Laguna Niguel Elementary: Low-income kids here outscore the state by 26 points. But 5th graders score lower than 3rd graders.
Laguna Niguel posts numbers for its most vulnerable students that most schools don't reach overall. The trend line is the part worth a closer look.
Laguna Niguel Elementary scores 72 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 92nd percentile of 5,230 California elementary schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).
Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →
Most rating sites would stop at “76% proficient” and call it done. Laguna Niguel deserves a closer read. The school sits in Laguna Niguel, where one in four students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
The headline number: 52.3% of students scored in the top band on the state test. The California average is 21.6%.
The story this school is actually telling
of students scored in the top band on the state test. The California average is 21.6%.
proficiency falls from grade 3 (82%) to grade 5 (67%). The state average rises by +4.5pp over the same span.
The school, grade by grade
ELA · CAASPP 2024–25Different students, same year — each bar is one grade's proficiency mix.
The honest read: the share exceeding falls 23.7pp across grades; the floor slips 6.1pp. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. A strong 3rd grader at Laguna Niguel doesn't typically widen their lead by 5th grade. One question worth asking on a tour: are the strongest students being pushed, or coasting? A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
Laguna Niguel's most underrated number
63.8% of low-income students met the ELA standard — versus 38.2% for the same group statewide. That's the strongest kind of signal a school can post: it holds across income lines.
The 6 things our score weighs
Ask the principal what changes between grade 3 and grade 5. The trajectory is the thing a tour will tell you more about than a spreadsheet.
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
Feeder patterns derived from NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries are approximate and may have changed — verify with your school district for current assignments.
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 75
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
The community around it
Student demographics
3 more gaps by subject
Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.
Weighted average across tested grades. Subgroups with fewer than 15 students excluded. Data: CDE CAASPP 2024-25.
Subgroup Growth by Grade
Low-income student ELA proficiency falls by 6.8pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +4.8pp.
Subgroups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
Funding Breakdown
Neighborhood Context
Whole Child
Source: CDE SARC, 2024-25
For the data nerdsEvery number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 61 | 67% | 11% | 13% | 8% | 79% | +35 |
| Grade 4 | 76 | 58% | 20% | 13% | 9% | 78% | +33 |
| Grade 5 | 62 | 44% | 29% | 11% | 16% | 73% | +25 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 63 | 60% | 25% | 5% | 10% | 86% | +40 |
| Grade 4 | 79 | 44% | 33% | 18% | 5% | 77% | +36 |
| Grade 5 | 62 | 40% | 21% | 21% | 18% | 61% | +26 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 62 | 16% | 44% | 34% | 6% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| Subgroup · ELA | Tested | MET+ | vs district | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 69 | 63.8% | +9 | +26 |
| White | 108 | 82.4% | +4 | +21 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 29 | 58.6% | +7 | +20 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laguna Niguel Elementary ← | — | 72 | 52.3% | 75.5% | −15.3 | 0.7% |
| Canyon Vista Elementary | 1.8 mi | 86 | 61.8% | 85.7% | −4.6 | 0.5% |
| Marian Bergeson Elementary | 0.9 mi | 71 | 50.2% | 70.4% | +3.6 | 0.8% |
| Moulton Elementary | 2.3 mi | 69 | 46.3% | 69.8% | −14.3 | 1.1% |
| California average | — | 44 | 21.6% | 42.9% | −3.0 | 1.7% |