The top reported proficiency rate is 23% in English language arts. The lowest is 16% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Roosevelt Walker Academy
Roosevelt Walker Academy is a kindergarten-through-fifth-grade public elementary school in Santa Ana, part of the Santa Ana Unified School District. It sits on South Halladay Street in what is, by any measure, one of the most densely populated and economically constrained urban settings in Orange County. The student body is almost entirely Hispanic, and a large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, placing the school squarely within the lower-income, working-class fabric of central Santa Ana.
On California's statewide assessments, the academic picture is one parents should look at carefully. Across third, fourth, and fifth grades, English language arts proficiency ranges from roughly one in five students to roughly one in four, with fifth grade showing the strongest reading results. Math proficiency is lower still, running below one in five across all three tested grades, with fifth grade the weakest point. Science results at fifth grade are similarly low. Placed against districts across Orange County, the school's overall proficiency index falls in the bottom quartile of that comparison set. That is a meaningful gap from county midpoints, and a parent who is weighing academic preparation as a priority will want to ask the school directly about instructional supports, how students who are behind grade level are identified, and what the trajectory looks like for individual children. Trend data is limited to a single year, so there is no multi-year arc to consult yet. English learner rates and special education participation data were not reported in the available records.
The school does not serve middle or high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report and no AP or dual-enrollment context here. Program information was not available in the data.
The surrounding community gives important context. Santa Ana is Orange County's urban core and county seat, a densely built city shaped strongly by a large Mexican-American population alongside a substantial Vietnamese community. The neighborhood around South Halladay is part of a city that is simultaneously in an aggressive redevelopment phase, with large mixed-use and housing projects moving through construction, and home to some of the county's most economically stretched families. Downtown Santa Ana, a short distance from the school, has real civic infrastructure: a transit hub connecting Metrolink, Amtrak, and bus lines; a library system currently mid-renovation; and a walkable commercial corridor along Fourth Street with food, galleries, and street life. Outlying residential streets are largely car-dependent. The housing market here is expensive relative to income, with home values well above the national median and rents consuming a disproportionate share of household income for many families in the district.
At the district level, Santa Ana Unified voters approved a school facilities bond in November 2024, authorizing a substantial investment in repairing and modernizing aging school buildings over time. That bond is funded through increased property taxes, which matters for families weighing whether to buy in the area. On curriculum, the district has been navigating a contested ethnic studies situation: it was an early adopter of embedding ethnic studies across K-12, but in 2025 it agreed to discontinue three high school ethnic studies courses and rebuild them from scratch following a lawsuit over antisemitism allegations and open-meeting violations. That is a district-level development, not one that directly shapes a kindergarten or elementary classroom today, but it reflects the civic environment the district operates in.
For a family considering Roosevelt Walker Academy, the school sits in a community with genuine cultural depth and improving public infrastructure, and it serves a population with real economic challenges. The academic performance data, as currently reported, is low across all tested subjects relative to the state and the county comparison set. A parent would be well served by visiting the school, asking about instructional supports for English learners and students below grade level, and understanding what the transition pathway to middle school looks like for students who leave here.
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