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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Romero-Cruz Academy?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
827
Elementary
DISTRICT 530 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SANTA ANA UNIFIED·NCES 063531007597
Romero-Cruz Academy
2701 West Fifth St., Santa Ana, CA 92703 · (714) 480-2200 · Orange County
GRADES KG–08ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL827 STUDENTS
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 4% of California public elementary schools
- FTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C+Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded California public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
17.4:1
47 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.3:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
96%
792 students
DISTRICT 91% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 54 | 7% |
| Grade 1 | 29 | 4% |
| Grade 2 | 37 | 4% |
| Grade 3 | 38 | 5% |
| Grade 4 | 44 | 5% |
| Grade 5 | 29 | 4% |
| Grade 6 | 201 | 24% |
| Grade 7 | 210 | 25% |
| Grade 8 | 185 | 22% |
This year's kindergarten class (54) is 71% smaller than its 8th grade class (185).
Student demographics
6%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 8% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
11.6%
CA avg 49.1% . -10.4pp since 2014
Math
9.8%
CA avg 37.7% . -7.2pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 12 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 10 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are down about 10 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 7 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 1.1% | 10.6% | 21.9% | 66.5% |
| Math | 3.3% | 6.5% | 18.6% | 71.6% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 11.6% | 9.8% |
| 2023-24 | 10.1% | 7.4% |
| 2022-23 | 13.8% | 7.3% |
| 2021-22 | 12.2% | 6.2% |
| 2020-21 | 15.9% | 4.6% |
| 2018-19 | 32.1% | 27.1% |
| 2017-18 | 29.6% | 25.3% |
| 2016-17 | 24.3% | 23.9% |
| 2015-16 | 22.0% | 18.0% |
| 2014-15 | 22.0% | 17.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
10.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
23.4%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-13.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 10% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 23% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Romero-Cruz Academy
Romero-Cruz Academy's state test result (10.4% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romero-Cruz Academy this school | 827 | 95.8% | 10.4% |
| Oakley (Calvin C.) Elementary Santa Maria | 849 | 95.9% | 18.4% |
| Kamala Elementary Oxnard | 842 | 95.8% | 24.1% |
| Manuel Esqueda Elementary Santa Ana | 811 | 94.3% | 18.8% |
| Ontiveros (Juan Pacifico) Elementary Santa Maria | 869 | 94.2% | 38.7% |
| Martin R. Heninger Elementary Santa Ana | 783 | 94.5% | 24.4% |
Matched among California elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Romero-Cruz Academy ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Orange County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 10.4% | #5,092 of 5,151 | #381 of 381 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 9.8% | #5,051 of 5,172 ▲ 49 | #382 of 382 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 11.6% | #5,120 of 5,172 ▲ 13 | #382 of 382 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +1.5pp | #2,845 of 5,116 | #208 of 381 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 827 | #314 of 5,915 | #31 of 404 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.4:1 | #189 of 5,352 | #16 of 398 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 5.7% | #5,167 of 5,354 | #378 of 398 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 95.8% | #347 of 5,625 | #10 of 400 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +290.1% | #1 of 1,139 | #1 of 55 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
827
-74 (-8%) vs 2020
+86% since 2000-01, when it was 444
Student : Teacher
17.4:1
was 20.9:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 827 | 47.4 | 17.4:1 | 96% (792) |
| 2023-24 | 894 | 47.5 | 18.8:1 | 83% (742) |
| 2022-23 | 932 | 48.4 | 19.2:1 | 75% (697) |
| 2020-21 | 901 | 43 | 20.9:1 | 91% (820) |
| 2017-18 | 212 | 8 | 26.5:1 | 91% (192) |
| 2015-16 | 283 | 10 | 28.3:1 | 98% (278) |
| 2010-11 | 280 | N/A | N/A | 97% (272) |
| 2000-01 | 444 | 20 | 22.2:1 | 90% (400) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Romero-Cruz Academy.
Since 2017-18: students up 290% (212 to 827); teachers up 493% (8 to 47.4).
About Romero-Cruz Academy
This page covers Romero-Cruz Academy, a large elementary school in Santa Ana, California. The grade span is kindergarten through 8, and enrollment is 827 students. Average enrollment for elementary schools in California is about 465, so this school runs 78% bigger than that.
Santa Ana Unified includes 51 schools. Together they enroll 35,993 students.
About 97% of the student body at Romero-Cruz Academy is Hispanic. That compares with about 34% Hispanic among all Orange County residents. The school's diversity index is 6%, meaning two students picked at random have a 6% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The school employs the equivalent of 47.4 full-time teachers, for a ratio of 17.4:1. That is lower than the 22.3:1 average for elementary schools in California. The free or reduced-price lunch share, often used to gauge student poverty, is 96%. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Orange County is 55%.
The allk12 Grade for Romero-Cruz Academy is F. Compared with California public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 4% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Romero-Cruz Academy posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 10.4%, compared with a predicted 23.4%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of California schools on BeatsExpectations.
Orange County census figures show that the median household income is $116,289, roughly 44% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. There are 649 public schools in Orange County, enrolling about 430,458 students in all.
Nearest public school: Vista Condor Global Academy, about 0.1 miles away. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Romero-Cruz Academy at 5th of 5.
In the federal locale system, Romero-Cruz Academy is coded City: Large, for schools inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment at Romero-Cruz Academy declined 8% between 2020-21 and 2024-25, from 901 to 827 students. Its ratio of students to teachers was 20.9:1 in 2020-21, and 17.4:1 in 2024-25.
Discussions about Romero-Cruz Academy may include school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Orange County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
3,165,820
Census ACS
Median income
$116,289
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
44%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
649
430,458 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Santa Ana Unified
- Santa Ana HighHigh · 2,505 students
- Segerstrom HighHigh · 2,376 students
- Valley HighHigh · 1,908 students
- Hector G. GodinezHigh · 1,687 students
- Century HighHigh · 1,519 students
- Saddleback HighHigh · 1,451 students
Other schools in Santa Ana
- Santa Ana HighHigh · 2,505 students
- Segerstrom HighHigh · 2,376 students
- OCSAHigh · 2,346 students
- Foothill HighHigh · 2,126 students
- Valley HighHigh · 1,908 students
- Hector G. GodinezHigh · 1,687 students
Nearby schools
- Vista Condor Global Academy0.1 mi · 357
- Vista Heritage Global Academy0.1 mi · 369
- Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana0.4 mi · 524
- Fremont Elementary0.6 mi · 394
- Abraham Lincoln Elementary0.6 mi · 468
- Edward Russell Elementary0.9 mi · 473
Frequently asked questions
About Romero-Cruz AcademyHow many students attend Romero-Cruz Academy?
Romero-Cruz Academy enrolls approximately 827 students in grades KG-08.
What grades does Romero-Cruz Academy serve?
Romero-Cruz Academy serves grades KG-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Romero-Cruz Academy?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Romero-Cruz Academy is approximately 17.4:1 (47 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Romero-Cruz Academy?
At Romero-Cruz Academy, the student body is approximately 1% White, 97% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian.
Is Romero-Cruz Academy public or private?
Romero-Cruz Academy is a public K-12 school, overseen by Santa Ana Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.