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Welcome to the W. R. Nelson Elementary community. What's one thing that would make W. R. Nelson Elementary even better?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
460
Elementary
DISTRICT 571 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·TUSTIN UNIFIED·NCES 064015006644
W. R. Nelson Elementary
14392 Browning Ave., Tustin, CA 92780 · (714) 730-7536 · Orange County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL460 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 30% of California public elementary schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- BThree-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
25.6:1
18 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 26.0:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
87%
401 students
DISTRICT 56% · 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 | 111 | 24% |
| Grade 1 | 66 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 66 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 70 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 66 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 81 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (111) is 37% larger than its 5th grade class (81).
Student demographics
36%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 68% · 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
30.0%
CA avg 49.1% . -10.0pp since 2014
Math
27.3%
CA avg 37.7% . -0.7pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 30 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 27 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 10 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 | 13.3% | 16.7% | 24.3% | 45.7% |
| Math | 11.1% | 16.2% | 26.9% | 45.8% |
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 | 30.0% | 27.3% |
| 2023-24 | 27.5% | 23.4% |
| 2022-23 | 28.5% | 23.0% |
| 2021-22 | 28.6% | 22.1% |
| 2018-19 | 40.7% | 28.5% |
| 2017-18 | 42.4% | 32.6% |
| 2016-17 | 46.5% | 28.8% |
| 2015-16 | 48.0% | 29.0% |
| 2014-15 | 40.0% | 28.0% |
% 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
27.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
28.5%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-1.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 27% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 28% 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 W. R. Nelson Elementary
W. R. Nelson Elementary's state test result (27.0% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| W. R. Nelson Elementary this school | 460 | 87.2% | 27.0% |
| Keyes Elementary Keyes | 477 | 87.6% | 31.3% |
| Newman Elementary Chino | 427 | 87.6% | 32.4% |
| Orange Glen Elementary Escondido | 470 | 84.5% | 24.4% |
| Centralia Elementary Anaheim | 496 | 87.7% | 35.9% |
| Las Palmas National City | 458 | 83.4% | 23.9% |
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 W. R. Nelson Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Orange County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 27.0% | #3,859 of 5,151 | #325 of 381 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 27.3% | #3,500 of 5,172 ▲ 304 | #315 of 382 ▲ 16 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 30.0% | #3,984 of 5,172 ▲ 81 | #335 of 382 ▲ 10 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +3.3pp | #2,198 of 5,116 | #156 of 381 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 460 | #2,910 of 5,915 | #223 of 404 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 25.6:1 | #4,693 of 5,352 | #280 of 398 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 36.3% | #3,650 of 5,354 | #283 of 398 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 87.2% | #1,450 of 5,625 | #68 of 400 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -5.0% | #3,331 of 3,837 | #296 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
460
-41 (-8%) vs 2020
-38% since 1990-91, when it was 737
Student : Teacher
25.6:1
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 | 460 | 18 | 25.6:1 | 87% (401) |
| 2023-24 | 463 | 18 | 25.7:1 | 82% (381) |
| 2022-23 | 471 | 19 | 24.8:1 | 78% (366) |
| 2020-21 | 501 | 19 | 26.4:1 | 68% (343) |
| 2017-18 | 484 | 17.5 | 27.7:1 | 73% (353) |
| 2015-16 | 617 | 21 | 29.4:1 | 62% (383) |
| 2010-11 | 628 | N/A | N/A | 59% (372) |
| 2000-01 | 610 | 28 | 21.8:1 | 28% (171) |
| 1990-91 | 737 | 26 | 28.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for W. R. Nelson Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 5% (484 to 460); teachers up 3% (17.5 to 18).
About W. R. Nelson Elementary
W. R. Nelson Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school with an address in Tustin, California. The school enrolls 460 students, from kindergarten through 5.
Tustin Unified counts 21,220 students in its 28 schools, and W. R. Nelson Elementary is one of them.
Hispanic students account for 79% of enrollment at W. R. Nelson Elementary. Smaller groups are 8% Asian, 7% White, and 5% multiracial. For comparison, the population of Orange County is roughly 34% Hispanic. The chance that two students picked at random at W. R. Nelson Elementary belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 36%.
Federal records show a student-to-teacher ratio of 25.6:1 at W. R. Nelson Elementary, with 18 full-time-equivalent teachers. The 22.3:1 average for elementary schools in California is lower than this school's figure. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, a common measure of family income, is 87%. On average, public schools in Orange County report 55%.
W. R. Nelson Elementary is graded C by allk12, scoring above 30% of California public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
On BeatsExpectations, W. R. Nelson Elementary is 1.4 points below its prediction, a result in the middle 80% of California schools.
Across Orange County, median household income is about $116,289, roughly 44% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. The public schools of Orange County number 649 and enroll about 430,458.
The closest other public school is OCCS:CHEP/PCHS, about 0.6 miles away. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. In a group of 7 nearby schools with scores, W. R. Nelson Elementary ranks 6th on average proficiency.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is City: Small: inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
W. R. Nelson Elementary saw enrollment fall 8% between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for W. R. Nelson Elementary covering things like school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. 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 Tustin Unified
- Arnold O. Beckman HighHigh · 2,776 students
- Foothill HighHigh · 2,126 students
- Tustin HighHigh · 1,627 students
- Orchard HillsElementary · 1,373 students
- Sycamore Magnet AcademyElementary · 1,085 students
- Pioneer MiddleMiddle · 971 students
Other schools in Tustin
- Tustin HighHigh · 1,627 students
- Sycamore Magnet AcademyElementary · 1,085 students
- Pioneer MiddleMiddle · 971 students
- Legacy Magnet AcademyHigh · 964 students
- Columbus Tustin MiddleMiddle · 583 students
- Heritage ElementaryElementary · 567 students
Nearby schools
- OCCS:CHEP/PCHS0.6 mi · 290
- Benjamin F. Beswick Elementary0.7 mi · 426
- Sycamore Magnet Academy0.8 mi · 1,085
- Hillview High (Continuation)0.8 mi · 142
- C. E. Utt Middle0.8 mi · 554
- Tustin High1.0 mi · 1,627
Frequently asked questions
About W. R. Nelson ElementaryHow large is W. R. Nelson Elementary?
W. R. Nelson Elementary enrolls approximately 460 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does W. R. Nelson Elementary serve?
W. R. Nelson Elementary serves grades KG-05.
How many students per teacher at W. R. Nelson Elementary?
Approximately 25.6:1 students per teacher at W. R. Nelson Elementary.
What is the student diversity at W. R. Nelson Elementary?
Student demographics at W. R. Nelson Elementary are roughly 7% White, 79% Hispanic, 0% Black, 8% Asian, 5% Two or more.
What district is W. R. Nelson Elementary in?
W. R. Nelson Elementary is part of Tustin Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.