Holder Elementary, Buena Park CA

Original Research by School Decision on Holder Elementary

Holder Elementary sits in Buena Park, a mixed-use city in northwest Orange County anchored by tourist attractions, manufacturing, and warehousing alongside residential neighborhoods built largely in the 1950s through 1970s. The school serves kindergarten through sixth grade in this community where home values have climbed steadily and a major mixed-use redevelopment is underway in the downtown corridor.

The school enrolls a small to mid-sized population with a high concentration of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the area. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial Asian population and smaller Black, White, and multiracial shares. Specific enrollment counts for students with disabilities and English learners were not available in the data provided.

Academic performance shows modest proficiency levels across tested subjects and grades. In English language arts, third graders show the lowest performance while sixth graders show notably stronger results, suggesting reading and writing skills improve as students progress through the upper grades. Math proficiency is lower than ELA overall and declines as grade level increases, with the sharpest drop from fifth to sixth grade. Science proficiency data appears only for fifth grade and sits at a substantially lower level than both math and ELA, which a parent may want to look into further with the school. The school's overall proficiency index places it below the midpoint when compared to other districts in Orange County.

The school is part of Savanna Elementary School District, which recently restructured its Board of Trustees from at-large to by-district elections, completing that transition by 2024. This shift gives specific neighborhoods dedicated board representation rather than at-large seats.

Buena Park itself is evolving. The city's downtown area centered on Beach Boulevard has a walkable commercial core with a Koreatown character. Civic infrastructure includes a library district that relocated to a new location with a reopening expected in summer 2026, and regional parks. Transit is anchored by a Metrolink station serving the Orange County and 91/Perris Valley lines. The housing market shows steady appreciation, with redevelopment projects converting older retail and commercial sites to mixed-use residential uses, most notably a large downtown transformation bringing hundreds of new residential units. The area is car-oriented overall, though some neighborhoods are more walkable than others. Major local employers include Knott's Berry Farm, manufacturing and distribution firms, and health care services.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 358%

School 58% · District 53% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 458%

School 58% · District 45% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 42% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 43% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 41% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 49% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 53% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 664%

School 64% · District 57% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 34% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

This schoolSavanna 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 4Lower-income55%Higher-income55%0 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income49%Higher-income73%24 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income61%Higher-income75%15 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income55%Higher-income73%18 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income40%Higher-income67%27 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income75%42 pp gap