Is ACCESS County Community a good school?

ACCESS County Community ranks in the bottom 5.3% of California alternative schools.

How many students attend ACCESS County Community?

In the 2023-24 school year, 1,525 students attended ACCESS County Community.

What is the racial makeup of ACCESS County Community?

Students at ACCESS County Community are 79% Hispanic, 10% White, 4% Two or more races, 3% Asian, 2% African American.

ACCESS County Community

Summary:

ACCESS County Community is an alternative public school located in Costa Mesa, California, serving grades K-12 with a total enrollment of 1,225 students. The school is part of the Orange County Department of Education district and has consistently struggled with low academic performance, high dropout rates, and high chronic absenteeism compared to the surrounding schools and the state averages.

ACCESS County Community has had very low four-year graduation rates, ranging from 29.0% to 40.8% over the past 5 years, significantly lower than the surrounding schools and the state average. The school has also had high dropout rates, ranging from 18.9% to 27.3% over the past 5 years, much higher than the nearby schools and the state. Additionally, ACCESS County Community has had extremely high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 57.1% to 61.7% over the past 5 years, far exceeding the rates of the surrounding schools and the state. The school's proficiency rates on standardized tests are also significantly lower than the surrounding schools and the state averages across all grade levels and subject areas.

Interestingly, the data shows that ACCESS County Community significantly underperforms compared to the nearby alternative schools, such as Occs:chep/Pchs and Orange County Special Education, which have higher graduation rates, lower dropout rates, and better academic performance. The high rates of poverty, as indicated by the free/reduced lunch eligibility, and the high student-teacher ratio may be contributing factors to the school's struggles with attendance, graduation, and academic achievement. The data suggests that ACCESS County Community has significant room for improvement across multiple areas, and targeted interventions and support may be necessary to address the school's challenges and improve student outcomes.

Detail:

Public, Alternative K-12

200 Kalmus Dr.
Costa Mesa, CA 92628-9050

(714) 245-6404

District: Orange County Department of Education

SchoolDigger Rank:
2631^st of 2,777 California Alternative Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $15,655

Student/teacher ratio: 22.7

Number of students: 1,525

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

78.9%

White:

10.0%

Two or more races:

4.4%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 87.9%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare ACCESS County Community to nearby alternative schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details ACCESS County Community is not ranked due for the most recent year due to insufficient test score data. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2013 the calculated Average Standard Score was 1.42. (See more...)

Compare Details ACCESS County Community ranks worse than 94.7% of middle schools in California. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 10.9. (See more...)

Compare Details ACCESS County Community ranks worse than 80.3% of high schools in California. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 13.42. (See more...)

The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at ACCESS County Community who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.

The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details ACCESS County Community has the largest alternative school student body size in the Orange County Department of Education School District. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (78.9%), White (10%), two or more races (4.4%). (See more...)

Compare Details 87.9% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at ACCESS County Community is 22.7. 2 alternative schools in the Orange County Department of Education School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare ACCESS County Community employs 67 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at ACCESS County Community is $15,655, which is the 2^nd highest among 4 alternative schools in the Orange County Department of Education School District.

Schooldigger Rankings:

ACCESS County Community was not ranked this year due to insufficient test score data.

SchoolDigger ranks ACCESS County Community 2631^st of 2777 California public middle schools. (See ACCESS County Community in the ranking list.)

SchoolDigger ranks ACCESS County Community 1865^th of 2323 California public high schools. (See ACCESS County Community in the ranking list.)

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Rank History for ACCESS County Community

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Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2005	4.46	4802^nd	4822	0.4%
2006	3.12	4801^st	4818	0.4%
2013	1.42	5517^th	5530	0.2%

See the entire list of California Alternative School Rankings!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

Rank History for ACCESS County Community

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Rank History for all middle school students at ACCESS County Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	6.82	1748^th	1769	1.2%
2005	6.99	1722^nd	1777	3.1%
2006	8.48	1708^th	1804	5.3%
2007	7.35	1921^st	1999	3.9%
2008	4.63	1959^th	2005	2.3%
2009	4.31	2023^rd	2063	1.9%
2010	4.34	2128^th	2179	2.3%
2011	4.34	2184^th	2236	2.3%
2012	3.90	2218^th	2259	1.8%
2013	3.74	2345^th	2379	1.4%
2015	6.34	2415^th	2477	2.5%
2016	5.53	2438^th	2497	2.4%
2017	4.71	2480^th	2508	1.1%
2018	4.68	2455^th	2480	1.0%
2019	4.97	2685^th	2715	1.1%
2022	8.71	2673^rd	2740	2.4%
2023	5.21	2794^th	2802	0.3%
2024	10.90	2631^st	2777	5.3%

See the entire list of California Alternative School Rankings!

