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Sierra Preparatory Academy

Public Grades K-8

5185^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 11% of California elementary schools

Summary

Sierra Preparatory Academy is a K-8 public school serving 697 students in the Santa Ana Unified School District, which ranks in the bottom 19th percentile statewide, and it faces significant academic challenges with 94% of its students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

Academically, the school consistently ranks in the bottom tier of California schools, with only about 22% of students proficient in English and 11% in math, which is the lowest performance among all nearby schools in its district. For example, John Muir Fundamental Elementary, located less than half a mile away and serving a similar community, dramatically outperforms Sierra with over 55% proficiency in English. While Sierra has a more favorable student-teacher ratio (17:1) than neighboring schools, it also struggles with a high chronic absenteeism rate of 24.3%, which is correlated with lower achievement.

Despite these challenges, the school has shown recent signs of improvement, with its state ranking rising and chronic absenteeism decreasing from previous years. The stark contrast with higher-performing nearby schools like John Muir Fundamental Elementary demonstrates that strong academic outcomes are possible within the same neighborhood, suggesting that factors beyond student demographics are influencing Sierra's performance.

697

Students ?

17.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$25,065

Per pupil spending ?

94.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2021 North Grand Ave.
Santa Ana, CA 92705-1751

(714) 567-3500

District: Santa Ana Unified

Students who attend Sierra Preparatory Academy usually attend:

High:

Century High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

97.7%

African American:

0.7%

Asian:

0.6%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Sierra Preparatory Academy to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 7th percentile in 2023 → 11th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (16% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (11th percentile)

!English Language Arts/Literacy scores 27 pts below the California average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school16%

District avg26%

California avg41%

Elementary school

5,185^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 11%▲ up 4 pts since 2023

From bottom 7% (2023) to bottom 11% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

2,571^st of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 7%▼ down 6 pts since 2015

From bottom 13% (2015) to bottom 7% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

23^rd of 34Elementary Schools in the Santa Ana Unified

1254^th of 1,543Santa Ana Unified among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	16.0	5185 of 5857	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.6	5507 of 5869	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.5	5435 of 5859	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	27.9	2692 of 3162	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	32.0	2396 of 3245	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	35.2	2190 of 3311	33.9%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	16.8	4955 of 5597	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	10.1	5465 of 5612	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	12.2	5367 of 5609	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.6	5223 of 5635	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	21.0	4397 of 5107	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.5	4685 of 5107	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	18.2	4593 of 5087	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	21.4	4411 of 5084	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	14.6	416 of 429	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	34.6	261 of 364	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	19.4	4772 of 5460	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.5	5115 of 5517	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	17.3	4878 of 5363	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	22.7	4439 of 5264	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	16.8	4984 of 5628	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	17.7	4925 of 5643	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.5	5032 of 5638	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.7	4847 of 5663	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	21.6	2493 of 2847	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	11.4	2571 of 2761	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.7	2605 of 2783	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	9.4	2698 of 2781	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	8.3	2686 of 2740	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.5	2539 of 2715	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.7	2379 of 2480	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	10.8	2352 of 2508	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	11.8	2294 of 2497	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	16.3	2147 of 2477	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	15.6	2113 of 2379	11.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	13.2	2055 of 2259	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	19.8	1911 of 2236	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	17.3	1915 of 2179	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	15.9	1829 of 2063	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	15.4	1790 of 2005	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	17.6	1711 of 1999	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	8.9	1705 of 1804	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	10.5	1669 of 1777	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2004	13.1	1616 of 1769	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	22.3	1370 of 1531	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	28.3	1073 of 1491	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.9	987 of 1369	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	28.1	1335 of 1478	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	28.9	1269 of 1521	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	30.1	1246 of 1540	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.9	1378 of 1442	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	28.4	1080 of 1364	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	11.9	2364 of 2533	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.6	2448 of 2551	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.9	2482 of 2531	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.7	2481 of 2509	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.1	2266 of 2380	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	9.7	2161 of 2262	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	13.4	2214 of 2395	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	14.5	2193 of 2388	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.0	2284 of 2374	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.8	2305 of 2359	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.4	2078 of 2213	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.5	1994 of 2072	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	28.8	366 of 477	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.7	321 of 394	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.5	269 of 320	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.6	311 of 336	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	14.1	2340 of 2542	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.9	2387 of 2579	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.5	2434 of 2531	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	10.4	2388 of 2458	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.9	2207 of 2369	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.8	2129 of 2230	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	11.0	2397 of 2534	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.2	2366 of 2552	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.6	2444 of 2538	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.9	2460 of 2527	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.4	2289 of 2407	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.1	2223 of 2273	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	19.1	1491 of 1566	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	30.6	1079 of 1552	30.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	21.5	1403 of 1531	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Elementary school

