Is Santa Margarita Elementary a good school?

Santa Margarita Elementary ranks 2393 rd of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Santa Margarita Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 556 students attended Santa Margarita Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Santa Margarita Elementary?

Students at Santa Margarita Elementary are 43% Hispanic, 37% White, 9% Two or more races, 6% African American, 3% Asian, 1% Pacific Islander.

What schools do graduates of Santa Margarita Elementary attend?

Students who attend Santa Margarita Elementary usually go on to attend: High : Oceanside High

Santa Margarita Elementary

Summary:

Santa Margarita Elementary is a public K-8 school in Oceanside, California, serving 541 students. This school consistently outperforms the Oceanside Unified School District and the state of California in English Language Arts and Mathematics proficiency, particularly in the upper elementary grades. Santa Margarita's Hispanic and Special Education students perform exceptionally well, ranking in the top 25% and top 30% of California elementary schools in these subgroups, respectively.

However, the school faces some challenges, including a steady increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 4.6% in 2018-2019 to 13.6% in 2022-2023, which is higher than the district average. Additionally, the percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch has increased significantly, from 39.05% in 2020-2021 to 66.36% in 2022-2023, indicating a more economically disadvantaged student population. While Santa Margarita Elementary outperforms most nearby schools in the Oceanside Unified district, North Terrace Elementary, located just 1.11 miles away, has similar or even stronger academic performance across most grade levels and subject areas.

Overall, Santa Margarita Elementary is a strong-performing school, with particular strengths in academic achievement and the performance of its Hispanic and Special Education student populations. However, the school faces challenges related to rising chronic absenteeism and an increasingly economically disadvantaged student population, which will require targeted interventions and support to address.

Detail:

Public K-8

1 Carnes Rd.
Oceanside, CA 92058-6699

(760) 901-7900

District: Oceanside Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
2393^rd of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $12,675

Students who attend Santa Margarita Elementary usually attend:

High:

Oceanside High

Student/teacher ratio: 22.6

Number of students: 556

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

43.3%

White:

36.5%

Two or more races:

8.8%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 64.7%

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Compare Santa Margarita Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Santa Margarita Elementary ranks better than 59.2% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 4^th among 14 ranked elementary schools in the Oceanside Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 53.06. (See more...)

Compare Details Santa Margarita Elementary ranks better than 56.4% of middle schools in California. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 48.01. (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 Racial makeup is: Hispanic (43.3%), White (36.5%), two or more races (8.8%). (See more...)

Compare Details 64.7% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Santa Margarita Elementary is 22.6, which is the 3^rd best among 14 elementary schools in the Oceanside Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Santa Margarita Elementary employs 24.5 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Santa Margarita Elementary is $12,675, which is the 3^rd highest among 14 elementary schools in the Oceanside Unified School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Santa Margarita Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Santa Margarita Elementary 2393^rd of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Santa Margarita Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Military Connected students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

SchoolDigger ranks Santa Margarita Elementary 1211^th of 2777 California public middle schools. (See Santa Margarita Elementary in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Military Connected students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Oceanside Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Oceanside Unified 863^rd of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Your rating for Santa Margarita Elementary?

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Rank History for Santa Margarita Elementary

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Rank History for all elementary school students at Santa Margarita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	78.59	957^th	4809	80.1%
2005	72.45	1228^th	4822	74.5%
2006	60.48	1721^st	4818	64.3%
2007	60.53	1795^th	5113	64.9%
2008	71.28	1345^th	5113	73.7%
2009	65.64	1655^th	5193	68.1%
2010	61.96	1885^th	5314	64.5%
2011	59.44	2069^th	5377	61.5%
2012	42.52	3109^th	5390	42.3%
2013	48.99	2748^th	5530	50.3%
2015	63.77	1757^th	5611	68.7%
2016	70.80	1492^nd	5614	73.4%
2017	76.71	1261^st	5692	77.8%
2018	77.47	1240^th	5662	78.1%
2019	80.19	1160^th	5789	80.0%
2022	56.94	2180^th	5883	62.9%
2023	68.85	1629^th	5874	72.3%
2024	53.06	2393^rd	5862	59.2%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for elementary school Special Education students at Santa Margarita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	40.82	1194^th	2420	50.7%
2024	57.65	772^nd	2634	70.7%

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

Rank History for elementary school Low Socio Economic Status students at Santa Margarita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	85.83	460^th	5084	91.0%
2019	88.86	331^st	5173	93.6%
2022	75.60	928^th	5264	82.4%
2023	84.28	608^th	5374	88.7%
2024	57.42	1941^st	5511	64.8%

