Saddleback Valley Unified’s 21 public elementary schools run from the 12th to the 93rd percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests).
Elementary · 21 schools
from 12th to 93rd · among 5,726 California elementary schools we score · spring 2026 tests
Ralph A. Gates DLI Magnet Elementary: 73rd percentile, Solid
Santiago STEAM Magnet Elementary: 73rd percentile, Solid
Lake Forest Elementary: 70th percentile, Solid
Trabuco Elementary: 67th percentile, Solid
Glen Yermo Elementary: 54th percentile, Solid
Cielo Vista Elementary: 51st percentile, Solid
Lomarena Elementary: 50th percentile, Solid
Linda Vista Magnet Elementary: 48th percentile, Developing
Del Lago Elementary: 29th percentile, Developing
Olivewood Elementary: 12th percentile, Needs Support
1Needs Support
2Developing
7Solid
11Strong
← lower percentilehigher →
One dot per school.
Middle and high school pictures
Middle · 5 schools
from 57th to 94th · among 2,529 California middle schools we score · spring 2026 tests
La Paz Intermediate: 94th percentile, Strong
Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate: 86th percentile, Strong
Serrano Intermediate: 79th percentile, Strong
SVUSD Virtual Academy (Alternative): 63rd percentile, Solid
Los Alisos Intermediate: 57th percentile, Solid
0Needs Support
0Developing
2Solid
3Strong
High · 5 schools
from 28th to 83rd · among 1,498 California high schools we score · spring 2025 tests
Trabuco Hills High: 83rd percentile, Strong
Mission Viejo High: 81st percentile, Strong
El Toro High: 69th percentile, Solid
Laguna Hills High: 67th percentile, Solid
SVUSD Virtual Academy (Alternative): 28th percentile, Developing
0Needs Support
1Developing
2Solid
2Strong
← lower percentilehigher →
One dot per school. Each stage is placed only among California schools at its own level. 1 of the 30 ranked schools teaches two levels, so it appears in more than one picture.
The average elementary school in Saddleback Valley Unified 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 Saddleback Valley Unified score highest?
La Paz Intermediate is highest, at the 94th percentile.
That’s higher than 94 in 100 of the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests).
Highest in Saddleback Valley Unified
Each percentile compares a school with California schools at its own level. What patterns mean
The average middle school in Saddleback Valley Unified had 14 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 Saddleback Valley Unified score highest?
Trabuco Hills High is highest, at the 83rd percentile.
That’s higher than 83 in 100 of the 1,498 California high schools we score (spring 2025 tests).
Highest in Saddleback Valley Unified
Each percentile compares a school with California schools at its own level.
The average high school in Saddleback Valley Unified had 19 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California high school we score had 22 in 100.
1 high school not ranked statewide
Silverado HighContinuation high school: compared only with other continuation schools
The district
Where does Saddleback Valley Unified’s money go, and what does it plan?
Saddleback Valley Unified spent $17,633 per student in the 2024–25 school year.
The typical California district spent $20,491. About 65 cents of every Saddleback Valley Unified dollar went to classroom instruction.
Spending by function
Day-to-day spending per student in average daily attendance, from the district’s annual financial report (SACS) to the California Department of Education. District-wide: it includes central administration and costs never assigned to one campus.
Share by function, 2024–25
Instruction65%
Instruction support12%
Student services9%
Administration5%
Buildings & maintenance8%
Other1%
Shares of the same spending total, by the report’s spending categories, rounded so they add up to 100. Names are simplified from the report’s own categories.
What the district plans
$33.0 million
planned in its 2026–27 plan for 78 funded actions in 4 goals. That’s 8% of its $399.1 million general fund budget. These are planned amounts; the district reports what it spent in a later plan.
The plan in short
Source: the district’s yearly spending plan (Local Control and Accountability Plan, or LCAP, 285 pages), as posted to the California School Dashboard.
Where the money goes
The money is spread out. No action gets more than 14%, and the three largest, Intervention System: Secondary Counseling Program; Targeted Program: Career Education (Previously CTE); and Universal Program: Textbook and Instructional Materials Adoptions, take 30% between them. The plan itself puts 87% of it toward staff.
Intervention System: Secondary Counseling Program $4.7 million
Targeted Program: Career Education (Previously CTE) $3.6 million
Universal Program: Textbook and Instructional Materials Adoptions $1.7 million
75 other actions
Reading, math and catch-up help
32 of the plan’s 78 funded actions name reading, math, catch-up help or English learners in their titles.
