How does Hewes Middle compare to other middle schools in Santa Ana?

Hewes Middle has a SchoolScope composite score of 52.1/100, placing it at the 76th percentile statewide. 27% of students exceed standard, with a total of 1,803 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Hewes Middle?

27.0% of students at Hewes Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 56.7% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Hewes Middle improving or declining?

Hewes Middle's proficiency rate decreases by 14.0 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth, suggesting the school is not sustaining early academic gains.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at Hewes Middle?

6.2% of students at Hewes Middle are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days). This metric reflects school culture and family engagement, and is weighted at 15% in our composite score.

Hewes Middle

Middle School

Tustin Unified Santa AnaOrange County92705

Composite Score

out of 100

State Percentile

of middle schools

State Rank

of California middle schools

School overview

Enrollment

908 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

25:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

42%

Teachers

36 full-time

Dashboard indicators

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased

+14.4 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased

+11.8 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

30.4%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 56 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic42.8%

White41.1%

Asian6.4%

Black0.4%

Other9.3%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Hewes Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	27.0%
Met Standard	29.7%
Below Standard	43.3%

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "57% proficient" for Hewes Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

27.0% of students exceeded standard while 29.7% merely met it. That exceeded rate is 9.7 points above the state average of 17.3%. That's 4.4 points below the Tustin Unified district average of 31.3%. Compared to the 3 nearby schools within ~3 miles, this exceeded rate is 4.3 points higher (vs 22.7% average). The gap between "met" and "exceeded" is the difference between a school that clears the bar and one that raises it.

Proficiency drops by 14.0 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth — a signal that the school may not be sustaining early gains.

California's Dashboard shows ELA performance increased and Math increased year-over-year. 30.4% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 6.2%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

27.0%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

56.7%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

-14.0pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

6.2%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

1.2%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

1,803

Across all grades & subjects

Grade trajectory

ELA Trajectory

G6 → G7 → G8

Math Trajectory

G6 → G7 → G8

ELA scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	307	31.3%	37.5%	18.9%	12.4%	68.7%
7th	306	23.5%	30.4%	26.8%	19.3%	53.9%
8th	287	20.2%	38.0%	23.3%	18.5%	58.2%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	307	41.7%	23.1%	18.2%	16.9%	64.8%
7th	309	20.1%	26.9%	26.9%	26.2%	46.9%
8th	287	25.1%	22.3%	26.5%	26.1%	47.4%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Arroyo Elementary

70.294th pctile

Zoned

Loma Vista Elementary

52.671st pctile

Zoned

Red Hill Elementary

70.895th pctile

Also serves area

▼

Middle

Hewes Middle

52.176th pctile

This school

▼

High School

Foothill High

66.787th pctile

Zoned

Feeder patterns derived from 2015-16 NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries may have changed. Contact your school district for current information.