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San Clemente High

Grades 9-122024–25 data
Capistrano UnifiedSan Clemente, Orange County92673
📍 700 Avenido Pico📞 (949) 492-4165🌐 Website
Strong
70/100
Strong — 89th percentile statewide
#183 of 1,739 CA high schools
↓ 6.0 pts since 2019
💪 Strong All-Around

Strong across every dimension we measure — academics, growth, culture, and engagement. Above-average investment supporting strong, consistent results

School Climate
75% of students attend consistently
Chronic absenteeism: 24.8% (state avg: 32.1%)
"Attend consistently" means missing ≤10% of school days (the chronic absenteeism threshold).
Moderate suspension rate
2.6% suspension rate (state avg: 4.0%)
Share of students who received at least one suspension during the year.
Source: California Dept. of Education, 2024–25See breakdown by student group →

What the numbers actually mean

Most rating sites report "64% proficient" and stop there. We think that number deserves more context — here's what we found when we looked deeper:

33.4% of students exceeded standard? Level 4 on California's CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment — the state defines four levels: Not Met, Nearly Met, Met, and Exceeded. while 31.1% met it. That exceeded rate is 17.9 points above the state average of 15.5%. That's 5.4 points below the Capistrano Unified district average of 38.8%. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

CDE CAASPP 2025
San Clemente High
33%
31%
California average
15%
19%
ExceededMet onlyBelow

The graduation rate is 95.3% — above the state target. 66.7% of students complete A-G requirements ? A-G refers to 15 courses across 7 subject areas (History, English, Math, Science, Language, Visual/Performing Arts, and College Prep Electives) required for UC and CSU admission eligibility. for UC/CSU eligibility. 81.9% of graduates go on to college within a year.

Chronic absenteeism? Missing 10%+ of enrolled school days. This is an official California Dashboard accountability indicator. is 24.8%, better than the state average of 32.1%.

CDE Attendance 2025

Data you won't find on other sites: School-level per-pupil spending (not just district averages) · Current-year 2025 data direct from CDE · The exceeded vs. met split that most rating sites collapse into one number

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters → · Scope Score is SchoolScope's analysis of CDE data — not an official CDE rating. How we built this score (and what it misses) →

No single score captures a school. This is a starting point — visit, ask questions, trust your instincts.

▸ What this score doesn't capture
  • — Teaching quality, classroom culture, and how teachers connect with students
  • — Arts, athletics, extracurriculars, and enrichment programs
  • — How well the school serves students with IEPs or gifted learners
  • — Parent community engagement and satisfaction
  • — Whether the curriculum aligns with your family's values
  • — Growth data unavailable for this school — the score overweights proficiency, which tends to correlate with household income

Most of our data is updated once per year and may reflect the prior school year.

Before you visit
Questions worth asking and signals worth checking
Who this school is great for
✓Families where consistent attendance and school culture matter — absenteeism is well below state average
△Worth checking: Families wanting small-class-size environments — this is a larger school
These reflect data patterns, not guarantees. Your child's experience will depend on their teacher, grade, and classroom — things no score captures.
Score Factors
Academic Performance
✓Graduation rate: 95.3%
7.7pp above state avg (state avg 87.6%)
25% weight

Graduation rate is the most fundamental high school outcome measure.

Limitation: Adjusted cohort method may not capture students who transfer or complete via alternative paths.

CDE Graduation 2025
✓Exceeded standard: 33.4%
17.9pp above state avg (state avg 15.5%)
22% weight

Exceeded rate gets the highest weight because it separates schools that clear the bar from those that raise it.

Limitation: Reflects tested students only — opt-out rates are not published by CDE.

CDE CAASPP 2025
✓College readiness: 77.6%
AP exam pass rate above state avg (state avg 35.5%)
20% weight

College readiness shows how well a school prepares students for post-secondary success.

Limitation: Uses AP pass rate or A-G completion as proxy — doesn’t capture trade or vocational readiness.

CDE College/Career 2025
✓Met or exceeded: 64.5%
29.9pp above state avg (state avg 34.6%)
18% weight

Overall proficiency provides the broadest measure of academic achievement.

Limitation: Combines ‘met’ and ‘exceeded’ — the gap between them matters more than either alone.

