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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at Taft Elementary this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
387
Elementary
DISTRICT 474 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ORANGE UNIFIED·NCES 062865004454
Taft Elementary
1829 North Cambridge, Orange, CA 92865 · (714) 997-6254 · Orange County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL387 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
26.3:1
15 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 25.1:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
89%
344 students
DISTRICT 60% · STATE 65%
Community
1
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 | 73 | 19% |
| Grade 1 | 38 | 10% |
| Grade 2 | 46 | 12% |
| Grade 3 | 51 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 52 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 59 | 15% |
| Grade 6 | 68 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (73) is 7% larger than its 6th grade class (68).
Student demographics
23%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 60% · 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
40.9%
CA avg 49.1% . +13.9pp since 2014
Math
42.6%
CA avg 37.7% . +17.6pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 41 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 43 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 14 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 18 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 13.6% | 27.3% | 32.3% | 26.8% |
| Math | 16.6% | 26.0% | 23.3% | 34.1% |
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 | 40.9% | 42.6% |
| 2023-24 | 45.3% | 40.2% |
| 2022-23 | 31.9% | 29.6% |
| 2021-22 | 34.1% | 23.4% |
| 2018-19 | 40.7% | 26.0% |
| 2017-18 | 35.7% | 22.3% |
| 2016-17 | 32.5% | 20.6% |
| 2015-16 | 34.0% | 21.0% |
| 2014-15 | 27.0% | 25.0% |
% 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of CA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
42.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
27.5%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+14.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 42% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 27% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 15 points, placing it in California's top 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 Taft Elementary
Taft Elementary's state test result (42.4% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taft Elementary this school | 387 | 88.9% | 42.4% |
| Gabriella Charter Los Angeles | 396 | 88.4% | N/A |
| Sycamore Elementary Orange | 357 | 88.5% | 39.3% |
| Handy Elementary Orange | 377 | 90.5% | 34.5% |
| Fairhaven Elementary Santa Ana | 421 | 88.4% | 26.4% |
| E. J. Marshall Elementary Chino | 417 | 89.2% | 43.7% |
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 Taft Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Orange County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 42.4% | #2,278 of 5,151 | #250 of 381 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 42.6% | #2,098 of 5,172 ▲ 71 | #234 of 382 ▲ 18 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 40.9% | #2,837 of 5,172 ▼ 577 | #284 of 382 ▼ 37 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +13.0pp | #308 of 5,116 | #11 of 381 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 387 | #3,846 of 5,915 | #303 of 404 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 26.3:1 | #4,949 of 5,352 | #315 of 398 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 22.8% | #4,283 of 5,354 | #322 of 398 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 88.9% | #1,236 of 5,625 | #57 of 400 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -36.0% | #257 of 3,837 | #29 of 324 |
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
387
-115 (-23%) vs 2020
-51% since 1990-91, when it was 795
Student : Teacher
26.3:1
was 29.5:1
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 | 387 | 14.7 | 26.3:1 | 89% (344) |
| 2023-24 | 436 | 15.7 | 27.8:1 | 90% (394) |
| 2022-23 | 447 | 15.5 | 28.8:1 | 93% (417) |
| 2020-21 | 502 | 17 | 29.5:1 | 85% (427) |
| 2017-18 | 605 | 20.5 | 29.5:1 | 85% (516) |
| 2015-16 | 600 | 20 | 30.0:1 | 84% (503) |
| 2010-11 | 527 | N/A | N/A | 78% (412) |
| 2000-01 | 951 | 45 | 21.1:1 | 47% (447) |
| 1990-91 | 795 | 28 | 28.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Taft Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 36% (605 to 387); teachers down 28% (20.5 to 14.7).
About Taft Elementary
Taft Elementary is a small elementary school found in Orange, California. The latest federal count shows 387 students in kindergarten through 6.
Taft Elementary is part of Orange Unified, where 40 schools serve 23,790 students.
Hispanic students are the large majority at Taft Elementary, with 88% of enrollment. Next come 5% White, 3% Asian, and 3% multiracial. That compares with about 34% Hispanic among all Orange County residents. By the diversity index, Taft Elementary comes in at 23%.
The school reported 14.7 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25 and a ratio of 26.3:1. The 22.3:1 average for elementary schools in California is lower than this school's figure. Eligible students account for 89% of enrollment in the free or reduced-price lunch program. Compared with the 55% average for public schools in Orange County, the school's rate is higher.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for Taft Elementary is +14.9 points, in the top 10% of California. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 42.4%, and the predicted rate is 27.5%.
Orange County has these Census figures: median household income is about $116,289, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 44% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 7%. The public schools of Orange County number 649 and enroll about 430,458.
Nearby, Explore Academy is about 0.4 miles away. Taft Elementary is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Taft Elementary at 4th of 8.
Locale data from NCES put Taft Elementary inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000 (City: Mid-size).
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, Taft Elementary went from 502 students to 387. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 29.5:1 to 26.3:1.
To ask about school safety, transportation, and start times, start a discussion on this page. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
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 Orange Unified
- Canyon HighHigh · 2,183 students
- Villa Park HighHigh · 2,023 students
- El Modena HighHigh · 1,795 students
- Orange HighHigh · 1,728 students
- El Rancho CharterMiddle · 1,144 students
- McPherson MagnetElementary · 863 students
Other schools in Orange
- El Modena HighHigh · 1,795 students
- Orange HighHigh · 1,728 students
- Santiago Charter MiddleMiddle · 1,137 students
- McPherson MagnetElementary · 863 students
- Orange County Classical AcademyCombined · 740 students
- California iInspire AcademyElementary · 699 students
Other Taft Elementary schools
12 other US public schools in 10 states are named Taft Elementary. Taft Elementary is the 7th largest of the 13.
- Taft ElementaryStockton, CA · 449 students
- Taft ElementarySanta Ana, CA · 408 students
- Taft ElementaryRedwood City, CA · 357 students
- TAFT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLWASHINGTONVILLE, NY · 522 students
- Taft Elementary SchoolMESA, AZ · 491 students
Nearby schools
- Explore Academy0.4 mi · 126
- California iInspire Academy0.9 mi · 699
- Yorba Middle1.0 mi · 418
- Fletcher Mandarin Language & GATE Academy1.2 mi · 493
- Serrano Elementary1.2 mi · 524
- Cerro Villa Middle1.5 mi · 747
Frequently asked questions
About Taft ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Taft Elementary?
Taft Elementary enrolls approximately 387 students in grades KG-06.
What age range does Taft Elementary serve?
Taft Elementary serves students from grade KG through grade 06.
How many students per teacher at Taft Elementary?
Approximately 26.3:1 students per teacher at Taft Elementary.
What is the student diversity at Taft Elementary?
Student demographics at Taft Elementary are roughly 5% White, 88% Hispanic, 1% Black, 3% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is Taft Elementary public or private?
Taft Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Orange Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.