Heroes Elementary, Santa Ana CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Heroes Elementary

Heroes Elementary is a small school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Santa Ana, an urban, densely settled county seat in Orange County. The school sits in the civic center area on Civic Center Drive, in a city that has historically been working-class and is now in the midst of significant housing and mixed-use development.

The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with a large majority of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the neighborhoods the school serves. English learner status and special education enrollment data were not available in the records provided. The enrollment is modest, distributed fairly evenly across the six grades.

State test results show proficiency in math and English language arts that is well below the state standard. In math, proficiency ranges from the mid-teens to around thirty percent depending on grade level, with fourth grade performing notably lower than third or fifth. In English language arts, proficiency hovers around twenty-seven to twenty-nine percent across grades three through five. A single grade-five science result came in at around twenty-three percent. These are real weak points. When compared to other schools and districts in Orange County, Heroes Elementary's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among the county's schools for which that metric is available. A parent may want to speak directly with the school about what supports are in place to address these results and what progress, if any, has been tracked in prior years; only the current year's test data was available here.

The school is a regular public school operated by the Santa Ana Unified School District, which in November 2024 won voter approval for a major school facilities bond funded by increased property taxes. This means the district is committed to repairing and modernizing aging schools over the coming years, which may affect the condition and resources available at Heroes Elementary. The district has also recently reworked its approach to ethnic studies curriculum after settling a lawsuit, a change that ripples through K-12 instruction.

Santa Ana itself is a working commercial and industrial city with a strong downtown civic presence, large parks, and a major transit hub at the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center. The city has entered an active growth phase with substantial new housing and mixed-use development underway. Housing values in the 92703 zip code where Heroes sits are in the mid-range for Orange County. Rents have risen modestly over the past year. The area around the school is urban and mixed-use rather than suburban, with government buildings, retail, and residential neighborhoods in close proximity.

For a family considering Heroes Elementary, the main question centers on the school's academic performance and the supports available to move students toward proficiency. The student population is cohesive and the location is central and accessible. The district's recent facilities bond and curriculum changes reflect ongoing work, but current test results are a significant consideration that deserves direct conversation with school leadership.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 328%

School 28% · District 26% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 416%

School 16% · District 25% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 38 pts below county median

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 22% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 327%

School 27% · District 25% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 31% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 34% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 18% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 17 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.