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What do you wish you knew before starting at Richard Henry Dana Elementary?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
461
Elementary
DISTRICT 480 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CAPISTRANO UNIFIED·NCES 060744000699
Richard Henry Dana Elementary
24242 La Cresta Dr., Dana Point, CA 92629 · (949) 496-5784 · Orange County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL461 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 71% 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.
- 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.
- 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
17.8:1
26 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 23.7:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
46%
213 students
DISTRICT 37% · STATE 65%
Community
5
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 | 153 | 33% |
| Grade 1 | 68 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 65 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 65 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 53 | 11% |
| Grade 5 | 57 | 12% |
This year's kindergarten class (153) is 168% larger than its 5th grade class (57).
Student demographics
62%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
63.2%
CA avg 49.1% . +29.2pp since 2014
Math
56.8%
CA avg 37.7% . +27.8pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 63 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 57 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 29 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 28 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 32.9% | 30.3% | 13.8% | 23.0% |
| Math | 32.9% | 23.9% | 17.4% | 25.8% |
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 | 63.2% | 56.8% |
| 2023-24 | 49.2% | 45.7% |
| 2022-23 | 44.0% | 38.2% |
| 2021-22 | 39.0% | 32.9% |
| 2018-19 | 40.0% | 33.7% |
| 2017-18 | 27.3% | 27.9% |
| 2016-17 | 18.8% | 22.2% |
| 2015-16 | 33.0% | 29.0% |
| 2014-15 | 34.0% | 29.0% |
% 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
52.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
52.5%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+0.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 53% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 52% 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 Richard Henry Dana Elementary
Richard Henry Dana Elementary's state test result (52.9% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Henry Dana Elementary this school | 461 | 46.2% | 52.9% |
| Brooks Elementary Windsor | 493 | 50.3% | 28.6% |
| Sycamore Academy of Science and Cultural Arts Wildomar | 486 | 46.5% | N/A |
| Brandon Elementary Goleta | 429 | 42.2% | 50.6% |
| Calavera Hills Elementary Carlsbad | 441 | 45.1% | 64.0% |
| Bay View Elementary Santa Cruz | 394 | 45.2% | 44.1% |
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 Richard Henry Dana Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Orange County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 52.9% | #1,533 of 5,151 | #197 of 381 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 56.8% | #1,210 of 5,172 ▲ 562 | #166 of 382 ▲ 54 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 63.2% | #1,131 of 5,172 ▲ 813 | #153 of 382 ▲ 71 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +24.0pp | #22 of 5,116 | #1 of 381 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 461 | #2,892 of 5,915 | #221 of 404 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.8:1 | #226 of 5,352 | #18 of 398 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 62.5% | #1,571 of 5,354 | #135 of 398 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 46.2% | #4,071 of 5,625 | #234 of 400 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +115.4% | #6 of 1,139 | #2 of 55 |
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
461
+234 (+103%) vs 2020
-49% since 1990-91, when it was 904
Student : Teacher
17.8:1
was 25.2:1
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 | 461 | 25.9 | 17.8:1 | 46% (213) |
| 2023-24 | 384 | 19.9 | 19.3:1 | 44% (170) |
| 2022-23 | 294 | 11.9 | 24.6:1 | 60% (176) |
| 2020-21 | 227 | 9 | 25.2:1 | 65% (148) |
| 2017-18 | 214 | 7 | 30.6:1 | 93% (198) |
| 2015-16 | 274 | 10 | 27.4:1 | 84% (231) |
| 2010-11 | 386 | N/A | N/A | 76% (295) |
| 2000-01 | 631 | 31 | 20.4:1 | 66% (417) |
| 1990-91 | 904 | 34 | 26.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Richard Henry Dana Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 115% (214 to 461); teachers up 270% (7 to 25.9).
About Richard Henry Dana Elementary
Richard Henry Dana Elementary is the name of a medium-sized elementary school in Dana Point, California. It serves 461 students in kindergarten through 5.
Capistrano Unified has a total of 58 schools and 40,251 students, Richard Henry Dana Elementary among them.
Federal enrollment data show Hispanic students as the largest group at Richard Henry Dana Elementary, at 45%. Other groups make up 39% White and 14% multiracial. County-wide, 34% of Orange County residents are Hispanic. The school's diversity index is 62%, meaning two students picked at random have a 62% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The school reported 25.9 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25 and a ratio of 17.8:1. The school has fewer students per teacher than the 22.3:1 average for elementary schools in California. Eligible students account for 46% of enrollment in the free or reduced-price lunch program. Across public schools in Orange County, the average is 55%.
The allk12 Grade for Richard Henry Dana Elementary is B+. Compared with California public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 71% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Richard Henry Dana Elementary's actual average proficiency rate on state tests (52.9%) and its predicted rate (52.5%) put it outside the top and bottom 10% of California schools.
In the county around the school, Orange County, the median household income is $116,289, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 44% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 7%. Orange County is home to 649 public schools and about 430,458 public school students.
The nearest other public school, Dana Hills High, is about 0.8 miles away. Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 48.1%; Richard Henry Dana Elementary's is 52.9%, ranking 3rd of 6.
The school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more, according to its NCES locale (Suburb: Large).
The school's enrollment figures are 227 for 2020-21 and 461 for 2024-25. Differences this large can reflect a change in grade levels, a boundary change, or a merger. Its ratio of students to teachers was 25.2:1 in 2020-21, and 17.8:1 in 2024-25.
To ask about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs, start a discussion on this page. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
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 Dana Point
- Dana Hills HighHigh · 1,725 students
- Early Childhood CenterElementary
- Richard Henry Dana Exceptional NeedsCombined
Nearby schools
- Dana Hills High0.8 mi · 1,725
- John Malcom Elementary1.9 mi · 553
- Del Obispo Elementary2.1 mi · 310
- Marco Forster Middle2.1 mi · 930
- California Online Public Schools Southern California2.2 mi · 3,933
- California Online Public Schools Central Coast2.2 mi · 105
Frequently asked questions
About Richard Henry Dana ElementaryHow many students attend Richard Henry Dana Elementary?
Richard Henry Dana Elementary enrolls approximately 461 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Richard Henry Dana Elementary serve?
Richard Henry Dana Elementary serves grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Richard Henry Dana Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Richard Henry Dana Elementary is approximately 17.8:1 (26 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Richard Henry Dana Elementary?
At Richard Henry Dana Elementary, the student body is approximately 39% White, 45% Hispanic, 0% Black, 2% Asian, 14% Two or more.
Who oversees Richard Henry Dana Elementary?
Richard Henry Dana 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.