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

Rank History for elementary school Female students at Santa Margarita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	75.67	1257^th	5413	76.8%
2019	82.61	946^th	5492	82.8%
2022	53.55	2239^th	5635	60.3%
2023	61.39	1884^th	5617	66.5%
2024	45.83	2668^th	5605	52.4%

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

Rank History for elementary school Military Connected students at Santa Margarita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2022	51.96	58^th	130	55.4%
2023	69.37	36^th	140	74.3%
2024	47.69	57^th	118	51.7%

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

Rank History for elementary school Male students at Santa Margarita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	76.12	1223^rd	5431	77.5%
2019	75.75	1266^th	5510	77.0%
2022	57.99	2052^nd	5663	63.8%
2023	72.17	1403^rd	5650	75.2%
2024	57.33	2093^rd	5636	62.9%

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

Rank History for elementary school Hispanic students at Santa Margarita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	90.45	290^th	4830	94.0%
2019	92.92	196^th	4963	96.1%
2022	66.97	1300^th	5084	74.4%
2023	71.40	1108^th	5098	78.3%
2024	69.91	1189^th	5102	76.7%

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

Rank History for elementary school White students at Santa Margarita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	45.58	1647^th	2737	39.8%
2019	57.98	1281^st	2834	54.8%
2022	28.11	2074^th	2726	23.9%
2023	50.17	1427^th	2662	46.4%
2024	37.60	1763^rd	2647	33.4%

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

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

Rank History for Santa Margarita Elementary

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Rank History for all middle school students at Santa Margarita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2015	64.80	766^th	2477	69.1%
2016	77.43	498^th	2497	80.1%
2017	71.31	640^th	2508	74.5%
2018	74.56	555^th	2480	77.6%
2019	84.30	383^rd	2715	85.9%
2022	64.25	788^th	2740	71.2%
2023	49.75	1173^rd	2802	58.1%
2024	48.01	1211^th	2777	56.4%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for middle school Low Socio Economic Status students at Santa Margarita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	89.87	131^st	2230	94.1%
2019	93.47	91^st	2369	96.2%
2022	76.87	360^th	2458	85.4%
2023	69.90	526^th	2549	79.4%
2024	55.30	874^th	2575	66.1%

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

Rank History for middle school Female students at Santa Margarita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	71.26	577^th	2262	74.5%
2019	85.78	304^th	2380	87.2%
2022	61.79	781^st	2509	68.9%
2023	48.47	1088^th	2547	57.3%
2024	49.68	1067^th	2546	58.1%

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

Rank History for middle school Military Connected students at Santa Margarita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2022	53.21	87^th	193	54.9%
2023	48.64	100^th	197	49.2%
2024	44.17	100^th	191	47.6%

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

Rank History for middle school Male students at Santa Margarita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	67.51	621^st	2273	72.7%
2019	79.51	433^rd	2407	82.0%
2022	61.55	781^st	2527	69.1%
2023	49.59	1074^th	2558	58.0%
2024	42.51	1260^th	2547	50.5%

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

Rank History for middle school Hispanic students at Santa Margarita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	72.03	412^th	2072	80.1%
2019	92.83	95^th	2213	95.7%
2022	65.30	599^th	2359	74.6%
2023	54.31	858^th	2391	64.1%
2024	58.40	764^th	2383	67.9%

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

Rank History for middle school White students at Santa Margarita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	56.01	657^th	1496	56.1%
2019	71.03	433^rd	1602	73.0%
2022	45.39	825^th	1555	46.9%
2023	17.60	1295^th	1552	16.6%
2024	28.84	1079^th	1535	29.7%

