Diamond Elementary, Santa Ana CA

Original Research by School Decision on Diamond Elementary

Diamond Elementary is a school of about that size serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Santa Ana, California. It sits in the dense, working-class urban core of Orange County, where government, manufacturing, logistics, and a rich cultural mix define the place. The neighborhood is car-dependent, though downtown Santa Ana nearby carries real walkability and street life on Fourth Street and around Civic Center Plaza.

The school's students are almost entirely Hispanic, with substantial economic hardship: a large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. No data on special education enrollment or English learner status was available for this school.

State assessment results from spring 2025 show persistent learning gaps across both English language arts and mathematics. In third grade, proficiency in math and ELA both sit in the low teens. Fourth and fifth grades show gradual improvement with grade level, particularly in ELA, but overall proficiency across all tested grades and subjects averages in the low twenties. Fifth grade science proficiency is similarly low. These are measures of the percentage of students meeting California's proficiency standard, not absolute improvement; the baseline is well below what the state expects. When placed against other schools in Orange County that have submitted proficiency data, Diamond sits in the bottom quartile for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, understanding whether these results reflect the student population's starting point, what supports the school has in place for struggling learners, and what trajectory the school expects over time.

The district, Santa Ana Unified, recently passed a major school facilities bond through voter approval in November 2024, committing to repair and modernization of aging schools over a defined period. That investment will directly affect the physical plant families encounter. The district was an early adopter of ethnic studies as a graduation requirement starting in 2020, embedding it throughout K-12 curriculum, but in 2025 agreed to discontinue three contested high school ethnic studies courses and rebuild them with public input following a lawsuit over antisemitism allegations and open-meeting violations. That curriculum restructuring will shape what students learn at the secondary level.

Santa Ana itself is in active growth and redevelopment. Housing values in the zip code are moderate for Southern California, and rents have ticked upward. The city is pursuing infill housing and mixed-use projects at scale, with billions of dollars in development approved or under construction. Downtown Santa Ana remains the civic heart, with government offices, courts, the main library, and the regional transit hub anchoring daily life. Parks, including Centennial Park and trails near the Santa Ana River, provide outdoor recreation. For families considering Diamond, the school offers a neighborhood setting in a city with real infrastructure investment and cultural energy, though academic performance is currently weak and represents a real starting point that would warrant direct conversation with school leadership about teaching, curriculum, and support systems.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 312%

School 12% · District 26% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 45 pts below county median

Grade 424%

School 24% · District 25% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 22% · ▲ 11 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 318%

School 18% · District 25% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Grade 429%

School 29% · District 31% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 34% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Science

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 18% · ▲ 11 pts above district

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

This schoolSanta Ana 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.