Is McPherson Magnet a good school?

McPherson Magnet ranks 827 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend McPherson Magnet?

In the 2023-24 school year, 853 students attended McPherson Magnet.

What is the racial makeup of McPherson Magnet?

Students at McPherson Magnet are 54% Hispanic, 25% White, 12% Asian, 7% Two or more races.

McPherson Magnet

Summary:

McPherson Magnet is a high-performing elementary school in Orange, CA that serves grades K-8 and is part of the Orange Unified School District. This school has consistently ranked in the top 20% of California elementary schools over the past decade, currently ranking 827 out of 5,862 elementary schools in the state for the 2023-2024 school year.

McPherson Magnet significantly outperforms the district and state averages in academic assessments, with 71.45% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy compared to 57.53% for the district and 47.04% for the state. In Mathematics, 55.85% of McPherson Magnet students were proficient or better, compared to 45.47% for the district and 35.54% for the state. The school also excels in supporting the academic achievement of diverse student subgroups, ranking in the top 15% of California elementary schools for Asian students, top 10% for Hispanic students, and top 20% for students with disabilities and low socioeconomic status. Additionally, McPherson Magnet has significantly lower chronic absenteeism rates compared to nearby schools and the district and state averages.

While McPherson Magnet is a high-performing school, it is located in close proximity to several lower-performing schools, such as Cambridge Elementary, Esplanade Elementary, and Handy Elementary. This highlights the potential for McPherson Magnet to serve as a model for effective educational practices that could be replicated in the surrounding schools. Additionally, the school's strong performance, equity-focused practices, and commitment to supporting the academic success of a diverse student population make it a valuable asset to the Orange Unified School District and the broader community.

Detail:

Public K-8

333 South Prospect St.
Orange, CA 92869-4825

(714) 997-6384

District: Orange Unified

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

Per Pupil Expenditures: $5,766

Student/teacher ratio: 26.9

Number of students: 853

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

53.7%

White:

25.2%

Asian:

12.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 42.8%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare McPherson Magnet to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details McPherson Magnet ranks better than 85.9% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 7^th among 27 ranked elementary schools in the Orange Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 87.69. (See more...)

Compare Details McPherson Magnet ranks better than 86% of middle schools in California. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 84.2. (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 McPherson Magnet has the largest elementary school student body size in the Orange Unified School District. Student population at McPherson Magnet is diverse. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (53.7%), White (25.2%), Asian (12.3%). (See more...)

Compare Details 42.8% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at McPherson Magnet is 26.9. 18 elementary schools in the Orange Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare McPherson Magnet employs 31.6 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at McPherson Magnet is $5,766, which is the 6^th highest among 27 elementary schools in the Orange Unified School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

McPherson Magnet:

SchoolDigger ranks McPherson Magnet 827^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See McPherson Magnet in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Asian students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

SchoolDigger ranks McPherson Magnet 390^th of 2777 California public middle schools. (See McPherson Magnet in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Asian students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Orange Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Orange Unified 517^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for McPherson Magnet

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Rank History for all elementary school students at McPherson Magnet

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	85.35	698^th	4809	85.5%
2005	84.48	757^th	4822	84.3%
2006	86.19	677^th	4818	85.9%
2007	84.23	785^th	5113	84.6%
2008	86.59	671^st	5113	86.9%
2009	83.16	828^th	5193	84.1%
2010	76.43	1163^rd	5314	78.1%
2011	85.72	695^th	5377	87.1%
2012	86.14	667^th	5390	87.6%
2013	87.49	614^th	5530	88.9%
2015	76.93	1239^th	5611	77.9%
2016	78.53	1178^th	5614	79.0%
2017	77.39	1229^th	5692	78.4%
2018	83.57	955^th	5662	83.1%
2019	86.63	814^th	5789	85.9%
2022	83.67	1010^th	5883	82.8%
2023	84.85	964^th	5874	83.6%
2024	87.69	827^th	5862	85.9%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for elementary school Special Education students at McPherson Magnet

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	86.61	209^th	2420	91.4%
2024	94.35	122^nd	2634	95.4%

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

Rank History for elementary school Low Socio Economic Status students at McPherson Magnet

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	74.61	941^st	5084	81.5%
2019	86.79	411^th	5173	92.1%
2022	80.62	736^th	5264	86.0%
2023	82.96	663^rd	5374	87.7%
2024	84.30	656^th	5511	88.1%

