Independent charter school · Orange County Department of Education

Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts III — Rating & test scores

Aliso Viejo · K–12

2A Liberty, 92656ocasa.org ↗(949) 269-3290Principal Nathan Parr
How to read this →
81stpercentileStrong

The dots are California’s 2,532 scored public middle schools, placed by Scope Score on spring 2026 tests. How it’s built ›

Scope Score
54 / 100

Weighted composite · 2026
Not a grade or a test result.

See this school’s score factors ↓
Needs Support25 in 100Developing25 in 100Solid25 in 100Strong25 in 100
Needs Support25 in 100Developing25 in 100Solid25 in 100Strong25 in 100
Needs Support25 in 100Developing25 in 100Solid25 in 100Strong25 in 100
Well above California in English, near it in math: 70% and 49% met or exceeded the standard in grades 6–8, against 49% and 37% statewide. Source
Source
CDE CAASPP Smarter Balanced results, spring 2026
Students
all students tested in grades 6–8: 47
Comparison
California: CDE’s statewide grade 6, 7 and 8 rows combined, weighted by students tested (our calculation; 1,254,039 in English and 1,254,800 in math tested).

Latest test update · spring 2025 → 2026: a comparable all-grades result is unavailable. SchoolScope shows this comparison only with both years and at least 30 scored students per subject. See the available records →

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Academic achievement

Beyond a single score: who exceeds, meets or is still approaching the standard.

Learning

How strong are the foundations for high school?

Advanced (exceeded)Proficient (met)Below Proficient

English

grades 6–8Spring 2026

All students tested

Advanced
21%
Proficient
49%
Below Proficient
30%

70% proficient or advanced · 47 tested

Explore the results & sources
LevelHereCaliforniaOrange County Department of Education
Advanced21%19%25%
Proficient49%30%34%
Developing21%23%21%
Minimal9%28%20%

Below Proficient combines Developing and Minimal. The full track represents all students tested. Share of students tested. Data source: California Department of Education, spring 2026. State comparison combines the same grades, weighted by students tested.

See each grade’s results →

Math

grades 6–8Spring 2026

All students tested

Advanced
28%
Proficient
21%
Below Proficient
51%

49% proficient or advanced · 47 tested

Explore the results & sources
LevelHereCaliforniaOrange County Department of Education
Advanced28%21%31%
Proficient21%16%17%
Developing30%23%22%
Minimal21%40%30%

Below Proficient combines Developing and Minimal. The full track represents all students tested. Share of students tested. Data source: California Department of Education, spring 2026. State comparison combines the same grades, weighted by students tested.

See each grade’s results →

What these tests tell you · what to ask

Read English and math separately, then look at progress and the courses students can take.

Ask: How do students get support, choose courses, and prepare for the move to high school?

Comparisons & progress

Put today’s results in context, then follow the longer view.

Same grades, same year

How does this school compare?

English

grades 6–8Spring 2026

All students tested

How it compares · proficient or advanced

Same grades · spring 2026 · 0–100%

This school70%
California49%

Tested: 47 here · 1,254,039 in California.

Same grades · spring 2026 · 0–100%

This school70%
Orange County Department of Education59%

Tested: 47 here · 3,572 in Orange County Department of Education. District public schools combined, weighted by students tested · 17 schools.

Math

grades 6–8Spring 2026

All students tested

How it compares · proficient or advanced

Same grades · spring 2026 · 0–100%

This school49%
California37%

Tested: 47 here · 1,254,800 in California.

Same grades · spring 2026 · 0–100%

This school49%
Orange County Department of Education48%

Tested: 47 here · 3,568 in Orange County Department of Education. District public schools combined, weighted by students tested · 17 schools.

Progress over time

How are results changing through the middle years?

Our comparable history for these grades covers 2026 only. More years are needed to show a longer trend.

English

Met or exceeded · grades 6–8 · all students tested

Latest annual comparison

2025—No comparable result
→
202670%47 tested

This school

A comparison with the previous year is unavailable. Explore the available history below.

Math

Met or exceeded · grades 6–8 · all students tested

Latest annual comparison

2025—No comparable result
→
202649%47 tested

This school

A comparison with the previous year is unavailable. Explore the available history below.

Each year tests a different group of students. These results do not track one child’s progress.

Explore the available years & underlying data

English: 70% in 2026. Math: 49% in 2026. Each year is a different group of students.

Annual values & tested counts

English · met or exceeded · grades 6–8
YearThis schoolCalifornia
202670%
47 tested		49%
1,254,039 tested
Math · met or exceeded · grades 6–8
YearThis schoolCalifornia
202649%
47 tested		37%
1,254,800 tested

Ask: Most students in grades 6–8 haven’t yet met the state’s standard in math. What extra help do they get, and how do you know it’s working?