Actions whose titles name reading, catch-up help or English learners
Reading $1.3 million
Catch-up help $15.3 million
English learners $2.7 million
An action naming two of these appears under both.
Largest of these
Intervention System: Secondary Counseling Program$4.7 million
Intervention System: Elementary Reading Intervention Program$1.3 million
Targeted Program: Secondary Newcomer Courses$1.2 million
For high-need students (English learners, low-income students and foster youth), what changed and what its goals measure
For high-need students
It plans $23.9 million in extra services for English learners, low-income students and foster youth. For 2025–26, it planned $23.7 million and estimates it spent $23.7 million, the same as planned.
$23.7 million spent (estimated)$23.7 million planned
What changed
The total is $5.8 million (15%) lower than in the 2025–26 plan. The biggest change in dollars is Universal Program: Textbook and Instructional Materials Adoptions, which went from $4.6 million to $1.7 million.
Largest cuts
Universal Program: Textbook and Instructional Materials Adoptions−$2.9 million
Targeted Program: Career Education (Previously CTE)−$1.7 million
Intervention System: Secondary Counseling Program+$2.2 million
Targeted Program: Elementary Combination Class Reduction+$539,046
Family Engagement: School Community Outreach Liaisons (SCOLs)+$283,379
New in the 2026–27 plan
K-12 VAPA Access and Program Coordination$229,517
Additional Assistant Principal Support$171,376
Targeted Program: STAR Behavior Intervention Specialists$167,104
Ask: What did Universal Program: Textbook and Instructional Materials Adoptions pay for, and what changes now that the 2026–27 plan gives it $2.9 million less?
What its goals measure
Read these state results for the district’s own schools as context for the goals they measure; results alone can’t show what the plan caused.
What its goals measure: state results, 2024–25 and 2025–26
Measure
2024–25
2025–26
Change
English, every tested grade: Proficient or Advanced in 2025–26, met or exceeded in 2024–25Goal 2
60%
59%
down 1 pt
Math, every tested grade: Proficient or Advanced in 2025–26, met or exceeded in 2024–25Goal 2
52%
52%
no change
Chronically absentCounted across all the district’s students, not averaged by schoolGoal 1
14 in 100
13 in 100
1 fewer in 100
Suspended at least onceGoal 1
1.5%
1.5%
no change
Goal 4 tracks named schools and Goal 3 tracks other measures, so they aren’t shown here.
Figures from CDE’s state test, chronic absence and suspension files. Test figures cover every grade the district tests (California tests grades 3–8 and 11), so they differ from a profile’s rated grades. We combined the district’s schools ourselves, weighted by students and leaving out charter schools. Chronically absent means a student missed 10% or more of school days.
The plan’s own titles and amounts
Intervention System: Secondary Counseling Program · $4,656,646
Targeted Program: Career Education (Previously CTE) · $3,570,539
Universal Program: Textbook and Instructional Materials Adoptions · $1,665,162
The full plan4 goals, 59 measures and where the money goes
We calculate each action’s share of the plan by dividing its planned amount by the total of the plan’s funded actions ($33.0 million).
Where does the money go?
38% to Goal 1. Each box is one action, sized by its planned dollars and coloured by its change since last year’s plan. Tap a box to open its goal.
