Brookhurst Elementary, Garden Grove CA

Original Research by School Decision on Brookhurst Elementary

Brookhurst Elementary is a public elementary school serving kindergarten through sixth grade in Garden Grove, a multicultural Orange County city anchored by one of the world's largest Vietnamese-American communities and an OC Koreatown along Brookhurst itself. The school sits within Garden Grove Unified, the third-largest district in the county.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic and Asian, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. This economic and demographic profile is typical of urban Orange County schools serving immigrant and working-family communities.

On the most recent California state assessments in English language arts and mathematics, Brookhurst's proficiency across tested grades sits in the bottom quartile relative to other schools in Orange County. In English language arts overall, around half of students perform at the proficient level or above. In mathematics, the rate is lower, with proficiency declining from around half at third grade to roughly a quarter by sixth grade. In science, where fifth grade was assessed, performance is similarly low. These results suggest that students are working significantly below grade-level benchmarks in core subjects, particularly in math.

Since only one year of data is available, no trend can be computed. A parent may want to look into this further with the school regarding the causes of the lower math performance in upper grades, what supports are being provided, and whether there have been changes in staffing, curriculum, or instructional practice that might affect future results.

The school's enrollment is small, with just over a few hundred students across the grade span. Kindergarten is the largest grade, and enrollment tapers in the upper grades.

Garden Grove itself is a built-out residential suburb with a rectangular street grid and auto-oriented design. Daily life centers on neighborhood parks and a downtown civic area near Acacia Parkway, where the school district headquarters is located. Several schools, including Brookhurst's neighbors, sit near or within downtown, weaving school life into the city fabric rather than isolating schools on separate campuses. Street life and walkability are concentrated in the small Historic Downtown along Main Street; the rest of the city is more suburban and car-dependent. Growth is now focused on infill mixed-use development, with projects like Brookhurst Place adding new apartments to address Orange County's housing costs.

Housing in the area is expensive. Median home values are substantial, and rents are correspondingly high, with housing affordability a significant pressure on the local area and a driver of the city's recent mixed-use development policy.

No data on special education enrollment, English learner counts, attendance, staffing, or discipline was available in the school record.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 352%

School 52% · District 58% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 54% · ▼ 11 pts below district

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

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 46% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 629%

School 29% · District 56% · ▼ 27 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 346%

School 46% · District 52% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Grade 451%

School 51% · District 55% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 59% · ▼ 14 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 638%

School 38% · District 63% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Science

Grade 531%

School 31% · District 39% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

This schoolGarden Grove Unified, 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 5Lower-income44%Higher-income50%6 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income47%Higher-income25%21 pp gap