Life at school

How often students miss school or are suspended, and how the school describes itself where its website does.

What’s it like

Attendance and discipline

12 in 100students chronically absent, 2025–26
12in 100 at the average Orange County Department of Education school18in 100 at the average California middle school

6 of 52 students missed 10% or more of school days.

This school12 in 100
at the average Orange County Department of Education school12 in 100
at the average California middle school18 in 100
0of 55 students were suspended at least once, 2025–26
1.2%at the average Orange County Department of Education school3.7%at the average California middle school
Attendance by grade
Chronically absent, 2025–26Per 100 studentsStudents
Grades 4–681 of 13
Grades 7–8135 of 39

What people here say

Answers from students, families and staff. Each source stays separate.

Know this school? Add your answers

Have a child here? Answer 7 questions about how Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts III works for your family.

Answer the family questions →Responder en español

Students

We don’t have student survey results for Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts III. Ask whether the school surveys its students, and what it learned from the answers.

Families

Family answers collected by SchoolScope

We don’t show family answers yet. How family answers work

Ask current families about communication, belonging and support when a child needs help.

Staff

We don’t have staff survey results for Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts III. Ask about staff continuity, collaboration and support across the school.

Every learner

Who attends, and how outcomes differ across student groups.

Who goes here

Students and staff

Student mix

2025–26 · eligible enrollment

Incomplete category detail

1. Not reported: 44%2. Hispanic or Latino: 27%Unallocated share: 29%. 100% minus available shares; not a student group.Reported shares2025–26
  1. Not reported44%
  2. Hispanic or Latino27%
  3. White—
  4. Asian—
  5. Black or African American—
  6. Filipino—
  7. Two or more races—
  8. American Indian or Alaska Native—
  9. Pacific Islander—
  10. Unallocated share29%
Dashed remainder = 100% minus available shares, not a separate student group. Missing categories remain unavailable. Shares use eligible enrollment in the CDE chronic-absence file.
Full student mix, comparisons & sources
Eligible enrollment, 2025–26Here
Not reported44%
Hispanic or Latino27%
White—
Asian—
Black or African American—
Filipino—
Two or more races—
American Indian or Alaska Native—
Pacific Islander—

Data source: California Department of Education chronic-absence file, 2025–26. Shares use eligible enrollment; unavailable categories are shown as a dash.

Questions & evidence

Turn the data into useful questions. Trace every result back to its record.

Getting in

Ask Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts III how it admits students.

Charter schools set their own enrollment steps and dates.

School website: ocasa.org ↗Office: (949) 269-3290Principal: Nathan Parr

Location and visiting

Get directions ↗
2A Liberty, Aliso Viejo 92656

Directory location · Explore nearby schools on the map. Confirm address eligibility and visit arrangements with the school.

Questions to ask

A short list for your school visit.

  1. Most students in grades 6–8 haven’t yet met the state’s standard in math. What extra help do they get, and how do you know it’s working?
  2. Which math courses can students take, and how are placements decided?
  3. How do students get academic help and connect with a trusted adult?
  4. Which electives and high-school transition supports are available?

Before you apply

Confirm this school’s current process directly.

Eligibility and entry grades
Which grades are accepting applications, and who is eligible?
Application and lottery
What are the deadlines, enrollment priorities, and lottery or waitlist steps?
The daily logistics
What transportation and before- or after-school options are available?

Accountability

Who runs this school

Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts III is a charter school, so it runs itself and writes its own yearly plan (LCAP). CDE lists Orange County Department of Education as its charter authorizer, and June 30, 2029 as the end of its current charter term.

Authorizer from CDE’s charter term file; term from CDE’s Charter School Database, checked October 22, 2026. Source ↗ · Database ↗