not compared: unconfirmed, or repeated across goals
Every goal, in the plan’s order
Goal 1Each school site will develop and maintain positive parent, student, and community involvement and focus on…$12.6 million38% of action budgets
“Each school site will develop and maintain positive parent, student, and community involvement and focus on engagement strategies to promote and support student social, emotional, behavioral well- being and academic success” p. 24 ↗
32 funded actions · 2025–26 plan: $12.2 million (+$409,797)
Largest funded actions
Intervention System: Secondary Counseling Program$4.7 millionaction 1.9 · p. 226 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
Family Engagement: School Community Outreach Liaisons (SCOLs)$1.6 millionaction 1.32 · p. 228 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
Intervention System: Elementary Counseling Program$1.2 millionaction 1.7 · p. 226 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $154,173 is state funding counted toward those services
Intervention System: Mental Wellness Counseling Program$0.8 millionaction 1.10 · p. 226 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
Targeted Program: Student Services Department$0.7 millionaction 1.25 · p. 228 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
27 more funded actions in this goal
Robust Professional Development Program: MTSS TOSA for SEB · action 1.23 · p. 227 ↗$0.6 million
Intervention System: Credit Recovery · action 1.16 · p. 227 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.5 million
Intervention System: Secondary Intervention · action 1.15 · p. 227 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.5 million
Intervention System: Supplemental Elementary Counselors at Title-1 Schools · action 1.8 · p. 226 ↗$0.5 million
Intervention System: Secondary Summer School · action 1.17 · p. 227 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.4 million
Targeted Program: Homeless Youth Support · action 1.27 · p. 228 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.3 million
Intervention System: Alternative to Suspension (ATS) · action 1.12 · p. 227 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.2 million
Targeted Program: Additional SEL & Behavior Support for SWD · action 1.41 · p. 229 ↗$0.2 million
Targeted Program: STAR Behavior Intervention Specialists · action 1.42 · p. 229 ↗$0.2 million
Universal Program: Second Step Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum · action 1.2 · p. 226 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.1 million
Robust Professional Development: Leadership Academy · action 1.22 · p. 227 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.1 million
Family Engagement: District Translator/Interpreter · action 1.31 · p. 228 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.1 million
Intervention System: School Climate Assessment and Progress Monitoring · action 1.4 · p. 226 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.1 million
Targeted Program: Transition Support for Kindergarten · action 1.40 · p. 229 ↗$0.1 million
Targeted Program: Additional Secondary Counseling · action 1.36 · p. 228 ↗$0.1 million
Intervention System: Student Study Team · action 1.6 · p. 226 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need servicesunder $0.1 million
Targeted Program: Secondary Orientation · action 1.26 · p. 228 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need servicesunder $0.1 million
Targeted Program: Supplemental Cultural Proficiency Professional Development · action 1.35 · p. 228 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need servicesunder $0.1 million
Targeted Program: Foster Youth Support · action 1.39 · p. 229 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need servicesunder $0.1 million
Family Engagement: Communication & Engagement Tools · action 1.29 · p. 228 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need servicesunder $0.1 million
Robust Professional Development Program: Social-Emotional Learning · action 1.20 · p. 227 ↗under $0.1 million
Family Engagement: Improve Communication with Multilingual Families · action 1.30 · p. 228 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need servicesunder $0.1 million
Intervention System: Transcript Translation · action 1.14 · p. 227 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need servicesunder $0.1 million
Robust Professional Development Program: Cultural Proficiency · action 1.18 · p. 227 ↗under $0.1 million
Robust Professional Development Program: Community Circles/Restorative Practices · action 1.21 · p. 227 ↗under $0.1 million
Robust Professional Development Program: MTSS SEB Facilitators · action 1.24 · p. 227 ↗under $0.1 million
Robust Professional Development Program: Engagement Strategies · action 1.19 · p. 227 ↗under $0.1 million
Changes from last year’s plan, same title
Intervention System: Secondary Counseling Program+$2.2 million$2.5 million → $4.7 million · p. 226 ↗
Intervention System: Credit Recovery−$290,927$783,529 → $492,602 · p. 227 ↗
Family Engagement: School Community Outreach Liaisons (SCOLs)+$0.3 million$1.3 million → $1.6 million · p. 228 ↗
Every other line in this goal, against last year’s plan
Intervention System: Elementary Counseling Program · $1.0 million → $1.2 million · p. 226 ↗+$0.2 million
Intervention System: Mental Wellness Counseling Program · $680,730 → $753,680 · p. 226 ↗+$72,950
Targeted Program: Student Services Department · $638,002 → $702,581 · p. 228 ↗+$64,579
Robust Professional Development Program: MTSS TOSA for SEB · $762,854 → $555,962 · p. 227 ↗−$206,892
Robust Professional Development Program: Cultural Proficiency · $6,056 → $1,000 · p. 227 ↗−$5,056
Robust Professional Development Program: Community Circles/Restorative Practices · $1,000 · p. 227 ↗new or renamed
Robust Professional Development Program: MTSS SEB Facilitators · $89,450 → $1,000 · p. 227 ↗−$88,450
Robust Professional Development Program: Engagement Strategies · $969 → $974 · p. 227 ↗+$5
A reworded title counts as new.
How the plan measures it · 16 measures
None of these has an all-students line we can quote; the plan’s table lists them from p. 24 ↗.
