Costa Mesa · Orange County

Schools in Costa Mesa

Costa Mesa’s 15 public elementary schools run from the 8th to the 97th percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests). They sit in all four bands, from Strong to Needs Support.

Elementary · 15 schools

from 8th to 97th · among 5,726 California elementary schools we score · spring 2026 tests

  • International School for Science and Culture: 97th percentile, Strong
  • Maude B. Davis Elementary: 88th percentile, Strong
  • Heinz Kaiser Elementary: 86th percentile, Strong
  • California Elementary: 85th percentile, Strong
  • Sonora Elementary: 81st percentile, Strong
  • Adams Elementary: 76th percentile, Strong
  • Killybrooke Elementary: 73rd percentile, Solid
  • Victoria Elementary: 66th percentile, Solid
  • California Pacific Charter- Los Angeles: 64th percentile, Solid
  • Paularino Elementary: 58th percentile, Solid
  • California Pacific Charter - San Diego: 53rd percentile, Solid
  • Everett A. Rea Elementary: 46th percentile, Developing
  • College Park Elementary: 42nd percentile, Developing
  • Wilson Elementary: 35th percentile, Developing
  • Whittier Elementary: 8th percentile, Needs Support
1Needs Support
3Developing
5Solid
6Strong

One dot per school.

Middle and high school pictures

Middle · 3 schools

from 42nd to 90th · among 2,529 California middle schools we score · spring 2026 tests

  • California Pacific Charter - San Diego: 90th percentile, Strong
  • California Pacific Charter- Los Angeles: 82nd percentile, Strong
  • Charles W. Tewinkle Middle: 42nd percentile, Developing
0Needs Support
1Developing
0Solid
2Strong

High · 5 schools

from 41st to 99th · among 1,498 California high schools we score · spring 2025 tests

  • Early College High: 99th percentile, Strong
  • California Pacific Charter- Los Angeles: 50th percentile, Solid
  • Costa Mesa High: 48th percentile, Developing
  • Estancia High: 47th percentile, Developing
  • California Pacific Charter - San Diego: 41st percentile, Developing
0Needs Support
3Developing
1Solid
1Strong

One dot per school. Each stage is placed only among California schools at its own level. 2 of the 19 ranked schools teach all three levels, so they appear in more than one picture.

Schools around Costa Mesa

24 listed public schools with mapped locations.

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Percentile among California schools at the same level

  • Strong75th+
  • Solid50–74th
  • Developing25–49th
  • Needs Supportbelow 25th
  • Not scored

The school lists on this page are also available without the map.

Elementary schools

Which elementary schools in Costa Mesa score highest?

International School for Science and Culture is highest, at the 97th percentile.

That’s higher than 97 in 100 of the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Highest in Costa Mesa

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

Show the other 12 elementary schools
Context

The average Costa Mesa elementary school had 11 in 100 students chronically absent (missed 10% or more of school days) in 2025–26; the average California elementary school we score had 17 in 100. Both are averages of school rates, each school counted once.

Middle schools

Which middle schools in Costa Mesa score highest?

California Pacific Charter - San Diego is highest, at the 90th percentile.

That’s higher than 90 in 100 of the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Highest in Costa Mesa

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

Context

The average Costa Mesa middle school had 15 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California middle school we score had 18 in 100.

High schools

Which high schools in Costa Mesa score highest?

Early College High is highest, at the 99th percentile.

That’s higher than 99 in 100 of the 1,498 California high schools we score (spring 2025 tests).

Highest in Costa Mesa

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

Show the other 2 high schools
Context

The average Costa Mesa high school had 11 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California high school we score had 22 in 100.

5 high schools not ranked statewide

Continuation schools, court and community schools and special education centers enroll students differently from a regular school, so each is compared only with its own kind or not ranked. The others have no statewide percentile this year.

10 private schools have a Costa Mesa address. They don’t take California’s state tests, so we don’t score them. See them in the private-school directory →

Which places nearby can you look at next?

School districts

More places (7)

ZIP codes

Before kindergarten

Common questions

Which public schools in Costa Mesa rank highest?

Elementary: International School for Science and Culture, 97th percentile (Strong). Middle: California Pacific Charter - San Diego, 90th percentile (Strong). High: Early College High, 99th percentile (Strong). Each percentile is among the California schools at the same level we score. A rank doesn’t decide fit or whether a child can enroll.

Does living in Costa Mesa decide which school my child attends?

No. A city can hold schools from more than one district, and attendance boundaries decide which school serves an address. Confirm the school for your address with the district.
More questions (3)

Are the public schools in Costa Mesa good?

Costa Mesa’s 15 public elementary schools run from the 8th to the 97th percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 6 Strong, 5 Solid, 3 Developing and 1 Needs Support. Costa Mesa’s 3 public middle schools run from the 42nd to the 90th percentile among the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 2 Strong and 1 Developing. Costa Mesa’s 5 public high schools run from the 41st to the 99th percentile among the 1,498 California high schools we score (spring 2025 tests). By band: 1 Strong, 1 Solid and 3 Developing. A percentile compares a school with California public schools at the same level that we score. How we score schools.

How does chronic absence in Costa Mesa compare with California?

The average Costa Mesa elementary school had 11 in 100 students chronically absent (missed 10% or more of school days) in 2025–26; the average California elementary school we score had 17 in 100. Both are averages of school rates, each school counted once. The average Costa Mesa middle school had 15 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California middle school we score had 18 in 100. The average Costa Mesa high school had 11 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California high school we score had 22 in 100. These are averages of school rates: each school counts once, whatever its size.

Where do these results come from?

California’s state tests (CAASPP): spring 2026 for elementary and middle schools, spring 2025 for high schools, and chronic-absence rates for 2025–26, published by the California Department of Education. Percentiles, bands and Scope Scores are SchoolScope’s calculations. How we score schools.

Sources and methodology

This page lists the public schools with a Costa Mesa address, which can belong to more than one school district.

Data source: California Department of Education · CAASPP 2025–26 elementary and middle school; 2024–25 high school

Percentiles, bands and Scope Scores are SchoolScope’s own calculations from these state files.

View CDE data ↗ (opens in a new tab)How Scope Scores work →

Download these schools (CSV)Free to use under CC BY 4.0 with attribution.