Best Public Schools in Garden Grove, CA

The city of Garden Grove, California is home to 50 schools serving grades K-12, with 35 elementary schools, 8 middle schools, 6 high schools, and 1 alternative school. These schools are part of the Garden Grove Unified School District, which is ranked 402 out of 1,568 school districts in the state and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Several schools in Garden Grove stand out for their exceptional academic performance. Pacifica High School is ranked 214th out of 2,323 California high schools and has a 5-star rating, with strong proficiency rates in English Language Arts/Literacy (78.59%) and Mathematics (49.47%). At the elementary level, Loyal Barker Elementary, A.G. Cook Elementary, and Patton Elementary all rank in the top 200 out of 5,862 California elementary schools and have 5-star ratings, with proficiency rates exceeding 80% in both core subjects.

However, the data also reveals significant variation in academic performance across the district. While the high-performing schools demonstrate what is possible, other schools, such as Marie L. Hare High, struggle with lower test scores, higher dropout rates, and elevated chronic absenteeism. This suggests opportunities for the district to learn from its top-performing schools and implement best practices to support improvement at lower-performing campuses.