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

Rank History for elementary school Female students at McPherson Magnet

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	83.37	888^th	5413	83.6%
2019	86.34	758^th	5492	86.2%
2022	80.81	1068^th	5635	81.0%
2023	82.00	1019^th	5617	81.9%
2024	84.52	892^nd	5605	84.1%

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

Rank History for elementary school Disabled students at McPherson Magnet

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	74.24	355^th	2128	83.3%
2019	82.52	299^th	2585	88.4%
2022	78.12	323^rd	2227	85.5%

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

Rank History for elementary school Male students at McPherson Magnet

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	80.38	1038^th	5431	80.9%
2019	82.98	915^th	5510	83.4%
2022	82.92	965^th	5663	83.0%
2023	84.76	883^rd	5650	84.4%
2024	88.27	696^th	5636	87.7%

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

Rank History for elementary school Asian students at McPherson Magnet

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	60.16	550^th	1071	48.6%
2019	72.62	310^th	1149	73.0%
2024	83.87	77^th	1203	93.6%

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

Rank History for elementary school Hispanic students at McPherson Magnet

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	81.81	608^th	4830	87.4%
2019	84.68	522^nd	4963	89.5%
2022	86.76	480^th	5084	90.6%
2023	89.48	372^nd	5098	92.7%
2024	88.00	428^th	5102	91.6%

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

Rank History for elementary school White students at McPherson Magnet

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	73.05	717^th	2737	73.8%
2019	79.58	479^th	2834	83.1%
2022	79.99	450^th	2726	83.5%
2023	75.14	614^th	2662	76.9%
2024	77.54	515^th	2647	80.5%

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 McPherson Magnet

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Rank History for all middle school students at McPherson Magnet

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	90.86	104^th	1769	94.1%
2005	88.15	144^th	1777	91.9%
2006	87.62	159^th	1804	91.2%
2007	76.84	358^th	1999	82.1%
2008	86.25	169^th	2005	91.6%
2009	83.38	230^th	2063	88.9%
2010	78.62	340^th	2179	84.4%
2011	80.52	288^th	2236	87.1%
2012	79.29	324^th	2259	85.7%
2013	70.74	574^th	2379	75.9%
2015	82.04	388^th	2477	84.3%
2016	84.95	330^th	2497	86.8%
2017	83.98	374^th	2508	85.1%
2018	84.61	349^th	2480	85.9%
2019	81.14	453^rd	2715	83.3%
2022	71.39	657^th	2740	76.0%
2023	79.56	498^th	2802	82.2%
2024	84.20	390^th	2777	86.0%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for middle school Special Education students at McPherson Magnet

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	77.98	189^th	1538	87.7%
2024	67.61	305^th	1550	80.3%

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

Rank History for middle school Low Socio Economic Status students at McPherson Magnet

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	69.86	481^st	2230	78.4%
2019	71.79	460^th	2369	80.6%
2022	61.51	705^th	2458	71.3%
2023	78.93	344^th	2549	86.5%
2024	82.40	304^th	2575	88.2%

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

Rank History for middle school Female students at McPherson Magnet

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	84.75	313^th	2262	86.2%
2019	76.19	505^th	2380	78.8%
2022	77.76	473^rd	2509	81.1%
2023	79.75	439^th	2547	82.8%
2024	83.01	387^th	2546	84.8%

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

Rank History for middle school Disabled students at McPherson Magnet

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	78.88	177^th	1369	87.1%
2019	90.05	87^th	1491	94.2%
2022	80.60	172^nd	1531	88.8%

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

Rank History for middle school Male students at McPherson Magnet

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	81.12	393^rd	2273	82.7%
2019	82.49	375^th	2407	84.4%
2022	62.23	772^nd	2527	69.4%
2023	76.20	513^th	2558	79.9%
2024	82.89	376^th	2547	85.2%

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

Rank History for middle school Asian students at McPherson Magnet

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	63.59	297^th	700	57.6%
2019	57.44	367^th	745	50.7%
2022	70.21	237^th	733	67.7%
2023	68.87	252^nd	718	64.9%
2024	80.06	115^th	741	84.5%

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

Rank History for middle school Hispanic students at McPherson Magnet

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	77.80	314^th	2072	84.8%
2019	75.05	399^th	2213	82.0%
2022	67.52	558^th	2359	76.3%
2023	80.99	297^th	2391	87.6%
2024	85.52	206^th	2383	91.4%

