How does Bernice Ayer Middle compare to other middle schools in San Clemente?

Bernice Ayer Middle has a SchoolScope composite score of 63.4/100, placing it at the 91st percentile statewide. 43% of students exceed standard, with a total of 1,750 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Bernice Ayer Middle?

42.5% of students at Bernice Ayer Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 71.4% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Bernice Ayer Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Bernice Ayer Middle's proficiency rate increases by 4.0 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth. This suggests the school may be adding value over time.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at Bernice Ayer Middle?

11.8% of students at Bernice Ayer Middle are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days). This metric reflects school culture and family engagement, and is weighted at 15% in our composite score.

Bernice Ayer Middle

Middle School

Capistrano Unified San ClementeOrange County92673

📍 1271 Sarmentoso

Composite Score

out of 100

State Percentile

of middle schools

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

🏫

Solid Base

A solid, reliable choice — most students meet proficiency standards consistently.

Composite scores are SchoolScope's analysis of public data from the California Dept. of Education (CAASPP, chronic absenteeism, suspension rates). They are not official CDE ratings and should not be the sole basis for school decisions. See methodology.

School overview

Enrollment

878 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

20:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

37%

Teachers

44 full-time

Dashboard indicators

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased

+11.2 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased

+3.0 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

26.8%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 82 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic32.4%

White57.2%

Asian1.5%

Black0.2%

Other8.8%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Bernice Ayer Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	42.5%
Met Standard	28.9%
Below Standard	28.6%

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "71% proficient" for Bernice Ayer Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

42.5% of students exceeded standard while 28.9% met it. That exceeded rate is 25.2 points above the state average of 17.3%. That's 3.7 points above the Capistrano Unified district average of 38.8%. Nearby schools (within ~3 miles) average 44.5% exceeded — about the same. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Students here improve by 4.0 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth, suggesting the school is adding value beyond what students arrive with.

California's Dashboard shows ELA performance increased and Math increased year-over-year. 26.8% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 11.8%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

42.5%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

71.4%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

+4.0pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

11.8%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

3.3%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

1,750

Across all grades & subjects

Grade trajectory

ELA Trajectory

G6 → G7 → G8

Math Trajectory

G6 → G7 → G8

ELA scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	296	36.8%	36.5%	16.9%	9.8%	73.3%
7th	285	41.0%	34.0%	14.0%	10.9%	75.1%
8th	294	40.8%	32.3%	16.0%	10.9%	73.1%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	296	38.5%	27.4%	18.6%	15.5%	65.9%
7th	285	45.3%	21.8%	19.3%	13.7%	67.0%
8th	294	52.7%	21.4%	13.9%	11.9%	74.2%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Truman Benedict Elementary

66.791st pctile

Las Palmas Elementary

56.177th pctile

Also serves area

Clarence Lobo Elementary

47.860th pctile

▼

Middle

Bernice Ayer Middle

63.491st pctile

This school

▼

High School

San Clemente High

69.691st pctile

Feeder patterns derived from 2015-16 NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries may have changed. Contact your school district for current information.