Schools · Laguna Beach

Laguna Beach, CA schools

Laguna Beach’s public schools score well below California’s averages: 24.5% of students are proficient in reading against 48.5% statewide, and 98% of high schoolers graduate on time against 87.6%. Kids attend Top of the World Elementary through grade 5, then Thurston Middle and Laguna Beach High.

Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.

A-School Grade #547Best schools in CA (of 574)#4Highest graduation rate in CA (of 720)

TownTapestry School GradeNew

A⁻

Laguna Beach’s School Grade: A-

The public schools Laguna Beach’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 80% of California’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the top.

A+Graduation

California school districts we grade (1,139)Better than 80%

Lower resultsHigher results

California towns with similar household incomes (342)Better than 74%

Lower confidence. Built on 0 tested students and a graduating class of 256. With numbers this small, one year can move 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.