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

Rank History for middle school White students at McPherson Magnet

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	82.02	213^th	1496	85.8%
2019	76.16	336^th	1602	79.0%
2022	56.20	650^th	1555	58.2%
2023	66.48	482^nd	1552	68.9%
2024	81.80	200^th	1535	87.0%

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 McPherson Magnet

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1998	372	11	84	91	2	n/a	n/a	0	560
1999	421	14	91	102	2	n/a	n/a	0	630
2000	484	15	101	108	2	n/a	n/a	0	710
2001	507	13	89	113	3	n/a	n/a	0	725
2002	510	15	99	147	2	n/a	n/a	0	773
2003	510	15	99	147	2	n/a	n/a	0	773
2004	508	17	96	157	4	n/a	n/a	2	784
2005	485	13	95	173	3	n/a	n/a	7	776
2006	477	16	93	188	2	n/a	n/a	11	787
2007	465	14	99	193	4	n/a	n/a	17	792
2008	451	17	99	194	4	n/a	n/a	0	765
2009	458	16	115	207	4	2	40	0	842
2010	455	15	115	212	4	1	35	0	837
2011	479	14	124	230	4	1	42	0	894
2012	478	18	133	246	5	1	28	0	909
2013	461	20	143	268	7	2	27	0	928
2014	422	17	144	292	6	3	29	0	913
2015	394	17	143	304	6	3	24	0	891
2016	360	14	132	324	4	3	24	0	861
2017	339	8	127	360	3	3	32	0	872
2018	322	6	124	395	2	3	26	0	878
2019	294	8	120	408	1	3	23	0	857
2020	269	9	110	431	0	3	25	0	847
2021	229	10	112	454	1	4	35	0	845
2022	229	10	110	439	1	3	43	0	835
2023	218	12	105	452	2	2	57	0	848
2024	215	8	105	458	2	2	62	1	853

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 McPherson Magnet

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1998	560	24.0	23.3	8
1999	630	29.0	21.7	11.3
2000	710	32.8	21.6	11.7
2001	725	34.0	21.3	12.1
2002	773	35.8	21.6	10.6
2003	773	35.8	21.6	10.6
2004	784	35.2	22.3	9.2
2005	776	39.7	19.5	7.4
2006	787	36.0	21.9	8.8
2007	792	35.4	22.4	9.9
2008	765	38.5	19.9	12.5
2009	842	35.2	21.5	11.5
2010	837	31.4	26.5	12.1
2011	894	n/a	n/a	10.3
2012	909	31.2	29.0	n/a
2013	928	33.0	28.0	19.9
2014	913	33.2	27.4	20
2015	891	34.0	26.2	21.3
2016	861	32.0	26.9	19.4
2017	872	35.2	24.7	19.6
2018	878	36.7	23.8	25.4
2019	857	37.2	23.0	25.2
2020	847	n/a	n/a	26.1
2021	845	32.8	25.7	24.3
2022	835	31.7	26.2	21
2023	848	32.5	26.0	40.3
2024	853	31.6	26.9	42.8

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 McPherson Magnet

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1998	560	24.0	23.3	8
1999	630	29.0	21.7	11.3
2000	710	32.8	21.6	11.7
2001	725	34.0	21.3	12.1
2002	773	35.8	21.6	10.6
2003	773	35.8	21.6	10.6
2004	784	35.2	22.3	9.2
2005	776	39.7	19.5	7.4
2006	787	36.0	21.9	8.8
2007	792	35.4	22.4	9.9
2008	765	38.5	19.9	12.5
2009	842	35.2	21.5	11.5
2010	837	31.4	26.5	12.1
2011	894	n/a	n/a	10.3
2012	909	31.2	29.0	n/a
2013	928	33.0	28.0	19.9
2014	913	33.2	27.4	20
2015	891	34.0	26.2	21.3
2016	861	32.0	26.9	19.4
2017	872	35.2	24.7	19.6
2018	878	36.7	23.8	25.4
2019	857	37.2	23.0	25.2
2020	847	n/a	n/a	26.1
2021	845	32.8	25.7	24.3
2022	835	31.7	26.2	21
2023	848	32.5	26.0	40.3
2024	853	31.6	26.9	42.8

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