Is Jefferson Elementary a good school?

Jefferson Elementary ranks 3430 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Jefferson Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 609 students attended Jefferson Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Jefferson Elementary?

Students at Jefferson Elementary are 90% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 3% White, 1% African American.

What schools do graduates of Jefferson Elementary attend?

Students who attend Jefferson Elementary usually go on to attend: High : Segerstrom High

Jefferson Elementary

Summary:

Jefferson Elementary is a public elementary school in Santa Ana, California, serving 609 students in grades K-5. The school is part of the Santa Ana Unified school district, which has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Jefferson Elementary faces significant challenges, with high chronic absenteeism rates, lower-than-average test scores in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science, and particularly low performance for certain student groups like English Language Learners and Disabled students. The school's free and reduced-price lunch rates are also notably higher than the district average, and it has a relatively high student-teacher ratio. Compared to nearby schools in the same district, Jefferson Elementary generally performs worse on academic measures, though its Hispanic student population does relatively better in English Language Arts and Mathematics.

The data suggests that addressing the high chronic absenteeism rates, improving test scores, and providing additional support for struggling student groups may be key priorities for Jefferson Elementary. The school's declining performance trend over the past decade is also concerning and indicates that it may be struggling to keep up with the academic performance of its peers in the Santa Ana Unified district.

Detail:

Public K-5

1522 West Adams St.
Santa Ana, CA 92704-5798

(714) 431-3800

District: Santa Ana Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
3430^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $8,871

Students who attend Jefferson Elementary usually attend:

High:

Segerstrom High

Student/teacher ratio: 20.0

Number of students: 609

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

89.8%

Asian:

4.6%

White:

2.6%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 67.5%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Jefferson Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Jefferson Elementary ranks worse than 58.5% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 6^th among 34 ranked elementary schools in the Santa Ana Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 36.02. (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 (89.8%), Asian (4.6%), White (2.6%). (See more...)

Compare Details 67.5% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Jefferson Elementary is 20, which is the 10^th best among 34 elementary schools in the Santa Ana Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Jefferson Elementary employs 30.3 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Jefferson Elementary is $8,871, which is the 5^th highest among 34 elementary schools in the Santa Ana Unified School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Jefferson Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Jefferson Elementary 3430^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Jefferson Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Homeless students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Santa Ana Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Santa Ana Unified 1241^st of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Jefferson Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	26.26	3469^th	4809	27.9%
2005	32.31	3143^rd	4822	34.8%
2006	36.62	2900^th	4818	39.8%
2007	26.50	3830^th	5113	25.1%
2008	24.31	4025^th	5113	21.3%
2009	22.38	4253^rd	5193	18.1%
2010	24.79	4240^th	5314	20.2%
2011	29.95	3987^th	5377	25.9%
2012	28.73	4027^th	5390	25.3%
2013	29.91	4047^th	5530	26.8%
2015	22.62	4364^th	5611	22.2%
2016	30.07	3762^nd	5614	33.0%
2017	31.12	3745^th	5692	34.2%
2018	24.37	4287^th	5662	24.3%
2019	21.10	4698^th	5789	18.8%
2022	33.36	3593^rd	5883	38.9%
2023	30.21	3870^th	5874	34.1%
2024	36.02	3430^th	5862	41.5%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	29.29	2444^th	3246	24.7%
2019	31.70	2358^th	3275	28.0%
2022	42.48	1644^th	3311	50.3%
2023	39.47	1861^st	3250	42.7%
2024	40.37	1789^th	3160	43.4%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	30.24	1636^th	2420	32.4%
2024	38.81	1388^th	2634	47.3%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	29.85	3777^th	5084	25.7%
2019	25.78	4174^th	5173	19.3%
2022	49.67	2295^th	5264	56.4%
2023	35.06	3475^th	5374	35.3%
2024	42.29	2958^th	5511	46.3%

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

Rank History for Homeless students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	67.45	76^th	364	79.1%

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

Rank History for Female students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	25.51	4133^rd	5413	23.6%
2019	18.41	4759^th	5492	13.3%
2022	34.21	3395^th	5635	39.8%
2023	33.36	3471^st	5617	38.2%
2024	38.75	3153^rd	5605	43.7%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	32.25	1664^th	2585	35.6%
2022	20.61	1983^rd	2227	11.0%

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

Rank History for Male students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	23.68	4211^th	5431	22.5%
2019	24.48	4234^th	5510	23.2%
2022	33.08	3538^th	5663	37.5%
2023	28.57	3913^th	5650	30.7%
2024	33.83	3490^th	5636	38.1%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	29.57	3583^rd	4830	25.8%
2019	28.55	3801^st	4963	23.4%
2022	41.30	2809^th	5084	44.7%
2023	36.10	3219^th	5098	36.9%
2024	44.61	2634^th	5102	48.4%

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: 4)

100%

Reviews:

by a parent
Thursday, November 5, 2009

it's great my son is learning alot they just dont call u when they are out so its a little concerning.. Close Quote