Goal 2All students will demonstrate proficiency, or more, with grade level standards and graduate prepared to be…$11.7 million35% of action budgets
“All students will demonstrate proficiency, or more, with grade level standards and graduate prepared to be successful in college and career” p. 77 ↗
32 funded actions · 2025–26 plan: $12.7 million (−$1.0 million)
Largest funded actions
Intervention System: Elementary Reading Intervention Program$1.3 millionaction 2.2 · p. 229 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $114,990 is state funding counted toward those services
Robust Professional Development: Elementary PLC Support Teams$1.3 millionaction 2.46 · p. 233 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
Targeted Program: Secondary Newcomer Courses$1.2 millionaction 2.29 · p. 231 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
Targeted Program: Elementary Combination Class Reduction$1.1 millionaction 2.42 · p. 232 ↗
Intervention System: ELD Instructional Aides (IAs) to Support Multilingual Learners$1.0 millionaction 2.7 · p. 229 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
27 more funded actions in this goal
Robust Professional Development: Elementary MTSS TOSA at Title-1 Schools · action 2.17 · p. 230 ↗$0.8 million
Robust Professional Development: Elementary MTSS TOSA for Academics · action 2.20 · p. 230 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.7 million
Robust Professional Development: Secondary MTSS TOSA for Academics · action 2.21 · p. 231 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.7 million
Targeted Program: Secondary MTSS Academics Department · action 2.37 · p. 232 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.7 million
Targeted Program: Language Acquisition Department · action 2.27 · p. 231 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.4 million
Targeted Program: Elementary MTSS Academics Department · action 2.36 · p. 232 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.3 million
Targeted Program: College/Career Readiness Department · action 2.43 · p. 233 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.3 million
Robust Professional Development: TOSA for English Language Development (ELD) · action 2.22 · p. 231 ↗$0.3 million
Intervention System: Language Assessment · action 2.12 · p. 230 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.3 million
Robust Professional Development: Special Education Coach · action 2.26 · p. 231 ↗$0.2 million
Targeted Program: Secondary Intensive LTEL Courses · action 2.30 · p. 231 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.2 million
Targeted Program: Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) Program · action 2.41 · p. 232 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.1 million
Intervention System: Comprehensive Assessment System TK-12 · action 2.8 · p. 230 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.1 million
Target Program: Personalized Instruction Through Instruction Design and Technology · action 2.38 · p. 232 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.1 million
Intervention System: ML Site Coordinators · action 2.14 · p. 230 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.1 million
Targeted Program: Integrated Professional Development for SAI/SPED · action 2.44 · p. 233 ↗$0.1 million
Intervention System: Elementary Extended Learning Time · action 2.4 · p. 229 ↗$0.1 million
Robust Professional Development: Integrated English Language Development · action 2.23 · p. 231 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $39,711 is state funding counted toward those servicesunder $0.1 million
Intervention System: English Language Assessment and Progress Monitoring using Ellevation · action 2.13 · p. 230 ↗under $0.1 million
Targeted Program: Gifted and Talented Program (GATE) · action 2.40 · p. 232 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need servicesunder $0.1 million
Targeted Program: Multilingual Learner Early Childhood Program · action 2.35 · p. 232 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need servicesunder $0.1 million
Robust Professional Development: CRLP for Language Development · action 2.24 · p. 231 ↗under $0.1 million
Targeted Program: Magnet Schools K-12 · action 2.39 · p. 232 ↗under $0.1 million
Targeted Program: Dual Language Immersion Program TK-12 · action 2.32 · p. 231 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $4,200 is state funding counted toward those servicesunder $0.1 million
Intervention System: Intensive Reading Intervention for SWD · action 2.47 · p. 233 ↗under $0.1 million
Intervention System: Additional Resources for Reading Intervention Program · action 2.3 · p. 229 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need servicesunder $0.1 million
Robust Professional Development: Effective Dual Language Immersion TK-12 · action 2.25 · p. 231 ↗under $0.1 million
Changes from last year’s plan, same title
Targeted Program: Secondary Newcomer Courses−$1.0 million$2.2 million → $1.2 million · p. 231 ↗
