Is La Costa Heights Elementary a good school?

Yes. La Costa Heights Elementary ranks in the top 5.3% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend La Costa Heights Elementary?

In the 2022-23 school year, 634 students attended La Costa Heights Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of La Costa Heights Elementary?

Students at La Costa Heights Elementary are 69% White, 15% Hispanic, 9% Two or more races, 6% Asian.

What schools do graduates of La Costa Heights Elementary attend?

Students who attend La Costa Heights Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Oak Crest Middle High : La Costa Canyon High

La Costa Heights Elementary

Summary:

La Costa Heights Elementary is a high-performing public elementary school in Carlsbad, California, serving 634 students in grades K-6 and part of the Encinitas Union Elementary School District.

La Costa Heights consistently ranks among the top 5-10% of elementary schools in California, with strong academic performance across all grade levels. In the 2023-2024 school year, 82.2% of students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 71.84% for the district and 47.04% for the state. In Mathematics, 74.08% of students were proficient or better, compared to 68.07% for the district and 35.54% for the state. The school also excels in supporting the academic achievement of diverse student subgroups, including Hispanic, White, and Special Education students. When compared to nearby schools, such as Capri Elementary and Aviara Oaks Elementary, La Costa Heights outperforms them across most academic metrics.

While La Costa Heights maintains a consistently high level of academic achievement, the school's leadership may want to explore opportunities for further improvement, such as in 4th grade Mathematics and 6th grade English Language Arts, where proficiency rates are slightly lower compared to other grade levels. Additionally, the school's chronic absenteeism rate, while lower than the district and state averages, has shown an increasing trend over the past few years, which may be an area to monitor and address.

Detail:

Public K-6

3035 Levante St.
Carlsbad, CA 92009-8331

(760) 944-4375

District: Encinitas Union Elementary

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

Per Pupil Expenditures: $8,607

Students who attend La Costa Heights Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Oak Crest Middle
High:	La Costa Canyon High

Student/teacher ratio: 22.6

Number of students: 634

Racial breakdown:

White:

69.1%

Hispanic:

15.1%

Two or more races:

8.8%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 13.6%

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Compare La Costa Heights Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details La Costa Heights Elementary ranks better than 94.7% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 2^nd among 9 ranked elementary schools in the Encinitas Union Elementary School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 95.4. (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 La Costa Heights Elementary has the largest elementary school student body size in the Encinitas Union Elementary School District. Racial makeup is: White (69.1%), Hispanic (15.1%), two or more races (8.8%). (See more...)

Compare Details 13.6% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at La Costa Heights Elementary is 22.6. 4 elementary schools in the Encinitas Union Elementary School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare La Costa Heights Elementary employs 28 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at La Costa Heights Elementary is $8,607. 7 elementary schools in the Encinitas Union Elementary School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

La Costa Heights Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks La Costa Heights Elementary 311^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See La Costa Heights 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:

Encinitas Union Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Encinitas Union Elementary 124^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for La Costa Heights Elementary

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Rank History for all students at La Costa Heights Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	96.32	161^st	4809	96.7%
2005	95.34	195^th	4822	96.0%
2006	93.92	273^rd	4818	94.3%
2007	94.80	235^th	5113	95.4%
2008	90.08	477^th	5113	90.7%
2009	89.56	503^rd	5193	90.3%
2010	89.96	441^st	5314	91.7%
2011	91.04	374^th	5377	93.0%
2012	90.28	409^th	5390	92.4%
2013	91.95	331^st	5530	94.0%
2015	95.08	323^rd	5611	94.2%
2016	93.26	428^th	5614	92.4%
2017	95.61	288^th	5692	94.9%
2018	96.42	183^rd	5662	96.8%
2019	95.98	225^th	5789	96.1%
2022	94.58	396^th	5883	93.3%
2023	95.60	306^th	5874	94.8%
2024	95.40	311^th	5862	94.7%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at La Costa Heights Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	62.21	302^nd	669	54.9%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at La Costa Heights Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	91.90	148^th	2420	93.9%
2024	92.83	149^th	2634	94.3%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at La Costa Heights Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	79.53	703^rd	5084	86.2%
2019	82.15	617^th	5173	88.1%
2022	90.43	335^th	5264	93.6%
2023	75.98	949^th	5374	82.3%
2024	97.54	125^th	5511	97.7%

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

Rank History for Female students at La Costa Heights Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	94.75	236^th	5413	95.6%
2019	94.56	252^nd	5492	95.4%
2022	91.97	516^th	5635	90.8%
2023	94.53	329^th	5617	94.1%
2024	94.04	353^rd	5605	93.7%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at La Costa Heights Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	95.27	87^th	2128	95.9%
2019	93.91	106^th	2585	95.9%
2022	94.90	103^rd	2227	95.4%

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

Rank History for Male students at La Costa Heights Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	96.15	179^th	5431	96.7%
2019	95.72	194^th	5510	96.5%
2022	94.74	319^th	5663	94.4%
2023	95.15	297^th	5650	94.7%
2024	94.53	315^th	5636	94.4%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at La Costa Heights Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	98.55	35^th	4830	99.3%
2022	95.29	177^th	5084	96.5%
2023	97.73	80^th	5098	98.4%
2024	95.14	169^th	5102	96.7%

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

Rank History for White students at La Costa Heights Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	86.01	219^th	2737	92.0%
2019	86.24	214^th	2834	92.4%
2022	80.85	418^th	2726	84.7%
2023	82.06	346^th	2662	87.0%
2024	84.82	251^st	2647	90.5%

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

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)

100%

Reviews:
No reviews have been submitted!

