Is Vista del Mar Elementary a good school?

Yes. Vista del Mar Elementary ranks in the top 6.9% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Vista del Mar Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 727 students attended Vista del Mar Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Vista del Mar Elementary?

Students at Vista del Mar Elementary are 70% White, 15% Hispanic, 12% Two or more races, 3% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Vista del Mar Elementary attend?

Students who attend Vista del Mar Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Vista del Mar Middle High : San Clemente High

Vista del Mar Elementary

Summary:

Vista del Mar Elementary is a public K-5 school in San Clemente, California, with a total enrollment of 734 students. This high-performing school consistently ranks among the top 10% of elementary schools in the state, with exceptional academic achievement across various student subgroups.

Vista del Mar's students significantly outperform their peers in the Capistrano Unified School District and the state of California on Smarter Balanced Assessments, particularly in English Language Arts and Science. The school's 4th-grade ELA proficiency rate of 85.47% is notably higher than the district's 65.77% and the state's 43.9%. Vista del Mar's Hispanic, Multi-racial, Special Education, and Military Connected students all demonstrate strong performance, ranking in the top 5-10% of California elementary schools.

While Vista del Mar outperforms many nearby schools, such as Concordia Elementary, Harold Ambuehl Elementary, and San Juan Elementary, the nearby Truman Benedict Elementary also demonstrates strong academic performance, with rankings and test scores comparable to Vista del Mar. This suggests that the Capistrano Unified School District is home to multiple excellent elementary education options for families in the area.

Detail:

Public K-5

1130 Avenue Talega
San Clemente, CA 92673

(949) 234-5950

District: Capistrano Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
407^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $9,291

Students who attend Vista del Mar Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Vista del Mar Middle
High:	San Clemente High

Student/teacher ratio: 25.0

Number of students: 727

Racial breakdown:

White:

69.9%

Hispanic:

14.7%

Two or more races:

12.4%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 14.7%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Vista del Mar Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Vista del Mar Elementary ranks better than 93.1% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 9^th among 34 ranked elementary schools in the Capistrano Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 94.28. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Student population at Vista del Mar Elementary is diverse. Racial makeup is: White (69.9%), Hispanic (14.7%), two or more races (12.4%). (See more...)

Compare Details 14.7% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Vista del Mar Elementary is 25. 31 elementary schools in the Capistrano Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Vista del Mar Elementary employs 29 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Vista del Mar Elementary is $9,291. 27 elementary schools in the Capistrano Unified School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Vista del Mar Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Vista del Mar Elementary 407^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Vista del Mar Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Capistrano Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Capistrano Unified 204^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Vista del Mar Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Vista del Mar Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	83.52	773^rd	4809	83.9%
2005	72.54	1224^th	4822	74.6%
2006	80.40	946^th	4818	80.4%
2007	85.58	728^th	5113	85.8%
2008	87.51	628^th	5113	87.7%
2009	82.92	837^th	5193	83.9%
2010	79.50	1028^th	5314	80.7%
2011	87.39	611^th	5377	88.6%
2012	87.63	574^th	5390	89.4%
2013	87.68	603^rd	5530	89.1%
2015	94.77	340^th	5611	93.9%
2016	94.50	344^th	5614	93.9%
2017	93.94	398^th	5692	93.0%
2018	92.46	482^nd	5662	91.5%
2019	93.65	392^nd	5789	93.2%
2022	94.32	410^th	5883	93.0%
2023	95.87	283^rd	5874	95.2%
2024	94.28	407^th	5862	93.1%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Vista del Mar Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	79.39	55^th	339	83.8%
2019	84.39	34^th	445	92.4%
2022	86.26	37^th	610	93.9%
2023	82.27	81^st	669	87.9%
2024	84.59	69^th	669	89.7%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Vista del Mar Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	92.57	137^th	2420	94.3%
2024	92.97	148^th	2634	94.4%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Vista del Mar Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	61.49	1661^st	5084	67.3%
2019	57.97	1900^th	5173	63.3%
2022	74.38	985^th	5264	81.3%
2023	90.70	357^th	5374	93.4%
2024	87.87	519^th	5511	90.6%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Vista del Mar Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	87.84	677^th	5413	87.5%
2019	90.32	545^th	5492	90.1%
2022	91.59	545^th	5635	90.3%
2023	93.53	396^th	5617	92.9%
2024	93.77	378^th	5605	93.3%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Vista del Mar Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	87.85	180^th	2128	91.5%
2019	95.06	87^th	2585	96.6%
2022	89.19	169^th	2227	92.4%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Military Connected students at Vista del Mar Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	92.72	6^th	140	95.7%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Military Connected Students!

