Hewes Middle, Santa Ana CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Hewes Middle

Hewes Middle is a public middle school serving grades six through eight in Santa Ana, the urban core of Orange County. The school sits in a dense, mixed-use city that is the county seat and holds much of the region's manufacturing and logistics infrastructure alongside historic residential neighborhoods shaped strongly by Mexican-American and Vietnamese populations.

The school's recent test results show proficiency that sits above the midpoint when compared to other middle schools across Orange County districts. In English language arts, Hewes students overall score around the low-to-mid range across grades six, seven, and eight, with sixth grade showing the strongest proficiency relative to older grades. Math proficiency is somewhat lower, with a noticeable dip from sixth to seventh grade and a slight recovery in eighth. Science proficiency in eighth grade, the only year that tests apply, falls in the middle-to-lower range. Overall proficiency across tested areas places the school above the median for the county's middle schools.

The enrollment is typical for a middle school in a dense urban setting, with roughly even distribution across the three grades. About two out of every five students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is diverse in ethnicity: just over two out of five students are Hispanic, about four out of ten are white, roughly one out of fourteen are Asian, and the remainder include multiracial students and very small numbers of other groups. The school does not report data on English learners or students with IEPs; these numbers are missing from the public record.

Santa Ana itself is in a growth and redevelopment phase, with major new housing and mixed-use projects underway that will shape the neighborhood for years. A voter-approved bond measure passed in late 2024 will fund facility upgrades and repairs across the Tustin Unified School District, of which Hewes is part, targeting aging systems in classrooms, labs, and buildings. The district is also undertaking a multi-year overhaul of math instruction, beginning with a "learning year" in 2024 to rebuild teacher practice before adopting new materials. That shift will affect how math is taught across grades.

Housing values in the zip code where the school sits are high for the region, and rents are substantial as well. The area's major employers include county and city government, the school district itself, healthcare, education, and logistics and distribution. Downtown Santa Ana, with its civic center and regional transit hub, is walkable and carries street life; most of the broader city is car-dependent. The Santa Ana Public Library's main branch is undergoing renovation through spring 2026, and the OC Streetcar, a new modern transit line, is under development to connect downtown to Garden Grove.

A parent considering Hewes should understand that the school sits in a district in transition: new buildings and upgrades are coming, and math teaching is being rethought from the ground up. The student population is economically and ethnically mixed, with a meaningful share of families accessing free or reduced lunch. The school's proficiency, while above the county median, still shows room for growth, particularly in mathematics and science. The surrounding community is dense, urban, and increasingly developed, with public transportation and downtown amenities nearby but with a car-oriented character in many residential neighborhoods.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 665%

School 65% · District 54% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 747%

School 47% · District 50% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Grade 847%

School 47% · District 53% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 669%

School 69% · District 62% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 754%

School 54% · District 61% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 858%

School 58% · District 63% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 846%

School 46% · District 48% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 876%

School 76% · District 65% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

This schoolTustin 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-income52%Higher-income79%27 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income36%Higher-income67%31 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income44%Higher-income68%24 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income41%Higher-income79%38 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income34%Higher-income57%24 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income33%Higher-income58%24 pp gap