Targeted Program: Elementary Combination Class Reduction+$0.5 million$0.5 million → $1.1 million · p. 232 ↗
Robust Professional Development: Elementary PLC Support Teams−$0.4 million$1.8 million → $1.3 million · p. 233 ↗
Every other line in this goal, against last year’s plan
Intervention System: Elementary Reading Intervention Program · $1.4 million → $1.3 million · p. 229 ↗−$0.1 million
Intervention System: ELD Instructional Aides (IAs) to Support Multilingual Learners · $994,883 → $997,106 · p. 229 ↗+$2,223
Robust Professional Development: Elementary MTSS TOSA at Title-1 Schools · $646,454 → $831,385 · p. 230 ↗+$184,931
Robust Professional Development: Elementary MTSS TOSA for Academics · $844,536 → $728,304 · p. 230 ↗−$116,232
Robust Professional Development: Secondary MTSS TOSA for Academics · $851,721 → $695,045 · p. 231 ↗−$156,676
Targeted Program: Secondary MTSS Academics Department · $450,318 → $671,833 · p. 232 ↗+$221,515
Targeted Program: Language Acquisition Department · $407,432 → $360,343 · p. 231 ↗−$47,089
Targeted Program: Elementary MTSS Academics Department · $288,024 → $343,534 · p. 232 ↗+$55,510
Targeted Program: College/Career Readiness Department · $119,864 → $303,927 · p. 233 ↗+$184,063
Robust Professional Development: TOSA for English Language Development (ELD) · $287,214 → $295,944 · p. 231 ↗+$8,730
Intervention System: Language Assessment · $344,493 → $285,478 · p. 230 ↗−$59,015
Robust Professional Development: Special Education Coach · $181,131 → $185,614 · p. 231 ↗+$4,483
Targeted Program: Dual Language Immersion Program TK-12 · $8,400 · p. 231 ↗new or renamed
Intervention System: Intensive Reading Intervention for SWD · $5,000 · p. 233 ↗new or renamed
Intervention System: Additional Resources for Reading Intervention Program · $5,000 → $4,090 · p. 229 ↗−$910
Robust Professional Development: Effective Dual Language Immersion TK-12 · $2,422 → $2,500 · p. 231 ↗+$78
A reworded title counts as new.
How the plan measures it · 21 measures
None of these has an all-students line we can quote; the plan’s table lists them from p. 77 ↗.
Goal 3 · Maintenance of Progress GoalAll students will have appropriately assigned teachers with access to curriculum-aligned instructional…$8.3 million25% of action budgets
“All students will have appropriately assigned teachers with access to curriculum-aligned instructional materials where state academic standards are implemented in safe, clean, and functional school facilities” p. 127 ↗
11 funded actions · 2025–26 plan: $13.3 million (−$5.1 million)
Largest funded actions
Targeted Program: Career Education (Previously CTE)$3.6 millionaction 3.8 · p. 233 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
Universal Program: Textbook and Instructional Materials Adoptions$1.7 millionaction 3.1 · p. 233 ↗
Targeted Program: Technology Licenses and Subscriptions$0.9 millionaction 3.10 · p. 234 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
Targeted Program: Building Teacher Leadership$0.8 millionaction 3.5 · p. 233 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
Robust Professional Development: Implementation of State Standards$0.5 millionaction 3.4 · p. 233 ↗
6 more funded actions in this goal
Universal Program: Visual Arts and Performing Arts (VAPA) K-12 · action 3.2 · p. 233 ↗$0.2 million
K-12 VAPA Access and Program Coordination · action 3.13 · p. 234 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.2 million
Targeted Program: New Teacher Induction · action 3.9 · p. 233 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.2 million
Targeted Program: LCAP School Site Allocation · action 3.6 · p. 233 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.1 million
Targeted Program: AVID K- 12 · action 3.7 · p. 233 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.1 million
Targeted Program: Student Device Repair Support · action 3.12 · p. 234 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.1 million
Changes from last year’s plan, same title
Universal Program: Textbook and Instructional Materials Adoptions−$2.9 million$4.6 million → $1.7 million · p. 233 ↗
Targeted Program: Career Education (Previously CTE)−$1.7 million$5.2 million → $3.6 million · p. 233 ↗
Universal Program: Visual Arts and Performing Arts (VAPA) K-12−$432,585$662,102 → $229,517 · p. 233 ↗
Every other line in this goal, against last year’s plan
Targeted Program: Technology Licenses and Subscriptions · $812,308 → $893,856 · p. 234 ↗+$81,548
Targeted Program: Building Teacher Leadership · $788,994 → $785,029 · p. 233 ↗−$3,965
Robust Professional Development: Implementation of State Standards · $526,283 → $456,800 · p. 233 ↗−$69,483
K-12 VAPA Access and Program Coordination · $229,517 · p. 234 ↗new or renamed
Targeted Program: New Teacher Induction · $400,315 → $168,949 · p. 233 ↗−$231,366
Targeted Program: LCAP School Site Allocation · $145,964 → $142,618 · p. 233 ↗−$3,346
Targeted Program: Student Device Repair Support · $51,272 · p. 234 ↗new or renamed
A reworded title counts as new.
