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)
060002911241	1941	Murrieta Canyon Academy	Public, Alternative	K-12	24150 Hayes Ave.	Murrieta	92563	Riverside County	Murrieta Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 696-1661	401	32	12.3	55.9%	112 (27.9%)	33 (8.2%)	180 (44.9%)	35 (8.7%)	2 (0.5%)	3 (0.7%)	33 (8.2%)								62.7	61.2	2006	65
060002909507	1942	Murrieta Elementary	Public	K-5	24725 Adams Ave.	Murrieta	92562	Riverside County	Murrieta Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 696-1401	919	34	27	58.8%	329 (35.8%)	60 (6.5%)	407 (44.3%)	33 (3.6%)	2 (0.2%)	5 (0.5%)	83 (9.0%)								62.7	51.5	2465	523
060215503982	1943	Creative Arts Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	1601 Turk St.	San Francisco	94115	San Francisco County	Creative Arts Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 749-3509	441	24	18	18.4%	214 (48.5%)	56 (12.7%)	89 (20.2%)	21 (4.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	60 (13.6%)								62.7	67.6	1686	257
060218613088	1944	Citizens of the World Charter School Mar Vista	Public, Charter	K-8	11561 Gateway Blvd.	Los Angeles	90064	Los Angeles County	Citizens of the World Charter School Mar Vista District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(424) 248-0544	536	25	21.1	49.6%	157 (29.3%)	68 (12.7%)	244 (45.5%)	24 (4.5%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	40 (7.5%)								62.7	70.3	1566	378
060190305717	1945	Children's Community Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	6830 Pentz Rd	Paradise	95969	Butte County	Children's Community Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 877-2227	179	8	23	59.8%	139 (77.7%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (7.3%)	5 (2.8%)	7 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (8.4%)								62.7	55.7	2244	299
062271003172	1946	Marvin Elementary	Public	K-5	2411 Marvin Ave.	Los Angeles	90016	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 938-3608	550	28	19.6	89.6%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$10,016							62.7	46	2765	819
060429011219	1947	Sundance Elementary	Public	K-5	1520 East Eighth St.	Beaumont	92223	Riverside County	Beaumont Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 845-2621	734	29	25.1	67.8%	157 (21.4%)	67 (9.1%)	428 (58.3%)	40 (5.4%)	5 (0.7%)	3 (0.4%)	34 (4.6%)	$5,987							62.7	57.1	2178	231
060208008542	1948	Journey	Public, Charter	K-8	27102 Foxborough	Aliso Viejo	92656	Orange County	Journey District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 448-7232	582	23	24.8	20.1%	288 (49.5%)	10 (1.7%)	115 (19.8%)	46 (7.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	123 (21.1%)								62.6	64.6	1817	131
062289003501	1949	Ada S. Nelson Elementary	Public	K-6	8140 South Vicki Dr.	Whittier	90606	Los Angeles County	Los Nietos	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 692-0615	382	16	23.9	77.5%	7 (1.8%)	4 (1.0%)	355 (92.9%)	9 (2.4%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.3%)	$8,448							62.6	67	1710	239
063386005305	1950	Lomarena Elementary	Public	K-6	25100 Earhart Rd.	Laguna Hills	92653	Orange County	Saddleback Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 581-1370	550	22	25.1	59.3%	150 (27.3%)	2 (0.4%)	301 (54.7%)	55 (10.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	40 (7.3%)	$5,201							62.6	73.9	1432	518

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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:

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

Public School Districts and Their Services: 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.