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Alumni: what's one memory from Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,018
Middle
DISTRICT 1,008 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LOS ALAMITOS UNIFIED·NCES 062259007306
Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle
4112 Cerritos Ave., Los Alamitos, CA 90720 · (714) 816-3320 · Orange County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL1,018 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 69% of California public middle 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.
- C-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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
26.1:1
39 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 26.2:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
22%
227 students
DISTRICT 18% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 329 | 32% |
| Grade 7 | 355 | 35% |
| Grade 8 | 334 | 33% |
Student demographics
72%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 72% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle→Los Alamitos High
Based on grade levels within Los Alamitos Unified. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
69.9%
CA avg 49.1% . -7.1pp since 2014
Math
57.7%
CA avg 37.7% . -8.3pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 70 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 58 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are down about 7 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 8 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 33.9% | 36.0% | 19.6% | 10.5% |
| Math | 35.2% | 22.5% | 25.9% | 16.4% |
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 | 69.9% | 57.7% |
| 2023-24 | 72.7% | 56.8% |
| 2022-23 | 74.2% | 60.6% |
| 2021-22 | 72.4% | 57.7% |
| 2018-19 | 81.7% | 70.8% |
| 2017-18 | 81.4% | 70.8% |
| 2016-17 | 81.3% | 71.9% |
| 2015-16 | 81.0% | 73.0% |
| 2014-15 | 77.0% | 66.0% |
% 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
64.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
66.5%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 64% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 66% 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 Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle
Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle's state test result (64.2% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle this school | 1,018 | 22.3% | 64.2% |
| Meadowbrook Middle Poway | 972 | 24.6% | 54.0% |
| Adams Middle Redondo Beach | 1,165 | 17.9% | 67.8% |
| Arroyo Seco Junior High Valencia | 1,239 | 17.2% | 60.7% |
| Benicia Middle Benicia | 947 | 22.0% | 48.9% |
| Vail Ranch Middle Temecula | 765 | 26.8% | 56.2% |
Matched among California middle 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 Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Orange County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 64.2% | #178 of 1,224 | #31 of 85 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 57.7% | #205 of 1,227 ▼ 21 | #37 of 85 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 69.9% | #183 of 1,227 ▼ 48 | #29 of 85 ▼ 4 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -1.3pp | #252 of 1,214 | #15 of 84 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,018 | #174 of 1,377 | #12 of 88 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 26.1:1 | #1,222 of 1,279 | #79 of 87 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 71.9% | #78 of 1,278 | #5 of 87 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 22.3% | #1,202 of 1,329 | #77 of 88 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -15.1% | #499 of 930 | #59 of 74 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
1,018
-82 (-7%) vs 2020
-25% since 1990-91, when it was 1,365
Student : Teacher
26.1:1
was 26.8:1
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 | 1,018 | 39 | 26.1:1 | 22% (227) |
| 2023-24 | 1,064 | 39.3 | 27.1:1 | 21% (225) |
| 2022-23 | 1,004 | 40.5 | 24.8:1 | 18% (184) |
| 2020-21 | 1,100 | 41 | 26.8:1 | 21% (226) |
| 2017-18 | 1,199 | 44.4 | 27.0:1 | 18% (214) |
| 2015-16 | 1,243 | 46 | 27.0:1 | 13% (167) |
| 2010-11 | 1,264 | N/A | N/A | 11% (143) |
| 2000-01 | 1,135 | 50 | 22.7:1 | 9% (98) |
| 1990-91 | 1,365 | 56 | 24.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 15% (1,199 to 1,018); teachers down 12% (44.4 to 39).
About Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle
Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle sits in Los Alamitos, California, and is classified as a middle school. The grade span is 6 through 8, and enrollment is 1,018 students. An average school in this group (middle schools in California) has about 659 students.
Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle reports to Los Alamitos Unified, which has 9 schools and 8,702 students.
Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle's enrollment has no majority group, and White students are the largest at 36%. The remaining students are 34% Hispanic, 14% Asian, 13% multiracial, and 2% Black. Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle has a diversity index of 72%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
The school's student-to-teacher ratio is about 26.1:1, with 39 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average ratio among middle schools in California is 20.7:1, lower than at this school. Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch make up 22% of enrollment. Public schools in Orange County average 55%.
allk12 grades Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle a B+. The grade compares the school only with California public middle schools, because each state gives its own test.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle is 2.2 points below its prediction. Actual: 64.2%. Predicted: 66.5%.
Orange County census figures show that median household income is about $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%. A total of 649 public schools operate in Orange County, serving about 430,458 students.
The next-closest public school is Los Alamitos Elementary, about 0.3 miles away. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle. Its average proficiency rate of 64.2% is above the 63.6% average for nearby schools.
Locale data from NCES put Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more (Suburb: Large).
Enrollment was 1,100 in 2020-21 and 1,018 in 2024-25, a decrease of 82 students.
Threads on this page can be about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. 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 Los Alamitos Unified
- Los Alamitos HighHigh · 2,915 students
- Oak MiddleMiddle · 998 students
- J. H. McGaugh ElementaryElementary · 721 students
- Francis Hopkinson ElementaryElementary · 642 students
- Jack L. Weaver ElementaryElementary · 640 students
- Los Alamitos ElementaryElementary · 625 students
Other schools in Los Alamitos
- Los Alamitos HighHigh · 2,915 students
- Oak MiddleMiddle · 998 students
- Francis Hopkinson ElementaryElementary · 642 students
- Jack L. Weaver ElementaryElementary · 640 students
- Los Alamitos ElementaryElementary · 625 students
- Richard Henry Lee ElementaryElementary · 603 students
Other Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle schools
One other US public school is named Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle. Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle is the largest of the 2.
- Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle SchoolSAN ANTONIO, TX · 767 students
Nearby schools
- Los Alamitos Elementary0.3 mi · 625
- Los Alamitos High0.5 mi · 2,915
- Margaret Landell Elementary0.8 mi · 662
- Oak Middle0.9 mi · 998
- Hawaiian Elementary1.0 mi · 298
- Lexington Junior High1.1 mi · 1,188
Frequently asked questions
About Sharon Christa McAuliffe MiddleWhat is the total enrollment at Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle?
Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle enrolls approximately 1,018 students in grades 06-08.
Is Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle an elementary, middle, or high school?
Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many teachers does Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle have?
Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle employs 39 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 26.1:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle?
At Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle, the student body is approximately 36% White, 34% Hispanic, 2% Black, 14% Asian, 13% Two or more.
Who oversees Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle?
Sharon Christa McAuliffe Middle 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.