Schools · Costa Mesa
Costa Mesa, CA schools
Costa Mesa’s public schools score well above California’s averages: 82% of students are proficient in reading against 48.5% statewide, and 94% of high schoolers graduate on time against 87.6%.
Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.
TownTapestry School GradeNew
A−
Costa Mesa’s School Grade: A-
The public schools Costa Mesa’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 84% of California’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the top.
ATest scoresB+Graduation
California school districts we grade (1,139)Better than 84%
Lower resultsHigher results
California towns with similar household incomes (518)Better than 92%
High confidence. Built on 7,589 tested students and a graduating class of 3,946; ordinary year-to-year swings are unlikely to change the grade.
How the School Grade works
- Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on California’s state tests, each against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown below but don’t count toward the grade. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2020.
- The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids: every district that serves it, weighted by the number of students tested in each. Tests count 60% and graduation 40%.
- Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are lined up against the rest of California only. A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
- Individual schools are graded the same way on their own test results, against every public school in California with 25+ students. Private schools aren’t graded: they don’t take the state tests.
- What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income closely, so a high grade partly reflects who lives in a town. That’s why we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.
Test scores · 2020–21
Well above the state in reading
Reading (Huntington Beach Union High)82%
State average 48.5%
Reading (Newport-Mesa Unified)58%
State average 48.5%
Math (Huntington Beach Union High)65%
State average 33.4%
Math (Newport-Mesa Unified)46%
State average 33.4%
Graduation · class of 2020
94% graduate on time
Graduation rate
94%
CA: 87.6%
Graduating class
3,946
students
The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years.
Districts
Two districts serve Costa Mesa
Huntington Beach Union High School DistrictGrades 9–12 · 8 schools · 13,967 students
$18,463 per studentCA $21,206ANewport-Mesa Unified School DistrictGrades K–12 · 32 schools · 17,540 students
$25,216 per studentCA $21,206A-Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.
Every school
All 39 schools in Costa Mesa
Showing 1–30 of 39 schools
Maude B. Davis ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 570 students
BPublicHeinz Kaiser ElementaryElementary · Grades 3–6 · 539 students
B-PublicWoodland ElementaryElementary · Grades K–2 · 487 students
PublicCollege Park ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 473 students
C-PublicKillybrooke ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 473 students
CPublicWhittier ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 454 students
C-PublicCalifornia ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 373 students
CPublicPaularino ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 371 students
B-PublicSonora ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 367 students
CPublicEverett A. Rea ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 344 students
DPublicWilson ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 323 students
C-PublicAdams ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 321 students
B-PublicVictoria ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 301 students
B+PublicPomona ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 264 students
C-PublicInternational School for Science and CultureElementary · Grades K–8 · 97 students
CharterCharles W. Tewinkle MiddleMiddle · Grades 7–8 · 501 students
B-PublicCosta Mesa HighHigh · Grades 7–12 · 1,730 students
B+PublicEstancia HighHigh · Grades 9–12 · 976 students
BPublicEarly College HighHigh · Grades 9–12 · 177 students
APublicBack Bay HighHigh · Grades 9–12 · 143 students
DPublicMonte Vista Independent StudyHigh · Grades 7–12 · 48 students
B+PublicCentral Orange County CTE Partnership (CTEp)High · Grades 10–12
PublicCoastline ROPHigh · Grades 9–12
PublicACCESS County CommunityOther · Grades K–12 · 1,315 students
PublicCalifornia Pacific Charter- Los AngelesOther · Grades K–12 · 423 students
B-CharterOrange County Special EducationOther · Grades K–12 · 331 students
DPublicCalifornia Pacific Charter - San DiegoOther · Grades K–12 · 310 students
BCharterHarperGrades M
PublicCHRISTIAN MONTESSORI SCHOOL-COSTA MESA
PrivateFRONTIERS ACADEMY
PrivateSchool data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES). Ratings are from neighbors on TownTapestry.