How does Terra Cotta Middle compare to other middle schools in Lake Elsinore?

Terra Cotta Middle has a Scope Score of 31.8/100, ranked #1288 among California middle schools. 7% of students exceed standard, with a total of 1,990 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Terra Cotta Middle?

6.5% of students at Terra Cotta Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 20.2% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Terra Cotta Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Terra Cotta Middle's proficiency rate increases by 8.8 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 Terra Cotta Middle?

20.4% of students at Terra Cotta 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 the Scope Score.

Terra Cotta Middle

Middle School

Lake Elsinore Unified Lake ElsinoreRiverside County92530

📍 29291 Lake Street

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

📈

On the Rise

On an upward trajectory — scores are improving faster than average. Worth a closer look.

Scope 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

1,064 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

27:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

80%

Teachers

40 full-time

Dashboard indicators

How this school's scores changed from last year to this year

ELA Year-over-Year

Declined Significantly

-18.5 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Maintained

-1.8 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

23.7%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 114 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic79.5%

White12.1%

Asian1.4%

Black2.9%

Other4.0%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Terra Cotta Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	6.5%
Met Standard	13.6%
Below Standard	79.8%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Growth (G6→G8): +8.8pp

Scores improve across grades (state avg +0.8pp)

15% weight

Holding Back

▼Exceeded standard: 6.5%

10.8pp below state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

▼Met or exceeded: 20.2%

19.3pp below state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

▼Chronic absenteeism: 20.4%

1.1pp above state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% weight

▼Baseline proficiency: 20.2%

Below state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

10% weight

▼Suspension rate: 8.2%

4.1pp above state avg (state avg 4.1%)

10% weight

Unlike traditional school ratings, we show our work. Every factor, its weight, and how this school compares to the state average — so you can decide what matters most to your family. The middle school Scope Score is weighted across 6 dimensions. See full methodology →

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "20% proficient" for Terra Cotta Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

6.5% of students exceeded standard while 13.6% met it. That exceeded rate is 10.8 points below the state average of 17.3%. That's 5.6 points below the Lake Elsinore Unified district average of 12.1%. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Students here improve by 8.8 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 declined significantly and Math maintained year-over-year. 23.7% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 20.4%, above the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

6.5%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

20.2%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

+8.8pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

20.4%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

8.2%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

1,990

Across all grades & subjects

Grade trajectory

How proficiency compares across grade levels this year (different students, same test year)

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	300	2.7%	19.3%	29.7%	48.3%	22.0%
7th	342	9.1%	16.1%	26.6%	48.3%	25.1%
8th	351	10.0%	19.7%	24.2%	46.1%	29.6%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	303	2.6%	9.2%	24.8%	63.4%	11.9%
7th	342	3.8%	6.7%	22.5%	67.0%	10.5%
8th	352	11.1%	10.8%	23.9%	54.3%	21.9%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Rice Canyon Elementary

Also serves area

▼

Middle

Terra Cotta Middle

31.8# in state

This school

▼

High School

Lakeside High

52.7# in state

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