Innovative Horizons Charter, Perris CA

Original Research by School Decision on Innovative Horizons Charter

Innovative Horizons Charter is a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade charter school in Perris, a working-class city in Riverside County where logistics, retail, healthcare, and manufacturing anchor the local economy. The school serves a student body that is overwhelmingly Hispanic and economically disadvantaged: a very large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the school's enrollment runs small to mid-size for its grade band, with a roughly balanced representation across grades from kindergarten through eighth grade.

The school's academic profile shows a pattern worth examining directly with administrators. Across the 2024-25 testing year, proficiency on the California assessment in English language arts runs at roughly four in ten students tested, with some variation by grade; in grades six through eight, performance edges toward or above the midpoint. Mathematics proficiency is substantially lower, around two in ten overall, with eighth grade slightly higher than the lower grades. In science, where only grades five and eight are tested, roughly one in five fifth graders meet proficiency while eighth graders fare somewhat better at around three in ten. The school's overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades sits at a position above the midpoint among the districts in Riverside County on which the state reports data, meaning performance is not the lowest in the region but sits in the upper half of county schools. A parent may want to understand the school's instructional approach in mathematics, where the gap between reading and math performance is pronounced.

Perris itself is a mid-sized residential city with steady growth, rooted in its historic railroad heritage and now shaped by housing expansion and new logistics development. The community is family-oriented, with a median age around thirty and a mix of compact historic downtown walkability along Fourth Street and auto-oriented suburban neighborhoods. Homeownership is substantial, housing has appreciated in recent years, and the local economy centers on both blue-collar employment in warehousing and retail and service work in healthcare and hospitality. The city operates a significant parks system, a public library, and commuter rail service to Los Angeles via the Perris-Downtown Metrolink station opened in the mid-2010s.

The Perris Elementary School District, which operates the school, passed a major facilities bond in November 2024 that will modernize aging school buildings, repair infrastructure, and add STEAM facilities over time. This carries both a benefit for long-term campus quality and a cost to homeowners in the form of a new property tax levy. For families in Perris looking at charter school options, Innovative Horizons Charter offers a neighborhood-based alternative to traditional public school enrollment, though the academic profile suggests that students entering the school, particularly in grades with lower math proficiency, may need strong family engagement or supplementary support to build skills beyond what classroom instruction alone provides.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 28% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 424%

School 24% · District 21% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 16% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Grade 613%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 719%

School 19% · District 18% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 820%

School 20% · District 20%

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 339%

School 39% · District 31% · ▲ 8 pts above district

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

Grade 432%

School 32% · District 32% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 534%

School 34% · District 29% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 32% · ▲ 12 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 746%

School 46% · District 46%

even with state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 845%

School 45% · District 45%

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Science

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 14% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 30%

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

This schoolPerris 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 5Lower-income33%Higher-income42%8 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income43%Higher-income58%15 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income22%Higher-income25%3 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income18%Higher-income33%15 pp gap