Whittier Elementary, Costa Mesa CA

Original Research by School Decision on Whittier Elementary

Whittier Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Costa Mesa, a mid-sized residential city in Orange County known for its mix of California Modern architecture, creative community identity, and proximity to both retail hubs and cultural venues. The school sits within Newport-Mesa Unified School District, a community-funded district that relies on property tax revenue and operates with a comparatively well-resourced per-pupil budget.

The student body at Whittier is predominantly Hispanic, with a very high share of students qualifying for free and reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the neighborhood the school serves. Enrollment is small to moderate for an elementary school. State assessment data from the most recent year show proficiency rates that are below the midpoint among schools in Orange County's district population. In English language arts, roughly one-third of students overall scored at proficient or higher levels; in mathematics, about one-quarter did. Performance varies notably by grade. Third-grade students showed the strongest results in ELA and relatively better standing in math. Performance in fourth through sixth grades drops considerably, with fifth-grade math proficiency particularly low. Science results, available only for fifth grade, also reflect a very low rate of proficiency. These patterns suggest that students may be encountering widening academic gaps or increased difficulty with content in the upper elementary and early middle-school years.

The Newport-Mesa Unified district has made concrete changes to school operations that families should know about. The district enacted a cell-phone ban in 2023, with Yondr lockable pouches now in use at the middle-school level. This is a lasting policy shift that changes the daily school experience. Additionally, the district's most recent bond measure has been fully spent, and although a Facilities Master Plan has been commissioned to address aging campuses, no replacement bond is currently in place. This means facility improvements must come from the district's operating budget, a constraint that may affect the pace of updates to school buildings.

Costa Mesa itself is undergoing significant residential densification, with large mixed-use developments in progress or approved, adding hundreds of homes over the coming years. The city is also home to higher-education institutions including Orange Coast College, Coastline Community College, and Vanguard University, and anchored by civic and cultural venues such as the OC Fair and Event Center and the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Residential real estate is predominantly mid-20th-century single-story homes; housing values and rents are substantially above state and national medians, placing affordability at a premium for families buying or renting in the area.

A parent considering Whittier should understand that the school currently shows proficiency rates well below the county median, particularly as students advance into upper elementary grades. The economics and demographics of the student population reflect a neighborhood with high rates of economic need. The district's property-tax funding model and recent operations changes are factors families choosing between schools and communities will weigh against the appeal of Costa Mesa's character, location, and community resources.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 349%

School 49% · District 61% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 428%

School 28% · District 59% · ▼ 31 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 58%

School 8% · District 53% · ▼ 44 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 38 pts below county median

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 55% · ▼ 40 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 60% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 63% · ▼ 29 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 62% · ▼ 41 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

Grade 639%

School 39% · District 65% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Science

Grade 55%

School 5% · District 44% · ▼ 39 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

This schoolNewport-Mesa Unified, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.