Is Handy Elementary a good school?

Handy Elementary ranks 3264 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Handy Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 373 students attended Handy Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Handy Elementary?

Students at Handy Elementary are 91% Hispanic, 5% White, 2% Asian, 1% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of Handy Elementary attend?

Students who attend Handy Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Yorba Middle High : Orange High

Handy Elementary

Summary:

Handy Elementary is a public elementary school in Orange, California, serving 410 students in grades K-6. It is part of the Orange Unified School District, which is ranked 517 out of 1,568 districts in the state.

Handy Elementary faces several challenges, including lower academic performance compared to the district and state averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, the percentage of Handy students proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy ranged from 30.23% to 47.46%, compared to the district average of 53.26% to 61.09% and the state average of 42.8% to 47.37%. In Mathematics, the percentage of Handy students proficient or better ranged from 20.45% to 33.96%, compared to the district average of 45.12% to 55.44% and the state average of 34.31% to 45.64%. The school's performance in Science is also lower than the district and state averages. Additionally, Handy Elementary has experienced a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, from 5.0% in 2020-2021 to 21.5% in 2021-2022 and 17.0% in 2022-2023, which is notably higher than the district average.

Handy Elementary's lower academic performance and higher chronic absenteeism may be influenced by the high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with 91.46% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in the 2022-2023 school year. This is significantly higher than the nearby California iInspire Academy, Prospect Elementary, and Villa Park Elementary, which range from 26.75% to 93.52% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school's location and proximity to these higher-performing schools within the same district suggest that factors beyond just the school's internal operations may be influencing student outcomes.

Detail:

Public K-6

860 North Handy St.
Orange, CA 92867-7243

(714) 997-6183

District: Orange Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
3264^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $6,030

Students who attend Handy Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Yorba Middle
High:	Orange High

Student/teacher ratio: 24.7

Number of students: 373

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

91.2%

White:

4.8%

Asian:

1.6%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 94.9%

See top rated California elementary schools

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Handy Elementary ranks worse than 55.7% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 23^rd among 27 ranked elementary schools in the Orange Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 38.52. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: Hispanic (91.2%), White (4.8%), Asian (1.6%). (See more...)

Compare Details 94.9% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Handy Elementary is 24.7, which is the 9^th best among 27 elementary schools in the Orange Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Handy Elementary employs 15 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Handy Elementary is $6,030, which is the 2^nd highest among 27 elementary schools in the Orange Unified School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Handy Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Handy Elementary 3264^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Handy Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Orange Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Orange Unified 517^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Handy Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Handy Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	18.35	4083^rd	4809	15.1%
2005	12.42	4492^nd	4822	6.8%
2006	12.89	4482^nd	4818	7.0%
2007	16.68	4527^th	5113	11.5%
2008	22.70	4147^th	5113	18.9%
2009	24.16	4123^rd	5193	20.6%
2010	23.05	4375^th	5314	17.7%
2011	34.36	3659^th	5377	32.0%
2012	51.11	2550^th	5390	52.7%
2013	37.17	3516^th	5530	36.4%
2015	34.43	3368^th	5611	40.0%
2016	49.68	2505^th	5614	55.4%
2017	47.35	2695^th	5692	52.7%
2018	50.91	2524^th	5662	55.4%
2019	46.07	2814^th	5789	51.4%
2022	25.48	4295^th	5883	27.0%
2023	34.22	3558^th	5874	39.4%
2024	38.52	3264^th	5862	44.3%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Handy Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	50.97	1207^th	3246	62.8%
2019	47.43	1373^rd	3275	58.1%
2022	42.56	1637^th	3311	50.6%
2023	28.01	2672^nd	3250	17.8%
2024	29.66	2572^nd	3160	18.6%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Handy Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	69.90	1192^nd	5084	76.6%
2019	62.72	1586^th	5173	69.3%
2022	35.68	3362^nd	5264	36.1%
2023	47.53	2536^th	5374	52.8%
2024	49.33	2429^th	5511	55.9%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Handy Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	54.64	2251^st	5413	58.4%
2019	44.86	2813^th	5492	48.8%
2022	27.96	3931^st	5635	30.2%
2023	36.19	3281^st	5617	41.6%
2024	39.00	3138^th	5605	44.0%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Handy Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	37.48	1182^nd	2227	46.9%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Handy Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	46.83	2641^st	5431	51.4%
2019	46.75	2628^th	5510	52.3%
2022	24.93	4245^th	5663	25.0%
2023	33.03	3536^th	5650	37.4%
2024	38.64	3164^th	5636	43.9%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Handy Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	66.76	1298^th	4830	73.1%
2019	61.09	1623^rd	4963	67.3%
2022	35.29	3268^th	5084	35.7%
2023	48.43	2335^th	5098	54.2%
2024	51.14	2194^th	5102	57.0%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: California Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)

100%

Reviews:

by a parent
Thursday, August 19, 2010

My son has gone to a private school since preschool and unfortunately had to finish the last 6 weeks of 5th grade at this school since it is closest to our home. What a mistake. We are used to a very mixed/diverse enviornment and this school was not it. My son was antagonized every day and ate lunch by himself. When I mentioned it to the principal she laughed it off. I called and left messages for his teacher to call me on several occasions with no response. This school does NOT care about it's students or parent participation. My son lost his father in Oct. 2009 and the heartache continued with this school treating him the way it did. I am in no way a racist but it is not right for a school to be so dominated that any other race is cast off and/or antagonized for NO reason. He should have been more protected by the staff! Close Quote