Enrollment information for Jefferson Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	246	37	153	268	0	n/a	n/a	0	704
1989	269	37	168	328	0	n/a	n/a	0	802
1990	223	38	159	396	1	n/a	n/a	0	817
1991	198	34	171	467	0	n/a	n/a	0	870
1992	157	30	175	476	0	n/a	n/a	0	838
1993	146	42	189	488	0	n/a	n/a	0	865
1994	121	33	214	557	0	n/a	n/a	0	925
1995	120	32	183	666	0	n/a	n/a	0	1001
1996	120	32	183	666	0	n/a	n/a	0	1001
1997	124	35	168	764	0	n/a	n/a	0	1091
1998	121	37	163	818	0	n/a	n/a	0	1139
1999	130	27	161	851	1	n/a	n/a	1	1171
2000	89	21	116	736	1	n/a	n/a	3	966
2001	105	19	104	780	0	n/a	n/a	0	1008
2002	96	12	103	830	1	n/a	n/a	0	1042
2003	96	12	103	830	1	n/a	n/a	0	1042
2004	73	13	98	838	2	n/a	n/a	3	1027
2005	80	11	76	819	1	n/a	n/a	4	991
2006	72	11	64	809	0	n/a	n/a	0	956
2007	56	8	64	813	0	n/a	n/a	2	943
2008	49	11	62	814	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	936
2009	56	4	55	808	1	2	6	0	932
2010	51	6	61	828	0	1	1	0	948
2011	50	6	51	849	0	0	5	0	961
2012	40	5	46	780	0	1	8	0	880
2013	37	5	49	799	1	0	5	0	896
2014	38	12	45	794	2	1	5	0	897
2015	24	7	40	742	1	1	5	0	820
2016	23	6	38	693	1	0	12	0	773
2017	18	5	41	674	2	1	12	0	753
2018	17	5	30	648	2	1	14	0	717
2019	12	6	27	641	4	0	17	0	707
2020	17	3	28	603	2	0	7	0	660
2021	13	3	32	592	2	0	9	0	651
2022	13	2	30	555	2	0	5	0	607
2023	15	2	30	557	1	0	4	0	609
2024	16	9	28	547	5	0	4	0	609

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 Jefferson Elementary

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	704	28.0	25.1	n/a
1989	802	30.5	26.2	n/a
1990	817	32.6	25.0	n/a
1991	870	34.0	25.5	n/a
1992	838	34.6	24.2	41.1
1993	865	32.0	27.0	47.1
1994	925	32.0	28.9	53.2
1995	1001	38.0	26.3	63.4
1996	1001	38.0	26.3	63.4
1997	1091	38.0	28.7	61.5
1998	1139	51.0	22.3	64.5
1999	1171	51.0	23.0	63.7
2000	966	50.0	19.3	69
2001	1008	50.0	20.2	65.9
2002	1042	52.6	19.8	68.7
2003	1042	52.6	19.8	68.7
2004	1027	49.6	20.7	72.7
2005	991	44.6	22.2	70.3
2006	956	43.6	21.9	67.7
2007	943	43.0	21.9	72.1
2008	936	49.5	18.9	76.5
2009	932	44.0	20.3	79.8
2010	948	40.0	23.7	83.6
2011	961	n/a	n/a	81.5
2012	880	36.0	24.4	n/a
2013	896	33.5	26.7	73.5
2014	897	34.5	26.0	81.7
2015	820	34.0	24.1	76.3
2016	773	35.0	22.0	80.1
2017	753	34.0	22.1	74
2018	717	33.0	21.7	76.2
2019	707	33.0	21.4	74
2020	660	n/a	n/a	75.6
2021	651	29.0	22.4	76.2
2022	607	28.4	21.3	47.8
2023	609	31.5	19.3	63.7
2024	609	30.3	20.0	67.5

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 Jefferson Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	704	28.0	25.1	n/a
1989	802	30.5	26.2	n/a
1990	817	32.6	25.0	n/a
1991	870	34.0	25.5	n/a
1992	838	34.6	24.2	41.1
1993	865	32.0	27.0	47.1
1994	925	32.0	28.9	53.2
1995	1001	38.0	26.3	63.4
1996	1001	38.0	26.3	63.4
1997	1091	38.0	28.7	61.5
1998	1139	51.0	22.3	64.5
1999	1171	51.0	23.0	63.7
2000	966	50.0	19.3	69
2001	1008	50.0	20.2	65.9
2002	1042	52.6	19.8	68.7
2003	1042	52.6	19.8	68.7
2004	1027	49.6	20.7	72.7
2005	991	44.6	22.2	70.3
2006	956	43.6	21.9	67.7
2007	943	43.0	21.9	72.1
2008	936	49.5	18.9	76.5
2009	932	44.0	20.3	79.8
2010	948	40.0	23.7	83.6
2011	961	n/a	n/a	81.5
2012	880	36.0	24.4	n/a
2013	896	33.5	26.7	73.5
2014	897	34.5	26.0	81.7
2015	820	34.0	24.1	76.3
2016	773	35.0	22.0	80.1
2017	753	34.0	22.1	74
2018	717	33.0	21.7	76.2
2019	707	33.0	21.4	74
2020	660	n/a	n/a	75.6
2021	651	29.0	22.4	76.2
2022	607	28.4	21.3	47.8
2023	609	31.5	19.3	63.7
2024	609	30.3	20.0	67.5

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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