How the plan measures it · 13 measures
None of these has an all-students line we can quote; the plan’s table lists them from p. 127 ↗.
Goal 4 · Equity Multiplier Focus GoalBy June 2027, Silverado High School will have a culturally proficient whole child support system to meet the…$448,9211% of action budgets
“By June 2027, Silverado High School will have a culturally proficient whole child support system to meet the academic, social-emotional, behavioral, and mental health needs of all students through actions such as lowering staff to student ratio, ensuring instruction is rigorous and engaging, and providing additional learning options” p. 146 ↗
All amounts are planned. We read them from the PDF and added up each goal’s actions ourselves. Page links open the plan at that page.
Who goes to the district’s schools
Who attends
Student mix
2024–25 · October enrollment count, 22,691 students
1Hispanic or Latino39%
2White37%
3Asian10%
4Two or more races9%
5Filipino3%
6Black or African American1%
7Not reported<1%
8Pacific Islander<1%
9American Indian or Alaska Native<1%
Shares use the district's own October enrollment counts from the CDE, including its charter schools.
Free or reduced-price meals
45%
Across California, 63% of students qualify.
2024–25 · 10,113 of 22,566 students qualify, summed from the CDE’s meal counts for every school it lists under the district, charters included. It comes from a different CDE file than the student mix, so the two totals differ.
The district’s state records
Is the state giving the district extra help?
The state is giving Saddleback Valley Unified extra help in 2026. A student group had the Dashboard’s lowest results (red) on two or more measures three years in a row.
Which students, on which measures
Long-term English learners
English and math
How English learners moved up on the state’s English test
From spring 2025 to spring 2026, 48% of the district’s English learners moved up at least one level on the state’s English test (ELPAC), or stayed at the top (983 of 2,034 students). California: 47%. It counts students moving up the test’s levels, so a student can count here before becoming fluent.
Silverado HighTargeted support: Hispanic or Latino students, homeless students and low-income students
This list covers the district’s own schools; each charter school’s page shows its record. Federal designation under the Every Student Succeeds Act, 2025–26.
Which public schools in Saddleback Valley Unified rank highest?
Elementary: Foothill Ranch Elementary, 93rd percentile (Strong). Middle: La Paz Intermediate, 94th percentile (Strong). High: Trabuco Hills High, 83rd 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 the Saddleback Valley Unified district decide which school my child attends?
Not by itself. Attendance boundaries, programs, transfers and space all matter. Confirm the school for your address, grade and program with the district.
More questions (5)
Are the public schools in Saddleback Valley Unified good?
Saddleback Valley Unified’s 21 public elementary schools run from the 12th to the 93rd percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 11 Strong, 7 Solid, 2 Developing and 1 Needs Support. Saddleback Valley Unified’s 5 public middle schools run from the 57th to the 94th percentile among the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 3 Strong and 2 Solid. Saddleback Valley Unified’s 5 public high schools run from the 28th to the 83rd percentile among the 1,498 California high schools we score (spring 2025 tests). By band: 2 Strong, 2 Solid and 1 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 Saddleback Valley Unified compare with California?
The average elementary school in Saddleback Valley Unified 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 middle school in Saddleback Valley Unified had 14 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California middle school we score had 18 in 100. The average high school in Saddleback Valley Unified had 19 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.
How much does Saddleback Valley Unified spend per student?
Saddleback Valley Unified spent $17,633 per student in the 2024–25 school year. The typical California district spent $20,491. About 65 cents of every Saddleback Valley Unified dollar went to classroom instruction. Day-to-day spending per student in average daily attendance, from its annual financial report to the California Department of Education. The district’s spending, by function.
What is in Saddleback Valley Unified’s 2026–27 spending plan?
The district’s 2026–27 spending plan puts $33.0 million into 78 funded actions in 4 goals, 8% of its $399.1 million general fund budget. Its largest goal holds $12.6 million, 38% of the action budgets. The 2026–27 plan, goal by goal.
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 governed and funded by Saddleback Valley Unified, with the district’s spending and state accountability records.
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.