Dana Point schools on the 2025 California School Dashboard
California has no letter grades for schools. The state's California School Dashboard scores each measure on a five-color scale from Red, the lowest, through Orange, Yellow and Green to Blue, the highest. The color weighs this year's result against last year's, so a school that improved sharply can earn Blue from a modest score, and one that slipped can drop a color despite a strong result.
The figures below come from the California Department of Education's 2025 Dashboard data files for the 2024-25 school year, downloaded in November 2026. Test results are shown as the average distance, in points, between students' scores and the grade-level standard: a plus sign means above it. Chronic absence is the share of students who missed 10% or more of their enrolled days, so a lower number is better. The table includes the three schools in the city and two Capistrano Unified middle schools nearby.
| School and grades | Street | English (color) | Math (color) | Chronic absence or graduation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palisades Elementary (TK-5) | 26462 Via Sacramento, Capistrano Beach | +27.7 (Green) | +16.8 (Green) | 22.5% absent (Yellow) |
| R.H. Dana Elementary (TK-5) | 24242 La Cresta Drive | +11.1 (Blue) | -1.0 (Green) | 17.1% absent (Yellow) |
| Dana Hills High (9-12) | 33333 Golden Lantern | +44.6 (Green) | -41.3 (Yellow) | 94.3% graduated (Green) |
| Niguel Hills Middle (6-8), nearby | 29070 Shark Bay, Laguna Niguel | +42.0 (Green) | +14.3 (Green) | 18.7% absent (Orange) |
| Marco Forster Middle (6-8), nearby | 25601 Camino del Avion, San Juan Capistrano | -2.9 (Green) | -43.0 (Yellow) | 16.8% absent (Yellow) |
| Capistrano Unified, all schools | District | +52.9 (Blue) | +26.4 (Green) | 11.7% absent; 95.4% graduated |
| California, all schools | State | -8.1 | -42.4 | 17.1% absent; 87.8% graduated |
Two patterns stand out. Every Dana Point school beat the state average in English, but all three sat below the Capistrano Unified average of 52.9 points above standard. And R.H. Dana posted the biggest gains in the group: up 15.8 points in English and 22.3 in math from the year before, which is why a score below Palisades still earned Blue in English.
Dana Point schools by level
Palisades Elementary, Via Sacramento in Capistrano Beach
Palisades is the public elementary school on the Capistrano Beach side of the city, in ZIP 92624. Its own site says it serves more than 400 students and is one of 36 elementary schools in Capistrano Unified. It runs an autism program inside the general campus, a weekly STEAM lab and a Chromebook for each student in grades 3 to 5. It posted the highest English and math results of the three Dana Point schools in 2025, though both slipped about 7 points from 2024, and its chronic absence rate of 22.5% was the highest of the group.
R.H. Dana Elementary, La Cresta Drive
R.H. Dana sits on La Cresta Drive in ZIP 92629, on the main Dana Point side of the city. The school lists teacher teams from transitional kindergarten through fifth grade, plus band, choir and strings for older students. Its 2025 results were the sharpest one-year improvement among Dana Point schools, moving math from 23.3 points below standard to almost exactly at it.
R.H. Dana's Spanish dual immersion and marine biology programs
R.H. Dana runs a Spanish dual immersion program, with the stated goal of students becoming bilingual and biliterate in English and Spanish, and a dual immersion preschool that feeds into it. It also runs a marine biology program. The school holds information meetings for transitional kindergarten and kindergarten families interested in the immersion track. Ask the school how seats are offered to families from outside its attendance area.
Dana Hills High School, Golden Lantern
Dana Hills opened in 1973 and enrolled about 1,699 students in grades 9 to 12 in 2024-25, according to its school profile, which says it serves Dana Point, Laguna Niguel and San Juan Capistrano. Its 2025 graduation rate was 94.3%, Green on the Dashboard. Its English result fell 27.1 points from 2024 to 44.6 above standard, still well over the state, while math fell 15.2 points to 41.3 below standard, about level with the state.
Dana Hills High: academies, pathways and AP courses
The profile lists two application academies: Health and Medical Occupations, a state-funded academy for students heading into health careers, and the South Orange County School of the Arts for visual and performing arts. More than 50 career and technical courses run across 15 career pathways through the district's College and Career Advantage program. In 2023-24 the school offered 21 Advanced Placement courses; 482 students sat 940 exams, and 84% of students scored 3 or higher. It fields 28 CIF sports, including surf and beach volleyball.
Middle schools near Dana Point: Niguel Hills and Marco Forster
The middle schools in the table are the Capistrano Unified middle schools on the Laguna Niguel and San Juan Capistrano sides of Dana Point. Niguel Hills, on Shark Bay in Laguna Niguel, scored above standard in both subjects in 2025 but had the higher absence rate. Marco Forster, on Camino del Avion in San Juan Capistrano, lists AVID and a two-way immersion program. Which one serves a Dana Point home depends on its street address, so use the district locator below.
School choice, immersion and private schools in Dana Point
Capistrano Unified's School of Choice process
Families who live inside Capistrano Unified can ask for a school other than their assigned one through the district's School of Choice program. For 2026-27 the window ran from January 5 to February 1, 2026, with decisions emailed by March 9. Seats are offered only where space allows, a sibling's approval is not guaranteed, and decisions cannot be appealed. Students approved this way lose district bus service, so plan your own transport. Check the district page for the 2027-28 dates before you buy on the strength of a transfer.
Two-way immersion from elementary to middle school
R.H. Dana's Spanish dual immersion program and Marco Forster's two-way immersion program are both listed on the schools' own sites. If continuing in two languages through grade 8 matters to you, ask both schools how students move from one program to the other and whether that route depends on your home address.
Private schools near Dana Point
Several private schools operate in and around Dana Point. California does not rate private schools on the Dashboard, so ask each one for its accreditation, recent class sizes, tuition and where its graduates go. Private school enrollment does not change which public school your address is assigned to.
How to check which school serves a Dana Point address
A listing that says a home is near a school does not mean the home is assigned to it. Attendance lines in Dana Point follow streets, not ZIP codes, and the district can change them. Check every address yourself.
Address check step 1: use the Capistrano Unified school locator
The district's School Locator page links to its mySchool Locator map. Type the full street address, then turn on the attendance boundary layers to see the elementary, middle and high school assigned to it. The district notes that many of its schools are at or near capacity.
Address check step 2: call the school's office
Before you remove contingencies, call the assigned school with the address and ask whether new students at that address are being placed there this year. Palisades is on (949) 496-5942 and R.H. Dana on (949) 496-5784; Dana Hills High's main line is (949) 496-6666.
Address check step 3: read the school's own Dashboard page
Search the school on the Dashboard and open each indicator, not just the color. Look at results for the grades your child will enter and at the trend over several years. For the wider market, return to our Dana Point homes for sale guide or read living in Dana Point.