Centralia Elementary, Anaheim CA

Original Research by School Decision on Centralia Elementary

Centralia Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Anaheim, a large and diverse Orange County city with a complex residential and commercial mix. The school enrolls students from across this full grade span, with a substantial share of the student body qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch and the enrollment skewing heavily toward Hispanic students, reflecting the city's demographics. The school sits within a district that has made deliberate, family-facing investments: a Spanish-English dual language immersion program housed at Centralia Elementary offers a 90/10 model starting in kindergarten, gradually shifting toward more English in upper grades, and commits families to staying at the school through sixth grade if they enroll. This creates a meaningful pathway for families seeking bilingual education. The district has also modernized school facilities through voter-approved bond funding and expanded transitional kindergarten as part of California's universal pre-K rollout, giving families with younger children access to free district-based preschool.

On state assessments, Centralia Elementary's recent proficiency results are weak. In English language arts, students overall meet proficiency standards at a rate below the midpoint among Orange County districts, with performance ranging from lower in third grade to somewhat stronger in sixth grade. In mathematics, proficiency rates are lower still, particularly in third grade, with modest improvement in fourth grade before declining again in fifth and sixth. The school's science proficiency in fifth grade was also low. None of these rates approach the county median. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, understanding both what pressures the school faces and what instructional responses are underway.

The broader Anaheim context is one of active growth and change. Two major developments will reshape the city over the next few years: the OCVibe mixed-use project around Honda Center and the regional transit hub, which will bring thousands of new housing units and significant public amenities by the late 2020s; and the DisneylandForward expansion, which committed substantial funding toward affordable housing. These investments suggest ongoing economic activity and housing demand in the area, though affordability remains a concern for working families. The city's civic anchors include a library system with multiple branches, parks, and the ARTIC transit center serving rail, bus, and shuttle connections, anchoring daily community life beyond just schools.

For a family considering Centralia Elementary, the dual language immersion program and early-education investments represent the district's differentiated offer. The school's academic results, however, point to the need for parents to have direct conversations with school leadership about instructional priorities and support systems, particularly in math and science.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 323%

School 23% · District 59% · ▼ 37 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Grade 445%

School 45% · District 57% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 54% · ▼ 18 pts below district

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

Grade 635%

School 35% · District 53% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 327%

School 27% · District 54% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 440%

School 40% · District 56% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 63% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 59% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Science

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 49% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 19 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-income30%Higher-income19%11 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income27%Higher-income75%48 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income38%Higher-income56%18 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income24%Higher-income18%6 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income29%Higher-income54%25 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income37%Higher-income31%5 pp gap