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 Santa Margarita Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	228	129	69	131	3	n/a	n/a	0	560
1989	288	142	60	143	6	n/a	n/a	0	639
1990	315	137	68	123	6	n/a	n/a	0	649
1991	311	125	70	128	10	n/a	n/a	0	644
1992	360	189	58	139	12	n/a	n/a	0	758
1993	351	159	58	143	14	n/a	n/a	0	725
1994	337	161	78	125	14	n/a	n/a	0	715
1995	425	184	59	134	11	n/a	n/a	0	813
1996	425	184	59	134	11	n/a	n/a	0	813
1997	412	196	69	136	12	n/a	n/a	0	825
1998	400	208	61	150	14	n/a	n/a	0	833
1999	258	150	56	108	12	n/a	n/a	0	584
2000	243	96	31	84	9	n/a	n/a	0	463
2001	247	85	27	72	6	n/a	n/a	1	438
2002	269	88	36	80	14	n/a	n/a	0	487
2003	269	88	36	80	14	n/a	n/a	0	487
2004	232	67	34	84	9	n/a	n/a	0	426
2005	221	57	35	91	4	n/a	n/a	0	408
2006	234	84	33	110	5	n/a	n/a	20	486
2007	254	81	27	133	4	n/a	n/a	31	530
2008	263	64	22	150	8	n/a	n/a	0	507
2009	316	95	13	159	9	13	22	0	627
2010	335	82	11	155	8	14	18	0	623
2011	253	71	17	149	5	6	13	0	514
2012	388	77	14	233	11	6	27	0	756
2013	344	59	14	246	9	7	21	0	700
2014	419	70	19	237	10	5	38	0	798
2015	362	78	18	192	10	3	36	0	699
2016	328	71	17	190	9	2	53	0	670
2017	310	70	22	204	5	7	57	0	675
2018	264	54	19	210	4	7	50	0	608
2019	239	45	24	201	0	6	53	0	568
2020	243	38	28	190	0	3	56	0	558
2021	184	32	36	199	2	1	53	0	507
2022	201	38	24	203	3	0	58	1	528
2023	199	37	18	218	2	5	61	1	541
2024	203	35	19	241	2	7	49	0	556

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 Santa Margarita Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	560	25.0	22.4	n/a
1989	639	24.0	26.6	n/a
1990	649	23.5	27.6	n/a
1991	644	24.0	26.8	n/a
1992	758	24.4	31.0	49.2
1993	725	27.0	26.9	56.7
1994	715	26.0	27.5	49.1
1995	813	30.0	27.1	50.1
1996	813	30.0	27.1	50.1
1997	825	33.0	25.0	51.8
1998	833	36.0	23.1	47.5
1999	584	25.0	23.4	45.7
2000	463	22.0	21.0	52.9
2001	438	24.0	18.3	43.5
2002	487	30.0	16.2	46
2003	487	30.0	16.2	46
2004	426	24.0	17.8	41.3
2005	408	23.0	17.7	42.6
2006	486	24.0	20.3	40.1
2007	530	29.0	18.3	46.1
2008	507	31.0	16.4	44.8
2009	627	33.0	17.4	44.5
2010	623	28.2	22.0	50.2
2011	514	n/a	n/a	51.6
2012	756	28.7	26.2	n/a
2013	700	26.2	26.6	50.6
2014	798	33.0	24.1	56
2015	699	33.0	21.1	57.7
2016	670	32.0	20.9	43.3
2017	675	33.0	20.4	45.6
2018	608	30.0	20.2	36.7
2019	568	28.0	20.2	37
2020	558	n/a	n/a	39.8
2021	507	23.0	21.9	39.1
2022	528	22.1	23.7	61.9
2023	541	23.5	22.9	66.4
2024	556	24.5	22.6	64.7

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 Santa Margarita Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	560	25.0	22.4	n/a
1989	639	24.0	26.6	n/a
1990	649	23.5	27.6	n/a
1991	644	24.0	26.8	n/a
1992	758	24.4	31.0	49.2
1993	725	27.0	26.9	56.7
1994	715	26.0	27.5	49.1
1995	813	30.0	27.1	50.1
1996	813	30.0	27.1	50.1
1997	825	33.0	25.0	51.8
1998	833	36.0	23.1	47.5
1999	584	25.0	23.4	45.7
2000	463	22.0	21.0	52.9
2001	438	24.0	18.3	43.5
2002	487	30.0	16.2	46
2003	487	30.0	16.2	46
2004	426	24.0	17.8	41.3
2005	408	23.0	17.7	42.6
2006	486	24.0	20.3	40.1
2007	530	29.0	18.3	46.1
2008	507	31.0	16.4	44.8
2009	627	33.0	17.4	44.5
2010	623	28.2	22.0	50.2
2011	514	n/a	n/a	51.6
2012	756	28.7	26.2	n/a
2013	700	26.2	26.6	50.6
2014	798	33.0	24.1	56
2015	699	33.0	21.1	57.7
2016	670	32.0	20.9	43.3
2017	675	33.0	20.4	45.6
2018	608	30.0	20.2	36.7
2019	568	28.0	20.2	37
2020	558	n/a	n/a	39.8
2021	507	23.0	21.9	39.1
2022	528	22.1	23.7	61.9
2023	541	23.5	22.9	66.4
2024	556	24.5	22.6	64.7

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.

Kindergarten Immunization Rates