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)
062805008679	2041	Melrose Leadership Academy	Public	K-8	4730 Fleming Ave.	Oakland	94619	Alameda County	Oakland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 879-2152	678	37	18.2	53.7%	114 (16.8%)	29 (4.3%)	452 (66.7%)	9 (1.3%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	62 (9.1%)	$6,843							60.5	76.5	1300	741
060807000776	2042	Glen H. Dysinger Senior Elementary	Public	K-6	7770 Camellia Dr.	Buena Park	90620	Orange County	Centralia Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 228-3240	462	20	23.1	61.0%	81 (17.5%)	7 (1.5%)	244 (52.8%)	93 (20.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	36 (7.8%)	$8,302							60.5	63.8	1853	189
062994004686	2043	San Rafael Elementary	Public	K-5	1090 Nithsdale Rd.	Pasadena	91105	Los Angeles County	Pasadena Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 396-5790	393	16	24.5	38.4%	56 (14.2%)	9 (2.3%)	289 (73.5%)	6 (1.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (8.1%)	$6,273							60.5	54.2	2326	283
064116012218	2044	Manuel F. Hernandez	Public	K-6	2133 North Leila St.	Visalia	93291	Tulare County	Visalia Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 622-3199	698	29	23.8	56.3%	122 (17.5%)	15 (2.1%)	471 (67.5%)	42 (6.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	47 (6.7%)	$6,894							60.5	55.3	2264	220
062955004570	2045	Rancho Mirage Elementary	Public	K-5	42-985 Indian Trail Rd.	Rancho Mirage	92270	Riverside County	Palm Springs Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 836-3680	336	16	21.5	81.3%	90 (26.8%)	12 (3.6%)	213 (63.4%)	8 (2.4%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	11 (3.3%)	$13,445							60.5	56	2238	193
063441005651	2046	Monroe Elementary	Public	K-5	260 Madrid St.	San Francisco	94112	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 469-4736	522	20	25.9	78.5%	15 (2.9%)	5 (1.0%)	264 (50.6%)	208 (39.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (5.7%)	$6,103							60.4	57.6	2162	116
064059006697	2047	Alamo Elementary	Public	K-6	500 South Orchard Ave.	Vacaville	95688	Solano County	Vacaville Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 453-6200	671	27	24.8	48.9%	298 (44.4%)	16 (2.4%)	250 (37.3%)	34 (5.1%)	3 (0.4%)	7 (1.0%)	63 (9.4%)	$5,811							60.4	66.2	1750	297
064104008586	2048	Discovery School of the Arts	Public	K-6	13247 Amethyst Rd.	Victorville	92392	San Bernardino County	Victor Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 843-3577	913	34	26.7	74.4%	113 (12.4%)	65 (7.1%)	686 (75.1%)	20 (2.2%)	5 (0.5%)	3 (0.3%)	21 (2.3%)	$10,982							60.3	57.7	2154	106
063417013674	2049	Paakuma K-8	Public	K-8	17875 Sycamore Creek Loop Pkwy	San Bernardino	92407	San Bernardino County	San Bernardino City Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 355-3137	984	44	22.1	50.5%	142 (14.4%)	93 (9.5%)	637 (64.7%)	51 (5.2%)	5 (0.5%)	3 (0.3%)	53 (5.4%)	$7,068							60.3	59.8	2066	17
060795000763	2050	Dona Merced Elementary	Public	K-5	10333 Palo Alto	Rancho Cucamonga	91730	San Bernardino County	Central Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 980-1600	549	23	23.8	70.1%	103 (18.8%)	52 (9.5%)	291 (53.0%)	54 (9.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	48 (8.7%)	$7,746							60.3	63.1	1892	158

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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

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Transforming Education in America

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