How does Fred Newhart Middle compare to other middle schools in Mission Viejo?

Fred Newhart Middle has a SchoolScope composite score of 65.0/100, placing it at the 93rd percentile statewide. 44% of students exceed standard, with a total of 2,117 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Fred Newhart Middle?

43.9% of students at Fred Newhart Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 72.7% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Fred Newhart Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Fred Newhart Middle's proficiency rate increases by 2.5 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 Fred Newhart Middle?

8.0% of students at Fred Newhart 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.

Fred Newhart Middle

Middle School

Capistrano Unified Mission ViejoOrange County92692

📍 25001 Veterans Way

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

1,083 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

20:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

35%

Teachers

55 full-time

Dashboard indicators

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased

+6.9 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased

+12.6 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

38.3%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 62 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic26.8%

White42.8%

Asian10.4%

Black1.4%

Other18.6%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Fred Newhart Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	43.9%
Met Standard	28.8%
Below Standard	27.3%

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "73% proficient" for Fred Newhart Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

43.9% of students exceeded standard while 28.8% met it. That exceeded rate is 26.6 points above the state average of 17.3%. That's 5.1 points above the Capistrano Unified district average of 38.8%. Nearby schools (within ~3 miles) average 44.3% 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 2.5 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. 38.3% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 8.0%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

43.9%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

72.7%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

+2.5pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

8.0%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

2.7%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

2,117

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	360	43.3%	31.7%	14.4%	10.6%	75.0%
7th	373	40.5%	37.5%	12.6%	9.4%	78.0%
8th	325	41.9%	36.9%	14.5%	6.8%	78.8%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	360	48.6%	20.8%	17.5%	13.1%	69.4%
7th	374	39.3%	24.6%	21.1%	15.0%	63.9%
8th	325	49.9%	20.9%	18.5%	10.8%	70.8%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Castille Elementary

70.895th pctile

Philip J. Reilly Elementary

▼

Middle

Fred Newhart Middle

65.093rd pctile

This school

▼

High School

Capistrano Valley High

71.593rd pctile

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