Common questions

Is Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts III a good middle school?
Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts III is in the 81st percentile (Strong) of California’s regular public and charter middle schools. Its Scope Score is 54 of 100: it places the school among them; it isn’t a grade. In spring 2026, on California's state tests (CAASPP), Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts III was well above California in English, near it in math: 70% and 49% met or exceeded the standard in grades 6–8, against 49% and 37% statewide. The 2026 Scope Score combines 6 dimensions for middle schools: exceeded standard, met or exceeded the standard, grade 6-to-8 growth, chronic absenteeism, suspension rate, and ELPAC English Learner proficiency. See the current formula and weights. Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP Smarter Balanced results, spring 2026, analyzed by SchoolScope.
What are Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts III's CAASPP test scores?
In spring 2026, 70% of students tested in grades 6–8 met or exceeded the English standard and 49% the math standard; 21% and 28% exceeded it. For the same grades, California's rate was 49% and 37% met or exceeded, 19% and 21% exceeded. 47 students were tested in English and 47 in math (CDE CAASPP 2025–26; California's rate combines CDE's statewide grade rows, weighted by students tested, our calculation).
How does Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts III rank in California?
Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts III is in the 81st percentile of 2,532 California comprehensive middle schools (Strong, 2026). Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts III ranks #477 by Scope Score in that comparison pool. The 2026 Scope Score combines 6 dimensions for middle schools: exceeded standard, met or exceeded the standard, grade 6-to-8 growth, chronic absenteeism, suspension rate, and ELPAC English Learner proficiency. See full methodology.
What do attendance and suspension records show for Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts III?
CDE chronic absence 2025–26: 11.5% of eligible students missed 10% or more of the days they were expected to attend; 6 chronically absent of 52 eligible students. CDE suspension 2025–26: 0.0%; 0 unduplicated suspended students of 55 cumulative enrollment. These figures cannot establish safety or everyday experience. How the Scope Score is built.
How does Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts III compare to other schools in Aliso Viejo?
Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts III is in the 81st percentile (Strong) of California’s regular public and charter middle schools. To compare with nearby schools, SchoolScope shows the same measures side by side: the share of students who met or exceeded the standard, the share who exceeded it, growth, chronic absence and suspensions. Use the schools in Aliso Viejo page or the map view to compare nearby middle schools.

Other options

If this school isn’t the fit

The closest schools at the same level, by straight-line distance from this campus. Distance isn’t an attendance boundary.

Nearby middle schools2026 statewide percentile

Each percentile compares a school with California schools at its own level.

Explore nearby schools on the map →

Source records

Explore the data

Available score factors, grade-level results and student-group measures, with source details.

Downloads, sources & methodology
Download CSVReport a data issueMethodologyData updatesCDE CAASPP research files (opens in new tab)

2025 CDE CCI overall Prepared: no exact school row in the verified 2025 source.

Orange County Academy of Sciences and Arts III is ranked #477 statewide · #4 of 11 in Orange County Department of Education.

Score factorsInspect source values, comparisons and score weights.Weighted composite · 2025–26
Score factors
FactorSchoolStateWeight
Exceeded standard25.3%17.7%42%
Met or exceeded59.9%40.6%23%
Chronic absenteeism13.1%17.8%5%
Suspension rate0.9%3.8%5%
Grade gap (G6→G8, different students)-6.0pp+3.0ppnot scored
Exceeded standard
↑ vs CA 17.7% · index 58 · 50 = CA middle-school midpoint
Met or exceeded
↑ vs CA 40.6% · index 65 · 50 = CA middle-school midpoint
Chronic absenteeism
↑ vs CA 17.8% · index 57 · 50 = CA middle-school midpoint
Suspension rate
↑ vs CA 3.8% · index 62 · 50 = CA middle-school midpoint
Grade gap (G6→G8, different students)
↓ vs CA +3.0pp

Any absence or suspension percentage shown here is a SchoolScope model-adjusted scoring input, not a raw CDE-reported school rate. The State column averages these inputs across scored comprehensive California schools at this level.

By grade & subgroupLook beyond the school average, by grade and student group.CAASPP 2025–26 · % of tested students

From 2025–26 reporting, California calls Level 3 Proficient and Level 4 Advanced (formerly Standard Met and Standard Exceeded). “Proficient or Advanced” combines both levels in the 2025–26 results shown here. California's level descriptions.

ELA · 2025–26 results by grade

Share of students tested, spring 2026
ELATestedAdvancedProficientDevelopingMinimalProficient or AdvancedCaliforniaDifference
Grade 61323%46%16%15%69%48%+21
Grade 71619%50%25%6%69%51%+18
Grade 81822%50%22%6%72%49%+23

California is the state's own English result for each grade, counting every student tested there.

Math · 2025–26 results by grade

Share of students tested, spring 2026
MathTestedAdvancedProficientDevelopingMinimalProficient or AdvancedCaliforniaDifference
Grade 61346%8%15%31%54%37%+17
Grade 71625%31%38%6%56%38%+18
Grade 81817%22%33%28%39%36%+3

California is the state's own math result for each grade, counting every student tested there.

We show the grade rows CDE publishes for this school. A missing grade or dash can mean the school does not serve that grade, that we hold no valid result for it, or that the tested group was too small to report. It does not mean zero.