CDE CAASPP 2025
School Climate
✓Chronic absenteeism: 24.8%
7.3pp below state avg (state avg 32.1%)
5% weight

Absenteeism reflects school culture and family engagement — an official CA Dashboard accountability indicator.

Limitation: 10% threshold is the same for all schools regardless of demographics or geography.

CDE Attendance 2025
✓Suspension rate: 2.6%
1.4pp below state avg (state avg 4.0%)
5% weight

Low suspension rates correlate with positive school culture and restorative practices.

Limitation: Schools may differ in reporting practices — some underreport to improve metrics.

CDE Discipline 2025
Holding back
▼EL proficiency (ELPAC): 11.1%
5.7pp below state avg (state avg 16.8%)
5% weight

ELPAC Level 4 measures how well a school develops English proficiency — a school-quality signal for its EL population.

Limitation: Only available for schools with English Learner students. Weight redistributes to other dimensions when not applicable.

CDE ELPAC 2025
We make judgment calls about what matters. We believe exceeded scores reveal more than proficiency alone, and that growth matters more than raw test results. Reasonable people could weight these differently — and that's fine. The factors above show exactly what we weighted and why, so you can decide where you agree and where you'd adjust. The high school Scope Score uses 7 dimensions. How we built this score (and what it misses) →

The Scope Score emphasizes academic performance. It weights test proficiency, the exceeded-vs-met gap, and growth trajectory most heavily. If your family prioritizes arts, athletics, school culture, or teaching philosophy, this score captures some of that indirectly (through absenteeism and suspension) but not all of it. Different families should weight these dimensions differently — the score factors above let you see exactly what drives this number.

How to use this
  • –Use for long-term academic patterns, not this week's classroom experience
  • –Verify with a recent visit — scores can't capture a school mid-transformation
  • –Combine with local context — talk to parents, attend a school board meeting, trust your gut
Community Profile
Context — not part of the Scope Score

Student demographics

Hispanic27.6%
White61.8%
Asian1.6%
Black0.5%
Other8.5%
GenderFemale 48.9%Male 50.8%Non-binary 0.3%
Resources & Access
Enrollment
2,765
1,315 above CA avg (~1,450)
Free/Reduced Lunch
35%
28pp below CA avg (64%)
Student-Teacher Ratio
22:1
1 more students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$17,968
District avg: $12,431 · CA avg: $14,815 · School-level · CDE ESSA
EL Proficiency (ELPAC)
11.1% Level 4
Share of English Learners reaching full proficiency
Teacher Salary Range
$65,219 – $130,638
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
At San Clemente High in San Clemente, 57.2% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 55.1% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. San Clemente High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 2.1 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (40.1% Math proficient); White students (79.5% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 56.6 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 182 students tested.
Equity Gaps
Absenteeism · Disabilities+17.2pp
42.0% vs 24.8% overall · n=452
Suspension · English Learner+7.7pp
10.3% vs 2.6% overall · n=156
ELA · English Learner−56.6pp
17.4% vs 74.0% overall · n=23
3 more gaps by subject
ELA Exceeded · English Learner−39.3pp
4.3% vs 43.7% overall · n=23
Math · English Learner−42.5pp
12.5% vs 55.0% overall · n=24
Math Exceeded · Disabilities−21.2pp
1.9% vs 23.1% overall · n=53

Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.

Subgroup Proficiency
Low-Income187 tested
ELA 57.2%·Math 40.1%· +2.1pp vs district
White370 tested
ELA 79.5%·Math 61.1%· +1.1pp vs district
Hispanic145 tested
ELA 57.5%·Math 35.2%· +5.7pp vs district

Weighted average across tested grades. Subgroups with fewer than 15 students excluded. Data: CDE CAASPP 2024-25.

