Costa Mesa High

Public high school, grades 7 to 12 · Costa Mesa, California

Costa Mesa High in Costa Mesa, California enrolled 1,730 students in 2024-25 with 88.9 full-time teachers, 19.5 students per teacher against the California high-school median of 19.3. It has no Title I status on file for 2021-22; every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision (2024-25). On the state tests, 42-46% of its students tested were proficient in reading in 2021-22 and 28% proficient in math in 2022-23 (California: 45% and 34.3%). Its four-year graduation rate for the class of 2023 was 96% (California: 86.2%).

NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 · Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22 · Title I status CCD 2021-22 · method

Enrollment fell 3% from 2022-23 to 2024-25; full-time teachers fell 2%

1,776 students in 2022-23, 1,761 students in 2023-24, 1,730 students in 2024-25. Full-time teachers went from 90.8 to 88.9.

Students enrolled at Costa Mesa High by school year2022-23: 1,776, 2023-24: 1,761, 2024-25: 1,73005001k1.5k2k2022-231,7762023-241,7612024-251,730
Students enrolled at Costa Mesa High by school year2022-23: 1,776, 2023-24: 1,761, 2024-25: 1,73005001k1.5k2k2022-231,7762023-241,7612024-251,730
Students enrolled at Costa Mesa High by school year2022-23: 1,776, 2023-24: 1,761, 2024-25: 1,73005001k1.5k2k2022-231,7762023-241,7612024-251,730
Students enrolled at Costa Mesa High by school year2022-23: 1,776, 2023-24: 1,761, 2024-25: 1,73005001k1.5k2k2022-231,7762023-241,7612024-251,730
The numbers as a table
School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Per teacher
2022-231,77690.819.6
2023-241,76194.418.7
2024-251,73088.919.5

19.5 students per teacher, a higher ratio than 52 of every 100 California high schools

Among the 2,071 California high schools that reported teachers for 2024-25 the median is 19.3; the national median for high schools is 14.5. A ratio counts every teacher, so it is not the size of a class.

Students per teacher, California high schools, 2024-25240 values from 3.0 to 72.2; Costa Mesa High 19.5; state median 19.3.1 more above 40.0 →010203040students per full-time teacherCosta Mesa High 19.5state median 19.3U.S. 14.5
Students per teacher, California high schools, 2024-25240 values from 3.0 to 72.2; Costa Mesa High 19.5; state median 19.3.1 more above 40.0 →010203040students per full-time teacherCosta Mesa High 19.5state median 19.3U.S. 14.5
Students per teacher, California high schools, 2024-25240 values from 3.0 to 72.2; Costa Mesa High 19.5; state median 19.3.1 more above 40.0 →010203040students per full-time teacherCosta Mesa High 19.5state median 19.3U.S. 14.5
Students per teacher, California high schools, 2024-25240 values from 3.0 to 72.2; Costa Mesa High 19.5; state median 19.3.1 more above 40.0 →010203040students per full-time teacherCosta Mesa High 19.5state median 19.3U.S. 14.5

Source: NCES Common Core of Data membership and staff files, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25; the comparison counts schools with a 2024-25 teacher count and a ratio from 3 to 99 (lower values are reporting errors).

21 AP courses and one counselor per 439 students in 2021-22

In the 2021-22 civil rights collection Costa Mesa High enrolled 1,754 students and had 4.0 counselors (full-time equivalent); it reported 76 out-of-school suspensions that year.

  • Advanced Placement courses21
  • Gifted and talented programNo
  • Counselors (FTE)4.0, one per 439 of the 1,754 students enrolled in 2021-22
  • Out-of-school suspensions76
  • Chronically absent24.0% (2022-23)

Who attends

70.3% of students were Hispanic, 15.1% White, 6.3% Asian in 2024-25.

  1. Hispanic70.3%
  2. White15.1%
  3. Asian6.3%
  4. Two or more races5.7%
  5. Pacific Islander1.3%
  6. Black1.2%
  7. American Indian0.2%

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22; chronic absenteeism from EDFacts 2022-23; every count and the counselor ratio are for that school year. Who attends: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25, membership by race and ethnicity.

State test results, 2021-22 and 2022-23

The students tested at Costa Mesa High scored proficient or above: 42-46% in reading in 2021-22 and 28% in math in 2022-23, against 45% in reading in 2021-22 and 34.3% in math in 2022-23 across California. Each state writes its own test and sets its own proficiency bar, so compare these within California, not across states. ED Data Express holds no district results after 2021-22, so the district column gives its 2021-22 figure. Where a state published results by grade only, the grades tested are combined, weighted by the students tested in each.

Students proficient or above, 2021-22 and 2022-23
Subject and yearThis schoolIts districtCalifornia
Reading and language arts, 2021-2242‑46%58%45%
Math, 2022-2328%49% (2021-22)34.3%

Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results 2021-22 and 2022-23, all students, from ED Data Express (2021-22 through the Data Rescue Project archive); for 2022-23 ED published math by school and reading only by state: ED shows school and district results as ranges (for example 20-24%) to protect small groups.

