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Santa Ana Unified


At a glance
798thof 968 California districts▲ 456
Better than 17% of California districts
1601 East Chestnut Ave.
Santa Ana, CA 92701-6322
·(714) 558-5501·All California district rankings →
Statewide performance 2017–2026
2026: better than 17.6% of districts
53
Schools
35,993
Students
1
5-star school
Top rankedMiddle College High44th of 2,137 California high schools
▲
Biggest riser
Martin R. Heninger Elementary up 611 spots statewide this year
◉
Smallest classes
Advanced Learning Academy 11.6 students per teacher
SchoolDigger ratings
3★
2★
1★
0★
4 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)
Summary:

Santa Ana Unified includes 51 schools: 34 elementary, six middle, 10 high schools and one alternative school, serving students from elementary through high school in Santa Ana. Results differ sharply even among schools serving the same grade: grade 11 ELA proficiency ranged from 7% at Cesar E. Chavez High to 91% at Middle College High, an 84-point gap; grade 3 math ranged from 9% at Romero-Cruz Academy to 74% at John Muir Fundamental Elementary, a 64-point gap. The most important finding is that school-to-school differences are exceptionally wide, so area-wide averages would hide very different results.

Middle College High is the clearest high-school standout: its 2025–26 grade 11 results were 91% in ELA, 62% in math and 79% in science, compared with state rates of 57%, 32% and 38%; SchoolDigger rated it five stars and at the 98th percentile. John Muir led in grade 3 and 4 math (74% and 58%) and grade 5 ELA (55%), exceeding the state in all three comparisons. At the other end, Chavez recorded 7% ELA, 0% math and 1% science in grade 11; Lorin Griset Academy had 8%, 0% and 2%. SchoolDigger placed them at the 2nd and 6th percentiles, respectively, with zero stars.

Recent changes do not show the six conventional high schools consistently catching up with the state: their average all-grades math score fell 3 points from 2024–25 to 2025–26 while the state rose 1 point, and their science average rose 0.5 points compared with a 3.3-point state increase. Results diverged by school: Saddleback High improved 10 points in ELA, 3 in math and 5 in science, while Valley High declined 7, 7 and 11 points. Other context does not sort schools into a simple performance order: in 2024–25, John Muir and Jim Thorpe Fundamental reported 70% and 72% free/reduced lunch eligible, yet John Muir led in several elementary results while Jim Thorpe stood out in grade 5 science, at 38% versus 35% statewide. These figures describe different aspects of each school and do not explain performance.

Ranking:
Map legend
E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private




SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.

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