English Language Learner (2024)15th percentile+9 vs school

Hispanic (2025)14th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)13th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)12th percentile~ school

Female (2025)11th percentile~ school

Male (2025)11th percentile~ school

Homeless (2025)3rd percentile-8 vs school

Middle school

Homeless (2025)23rd percentile+16 vs school

Disabled (2022)11th percentile+9 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)10th percentile+3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)8th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)8th percentile~ school

Female (2025)7th percentile~ school

Male (2025)5th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)5th percentile~ school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy22%-27 vs state

Mathematics11%-26 vs state

Science10%-23 vs state

★

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Schools Near Sierra Preparatory Academy

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CSA Spanish Overall (2025)							CSA Spanish Listening (2025)							CSA Spanish Writing (2025)							CSA Spanish Reading (2025)							CAST Science (2025)			Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)							Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)							% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
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/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CSA Spanish Overall 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 6th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 7th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 8th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	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 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Sierra Preparatory Academy	Public	K-8	2021 North Grand Ave.	Santa Ana	92705	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 567-3500	697	40	17.3	94.1%	3 (0.4%)	5 (0.7%)	681 (97.7%)	4 (0.6%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	16	5185^th of 5857 public elementary schools	11.5%		12.6	5507^th of 5869 public elementary schools	6.2%	322																													13.5	8.6	9.6	40.5	14.6	22.2	22.7	21.2	20.0	22.1	31.6	9.5	18.9	10.2	10.2	6.7	11.3							$25,065	$968	$24,097
John Muir Fundamental Elementary	Public	K-5	1951 North Mabury	Santa Ana	92705	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 972-6700	557	25	22.2	70.4%	20 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	506 (90.8%)	24 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.3%)	67.2	1731^st of 5857 public elementary schools	70.4%		75.1	1364^th of 5869 public elementary schools	76.8%	367																													31.1		31.1	50.6	61.0	53.3				55.3	60.2	54.0	45.6				53.1							$26,259	$1,129	$25,130
Fairhaven Elementary	Public	K-6	1415 East Fairhaven Ave.	Santa Ana	92705	Orange County	Orange Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 997-6178	421	18	22.9	88.4%	21 (5.0%)	4 (1.0%)	371 (88.1%)	8 (1.9%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	15 (3.6%)	22.2	4656^th of 5857 public elementary schools	20.5%		29.3	3987^th of 5869 public elementary schools	32.1%	669																													13.2		13.2	15.7	29.4	32.1	38.3			29.3	11.8	25.0	24.5	23.3			21.3	93.3				95.6		$15,939	$1,525	$14,414
Wallace R. Davis Elementary	Public	K-6	1405 French St.	Santa Ana	92701	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 564-2200	413	19	21.6	93.7%	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.5%)	406 (98.3%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	27.3	4196^th of 5857 public elementary schools	28.4%		34	3604^th of 5869 public elementary schools	38.6%	592																													24.2		24.2	35.9	24.4	33.3	34.8			32.1	35.9	17.4	24.2	16.7			24.9	97.4				97.4		$26,741	$1,134	$25,607
