Canyon Rim Elementary, Anaheim CA

Original Research by School Decision on Canyon Rim Elementary

Canyon Rim Elementary is a kindergarten through sixth-grade school in Anaheim serving about five hundred students. The enrollment skews toward white and Hispanic students, with a smaller Asian presence and very few Black students. About a quarter of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, placing the school in a mixed economic profile rather than a high-poverty setting.

On state assessments in 2024-25, the school's performance is mixed by grade and subject. In English language arts, third graders performed well, and sixth graders showed particularly strong results. Fourth and fifth graders performed more modestly in ELA. In mathematics, the pattern reverses: third graders were strong, but fourth and fifth graders fell to the lower half, then sixth graders recovered to solid ground. Science testing was administered only to fifth grade; results were weak. Across all tested grades and subjects, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to other schools in Orange County districts, a meaningful strength.

The school sits in Anaheim, a large, demographically and economically diverse city that mixes affluent hillside communities such as Anaheim Hills with working-class neighborhoods in the west and a gentrifying downtown anchored by the Anaheim Central Library, parks, and the Packing District. The broader Anaheim area is undergoing substantial development: the OCVibe project around Honda Center aims to add thousands of housing units by 2028, and the Disney company's ForwardDisneyland expansion committed significant affordable-housing funding. The hospitality and tourism sectors are the economic heartbeat; Disney is by far the largest employer. Housing costs in the zip code are high relative to national and state benchmarks, and rents are rising.

Orange Unified, the parent district, underwent significant governance upheaval in 2023-24. A conservative board majority had adopted a transgender parental-notification policy and moved to ban Pride flags and restrict certain books. In March 2024, two trustees were recalled by voters, flipping the board. In November 2024, the new board majority rescinded the notification policy, aligning with state law. This shift is a durable change in district direction on sensitive cultural matters, relevant for families considering the district's posture on gender identity and LGBTQ+ inclusion.

State testing data was available for math and ELA in grades three through six, and for science in grade five only. Prior-year trend data was not available, so it is unclear whether the school's current performance represents growth, stability, or decline. The school's special-education enrollment rate and English-learner rate were not reported; a parent may want to ask the school directly about the breadth and depth of supports in these areas. The school does not serve grades seven through twelve, so college readiness metrics do not apply.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 379%

School 79% · District 54% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 54% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 556%

School 56% · District 46% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 671%

School 71% · District 50% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 41 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 367%

School 67% · District 52% · ▲ 15 pts above district

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

Grade 463%

School 63% · District 59% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 575%

School 75% · District 61% · ▲ 13 pts above district

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

Grade 684%

School 84% · District 63% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Science

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 42% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

This schoolOrange 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 3Lower-income63%Higher-income70%7 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income54%Higher-income68%14 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income64%Higher-income81%17 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income75%Higher-income86%11 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income56%Higher-income93%37 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income38%Higher-income66%28 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income46%Higher-income61%16 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income67%Higher-income72%5 pp gap