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Taft Elementary

Public Grades K-6

5594^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 4% of California elementary schools

Summary

Taft Elementary is a K-6 public school serving 408 students in the Santa Ana Unified district, operating in a high-need community where the vast majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Academically, Taft faces significant challenges, ranking in the bottom 4% of all California elementary schools with proficiency rates in English and math far below both district and state averages. This low performance is consistent over time and is coupled with a chronic absenteeism rate higher than the state average. Notably, Taft operates with substantial resources, spending over $36,000 per student—one of the highest rates in the area—and maintaining a low student-teacher ratio of about 16-to-1.

Interesting comparisons emerge with nearby schools, particularly within the same district. For example, Jim Thorpe Fundamental and Greenville Fundamental Elementary achieve much higher academic results with significantly less funding per student. Schools in the neighboring Newport-Mesa Unified district, like Sonora Elementary, also show stronger performance. A recent positive development is a marked improvement in outcomes for Taft's Special Education students, suggesting some effective interventions are in place.

408

Students ?

15.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$36,532

Per pupil spending ?

85.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

500 West Keller
Santa Ana, CA 92707-4823

(714) 431-7700

District: Santa Ana Unified

Students who attend Taft Elementary usually attend:

High:

Saddleback High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

89.7%

Asian:

4.2%

White:

3.7%

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At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 21st percentile in 2015 → 4th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (14% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (4th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 17 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school14%

District avg26%

California avg41%

5,594^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 4%▼ down 17 pts since 2015

From bottom 21% (2015) to bottom 4% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

30^th 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)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	10.6	5594 of 5857	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.3	5597 of 5869	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	18.0	5036 of 5859	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.5	5406 of 5883	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	14.9	1294 of 1417	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.7	5409 of 5789	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.6	5343 of 5662	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	9.7	5512 of 5692	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	24.9	4186 of 5614	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	22.1	4420 of 5611	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	47.3	2846 of 5530	48.5%	★★☆☆☆
2012	46.8	2826 of 5390	47.6%	★★☆☆☆
2011	42.4	3054 of 5377	43.2%	★★☆☆☆
2010	31.6	3733 of 5314	29.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	48.8	2563 of 5193	50.6%	★★★☆☆
2008	49.4	2407 of 5113	52.9%	★★★☆☆
2007	34.8	3237 of 5113	36.7%	★★☆☆☆
2006	33.0	3106 of 4818	35.5%	★★☆☆☆
2005	30.7	3235 of 4822	32.9%	★★☆☆☆
2004	42.6	2519 of 4809	47.6%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	23.6	1828 of 2227	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.0	289 of 293	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	18.0	2495 of 2585	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	30.4	1416 of 2128	33.5%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	26.2	2780 of 3162	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.4	2847 of 3245	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.6	3128 of 3311	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	29.5	484 of 602	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.6	3236 of 3275	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	26.7	2613 of 3246	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	11.1	5367 of 5597	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.6	5388 of 5612	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	19.2	4770 of 5609	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	13.2	5349 of 5635	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	16.6	1140 of 1267	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	11.8	5212 of 5492	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.2	5118 of 5413	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	11.4	4920 of 5107	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.9	4975 of 5107	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	18.0	4604 of 5087	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	17.8	4649 of 5084	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.5	4770 of 4963	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.5	4618 of 4830	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	31.4	340 of 429	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	12.3	5212 of 5460	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.2	5262 of 5517	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	22.6	4483 of 5363	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.9	4728 of 5264	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	22.7	955 of 1110	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	14.9	4845 of 5173	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.9	4798 of 5084	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	11.9	5319 of 5628	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.7	5336 of 5643	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	18.8	4830 of 5638	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.5	4982 of 5663	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	14.8	1162 of 1272	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	16.6	4929 of 5510	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	13.0	5094 of 5431	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	31.4	1923 of 2847	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	18.8	2462 of 2635	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Special Education (2025)32nd percentile+28 vs school

Homeless (2025)21st percentile+16 vs school

Disabled (2022)18th percentile+10 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)12th percentile+7 vs school

Male (2025)5th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)5th percentile~ school

Female (2025)4th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)4th percentile~ school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy18%-31 vs state

Mathematics13%-24 vs state

Science6%-27 vs state

★

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Schools Near Taft Elementary