Rank History for Male students at Vista del Mar Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	93.49	359^th	5431	93.4%
2019	94.63	271^st	5510	95.1%
2022	94.77	318^th	5663	94.4%
2023	96.19	214^th	5650	96.2%
2024	92.98	421^st	5636	92.5%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Vista del Mar Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	97.26	78^th	4830	98.4%
2019	94.48	152^nd	4963	96.9%
2022	94.61	204^th	5084	96.0%
2023	93.71	210^th	5098	95.9%
2024	93.50	225^th	5102	95.6%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Vista del Mar Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	75.59	624^th	2737	77.2%
2019	78.31	521^st	2834	81.6%
2022	79.73	464^th	2726	83.0%
2023	83.73	286^th	2662	89.3%
2024	79.12	455^th	2647	82.8%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: California Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Vista del Mar Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
2004	409	6	22	39	0	n/a	n/a	38	514
2005	523	5	28	61	2	n/a	n/a	56	675
2006	595	4	36	58	3	n/a	n/a	73	769
2007	705	5	42	70	5	n/a	n/a	77	904
2008	789	1	41	75	4	n/a	n/a	0	910
2009	787	1	37	90	0	5	99	0	1019
2010	810	2	46	162	13	1	70	0	1104
2011	846	5	45	137	7	1	55	0	1096
2012	891	6	49	130	6	0	57	0	1139
2013	894	4	47	133	5	0	69	0	1152
2014	920	3	47	130	2	1	73	0	1176
2015	880	3	42	116	2	2	73	0	1118
2016	853	1	43	107	2	2	92	0	1100
2017	826	6	39	98	1	1	103	0	1074
2018	804	5	34	100	1	1	104	0	1049
2019	736	5	37	85	1	1	99	0	964
2020	700	3	34	104	2	1	99	0	943
2021	550	4	28	97	1	0	85	0	765
2022	579	1	16	113	0	0	80	0	789
2023	517	3	23	100	0	0	91	0	734
2024	508	1	20	107	1	0	90	0	727

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Vista del Mar Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2004	514	23.0	22.3	10.5
2005	675	31.0	21.8	11.5
2006	769	35.5	21.7	9.9
2007	904	40.0	22.6	8.5
2008	910	46.0	19.8	7.6
2009	1019	45.0	21.7	8.6
2010	1104	37.0	29.8	9.5
2011	1096	n/a	n/a	9.5
2012	1139	37.3	30.4	n/a
2013	1152	35.4	32.5	9.6
2014	1176	36.0	32.6	7.3
2015	1118	36.0	31.0	7.6
2016	1100	36.0	30.5	6.3
2017	1074	35.0	30.6	5
2018	1049	35.0	29.9	6.4
2019	964	31.0	31.0	6.7
2020	943	n/a	n/a	8.4
2021	765	25.5	29.9	10.7
2022	789	32.0	24.6	11.5
2023	734	29.0	25.3	16.2
2024	727	29.0	25.0	14.7

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Vista del Mar Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2004	514	23.0	22.3	10.5
2005	675	31.0	21.8	11.5
2006	769	35.5	21.7	9.9
2007	904	40.0	22.6	8.5
2008	910	46.0	19.8	7.6
2009	1019	45.0	21.7	8.6
2010	1104	37.0	29.8	9.5
2011	1096	n/a	n/a	9.5
2012	1139	37.3	30.4	n/a
2013	1152	35.4	32.5	9.6
2014	1176	36.0	32.6	7.3
2015	1118	36.0	31.0	7.6
2016	1100	36.0	30.5	6.3
2017	1074	35.0	30.6	5
2018	1049	35.0	29.9	6.4
2019	964	31.0	31.0	6.7
2020	943	n/a	n/a	8.4
2021	765	25.5	29.9	10.7
2022	789	32.0	24.6	11.5
2023	734	29.0	25.3	16.2
2024	727	29.0	25.0	14.7

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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