Enrollment information for Handy Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	475	6	51	179	1	n/a	n/a	0	712
1989	420	7	50	192	3	n/a	n/a	0	672
1990	452	16	49	229	2	n/a	n/a	0	748
1991	404	10	39	231	2	n/a	n/a	0	686
1992	388	6	36	270	3	n/a	n/a	0	703
1993	379	4	37	291	2	n/a	n/a	0	713
1994	350	5	42	349	3	n/a	n/a	0	749
1995	343	9	35	351	0	n/a	n/a	0	738
1996	343	9	35	351	0	n/a	n/a	0	738
1997	316	10	41	396	0	n/a	n/a	0	763
1998	279	14	29	476	3	n/a	n/a	0	801
1999	291	14	36	505	4	n/a	n/a	0	850
2000	260	11	35	535	3	n/a	n/a	0	844
2001	234	11	32	535	3	n/a	n/a	0	815
2002	177	8	27	567	8	n/a	n/a	1	788
2003	177	8	27	567	8	n/a	n/a	1	788
2004	153	6	29	547	4	n/a	n/a	7	746
2005	122	3	28	550	1	n/a	n/a	13	717
2006	92	2	23	504	1	n/a	n/a	19	641
2007	82	4	24	490	2	n/a	n/a	18	620
2008	57	5	20	465	2	n/a	n/a	0	549
2009	38	0	10	471	2	5	16	0	542
2010	30	1	7	484	2	5	11	0	540
2011	25	2	7	489	2	2	6	0	533
2012	18	2	2	478	1	3	4	0	508
2013	26	4	3	489	0	5	4	0	531
2014	24	2	4	516	0	4	1	0	551
2015	15	2	2	537	1	3	2	0	562
2016	15	1	7	525	1	3	2	0	554
2017	16	0	5	500	1	2	2	0	526
2018	25	0	1	459	1	5	4	0	495
2019	15	3	2	438	1	2	5	0	466
2020	19	3	3	414	1	1	4	0	445
2021	24	2	4	385	1	1	6	0	423
2022	29	3	0	377	0	1	3	1	414
2023	21	4	4	377	1	1	1	1	410
2024	18	3	6	340	1	0	4	1	373

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Handy Elementary

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	712	28.4	25.0	n/a
1989	672	26.8	25.0	n/a
1990	748	29.0	25.7	n/a
1991	686	28.0	24.5	n/a
1992	703	28.5	24.6	41.8
1993	713	27.5	25.9	40.1
1994	749	28.4	26.4	51
1995	738	27.9	26.5	58.1
1996	738	27.9	26.5	58.1
1997	763	30.4	25.1	59.1
1998	801	33.4	24.0	55.3
1999	850	41.4	20.5	54.7
2000	844	41.9	20.1	57.9
2001	815	42.0	19.4	60.1
2002	788	40.5	19.5	66.5
2003	788	40.5	19.5	66.5
2004	746	36.6	20.4	68.6
2005	717	34.6	20.7	71.7
2006	641	32.7	19.6	80.4
2007	620	29.9	20.7	81.7
2008	549	35.0	15.7	83.6
2009	542	26.6	19.0	86.7
2010	540	26.4	20.3	87.4
2011	533	n/a	n/a	80.9
2012	508	25.5	19.9	n/a
2013	531	28.0	18.9	91
2014	551	27.0	20.4	91.1
2015	562	25.0	22.4	94.1
2016	554	21.0	26.3	89.5
2017	526	19.0	27.6	87.6
2018	495	19.0	26.0	90.1
2019	466	16.0	29.1	90.3
2020	445	n/a	n/a	90.8
2021	423	16.6	25.3	84.9
2022	414	16.0	25.8	70.3
2023	410	16.5	24.7	91.5
2024	373	15.0	24.7	94.9

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Handy Elementary

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	712	28.4	25.0	n/a
1989	672	26.8	25.0	n/a
1990	748	29.0	25.7	n/a
1991	686	28.0	24.5	n/a
1992	703	28.5	24.6	41.8
1993	713	27.5	25.9	40.1
1994	749	28.4	26.4	51
1995	738	27.9	26.5	58.1
1996	738	27.9	26.5	58.1
1997	763	30.4	25.1	59.1
1998	801	33.4	24.0	55.3
1999	850	41.4	20.5	54.7
2000	844	41.9	20.1	57.9
2001	815	42.0	19.4	60.1
2002	788	40.5	19.5	66.5
2003	788	40.5	19.5	66.5
2004	746	36.6	20.4	68.6
2005	717	34.6	20.7	71.7
2006	641	32.7	19.6	80.4
2007	620	29.9	20.7	81.7
2008	549	35.0	15.7	83.6
2009	542	26.6	19.0	86.7
2010	540	26.4	20.3	87.4
2011	533	n/a	n/a	80.9
2012	508	25.5	19.9	n/a
2013	531	28.0	18.9	91
2014	551	27.0	20.4	91.1
2015	562	25.0	22.4	94.1
2016	554	21.0	26.3	89.5
2017	526	19.0	27.6	87.6
2018	495	19.0	26.0	90.1
2019	466	16.0	29.1	90.3
2020	445	n/a	n/a	90.8
2021	423	16.6	25.3	84.9
2022	414	16.0	25.8	70.3
2023	410	16.5	24.7	91.5
2024	373	15.0	24.7	94.9

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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