Funding Breakdown
Instruction 65%Support 34%Other 2%

Source: NCES F-33 (2019–2020) · Full district breakdown →

Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$172K
$87K above CA median
Median Home Value
$1.15M
$493K above CA median
Bachelor's+
55%
20pp above CA avg
Whole Child
Teacher experience, college/career readiness, and more. Context only — never part of the Scope Score.
Teacher Experience
15.9 years avg experience
151 teachers · 1% first-year · 5% second-year
Teacher Credentials
87% fully credentialed
0.6% on intern/emergency permit
AP Courses Offered
51 AP courses
361 students qualified via AP exam

Sources: CDE SARC · CDE College/Career Indicator, 2024-25

Community Profile provides context about who attends this school and the resources available. These factors are never part of the Scope Score. Learn why →

5-year trend

7670'19'22'23'24'25
↓ 6.0 points since 2019
Rank: #266 → #231 → #232 → #253 → #183Exceeded: 30% → 33% → 35% → 31% → 33%
2019 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · No testing 2020–21 (COVID) · Scope Score based on CAASPP, absenteeism & suspension data

College & career readiness

Graduation Rate
95.3%
AP Exam Prepared
77.6%
A-G Completion? A-G refers to 15 courses across 7 subject areas (History, English, Math, Science, Language, Visual/Performing Arts, and College Prep Electives) required for UC and CSU admission eligibility.
66.7%
A-G are the 15 courses (across 7 subjects) required for UC/CSU eligibility
College-Going Rate
81.9%

Data source: California Department of Education — ACGR, CCI, CGR reports

How San Clemente High compares

San Clemente High vs. California averages — 2025 CAASPP data
MetricThis schoolCA avg
Exceeded Standard33.4%15.5%
Met or Exceeded64.5%34.6%
Chronic Absenteeism24.8%32.1%
Suspension Rate2.6%4.0%

Source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025 · Analyzed by SchoolScope

Test scores — 11th

SubjectTestedExceededMetNearly MetNot MetMet+Above
ELA55443.7%30.3%14.3%11.7%74.0%
Math56423.1%31.9%21.6%23.4%55.0%
Science58716.5%41.7%37.6%4.1%58.3%

587 students tested · CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually like ELA/Math. Not included in the Scope Score. · Data source: CDE CAST 2025

K-12 Feeder Path
▼
High School
San Clemente High
70/100
This school

Feeder patterns derived from NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries are approximate and may have changed — verify with your school district for current assignments.

Schools nearby

Frequently asked questions

Is San Clemente High a good high school?
San Clemente High has a Scope Score of 70 out of 100, placing it in the 89th percentile of California high schools and ranked #183 statewide. 33.4% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 17.9 percentage points above the California average of 15.5%. The Scope Score weights five dimensions: the exceeded-vs-met split (45%), proficiency (25%), grade-level growth (15%), chronic absenteeism (10%), and suspension rate (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.
What are San Clemente High's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 64.5% of students at San Clemente High met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 33.4% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 31.1% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 33.4% pushed past it. Most rating sites report only the combined "proficient" number. SchoolScope surfaces the exceeded-vs-met split because it reveals whether a school's curriculum challenges students beyond minimum proficiency or paces toward it. 1,118 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does San Clemente High rank in California?
San Clemente High ranks #183 among California high schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 89th percentile. This ranking is based on a weighted composite of 2025 CAASPP test performance (exceeded and met rates), chronic absenteeism, and suspension rate. Unlike single-number ratings, the Scope Score shows what drives the ranking so parents can decide what matters most to their family. See full methodology.
What is the attendance and school culture like at San Clemente High?
24.8% of students at San Clemente High are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), which is better than the California average of 32.1%. The suspension rate is 2.6%. SchoolScope includes these culture metrics in the Scope Score because they reflect day-to-day school experience in ways test scores alone cannot.
How does San Clemente High compare to other schools in San Clemente?
San Clemente High scores 70/100 (89th percentile) among California high schools. To compare with nearby schools, SchoolScope shows the same metrics side by side: exceeded rate, proficiency, growth trajectory, and school culture indicators. The school serves 2,765 students. Use the schools in San Clemente page or the map view to compare all high schools nearby.
How does San Clemente High serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At San Clemente High in San Clemente, 57.2% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 55.1% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. San Clemente High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 2.1 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (40.1% Math proficient); White students (79.5% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 56.6 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 182 students tested. SchoolScope shows disaggregated test scores by demographic subgroup so you can see how a school performs for your child's specific group — not just the school-wide average. Subgroup data is context, not part of the Scope Score: we don't penalize schools for who they serve. See our equity approach.
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Data source: California Department of Education (2025 test year) · How we score · Explore all schools · Blog