Enrollment information for La Costa Heights Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
1988	772	3	20	17	0	n/a	n/a	812
1989	846	4	22	17	0	n/a	n/a	889
1990	614	1	41	14	0	n/a	n/a	670
1991	573	0	38	20	0	n/a	n/a	631
1992	573	0	38	18	0	n/a	n/a	629
1993	547	1	29	14	0	n/a	n/a	591
1994	580	7	30	9	1	n/a	n/a	627
1995	323	9	34	17	277	n/a	n/a	660
1996	323	9	34	17	277	n/a	n/a	660
1997	582	9	38	22	3	n/a	n/a	654
1998	603	6	38	40	0	n/a	n/a	687
1999	637	6	40	35	0	n/a	n/a	718
2000	734	4	43	37	0	n/a	n/a	818
2001	557	5	36	34	0	n/a	n/a	632
2002	542	6	44	48	1	n/a	n/a	641
2003	542	6	44	48	1	n/a	n/a	641
2004	512	6	49	55	1	n/a	n/a	623
2005	486	4	45	53	1	n/a	n/a	589
2006	486	4	61	63	3	n/a	n/a	617
2007	469	4	71	71	2	n/a	n/a	617
2008	441	3	78	78	4	n/a	n/a	604
2009	452	2	62	74	2	7	21	620
2010	460	8	62	70	2	5	4	611
2011	471	5	46	77	2	4	25	630
2012	480	7	51	86	3	4	41	672
2013	480	9	46	80	3	4	46	668
2014	508	8	49	91	3	4	49	712
2015	507	11	41	90	2	3	49	703
2016	517	11	47	95	1	2	38	711
2017	500	11	50	100	2	1	32	696
2018	491	8	67	94	4	1	25	690
2019	491	11	58	86	1	2	23	672
2020	492	6	62	91	1	1	32	685
2021	418	5	49	90	1	0	36	599
2022	452	5	45	100	0	1	41	644
2023	438	4	39	96	0	1	56	634

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 La Costa Heights Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	812	31.4	25.8	n/a
1989	889	34.5	25.7	n/a
1990	670	25.5	26.2	n/a
1991	631	28.7	21.9	n/a
1992	629	29.2	21.5	2.9
1993	591	24.8	23.8	2.4
1994	627	22.8	27.5	3.8
1995	660	24.5	26.9	5.2
1996	660	24.5	26.9	5.2
1997	654	29.5	22.2	6.4
1998	687	33.3	20.6	6.3
1999	718	36.3	19.8	6.1
2000	818	40.0	20.5	4.2
2001	632	31.0	20.4	5.2
2002	641	30.0	21.4	6.7
2003	641	30.0	21.4	6.7
2004	623	30.0	20.8	7.7
2005	589	29.0	20.3	8
2006	617	30.5	20.2	6.3
2007	617	30.5	20.2	6.6
2008	604	33.0	18.3	6.6
2009	620	7.2	84.9	7.4
2010	611	29.0	21.0	6.9
2011	630	n/a	n/a	5.7
2012	672	31.2	21.5	n/a
2013	668	28.1	23.7	5.8
2014	712	28.5	24.9	4.8
2015	703	29.0	24.2	4.8
2016	711	29.0	24.5	6.6
2017	696	28.0	24.8	7
2018	690	28.0	24.6	9.4
2019	672	28.0	24.0	8.2
2020	685	n/a	n/a	8.3
2021	599	27.0	22.1	9.2
2022	644	30.0	21.4	13.8
2023	634	28.0	22.6	13.6

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 La Costa Heights Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	812	31.4	25.8	n/a
1989	889	34.5	25.7	n/a
1990	670	25.5	26.2	n/a
1991	631	28.7	21.9	n/a
1992	629	29.2	21.5	2.9
1993	591	24.8	23.8	2.4
1994	627	22.8	27.5	3.8
1995	660	24.5	26.9	5.2
1996	660	24.5	26.9	5.2
1997	654	29.5	22.2	6.4
1998	687	33.3	20.6	6.3
1999	718	36.3	19.8	6.1
2000	818	40.0	20.5	4.2
2001	632	31.0	20.4	5.2
2002	641	30.0	21.4	6.7
2003	641	30.0	21.4	6.7
2004	623	30.0	20.8	7.7
2005	589	29.0	20.3	8
2006	617	30.5	20.2	6.3
2007	617	30.5	20.2	6.6
2008	604	33.0	18.3	6.6
2009	620	7.2	84.9	7.4
2010	611	29.0	21.0	6.9
2011	630	n/a	n/a	5.7
2012	672	31.2	21.5	n/a
2013	668	28.1	23.7	5.8
2014	712	28.5	24.9	4.8
2015	703	29.0	24.2	4.8
2016	711	29.0	24.5	6.6
2017	696	28.0	24.8	7
2018	690	28.0	24.6	9.4
2019	672	28.0	24.0	8.2
2020	685	n/a	n/a	8.3
2021	599	27.0	22.1	9.2
2022	644	30.0	21.4	13.8
2023	634	28.0	22.6	13.6

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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