Rank History for middle school English Language Learner students at ACCESS County Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	28.82	1056^th	1364	22.6%
2019	28.48	1198^th	1442	16.9%
2022	26.73	1405^th	1540	8.8%
2023	26.94	1408^th	1529	7.9%

See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for middle school Low Socio Economic Status students at ACCESS County Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	5.24	2211^th	2230	0.9%
2019	5.19	2341^st	2369	1.2%
2022	10.56	2382^nd	2458	3.1%
2023	5.40	2543^rd	2549	0.2%
2024	13.42	2397^th	2575	6.9%

See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for middle school Female students at ACCESS County Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2019	4.44	2373^rd	2380	0.3%
2022	10.03	2433^rd	2509	3.0%
2023	5.53	2542^nd	2547	0.2%
2024	9.76	2464^th	2546	3.2%

See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for middle school Male students at ACCESS County Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	5.36	2258^th	2273	0.7%
2019	5.23	2389^th	2407	0.7%
2022	8.75	2484^th	2527	1.7%
2023	5.55	2547^th	2558	0.4%
2024	12.20	2399^th	2547	5.8%

See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for middle school Hispanic students at ACCESS County Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	4.76	2061^st	2072	0.5%
2019	4.25	2202^nd	2213	0.5%
2022	9.86	2304^th	2359	2.3%
2023	5.12	2387^th	2391	0.2%
2024	17.38	2100^th	2383	11.9%

See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for middle school White students at ACCESS County Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	2.32	1590^th	1602	0.7%

See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

Rank History for ACCESS County Community

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Rank History for all high school students at ACCESS County Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	23.64	1121^st	1653	32.2%
2005	26.82	1135^th	1901	40.3%
2006	26.85	1188^th	1968	39.6%
2007	24.31	1326^th	2063	35.7%
2008	29.55	1182^nd	2117	44.2%
2009	29.41	1421^st	2238	36.5%
2010	21.95	1538^th	2281	32.6%
2011	19.00	1667^th	2367	29.6%
2012	20.07	1619^th	2354	31.2%
2013	20.69	1619^th	2426	33.3%
2015	11.37	1728^th	1994	13.3%
2016	12.43	1709^th	2039	16.2%
2017	10.54	1793^rd	2021	11.3%
2018	11.51	1728^th	2017	14.3%
2019	14.42	1794^th	2133	15.9%
2022	17.00	1734^th	2123	18.3%
2023	10.16	2048^th	2348	12.8%
2024	13.42	1865^th	2323	19.7%

See the entire list of California Alternative School Rankings!

Rank History for high school Multi-racial students at ACCESS County Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	4.19	755^th	786	3.9%
2024	1.52	801^st	804	0.4%

See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for high school English Language Learner students at ACCESS County Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	26.63	683^rd	938	27.2%
2019	29.43	780^th	941	17.1%
2022	35.51	654^th	1044	37.4%
2023	22.07	1225^th	1323	7.4%
2024	21.37	1254^th	1350	7.1%

See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for high school Special Education students at ACCESS County Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	37.89	749^th	1547	51.6%
2024	30.61	958^th	1534	37.5%

See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for high school Low Socio Economic Status students at ACCESS County Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	11.24	1632^nd	1862	12.4%
2019	13.52	1689^th	1937	12.8%
2022	15.86	1649^th	1943	15.1%
2023	10.26	1982^nd	2247	11.8%
2024	12.91	1833^rd	2235	18.0%

See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for high school Homeless students at ACCESS County Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	CA State Percentile
2022	18.55	250^th	290	13.8%
2023	30.67	281^st	417	32.6%
2024	23.00	358^th	451	20.6%

See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for Homeless Students!

Rank History for high school Female students at ACCESS County Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	9.11	1570^th	1760	10.8%
2019	10.40	1662^nd	1833	9.3%
2022	16.86	1567^th	1858	15.7%
2023	8.99	1949^th	2118	8.0%
2024	11.90	1796^th	2098	14.4%

See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for high school Disabled students at ACCESS County Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	19.38	955^th	1052	9.2%
2019	17.40	1094^th	1117	2.1%
2022	30.66	807^th	1161	30.5%

See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for high school Male students at ACCESS County Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	11.28	1589^th	1834	13.4%
2019	15.69	1537^th	1880	18.2%
2022	15.52	1618^th	1916	15.6%
2023	10.26	1933^rd	2207	12.4%
2024	13.15	1773^rd	2172	18.4%

