Enrollment
315
Elementary
DISTRICT 480 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CAPISTRANO UNIFIED·NCES 060744008541
Tijeras Creek Elementary
23072 Avenida Empresa, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688 · (949) 234-5300 · Orange County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL315 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 66% 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.
- BBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- FThree-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
26.3:1
12 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 23.7:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
22%
68 students
DISTRICT 37% · STATE 65%
Community
0
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 | 59 | 19% |
| Grade 1 | 26 | 8% |
| Grade 2 | 49 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 74 | 23% |
| Grade 4 | 50 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 57 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (59) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (57).
Student demographics
66%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
72.8%
CA avg 49.1% . +1.8pp since 2014
Math
68.5%
CA avg 37.7% . +4.5pp 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 69 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 2 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 5 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 47.2% | 25.6% | 15.0% | 12.2% |
| Math | 41.4% | 27.1% | 16.0% | 15.5% |
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 | 72.8% | 68.5% |
| 2023-24 | 67.8% | 68.0% |
| 2022-23 | 78.0% | 72.0% |
| 2021-22 | 83.5% | 77.5% |
| 2018-19 | 71.0% | 72.8% |
| 2017-18 | 72.0% | 63.0% |
| 2016-17 | 66.8% | 64.9% |
| 2015-16 | 74.0% | 68.0% |
| 2014-15 | 71.0% | 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
69.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
66.9%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 70% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 67% 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 Tijeras Creek Elementary
Tijeras Creek Elementary's state test result (69.5% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tijeras Creek Elementary this school | 315 | 21.6% | 69.5% |
| Las Flores Elementary Rancho Santa Margarita | 328 | 26.5% | 76.0% |
| Sycamore Elementary Claremont | 350 | 22.0% | 77.6% |
| Forest Grove Elementary Pacific Grove | 324 | 22.2% | 58.4% |
| Maria Montessori Charter Academy Rocklin | 283 | 15.5% | N/A |
| Wildwood Elementary Thousand Oaks | 390 | 20.0% | 75.3% |
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 Tijeras Creek Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Orange County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 69.5% | #673 of 5,151 | #108 of 381 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 68.5% | #666 of 5,172 ▲ 33 | #103 of 382 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 72.8% | #608 of 5,172 ▲ 217 | #92 of 382 ▲ 33 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -9.9pp | #139 of 5,116 | #6 of 381 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 315 | #4,634 of 5,915 | #366 of 404 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 26.3:1 | #4,942 of 5,352 | #314 of 398 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 66.2% | #1,095 of 5,354 | #101 of 398 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 21.6% | #5,094 of 5,625 | #348 of 400 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -15.8% | #1,927 of 3,837 | #181 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
315
+28 (+10%) vs 2020
-45% since 2000-01, when it was 573
Student : Teacher
26.3:1
was 26.1:1
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 | 315 | 12 | 26.3:1 | 22% (68) |
| 2023-24 | 318 | 13 | 24.5:1 | 19% (61) |
| 2022-23 | 340 | 14 | 24.3:1 | 17% (59) |
| 2020-21 | 287 | 11 | 26.1:1 | 8% (23) |
| 2017-18 | 374 | 12 | 31.2:1 | 9% (35) |
| 2015-16 | 403 | 13 | 31.0:1 | 7% (29) |
| 2010-11 | 582 | N/A | N/A | 5% (30) |
| 2000-01 | 573 | 25 | 22.9:1 | 2% (10) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Tijeras Creek Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 16% (374 to 315); teachers unchanged (12 to 12).
About Tijeras Creek Elementary
Among the schools in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, is Tijeras Creek Elementary, a small elementary school. The school teaches kindergarten through 5 and enrolls 315 students. By comparison, elementary schools in California enroll about 465 students on average.
Capistrano Unified is responsible for 58 schools, Tijeras Creek Elementary included, with 40,251 students in all.
More than half of enrollment at Tijeras Creek Elementary is White: 50%. Enrollment also includes 19% Hispanic, 17% multiracial, and 13% Asian. The diversity index for Tijeras Creek Elementary is 66%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
Tijeras Creek Elementary has 12 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff and a student-to-teacher ratio of 26.3:1. Across elementary schools in California, the average ratio is 22.3:1. The school has 22% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That is 33 points below the 55% average for public schools in Orange County.
On the allk12 Grade, Tijeras Creek Elementary lands at B+, ahead of 66% of California public elementary schools.
Tijeras Creek Elementary posts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 69.5%, compared with a predicted 66.9%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of California schools on BeatsExpectations.
Census data for Orange County show the median household earns about $116,289 a year, roughly 44% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. Public schools in Orange County number 649, with about 430,458 students.
Arroyo Vista Elementary is about 0.8 miles away, making it the nearest public school. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. On average proficiency, Tijeras Creek Elementary is 4th of 9 nearby schools with test data.
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 was 315 in 2024-25. In 2020-21, it was 287.
You can use this page to share news and ask questions about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
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 Rancho Santa Margarita
- Rancho Santa Margarita IntermediateMiddle · 1,153 students
- Melinda Heights ElementaryElementary · 950 students
- Trabuco Mesa ElementaryElementary · 640 students
- Arroyo Vista ElementaryElementary · 508 students
- Cielo Vista ElementaryElementary · 487 students
- Arroyo Vista MiddleMiddle · 329 students
Nearby schools
- Arroyo Vista Elementary0.8 mi · 508
- Arroyo Vista Middle0.8 mi · 329
- Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate1.3 mi · 1,153
- Cielo Vista Elementary1.6 mi · 487
- Philip J. Reilly Elementary2.0 mi · 421
- Melinda Heights Elementary2.2 mi · 950
Frequently asked questions
About Tijeras Creek ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Tijeras Creek Elementary?
Tijeras Creek Elementary enrolls approximately 315 students in grades KG-05.
Is Tijeras Creek Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Tijeras Creek Elementary is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Tijeras Creek Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Tijeras Creek Elementary is approximately 26.3:1 (12 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Tijeras Creek Elementary?
Student demographics at Tijeras Creek Elementary are roughly 50% White, 19% Hispanic, 1% Black, 13% Asian, 17% Two or more.
What district is Tijeras Creek Elementary in?
Tijeras Creek Elementary is part of Capistrano Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.