The top reported proficiency rate is 42% in English language arts. The lowest is 14% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Ocasa College Prep
OCASA College Prep is a small charter school on El Camino Real in San Juan Capistrano, serving students from sixth grade through twelfth. It is part of the OCASA College Prep District and operates as a public charter, meaning it is tuition-free and open to applicants. The school completed its grade-level build-out relatively recently, adding a senior class in 2023-24, so families who enroll a middle schooler can now follow a continuous path through high school graduation without transferring elsewhere.
The school's defining characteristic is its instructional model. Publicly reported information describes a STEAM-focused, project-based, personalized-learning environment built around the Summit Learning Program and Project Lead the Way. Class sizes are small, with a student-to-teacher ratio that is substantially lower than the California state average. For a student who works well in a self-directed, hands-on setting and benefits from close teacher attention, that is a meaningful structural fit. For a student who thrives in a more traditional, lecture-driven environment with a wide range of elective and extracurricular offerings, this school's design is worth examining carefully before enrolling. Program data was limited in what we received, so families would benefit from asking the school directly about course offerings, particularly at the high school level, including whether any Advanced Placement or dual-enrollment pathways are in place.
Enrollment is very small for a school spanning this many grades. The middle grades carry more students than the upper high school grades, which is consistent with a school that only recently added its senior year. A parent should factor in what that peer environment feels like at the ninth through twelfth grade level, where the cohort is quite lean.
On state assessments, OCASA College Prep's tested students sit in the bottom quartile on the proficiency index relative to districts in Orange County. In English language arts, sixth and seventh graders score in a range that is roughly comparable to or modestly below state midpoints; eighth-grade ELA results are substantially lower and a parent would reasonably want to ask the school about what is driving that pattern. Math proficiency across tested middle grades runs below the majority of Orange County districts. Eighth-grade science results are also low. Because only one year of data is available, trend analysis is not possible, so it is unclear whether these results represent an improvement over prior years, a plateau, or a decline. The school's charter authorizer context and the newness of upper grades may be factors, but the data does not let us say so definitively. This is an area a family should discuss directly with school leadership.
A substantial minority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing this school in a mixed socioeconomic range rather than either extreme. The student body is predominantly white and Hispanic, with a meaningful multiracial share. Data on English learner populations and students with individualized education programs was not available in what we received.
For the 2025-26 school year, publicly reported information notes that OCASA opened a new campus with a library and dedicated STEAM learning spaces, signaling continued investment in facilities. The school also presented a replication plan to the Orange County Board of Education naming Capistrano Unified as a potential future site, which suggests the organization is in a growth phase.
The school sits in San Juan Capistrano, a South Orange County city defined by its Spanish mission heritage, equestrian culture, and historic downtown centered on the Mission and the Los Rios District. Housing in the area is expensive, with home values running well above the California state median and substantially above national figures. Rents have been rising. The city is in an active development phase, pressed by state housing mandates to add new units, with mixed-use and multifamily projects concentrated near the downtown and train station. Outside the historic core, the city is car-dependent. The Metrolink station downtown provides a rail connection via the Orange County Line and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner for families commuting regionally.
Chronic absenteeism data and a graduation rate were not available, so those dimensions of the school's outcomes cannot be assessed here.
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