See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for high school Asian students at ACCESS County Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	13.20	612^th	712	14.0%

See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for high school African American students at ACCESS County Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	11.71	529^th	582	9.1%
2023	21.23	587^th	720	18.5%
2024	15.92	652^nd	721	9.6%

See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for high school Hispanic students at ACCESS County Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	10.56	1531^st	1742	12.1%
2019	12.83	1595^th	1814	12.1%
2022	14.44	1612^th	1861	13.4%
2023	9.02	1940^th	2142	9.4%
2024	11.54	1788^th	2125	15.9%

See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for high school White students at ACCESS County Community

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	4.37	1116^th	1173	4.9%
2019	8.48	1101^st	1222	9.9%
2022	12.75	1065^th	1204	11.5%
2023	6.11	1317^th	1434	8.2%
2024	10.57	1205^th	1406	14.3%

See the entire list of Best California Alternative Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: California Department of Education

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Enrollment information for ACCESS County Community

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
2002	1370	151	260	2988	20	n/a	n/a	48	4837
2003	1370	151	260	2988	20	n/a	n/a	48	4837
2004	1398	174	244	3321	20	n/a	n/a	66	5223
2005	1511	165	211	3119	14	n/a	n/a	63	5083
2006	1345	216	214	3116	21	n/a	n/a	171	5083
2007	1521	212	238	3244	25	n/a	n/a	182	5422
2008	1313	203	245	3301	21	n/a	n/a	0	5083
2009	1199	187	169	3136	20	39	198	0	4948
2010	1074	166	157	3258	21	35	121	0	4832
2011	952	141	142	3240	76	27	80	0	4658
2012	788	145	133	3210	44	27	79	0	4426
2013	724	97	120	3002	35	20	83	0	4081
2014	569	79	86	2652	23	19	105	0	3533
2015	454	61	54	2053	27	15	83	0	2747
2016	465	48	61	1904	18	9	71	0	2576
2017	373	48	45	1589	13	11	58	0	2137
2018	261	44	36	1343	12	10	47	0	1753
2019	209	36	33	1210	15	8	55	0	1566
2020	210	40	39	1262	5	4	55	0	1615
2021	184	36	32	1142	4	3	39	0	1440
2022	161	24	23	884	5	2	22	2	1123
2023	130	33	24	967	3	6	55	7	1225
2024	153	37	46	1203	1	10	67	8	1525

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at ACCESS County Community

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2002	4837	227.4	21.3	0.6
2003	4837	227.4	21.3	0.6
2004	5223	255.2	20.5	4.6
2005	5083	271.3	18.7	6.4
2006	5083	237.3	21.4	8.2
2007	5422	257.3	21.1	10.7
2008	5083	290.8	17.5	13.1
2009	4948	218.6	19.1	15.1
2010	4832	169.2	28.5	21.7
2011	4658	n/a	n/a	25.8
2012	4426	151.0	29.3	n/a
2013	4081	155.5	26.2	57.6
2014	3533	140.0	25.2	68.4
2015	2747	118.0	23.2	73.6
2016	2576	116.0	22.2	80.2
2017	2137	106.0	20.1	72.8
2018	1753	96.5	18.1	84.1
2019	1566	75.0	20.8	84.8
2020	1615	n/a	n/a	73.9
2021	1440	71.5	20.1	81.3
2022	1123	71.0	15.8	83.6
2023	1225	65.0	18.8	79.8
2024	1525	67.0	22.7	87.9

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio ACCESS County Community

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2002	4837	227.4	21.3	0.6
2003	4837	227.4	21.3	0.6
2004	5223	255.2	20.5	4.6
2005	5083	271.3	18.7	6.4
2006	5083	237.3	21.4	8.2
2007	5422	257.3	21.1	10.7
2008	5083	290.8	17.5	13.1
2009	4948	218.6	19.1	15.1
2010	4832	169.2	28.5	21.7
2011	4658	n/a	n/a	25.8
2012	4426	151.0	29.3	n/a
2013	4081	155.5	26.2	57.6
2014	3533	140.0	25.2	68.4
2015	2747	118.0	23.2	73.6
2016	2576	116.0	22.2	80.2
2017	2137	106.0	20.1	72.8
2018	1753	96.5	18.1	84.1
2019	1566	75.0	20.8	84.8
2020	1615	n/a	n/a	73.9
2021	1440	71.5	20.1	81.3
2022	1123	71.0	15.8	83.6
2023	1225	65.0	18.8	79.8
2024	1525	67.0	22.7	87.9

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

Kindergarten Immunization Rates