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)
064356007042	5471	Calimesa Elementary	Public	K-5	13523 Second St.	Yucaipa	92399	San Bernardino County	Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 790-8570	539	22	24.2	77.7%	158 (29.3%)	16 (3.0%)	335 (62.2%)	9 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (3.9%)	$7,082							13	14.2	5387	84
060004507091	5472	Fairview Elementary	Public	3-5	1308 Fairview St.	Orland	95963	Glenn County	Orland Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 865-1235	434	20	21.7	85.3%	99 (22.8%)	1 (0.2%)	311 (71.7%)	9 (2.1%)	7 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.6%)	$10,805							13	16.3	5208	264
060558009321	5473	Rice (William) Elementary	Public	K-6	700 East Vickie Ave.	Santa Maria	93454	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-7740	913	38	24.1	86.9%	16 (1.8%)	2 (0.2%)	877 (96.1%)	6 (0.7%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.1%)	$7,607							13	14.1	5394	79
060195000084	5474	Fremont Elementary	Public	K-6	1255 East Market St.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Alisal Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 753-5750	734	31	23.6	96.7%	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	725 (98.8%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.4%)	$4,468							13	15	5321	153
064271006977	5475	Murdock Elementary	Public	K-5	655 West French St.	Willows	95988	Glenn County	Willows Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 934-6640	602	28	21.1	81.1%	229 (38.0%)	4 (0.7%)	309 (51.3%)	21 (3.5%)	18 (3.0%)	1 (0.2%)	20 (3.3%)	$8,995							13	15.3	5296	179
062628003923	5476	Mariano Castro Elementary	Public	K-5	500 Toft St.	Mountain View	94040	Santa Clara County	Mountain View Whisman	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 526-3590	248	13	19	80.6%	11 (4.4%)	2 (0.8%)	213 (85.9%)	15 (6.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	6 (2.4%)								12.9	17.2	5141	335
061632302032	5477	Gustine Elementary	Public	K-5	2806 West Grove Ave.	Gustine	95322	Merced County	Gustine Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 854-6496	544	26	20.9	80.9%	53 (9.7%)	1 (0.2%)	479 (88.1%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	8 (1.5%)								12.9	15.6	5267	210
063581006126	5478	James Monroe Elementary	Public	K-6	2567 Marlow Rd.	Santa Rosa	95403	Sonoma County	Santa Rosa Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 890-3910	361	15	24	63.7%	9 (2.5%)	5 (1.4%)	334 (92.5%)	4 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	7 (1.9%)	$11,827							12.9	17.2	5138	340
063801009447	5479	George Washington Elementary	Public	K-8	1735 West Sonora	Stockton	95203	San Joaquin County	Stockton Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 933-7320	199	10	19	91.0%	4 (2.0%)	19 (9.5%)	169 (84.9%)	4 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.0%)	$8,183							12.9	20	4860	619
063213004968	5480	Hoover Elementary	Public	K-8	701 Charter St.	Redwood City	94063	San Mateo County	Redwood City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 482-2408	648	29	22.6	80.4%	12 (1.9%)	5 (0.8%)	617 (95.2%)	5 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (0.9%)	3 (0.5%)								12.9	14.7	5349	131

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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.