Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana: Most kids here clear the bar, year after year. The question is what happens after that.
Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana posts 56% meeting the standard, and 30.0% going well past it. Most kids here keep up. Fewer get pushed further. Ask the school what it does for a child who already finds the work easy.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 48 | 30% | 56% | -36.8 | 16.0% | 1.9% |
| CA average · Elementary School | 45 | 21% | 43% | -2.9 | 17.9% | 1.6% |
Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana scores 48 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 63rd percentile of 5,744 California elementary schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).
Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →
🌱 Building Momentum — This label means the data doesn't clearly sort the school one way or the other — ask what the school is proud of, and what it's working on.
Most rating sites would stop at “56% proficient” and call it done. Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana deserves a closer read. The school sits in Santa Ana, where three in four students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
As a charter, Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana enrolls by application rather than address. That changes how you get in, but it doesn't change the score.
The seven-year arc
Climbed from the 15th to the 63rd percentile since 2019 — past roughly 2600 elementary schools.
The pandemic drop is behind this school: 56% of students meet the standard today, above the 27% who did in 2019.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 38% | 36% | 45% | 30% | 65% |
| Grade 4 | 11% | 26% | 40% | 38% | 48% |
| Grade 5 | 31% | 26% | 29% | 43% | 41% |
| Grade 6 | 31% | 24% | 38% | 41% | 42% |
| Grade 7 | 33% | 49% | 45% | 50% | 43% |
| Grade 8 | 37% | 33% | 48% | 49% | 46% |
| Grade 11 | 85% | 62% | 61% | 79% | 69% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 46% | 54% | 50% | 52% | 78% |
| Grade 4 | 15% | 26% | 37% | 45% | 72% |
| Grade 5 | 22% | 15% | 29% | 46% | 29% |
| Grade 6 | 24% | 41% | 26% | 29% | 42% |
| Grade 7 | 22% | 22% | 34% | 24% | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 32% | 19% | 33% | 33% | 29% |
| Grade 11 | 56% | 29% | 33% | 50% | 43% |
The story this school is actually telling
The school, grade by grade
ELA · CAASPP 2024–25Different students, same year — each bar is one grade's proficiency mix.
The honest read: the share exceeding falls 7.9pp across grades; the floor slips 24.3pp. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
The 5 things our score weighs
Ask how the school challenges kids who clear the standard early. The gap between meeting and exceeding is where pacing shows.
- Ask what changes between grade 3 and grade 5 here, and who teaches the older kids.
- Ask whether the tour can step into a working classroom — watch how the teacher handles a student who's stuck.
- Ask to tour while school's in session, and notice how hallways and transitions feel — culture shows up between classes, not just in them.
- Ask how the school communicates with families when a child starts to struggle.
- Ask what a typical day looks like for a new student in the first few weeks.
How every group of students does here
At Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana in Santa Ana, 46.0% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 46.0% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana outperforms its district average for low-income students by 0.0 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (38.8% Math proficient); Hispanic students (44.9% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 4.2 percentage points for hispanic students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 235 students tested.
7 of 13 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.
Change in proficiency from the lowest tested grade — which groups gain ground the longer they stay. Groups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
Low-income student ELA proficiency falls by 29.1pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: -29.1pp.
Showing up, and staying in class
TK/K students miss school at roughly one and a half times the rate of Grades 4–6 students (22.2% vs 13.0%). Chronic absence here concentrates in the earliest grades — worth asking how the school works with new families on attendance.
Where the path goes
Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana serves grades K-12 — students can complete their entire K-12 education here, with no school-to-school transitions.
The people teaching here
What gets spent here
$1,013 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.
64% of district spending reaches instruction — CA average is 56%.
Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →
The neighborhood it serves
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
Transitional kindergarten is offered here — confirmed by actual Census Day enrollment, not just the listed grade span.
On the state's science test (CAST), 27% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana a good elementary school?
What are Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana's CAASPP test scores?
How does Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana rank in California?
Is Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana?
How does Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana compare to other schools in Santa Ana?
How does Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 62
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 23 | 26% | 39% | 26% | 9% | 65% | +22 |
| Grade 4 | 25 | 20% | 28% | 24% | 28% | 48% | +3 |
| Grade 5 | 44 | 18% | 23% | 18% | 41% | 41% | −7 |
| Grade 6 | 53 | 13% | 28% | 32% | 26% | 42% | −5 |
| Grade 7 | 46 | 17% | 26% | 22% | 35% | 43% | −4 |
| Grade 8 | 41 | 20% | 27% | 22% | 32% | 46% | +0 |
| Grade 11 | 51 | 37% | 31% | 24% | 8% | 69% | +21 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 23 | 43% | 35% | 22% | 0% | 78% | +33 |
| Grade 4 | 25 | 52% | 20% | 16% | 12% | 72% | +30 |
| Grade 5 | 45 | 20% | 9% | 31% | 40% | 29% | −6 |
| Grade 6 | 53 | 21% | 21% | 28% | 30% | 42% | +7 |
| Grade 7 | 47 | 13% | 19% | 21% | 47% | 32% | −2 |
| Grade 8 | 41 | 17% | 12% | 24% | 46% | 29% | −3 |
| Grade 11 | 51 | 20% | 24% | 22% | 35% | 43% | +20 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 122 | 10% | 17% | 58% | 15% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| Subgroup · ELA | Tested | MET+ | vs district | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 235 | 46.0% | +0 | +8 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 243 | 44.9% | +0 | +6 |
| English Learners | 52 | 11.5% | +0 | +1 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana ← | — | 48 | 30.0% | 55.5% | −36.8 | 1.9% |
| Thomas Paine Elementary | 2.3 mi | 65 | 48.9% | 75.0% | −6.1 | 1.1% |
| Cox (James H.) Elementary | 3.1 mi | 61 | 41.1% | 69.5% | −5.8 | 0.1% |
| Morningside Elementary | 2.3 mi | 60 | 34.0% | 57.3% | +3.4 | 1.4% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 29 | 15 | #4705 | 9.5% | 27.3% | 9.9% | 2.5% | -15.7pp |
| 2022 | 21 | 10 | #5136 | 11.0% | 30.5% | 12.3% | 2.0% | -24.4pp |
| 2023 | 29 | 24 | #4327 | 15.2% | 38.4% | 16.2% | 2.6% | -18.1pp |
| 2024 | 41 | 48 | #3002 | 14.8% | 42.4% | 15.9% | 3.1% | +3.9pp |
| 2025 | 48 | 63 | #2119 | 30.0% | 55.5% | 16.0% | 1.9% | -36.8pp |
- — Scored here as an elementary school — other grade spans appear in the data appendix.
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 10.4% | 15.6% | +5.2pp |
| Male | 9.4% | 15.8% | +6.4pp |
| Asian | 0.0% | 13.3% | +13.3pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 9.0% | 14.5% | +5.5pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 12.3% | 22.2% | +9.9pp |
| English Learners | 10.3% | 20.4% | +10.1pp |
| Homeless | 17.7% | 15.2% | -2.5pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 10.6% | 15.7% | +5.1pp |
| All Students | 9.9% | 15.7% | +5.8pp |
SchoolScope scores and verdicts are our interpretation of public California Department of Education data — independent analysis, not an official rating. How we analyze · Request a correction