Raymond A. Villa Fundamental Intermediate, Santa Ana CA

Original Research by School Decision on Raymond A. Villa Fundamental Intermediate

Raymond A. Villa Fundamental Intermediate serves middle grades six through eight in Santa Ana, an urban core city that is the county seat of Orange County and the region's most densely populated municipality. The school draws almost entirely from the local community, with a student body that is predominantly Hispanic and economically under-resourced; a substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

The school's academic performance is markedly low across all tested subjects and grades. In English language arts, roughly one-third of sixth and seventh graders and fewer than three in ten eighth graders score at proficient or above. In mathematics, the picture is much steeper: proficiency rates fall between one in ten and one in eight across all three grades. In eighth-grade science, fewer than one in six students meet proficiency. These results situate the school in the bottom quartile when measured against other districts in Orange County on overall proficiency. A parent should understand that this school presents a significant academic challenge; a student arriving with gaps will encounter limited peer modeling of grade-level mastery and teaching contexts stretched to address wide disparity. For families considering enrollment, a productive conversation with the school about intervention supports, tutoring access, and individual student placement would be essential.

The school is a regular public school operated by Santa Ana Unified, which serves the city and surrounding areas. The district itself is navigating substantial change. Voters approved a major school facilities bond in November to fund repair and modernization of aging buildings. The district also recently settled a lawsuit over its ethnic studies curriculum and has agreed to discontinue three contested high school courses and rebuild them with community input, a shift that will reshape a signature part of the district's academic identity.

Santa Ana itself is in active growth and redevelopment, with major infill housing projects underway, billions of dollars in approved construction, and rising property values. The city is the administrative and cultural heart of Orange County, home to government offices, courts, the county library system, and a regional transit hub. Downtown features walkable street life centered on Fourth Street, with markets, galleries, restaurants, and live music. Housing affordability is below state and national benchmarks; median home values and rents are substantial for the region. The school sits on East Chestnut Avenue in a dense, working-class neighborhood in the city's northeast corridor.

For a family considering Villa Intermediate, the key question is whether the school's current academic trajectory, peer composition, and available supports align with a student's needs and whether family resources or community partnerships can provide the reinforcement the school's results suggest is necessary.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 612%

School 12% · District 20% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Grade 711%

School 11% · District 20% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 39 pts below county median

Grade 811%

School 11% · District 21% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 634%

School 34% · District 30% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 735%

School 35% · District 33% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 828%

School 28% · District 31% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

Science

Grade 816%

School 16% · District 15% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 38% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 26 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income73%40 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income34%Higher-income58%24 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income12%Higher-income18%6 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income11%Higher-income17%6 pp gap