Graduation rate, class of 2023

96% of the 274 students in Costa Mesa High's class of 2023 graduated within four years, against 86.2% across California. The four-year rate follows the students who started ninth grade in fall 2019, adjusted for those who moved in or out, and counts those who earned a regular diploma by 2023. Every state computes it the same way under federal law, though each sets its own diploma requirements.

Four-year adjusted-cohort graduation rate, class of 2023
This schoolIts districtCalifornia
Four-year graduation rate96%95%86.2%
Students in the class2741,648495,492

Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts four-year adjusted-cohort graduation rates 2022-23, all students, from ED Data Express: ED shows school and district rates as ranges (for example 90-94%) and leaves out small classes.

High schools in Costa Mesa

5 public high schools in Costa Mesa report 2024-25 enrollment; Costa Mesa High is the largest.

SchoolStudentsPer teacherFree lunch
Costa Mesa High1,73019.559.1%
Estancia High97618.572.4%
Early College High17714.950.8%
Back Bay High1438.272.0%
Monte Vista High/Cloud Campus485.556.3%

All public schools in Costa Mesa →

Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25.

What to look at next about Costa Mesa High

  1. Early College HighThe nearest public high school, 1.4 miles away: 177 students, 14.9 per teacher (2024-25).1.4 mi
  2. Back Bay HighThe next nearest public high school, 1.5 miles away: 143 students, 8.2 per teacher (2024-25).1.5 mi
  3. Compare Costa Mesa High with Early College HighStudents, teachers, meals, test results and who attends, side by side.
  4. How much Newport-Mesa Unified spends per student$22,948 per student on current operations in fiscal year 2022-23 (U.S. $16,260), with its revenue sources and teacher pay.$22,948
  5. The largest public schools in CaliforniaCosta Mesa High is the number 422 by size of 2,112 California high schools open in 2024-25.#422 of 2,112
  6. California schools by students per teacher19.5 students per teacher here against the California median of 19.3 for high schools.19.5:1
  7. Find the school district for an addressA home's district, not its city, decides which public schools it can enroll in.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (locations, enrollment, teachers); NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23. Distances are straight lines between the schools' NCES coordinates, not travel routes.

Questions about Costa Mesa High

  1. How many students attend Costa Mesa High?
    1,730 in the 2024-25 school year, according to the NCES Common Core of Data; 1,776 in 2022-23. It is a high school in Costa Mesa, CA.
  2. What is the student-teacher ratio at Costa Mesa High?
    19.5 students per full-time teacher (2024-25); the California median for high schools is 19.3. A ratio counts every teacher, so it is not the size of a class.
  3. Is Costa Mesa High a Title I school?
    Costa Mesa High has no Title I status in the NCES school files, because California did not report school Title I status for 2021-22; the California Department of Education lists each school's current Title I status.
  4. How do students at Costa Mesa High do on state tests?
    The students tested at Costa Mesa High scored proficient or above: 42-46% in reading in 2021-22 and 28% in math in 2022-23, against 45% in reading in 2021-22 and 34.3% in math in 2022-23 across California. California's own test sets what proficient means, so results compare within the state, not across states. Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22 and 2022-23; ED publishes school results as ranges to protect small groups.
  5. What is the graduation rate at Costa Mesa High?
    96% of the 274 students in Costa Mesa High's class of 2023 graduated within four years, against 86.2% across California. The rate counts the students who started ninth grade in fall 2019, adjusted for those who moved in or out, and the share of them with a regular diploma by 2023. Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts four-year adjusted-cohort graduation rates, 2022-23; ED publishes school rates as ranges to protect small groups.
  6. What district is Costa Mesa High in?
    Newport-Mesa Unified, NCES district ID 0627240. The first seven digits of the school's NCES ID 062724004110 are the district's.

Reading these figures: how to choose a school district, what Title I means and what an absenteeism rate means. They are for information and are not a substitute for the school's or district's own records.

Sources

Every federal file behind this record
  • NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25: directory, membership, staff and lunch files. nces.ed.gov
  • NCES Common Core of Data, 2021-22 school characteristics: Title I status. nces.ed.gov
  • Civil Rights Data Collection, 2021-22: AP courses, gifted programs, counselors, discipline. civilrightsdata.ed.gov
  • EDFacts, 2022-23: chronic absenteeism. ed.gov
  • EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22 and 2022-23: reading and math proficiency for the school, its district and its state (ED Data Express). eddataexpress.ed.gov
  • EDFacts four-year adjusted-cohort graduation rates, 2022-23: the class of 2023 for the school, its district and its state (ED Data Express). eddataexpress.ed.gov
  • NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, fiscal year 2022-23: district spending and revenue. nces.ed.gov
  • U.S. Census Bureau geocoder and TIGER school districts: the district boundary used by the district finder. census.gov

Source: NCES Common Core of Data Directory, membership, staff and lunch files · 2024-25

Source: Civil Rights Data Collection School-level files (AP, gifted, counselors, discipline) · 2021-22

District spending on the district page is from the NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23.

Compiled from official source data by .