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Middle Schools in Santa Ana Unified

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At a glance

DistrictSanta Ana Unified1257^th of 1,530 California districtsFull district overview →

Schools

5,035

Students

Top rankedDouglas MacArthur Fundamental Intermediate1289^th of 2,740 California middle schools

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Biggest riser

Willard Intermediate up 24 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Willard Intermediate 14.3 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

3★

1★

0★

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Summary:

The six middle schools in Santa Ana Unified serve grades 6–8, with 2025–2026 results showing substantial differences from school to school. The six-school averages were 31% proficient in ELA, 20% in math and 16% in science, compared with state results of 49%, 38% and 36%; the most important finding is that average performance trails the state by about 18 to 20 points in every subject.

Douglas MacArthur leads ELA at 48%, 7 points ahead of runner-up Mendez, and science at 29%, 11 points ahead of Villa. MacArthur is still 1 point below the state in ELA and 7 points below in science. Mendez leads math at 40%, 9 points ahead of MacArthur, and is 1 point above the state. At the bottom, Willard has the lowest ELA and math results, 15% and 7%—34 and 31 points below the state. Lathrop has the lowest science result, 10%, 26 points below the state.

From 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, the group averages were nearly unchanged in ELA and math and rose 1 point in science; state results rose 0, 1 and 3 points, respectively, so the science gap widened by 3 points. There are school-level exceptions: Carr gained 3 points in ELA and 5 in science, while Willard improved in all three subjects but remains lowest in ELA and math. SchoolDigger gives MacArthur and Mendez three stars and rankings in the 53rd and 50th percentiles; Lathrop and Willard have no stars and rank in the 7th and 3rd percentiles. As context, all six report free/reduced lunch eligible for 2024–2025; shares range from 82% at MacArthur to 97% at Willard. Student–teacher ratios range from 14.3 at Willard to 22.4 at MacArthur, observations that do not by themselves explain achievement differences.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				CAST Science (2026)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2026)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2026)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Gerald P. Carr Intermediate	Public	6-8	2120 West Edinger St.	Santa Ana	92704	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 480-4100	886	47	18.9	96.4%	4 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	859 (97.0%)	15 (1.7%)	5 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	18.1	2300^th of 2740 public middle schools	16.1%		18.9	2275^th of 2761 public middle schools	17.6%	25	16.7	16.7	26.0	25.6	27.6	26.5	17.4	19.1	17.5	18.0	$30,408	$1,250	$29,158
Julia C. Lathrop Intermediate	Public	6-8	1111 South Broadway	Santa Ana	92707	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 567-3300	584	33	17.5	96.7%	5 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	568 (97.3%)	7 (1.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	11.5	2551^st of 2740 public middle schools	6.9%		14.5	2462^nd of 2761 public middle schools	10.8%	89	10.1	10.1	19.2	23.3	18.8	20.4	15.0	12.6	11.2	12.7	$34,884	$1,257	$33,627
Willard Intermediate	Public	6-8	1342 North Ross	Santa Ana	92706	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 480-4800	390	27	14.3	97.2%	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	383 (98.2%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8.2	2648^th of 2740 public middle schools	3.4%		8.2	2672^nd of 2761 public middle schools	3.2%	24	10.6	10.6	21.9	7.5	15.2	14.9	8.3	4.2	8.1	7.0	$37,586	$1,142	$36,444
Raymond A. Villa Fundamental Intermediate	Public	6-8	1441 East Chestnut Ave.	Santa Ana	92701	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 558-5100	936	46	20.4	95.3%	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	914 (97.6%)	15 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.4%)	18.7	2274^th of 2740 public middle schools	17.0%		20	2222^nd of 2761 public middle schools	19.5%	52	18.0	18.0	30.1	36.6	31.2	32.6	11.0	13.9	10.2	11.6	$27,092	$692	$26,400
Douglas MacArthur Fundamental Intermediate	Public	6-8	600 West Alton Ave.	Santa Ana	92707	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 513-9800	1,005	45	22.4	82.0%	17 (1.7%)	1 (0.1%)	908 (90.3%)	52 (5.2%)	5 (0.5%)	5 (0.5%)	17 (1.7%)	46.6	1289^th of 2740 public middle schools	53.0%		53.1	1096^th of 2761 public middle schools	60.3%	193	29.4	29.4	47.3	51.5	45.3	48.0	26.1	33.6	32.6	30.7	$26,771	$828	$25,943
Gonzalo Felicitas Mendez Fundamental Intermediate	Public	6-8	2000 North Bristol	Santa Ana	92706	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 972-7800	1,234	58	21.3	91.7%	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1,217 (98.6%)	12 (1.0%)	3 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	44	1365^th of 2740 public middle schools	50.2%		45.9	1297^th of 2761 public middle schools	53.0%	68	13.0	13.0	39.4	45.1	38.9	41.1	37.2	38.3	43.6	39.7	$26,596	$914	$25,682

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
NOVA Academy OC District	0.8 mi	1
Nova Academy Early College High District	0.82 mi	1	999^th
Orange County Department of Education	0.9 mi	16
Scholarship Prep - Orange County District	0.91 mi	1	738^th
Vista Condor Global Academy District	0.92 mi	1	1460^th

See the top CA California districts

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.