1
What advice would you give to incoming students at Thurston Middle?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
524
Middle
DISTRICT 570 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LAGUNA BEACH UNIFIED·NCES 062037002455
Thurston Middle
2100 Park Ave., Laguna Beach, CA 92651 · (949) 497-7785 · Orange County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL524 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 89% 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.
- 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
16.7:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.8:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
18%
93 students
DISTRICT 19% · 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 | 173 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 184 | 35% |
| Grade 8 | 167 | 32% |
Student demographics
48%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 47% · 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
Thurston Middle→Laguna Beach High
Based on grade levels within Laguna Beach Unified. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
76.7%
CA avg 49.1% . +4.7pp since 2014
Math
74.7%
CA avg 37.7% . +10.7pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 77 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 75 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 5 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 11 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 30.6% | 46.1% | 16.8% | 6.5% |
| Math | 47.2% | 27.4% | 15.2% | 10.2% |
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 | 76.7% | 74.7% |
| 2023-24 | 74.8% | 64.7% |
| 2022-23 | 75.0% | 69.5% |
| 2021-22 | 75.9% | 65.6% |
| 2018-19 | 80.8% | 76.5% |
| 2017-18 | 80.8% | 74.8% |
| 2016-17 | 81.4% | 72.5% |
| 2015-16 | 81.0% | 71.0% |
| 2014-15 | 72.0% | 64.0% |
% 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
72.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
69.1%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 73% 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 Thurston Middle
Thurston Middle's state test result (72.8% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thurston Middle this school | 524 | 17.7% | 72.8% |
| Vista del Mar Middle San Clemente | 499 | 16.2% | 74.1% |
| Earl Warren Middle Solana Beach | 476 | 18.1% | 75.0% |
| White Hill Middle Fairfax | 601 | 12.0% | 69.7% |
| Camerado Springs Middle Cameron Park | 536 | 20.5% | 59.4% |
| Carmel Middle Carmel | 468 | 17.3% | 65.0% |
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 Thurston Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Orange County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 72.8% | #99 of 1,224 | #15 of 85 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 74.7% | #62 of 1,227 ▲ 58 | #6 of 85 ▲ 14 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 76.7% | #109 of 1,227 ▲ 7 | #17 of 85 ▲ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +4.9pp | #316 of 1,214 | #23 of 84 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 524 | #887 of 1,377 | #71 of 88 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.7:1 | #88 of 1,279 | #3 of 87 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 47.6% | #704 of 1,278 | #57 of 87 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 17.7% | #1,243 of 1,329 | #85 of 88 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -32.6% | #88 of 930 | #16 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
524
-116 (-18%) vs 2020
+4% since 1990-91, when it was 504
Student : Teacher
16.7:1
was 17.3:1
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 | 524 | 31.4 | 16.7:1 | 18% (93) |
| 2023-24 | 519 | 32.1 | 16.2:1 | 20% (102) |
| 2022-23 | 537 | 33.6 | 16.0:1 | 21% (113) |
| 2020-21 | 640 | 37 | 17.3:1 | 10% (62) |
| 2017-18 | 778 | 36.5 | 21.3:1 | 13% (104) |
| 2015-16 | 721 | 35 | 20.6:1 | 9% (68) |
| 2010-11 | 703 | N/A | N/A | 13% (94) |
| 2000-01 | 622 | 29 | 21.4:1 | 11% (69) |
| 1990-91 | 504 | 20 | 25.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Thurston Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 33% (778 to 524); teachers down 14% (36.5 to 31.4).
About Thurston Middle
Thurston Middle is a middle school in Laguna Beach, California, and it is part of Laguna Beach Unified. Enrollment in 2024-25 was 524 students in grades 6 through 8. The average for middle schools in California is about 659 students, so this school is 20% smaller than average.
Laguna Beach Unified has 2,279 students in 4 schools, and Thurston Middle is one of those schools.
A majority of students at Thurston Middle, 70%, are White. Beyond that, enrollment is 12% Hispanic, 10% multiracial, and 6% Asian. The White share of the county population is lower, at 43%. By the diversity index, Thurston Middle comes in at 48%.
Teacher staffing is 31.4 full-time equivalents, or about 16.7 students per teacher. Among middle schools in California, the typical ratio is 20.7:1. About 18% of students, or 93, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Compared with the 55% average for public schools in Orange County, the school's rate is lower.
Thurston Middle is graded A by allk12, scoring above 89% of California public middle schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
The model predicts 69.1% for a school in California with Thurston Middle's free or reduced-price lunch share. Thurston Middle posts 72.8%.
Federal survey data for Orange County show that median household income is about $116,289, about 44% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 7%. A total of 649 public schools operate in Orange County, serving about 430,458 students.
The shortest distance from Thurston Middle to another public school is about 0.8 miles, to Top of the World Elementary. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. By average proficiency, Thurston Middle is 4th among 9 schools close by.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is Suburb: Large.
The 2024-25 enrollment of 524 was 18% lower than in 2020-21, when it was 640.
Discussions about Thurston Middle may include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. 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 Laguna Beach Unified
- Laguna Beach HighHigh · 815 students
- Top of the World ElementaryElementary · 536 students
- El Morro ElementaryElementary · 404 students
Other schools in Laguna Beach
- Laguna Beach HighHigh · 815 students
- Top of the World ElementaryElementary · 536 students
- El Morro ElementaryElementary · 404 students
Other Thurston Middle schools
One other US public school is named Thurston Middle. Thurston Middle is the largest of the 2.
- Thurston Middle SchoolSpringfield, OR · 524 students
Nearby schools
- Top of the World Elementary0.8 mi · 536
- Laguna Beach High0.9 mi · 815
- Canyon Vista Elementary1.9 mi · 533
- Oak Grove Elementary2.5 mi · 569
- Wood Canyon Elementary2.6 mi · 425
- Aliso Niguel High2.7 mi · 2,563
Frequently asked questions
About Thurston MiddleHow many students attend Thurston Middle?
Thurston Middle enrolls approximately 524 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Thurston Middle serve?
Thurston Middle serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Thurston Middle?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Thurston Middle is approximately 16.7:1 (31 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Thurston Middle?
At Thurston Middle, the student body is approximately 70% White, 12% Hispanic, 1% Black, 6% Asian, 10% Two or more.
What district is Thurston Middle in?
Thurston Middle is part of Laguna Beach Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.