Best Elementary Schools in California

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Find the best California elementary schools with SchoolDigger.com! Focused on test scores for accurate rankings, our user-friendly site simplifies your search. Empower your decisions by exploring top-rated schools, only on SchoolDigger.com - the ultimate guide to K-12 schools!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish California test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the CAST and Smarter Balanced Assessments test scores by the California Department of Education. The most recent update was on Thursday, October 10, 2024.

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School															Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2018)							Ranking (2024 vs 2023)
ID	Rank (of 5862)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Average Standard Score (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Rank (2023)	Rank Change from 2023	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)
061233003668	2621	Elitha Donner Elementary	Public	K-6	9461 Soaring Oaks Dr.	Elk Grove	95758	Sacramento County	Elk Grove Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 683-3073	740	31	23.8	51.5%	127 (17.2%)	79 (10.7%)	224 (30.3%)	236 (31.9%)	1 (0.1%)	9 (1.2%)	64 (8.6%)	$8,797							48.8	48.1	2637	16
060252414444	2622	Cottonwood	Public, Virtual, Charter, Alternative	K-12	3921 Sandstone Drive Ste. A	El Dorado Hills	95762	El Dorado County	Cottonwood District	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(530) 285-2003	2,798	98	28.6	49.4%	2,003 (71.6%)	59 (2.1%)	403 (14.4%)	73 (2.6%)	5 (0.2%)	3 (0.1%)	246 (8.8%)								48.8	49.2	2573	49
060200912433	2623	Sycamore Academy of Science and Cultural Arts	Public, Charter	K-8	23151 Palomar St.	Wildomar	92595	Riverside County	Sycamore Academy of Science and Cultural Arts District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 678-5217	507	23	21.5	36.9%	99 (19.5%)	15 (3.0%)	182 (35.9%)	6 (1.2%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	202 (39.8%)								48.8	41.9	3014	391
062271002834	2624	Baldwin Hills Elementary	Public	K-5	5421 Rodeo Rd.	Los Angeles	90016	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 937-7223	395	22	18.3	79.0%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$13,364							48.8	48	2641	17
060907000927	2625	Peter Pendleton Elementary	Public	K-6	84-750 Calle Rojo	Coachella	92236	Riverside County	Coachella Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 398-0178	495	22	22.1	96.2%	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	489 (98.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.6%)	$14,183							48.8	40	3128	503
060224613041	2626	Sierra Foothill Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	4952 School House Rd.	Catheys Valley	95306	Mariposa County	Sierra Foothill Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 742-6222	132	5	24.6	42.4%	90 (68.2%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (22.0%)	2 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (7.6%)								48.7	65.7	1773	853
063315005163	2627	Woodcrest Elementary	Public	K-6	16940 Krameria Ave.	Riverside	92504	Riverside County	Riverside Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 776-4122	651	25	26.5	55.5%	243 (37.3%)	28 (4.3%)	330 (50.7%)	35 (5.4%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	10 (1.5%)	$7,446							48.7	46.2	2744	117
063117004818	2628	Chester Elementary	Public	K-6	158 Aspen St.	Chester	96020	Plumas County	Plumas Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 258-3194	164	9	17.5	62.8%	107 (65.2%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (17.7%)	3 (1.8%)	3 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (13.4%)								48.7	28	4074	1446
064356007284	2629	Wildwood Elementary	Public	K-5	35972 Susan St.	Yucaipa	92399	San Bernardino County	Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 790-8521	558	22	25.3	56.6%	264 (47.3%)	4 (0.7%)	261 (46.8%)	7 (1.3%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	20 (3.6%)	$6,628							48.7	45.2	2815	186
060141500147	2630	American Union Elementary	Public	K-8	2801 West Adams Ave.	Fresno	93706	Fresno County	Washington Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 495-5650	292	18	16.6	74.7%	45 (15.4%)	0 (0.0%)	232 (79.5%)	13 (4.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.7%)	$11,826							48.7	43.2	2936	306

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for California

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for CA student subgroups:

Female Students Male Students Asian Students African American Students Hispanic Students White Students Multi-racial Students English Language Learner Students Special Education Students Low Socio Economic Status Students Migrant Students Homeless Students Military Connected Students

About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy, Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics, CAST Science test scores released by the California Department of Education.
These rankings were last updated on October 10, 2024, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the California Department of Education, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the California Department of Education.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Impact on Education

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.