Science (CAST)TestedAdvancedProficientDevelopingMinimal
Schoolwide1817%33%44%6%

CAST is tested in grades 5 and 8, then once in grade 10, 11, or 12. This row is the school's all-student aggregate. Not part of the Scope Score.

More measuresRead additional measures and dated historical records.context · not all part of the Scope Score

ELA and Math by test year · all tested grades

Year · subjectStudents with scoresAdvancedProficient or Advanced
2026 · ELA4721.3%70.2%
2026 · Math4727.7%48.9%

Each year names its school year end (2026 = 2025–26). “Students with scores” is the subject-specific rate denominator; ELA and Math counts must not be added. The 2015–2018 rows were checked against CDE’s original research files. The 2015 and 2016 files report whole percentages; later rows round to one decimal here. Older stored rows from other years still need independent original-file re-verification. A dash is unavailable, not zero.

YearScopePctileRankAbsentSuspGrade gap
20265481#47713.1%0.9%-6.0pp

The Absent and Susp columns are SchoolScope model-adjusted scoring inputs, rather than raw CDE-reported school rates.

Grade gap = this year's grade 6 vs grade 8 result, two different sets of students, not a trend for any one child — it is not the measurement the Scope Score's growth dimension uses. See §01 above and /methodology#verdicts for the school's actual scored (cohort) growth.
What we can't show
  • — No subgroup comparison could be shown for this school this year — either its group sizes fall under CDE's 15-student reporting floor, or district/state comparison data wasn't available for its groups.
  • — Scored here as a middle school — other grade spans appear in the data appendix.
Climate by student groupCompare attendance and discipline records by student group.chronic absenteeism · 2018–19 vs 2025–26 school years
Group2018–192025–26Δ
Female—20.7%—
Male—0.0%—
Hispanic/Latino—21.4%—
Students with Disabilities—17.6%—
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged—27.3%—
All Students—11.5%—

Two reported school years only; no intervening-year result is implied. Source: CDE school-level chronic absenteeism by student group.

Funding source detailFollow funding records at their school or district source grain.CDE ESSA school · CDE SACS district · NCES F-33 district; each row labels its fiscal year and measure

Per-pupil spending

District · current expense$70,768 per pupil

NCES F-33 · FY 2020–21 (2021) · fall district membership: 2,773 pupils

California · selected district mean$14,491 per pupil

NCES F-33 · FY 2020–21 (2021) · SchoolScope’s unweighted mean across 818 selected California district finance records

How the California mean was selected

SchoolScope starts with its selected California finance records, not every NCES California district. For FY 2020–21, it calculates an unweighted mean of NCES F-33 current expense per pupil. District records contribute once, regardless of enrollment. The calculation keeps records with positive per-pupil current expense, enrollment over 100, CCD agency type 1, and a recorded district name; it excludes names ending in County Office of Education, Department of Education, or Superintendent of Schools. This is a SchoolScope calculation, not a state-published spending average.

Selected General Fund operating costs · FY 2024–25 · SchoolScope calculation
Instruction 26%Instruction support 46%Student services 8%Administration 14%Buildings & maintenance 5%

SchoolScope groups district-level CDE SACS UserGL actuals from Fund 01, using operating objects 1000–5999 and excluding retiree benefits, food and community services, facilities acquisition, other outgo, and nonagency goals. These shares use that filtered total; they do not exactly break down CDE's official current expense per ADA above. The school-level ESSA figure uses a separate source.

NCES F-33 district fiscal-year history, 2017–2021; latest district record shown: 2021
2021$70,768 per pupil
2020$67,286 per pupil
2019$61,708 per pupil
2018$32,576 per pupil
2017$30,374 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

ZIP-area community recordRead census estimates for the surrounding ZIP area, not the school's students.ACS 2020–2024 · ZCTA 92656
American Community Survey 5-year estimates · 2020–2024 · ZIP Code Tabulation Area 92656
MeasureEstimate
Median household income$137,639
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)57.43%
ZCTA population52,229
Median age39.2 years

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2020–2024 5-year estimates. Median household income covers the past 12 months and is reported in 2024 inflation-adjusted dollars. Bachelor's degree or higher uses adults age 25 and over as its population. A dash is unavailable, not zero; a reported zero remains zero. ZIP/ZCTA context does not establish the school's attendance area or describe its enrolled students. These figures are not part of the Scope Score. See all schools in ZIP code 92656 →

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Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2025–26 · n=2,532 middle schools · Vintages: climate subgroups 2019+2025 · district finance per its label · ACS 2024 · Data updated 2026-10-15

SchoolScope scores and verdicts are our reading of public California Department of Education data, not an official rating. How we analyze · Request a correction