Raymond Temple Elementary, Buena Park CA

Original Research by School Decision on Raymond Temple Elementary

Raymond Temple Elementary is a kindergarten through sixth-grade school in Buena Park serving a student body of modest size, with enrollment distributed fairly evenly across its seven grades. The school sits in the Centralia Elementary School District, which covers Buena Park and Anaheim and has made recent investments in classroom modernization and early childhood programs, including transitional kindergarten expansion and a dual language immersion pathway at Centralia Elementary for families interested in biliteracy.

The student population at Raymond Temple reflects Buena Park's demographic profile. More than half of students are Hispanic, with substantial representation of Asian students and smaller populations of white, multiracial, and black students. A large majority of the school qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, placing this in a community with significant economic need. Enrollment data for special populations such as English learners or students with IEPs was not available.

Academically, Raymond Temple's proficiency rates on California's state assessments fall below the midpoint among the county's tested schools. In English language arts, proficiency ranges from the high thirties to low fifties across grades three through six, with a school-wide average near one-half. Mathematics proficiency is similar, averaging around one-half schoolwide, though grade three performs somewhat stronger at near three-fifths while grades four, five, and six cluster in the low-to-mid forties. Grade five science proficiency, the only science result available, is notably lower in the upper twenties. A parent may want to look into further with the school how it is addressing these results and what support systems are in place for students working toward proficiency.

Only one year of assessment data is available, so trend information is limited. The absence of multi-year patterns means families cannot yet see whether performance is moving, holding steady, or shifting in any direction.

Buena Park itself is a mid-sized city of mixed character. Tourist attractions including Knott's Berry Farm and entertainment venues anchor an Entertainment Zone along Beach Boulevard, while residential neighborhoods built primarily from the nineteen-fifties through nineteen-seventies form quiet, block-style streets. The city center clusters around the Beach Boulevard corridor near the Civic Center; the Metrolink commuter rail station, by contrast, sits within a residential transit-oriented development well south of the main commercial districts, functioning more as a neighborhood transit hub than a downtown anchor. Downtown Buena Park has a Koreatown character with Korean markets, restaurants, and cafes alongside retail and services.

The housing market in the area is expensive, with median home prices substantially higher than the national benchmark and rental costs also elevated. Mortgage affordability is constrained; the estimated monthly mortgage payment significantly exceeds the estimated monthly rent. The city is experiencing moderate redevelopment, with several large mixed-use projects converting older retail sites into residential and commercial space. Major local employers include manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, and the city's famous entertainment attractions. The broader economy shows moderate unemployment and income levels in the upper range nationally.

The school serves families in a working-to-middle-income community with active housing market movement and development underway. For families seeking a traditional public elementary school in a walkable residential neighborhood with access to transit and entertainment districts, Raymond Temple is a local option. A parent should discuss directly with the school its reading and math support programs, how it works with English learners, and what academic acceleration or enrichment pathways are available.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 360%

School 60% · District 59% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 447%

School 47% · District 57% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 54% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 53% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 356%

School 56% · District 54% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 449%

School 49% · District 56% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 63% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 654%

School 54% · District 59% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Science

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 49% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

This schoolCentralia Elementary, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income58%Higher-income55%3 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income41%Higher-income60%19 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income38%Higher-income39%1 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income48%Higher-income60%12 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income58%Higher-income62%4 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income38%Higher-income60%23 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income35%Higher-income47%12 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income39%Higher-income48%9 pp gap