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				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	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
Taft Elementary	Public	K-6	500 West Keller	Santa Ana	92707	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 431-7700	408	26	15.6	85.3%	15 (3.7%)	1 (0.2%)	366 (89.7%)	17 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	8 (2.0%)	10.6	5594^th of 5857 public elementary schools	4.5%		11.3	5597^th of 5869 public elementary schools	4.6%	3	5.9		5.9	19.0	7.8	28.6	18.0			17.6	25.0	9.4	5.9	12.2			13.4	81.6	81.6		81.6	81.6	81.6	$36,532	$3,146	$33,386
Jefferson Elementary	Public	K-5	1522 West Adams St.	Santa Ana	92704	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 431-3800	616	30	20.4	83.6%	12 (1.9%)	10 (1.6%)	560 (90.9%)	26 (4.2%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.6%)	27	4220^th of 5857 public elementary schools	27.9%		36	3436^th of 5869 public elementary schools	41.5%	784	22.6		22.6	22.1	24.5	35.7				27.2	34.9	32.4	26.2				31.3	87.3	89.1	95.5	91.8	88.2	91.8	$27,105	$1,169	$25,936
Greenville Fundamental Elementary	Public	K-5	3600 South Raitt St.	Santa Ana	92704	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 558-3400	817	34	23.9	79.9%	19 (2.3%)	6 (0.7%)	725 (88.7%)	46 (5.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (2.6%)	45.4	2858^th of 5857 public elementary schools	51.2%		47.9	2669^th of 5869 public elementary schools	54.5%	189	25.9		25.9	39.0	50.0	49.7				46.2	36.3	41.9	30.1				35.8	92.1	94.1	96.1	96.7	94.7	96.7	$23,601	$981	$22,620
Monroe Elementary	Public	K-5	417 East Central Ave.	Santa Ana	92707	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 431-3900	217	13	16.6	88.5%	3 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	213 (98.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	15.4	5231^st of 5857 public elementary schools	10.7%		15.9	5223^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	11.0%	8	16.7		16.7	20.7	16.7	25.0				20.2	27.6	13.9	20.8				20.2							$31,643	$1,071	$30,572
Washington Elementary	Public	K-5	910 West Anahurst Pl.	Santa Ana	92707	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 440-5100	529	24	21.8	95.7%	6 (1.1%)	4 (0.8%)	508 (96.0%)	8 (1.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	18.7	4947^th of 5857 public elementary schools	15.5%		22	4680^th of 5869 public elementary schools	20.3%	267	9.6		9.6	23.3	35.9	24.3				28.0	14.9	30.5	12.2				19.6							$28,973	$1,321	$27,652
Manuel Esqueda Elementary	Public	K-8	2240 South Main St.	Santa Ana	92707	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 431-1500	811	37	21.7	94.3%	2 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	796 (98.2%)	6 (0.7%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.4%)	15.7	5208^th of 5857 public elementary schools	11.1%		15.6	5245^th of 5869 public elementary schools	10.6%	37	16.0	12.0	13.9	23.0	28.6	27.5	14.3	29.0	21.7	23.5	27.0	18.6	19.6	6.3	14.1	8.6	14.7	93.7				95.8	96.8	$23,274	$865	$22,409
McFadden Institute of Technology	Public	K-8	2701 South Raitt	Santa Ana	92704	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 435-3700	1,074	55	19.3	90.2%	16 (1.5%)	8 (0.7%)	1,014 (94.4%)	27 (2.5%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	6 (0.6%)	15.8	5204^th of 5857 public elementary schools	11.1%		16.8	5135^th of 5869 public elementary schools	12.5%	69	13.3	16.7	16.2	5.1	5.1	31.1	22.2	32.7	30.5	26.9	18.0	10.0	15.6	20.2	18.7	22.1	19.5							$24,905	$1,299	$23,606
Jim Thorpe Fundamental	Public	K-5	2450 West Alton	Santa Ana	92704	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 430-5800	738	29	25.3	71.8%	14 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	661 (89.6%)	45 (6.1%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	15 (2.0%)	49.2	2640^th of 5857 public elementary schools	54.9%		56.5	2214^th of 5869 public elementary schools	62.3%	426	26.5		26.5	40.3	54.4	48.7				47.7	41.5	43.7	30.8				38.9	97.4	97.4		98.0	97.4	98.0	$23,169	$823	$22,346
Paularino Elementary	Public	K-6	1060 Paularino Ave.	Costa Mesa	92626	Orange County	Newport-Mesa Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 424-7950	371	23	15.8	70.6%	63 (17.0%)	8 (2.2%)	242 (65.2%)	28 (7.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	28 (7.5%)	44.3	2928^th of 5857 public elementary schools	50.0%		46.6	2755^th of 5869 public elementary schools	53.1%	173	23.5		23.5	51.2	40.4	33.3	38.1			41.1	48.8	44.7	36.4	22.0			38.3							$27,777	$2,388	$25,389
Thomas A. Edison Elementary	Public	K-5	2063 Orange Ave.	Santa Ana	92707	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 433-6900	332	16	20.6	92.8%	2 (0.6%)	2 (0.6%)	326 (98.2%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21.6	4703^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	19.7%		24.3	4433^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	24.5%	270	11.1		11.1	37.9	31.3	22.2				31.1	32.8	9.4	13.3				20.7							$30,504	$1,456	$29,048

Frequently Asked Questions about Taft Elementary

What district is Taft Elementary in?

Santa Ana Unified

What schools do graduates of Taft Elementary attend?

Students who attend Taft Elementary usually go on to attend:

High : Saddleback High

Is Taft Elementary a good school?

Taft Elementary ranks in the bottom 4.5% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Taft Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 408 students attended Taft Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Taft Elementary?

Students at Taft Elementary are 90% Hispanic, 4% Asian, 4% White, 2% Two or more races.

Rate Taft Elementary!

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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.