Adams Elementary, Costa Mesa CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Adams Elementary

Adams Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Costa Mesa, in the central part of Orange County. The school enrolls a small population for its grade span, with each grade represented at roughly balanced enrollment. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial share of families qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a community with lower median household income than the county median. The school sits in a city marked by walkable pockets and older, single-family residential neighborhoods mixed with newer commercial development, where families are making housing decisions in a market with significant property values.

On state assessments, Adams Elementary shows a mixed academic profile. English language arts performance is the school's clearer area of strength, with proficiency across tested grades sitting above the midpoint compared to other schools in the county. The performance ranges from solid in sixth grade to moderate in fifth grade, with steady proficiency in third and fourth grades. Mathematics presents a softer picture. Proficiency in third grade sits below half of students, improves modestly in fourth grade, then declines again in fifth and sixth grades, ending below where it started. Science, tested only in fifth grade, also shows proficiency below half. Overall, the school's combined proficiency index places it above the midpoint among county schools, driven largely by the relatively stronger showing in language arts.

The school's academic trajectory and student composition point to a place where reading and literacy foundations are more solidly established across the grades, while math proficiency and problem-solving skills lag behind and appear to narrow as students progress. For a family considering Adams, this pattern suggests the school has strengths to build on in language arts instruction but may present a need to ask directly about math intervention strategies, curriculum support, and how the school approaches students who are not yet proficient by grade level.

The wider context matters here. Adams Elementary is part of Newport-Mesa Unified, a district that does not participate in California's state funding formula but instead draws nearly all revenue from local property taxes, giving it a more self-directed budget than most districts in the state. The district has implemented a cell-phone ban campus-wide and is using lockable pouches in middle schools to reduce device distractions. At the facilities level, the district has completed spending a previous bond and commissioned a master plan for aging buildings, meaning future modernization will need to come from operational funds rather than voter-approved bond money. For elementary families, this means questions about building condition, classroom resources, and playground and learning spaces are worth asking the school directly.

Costa Mesa itself is densifying, with mixed-use residential projects converting older commercial and industrial sites, so the neighborhood character and family composition may shift over the next several years. The city has strong civic anchors including parks, libraries with multilingual collections, and community centers. School choice and housing decisions here sit against rising property values in a state where affordable housing remains competitive.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 349%

School 49% · District 61% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 459%

School 59% · District 59%

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 53% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 15 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 55% · ▼ 15 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 366%

School 66% · District 60% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 466%

School 66% · District 63% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 558%

School 58% · District 62% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 12 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 668%

School 68% · District 65% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Science

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 44% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 12 pts above state median · even with 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.