Garfield Elementary	Public	K-5	850 East Brown St.	Santa Ana	92701	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 972-5300	428	19	22.4	92.8%	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	414 (96.7%)	5 (1.2%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	5 (1.2%)	17.1	5098^th of 5857 public elementary schools	13.0%		22.7	4605^th of 5869 public elementary schools	21.5%	493																													10.1		10.1	25.9	24.4	27.9				26.1	23.2	18.0	20.3				20.2							$27,587	$857	$26,730
El Sol Santa Ana Science and Arts Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	328 West Halesworth St.	Santa Ana	92701	Orange County	El Sol Santa Ana Science and Arts Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 543-0023	980	47	20.6	51.8%	6 (0.6%)	4 (0.4%)	955 (97.4%)	6 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	4 (0.4%)	4 (0.4%)	46.9	2767^th of 5857 public elementary schools	52.8%		44.3	2906^th of 5869 public elementary schools	50.5%	139	8.7	11.5	1.0	3.8	17.7	12.8	8.9	31.7	12.5	21.6	15.2	37.7	25.6	23.6	12.5	29.8	3.9	21.0	35.3	15.1	19.3	5.8	7.7	2.9	4.8	5.9	23.3	8.0	16.2	41.6	27.5	36.0	54.2	42.3	52.7	57.0	58.4	49.6	42.3	42.1	28.8	39.3	52.7	48.9	41.8	96.9	98.5		97.7	98.5	98.5	$19,085	$781	$18,304
Orange County Educational Arts Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	825 North Broadway	Santa Ana	92701	Orange County	Orange County Educational Arts Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 558-2787	643	32	20.0	64.1%	30 (4.7%)	1 (0.2%)	590 (91.8%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (3.0%)	41.7	3096^th of 5857 public elementary schools	47.1%		38.7	3259^th of 5869 public elementary schools	44.5%	163																													25.8	16.3	21.9	43.9	37.5	40.3	46.7	68.0	70.5	49.2	57.6	34.7	22.6	18.3	28.0	34.1	33.1							$18,415	$941	$17,474
Edward B. Cole Academy	Public, Charter	K-5	333 East Walnut St.	Santa Ana	92701	Orange County	Edward B. Cole Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 836-9023	431	18	23.9	82.4%	7 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	416 (96.5%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.9%)	26.8	4243^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	27.6%		39.7	3193^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	45.6%	1050																													18.8		18.8	32.4	35.3	32.4				33.3	30.0	27.9	21.7				26.6	70.7	78.7	94.7	74.7	77.3	76.0
Roosevelt Walker Academy	Public	K-5	501 South Halladay	Santa Ana	92701	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 564-1200	675	30	22.4	94.1%	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	645 (95.6%)	20 (3.0%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	14.4	5319^th of 5857 public elementary schools	9.2%		24.8	4384^th of 5869 public elementary schools	25.3%	935																													15.8		15.8	19.8	23.7	26.3				23.3	18.9	14.4	13.2				15.5	98.3						$28,044	$1,873	$26,171
Scholarship Prep - Orange County	Public, Charter	K-8	1010 West 17th St.	Santa Ana	92706	Orange County	Scholarship Prep - Orange County District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 795-3498	615	24	25.7	92.2%	6 (1.0%)	3 (0.5%)	589 (95.8%)	9 (1.5%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.5%)	4 (0.7%)	38.9	3292^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	43.8%		38.3	3286^th of 5869 public elementary schools	44.0%	6																													17.2	10.0	13.0	37.7	24.1	39.7	47.8	50.9	41.3	40.6	40.0	27.8	46.6	29.4	32.3	20.0	32.1							$23,170	$3,048	$20,122

Frequently Asked Questions about Sierra Preparatory Academy

What district is Sierra Preparatory Academy in?

Santa Ana Unified

How many students attend Sierra Preparatory Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 697 students attended Sierra Preparatory Academy.

What schools do graduates of Sierra Preparatory Academy attend?

Students who attend Sierra Preparatory Academy usually go on to attend:

High : Century High

What is the racial makeup of Sierra Preparatory Academy?

Students at Sierra Preparatory Academy are 98% Hispanic.

Is Sierra Preparatory Academy a good school?

Sierra Preparatory Academy ranks in the bottom 11.5% of California elementary schools.

Rate Sierra Preparatory Academy!

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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.