frequently asked questions
About McPherson MagnetWhat is the total enrollment at McPherson Magnet?
McPherson Magnet enrolls approximately 863 students in grades KG-08.
What age range does McPherson Magnet serve?
McPherson Magnet serves students from grade KG through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at McPherson Magnet?
Approximately 25.7:1 students per teacher at McPherson Magnet.
How diverse is McPherson Magnet?
McPherson Magnet reports a student body of 25% White, 53% Hispanic, 1% Black, 12% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Who oversees McPherson Magnet?
McPherson Magnet is overseen by Orange Unified in Orange County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.