Is Foster City Elementary a good school?

Yes. Foster City Elementary ranks in the top 6.1% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Foster City Elementary?

In the 2022-23 school year, 699 students attended Foster City Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Foster City Elementary?

Students at Foster City Elementary are 57% Asian, 19% White, 12% Two or more races, 11% Hispanic.

What schools do graduates of Foster City Elementary attend?

Students who attend Foster City Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Bowditch Middle

Foster City Elementary

Summary:

Foster City Elementary is a highly-regarded public elementary school serving 699 students in grades K-5 within the San Mateo-Foster City School District. This school has consistently been ranked among the top elementary schools in California, earning a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger for several years.

Foster City Elementary stands out for its exceptional academic performance, consistently outpacing the district and state averages on standardized tests. In the 2023-2024 school year, the school had significantly higher proficiency rates in English Language Arts (74.37% vs. 55.03% and 47.04%) and Mathematics (79.72% vs. 50.65% and 35.54%) compared to the district and state. The school also excels across diverse student subgroups, ranking in the top 5% of California elementary schools for English Language Learners and the top 3% for Low Socioeconomic Status students. Additionally, Foster City Elementary maintains very low chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 1.5% to 2.1% in recent years, which is significantly lower than the district and state averages.

When compared to other nearby schools in the San Mateo-Foster City School District, such as Parkside Montessori and Audubon Elementary, Foster City Elementary stands out as a high-performing outlier. The school's sustained excellence and ability to support the academic growth of all students, regardless of background, make it a model for other schools to emulate.

Detail:

Public K-5

461 Beach Park Blvd.
Foster City, CA 94404-2713

(650) 312-7522

District: San Mateo-Foster City

SchoolDigger Rank:
359^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $6,984

Students who attend Foster City Elementary usually attend:

Middle:

Bowditch Middle

Student/teacher ratio: 21.1

Number of students: 699

Racial breakdown:

Asian:

57.4%

White:

19.0%

Two or more races:

11.9%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 6.6%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Foster City Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Foster City Elementary ranks better than 93.9% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 2^nd among 17 ranked elementary schools in the San Mateo-Foster City School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 94.84. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: Asian (57.4%), White (19%), two or more races (11.9%). (See more...)

Compare Details 6.6% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Foster City Elementary is 21.1. 9 elementary schools in the San Mateo-Foster City School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Foster City Elementary employs 33 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Foster City Elementary is $6,984. 15 elementary schools in the San Mateo-Foster City School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Foster City Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Foster City Elementary 359^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Foster City Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

English Language Learner students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Asian students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

San Mateo-Foster City:

SchoolDigger ranks San Mateo-Foster City 452^nd of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

Read all reviews and ratings detail for Foster City Elementary.

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Rank History for Foster City Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Foster City Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	93.23	320^th	4809	93.3%
2005	92.89	330^th	4822	93.2%
2006	91.43	414^th	4818	91.4%
2007	92.61	371^st	5113	92.7%
2008	92.90	318^th	5113	93.8%
2009	93.88	238^th	5193	95.4%
2010	93.36	238^th	5314	95.5%
2011	92.63	275^th	5377	94.9%
2012	90.64	389^th	5390	92.8%
2013	90.60	427^th	5530	92.3%
2015	96.69	208^th	5611	96.3%
2016	95.84	251^st	5614	95.5%
2017	96.26	236^th	5692	95.9%
2018	95.86	226^th	5662	96.0%
2019	95.91	231^st	5789	96.0%
2021	96.64	57^th	1417	96.0%
2022	97.40	166^th	5883	97.2%
2023	95.61	304^th	5874	94.8%
2024	94.84	359^th	5862	93.9%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Foster City Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	55.70	177^th	339	47.8%
2022	61.56	267^th	610	56.2%
2023	70.39	199^th	669	70.3%
2024	66.63	250^th	669	62.6%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Foster City Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	95.69	93^rd	3246	97.1%
2019	76.04	390^th	3275	88.1%
2021	99.91	1^st	602	99.8%
2022	99.57	19^th	3311	99.4%
2023	90.57	128^th	3250	96.1%
2024	97.39	34^th	3160	98.9%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Foster City Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	83.99	248^th	2420	89.8%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Foster City Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	98.23	75^th	5264	98.6%
2024	97.17	145^th	5511	97.4%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Foster City Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	95.97	158^th	5413	97.1%
2019	95.68	185^th	5492	96.6%
2021	94.83	69^th	1267	94.6%
2022	97.12	137^th	5635	97.6%
2023	95.55	235^th	5617	95.8%
2024	94.85	304^th	5605	94.6%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Foster City Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2021	63.82	69^th	293	76.5%
2022	77.04	342^nd	2227	84.6%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Foster City Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	94.53	282^nd	5431	94.8%
2019	93.44	342^nd	5510	93.8%
2021	96.43	52^nd	1272	95.9%
2022	96.74	181^st	5663	96.8%
2023	93.60	393^rd	5650	93.0%
2024	92.98	420^th	5636	92.5%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Foster City Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	72.21	319^th	1071	70.2%
2019	72.04	323^rd	1149	71.9%
2022	81.04	125^th	1154	89.2%
2023	74.93	275^th	1190	76.9%
2024	74.81	299^th	1203	75.1%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Foster City Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2019	99.78	7^th	4963	99.9%
2022	88.70	400^th	5084	92.1%
2023	90.03	348^th	5098	93.2%
2024	58.13	1773^rd	5102	65.2%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Foster City Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	75.05	640^th	2737	76.6%
2019	69.70	834^th	2834	70.6%
2022	86.52	212^th	2726	92.2%
2023	76.63	557^th	2662	79.1%
2024	77.17	535^th	2647	79.8%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: California Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)

100%

Reviews:

by a parent
Wednesday, September 7, 2016

It's a horrendous school. Especially if you have a child that's not cookie cutter. They cannot handle kids here that do not fit a prototype. Horrible horrible experience! Close Quote

Enrollment information for Foster City Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	563	22	245	26	0	n/a	n/a	0	856
1989	552	25	291	30	0	n/a	n/a	0	898
1990	554	28	290	33	0	n/a	n/a	0	905
1991	541	28	301	41	0	n/a	n/a	0	911
1992	552	22	306	39	0	n/a	n/a	0	919
1993	553	23	321	50	0	n/a	n/a	0	947
1994	539	31	312	48	0	n/a	n/a	0	930
1995	438	28	309	32	1	n/a	n/a	0	808
1996	438	28	309	32	1	n/a	n/a	0	808
1997	445	27	329	35	0	n/a	n/a	0	836
1998	436	30	342	27	1	n/a	n/a	0	836
1999	412	25	339	28	2	n/a	n/a	0	806
2000	393	22	325	34	0	n/a	n/a	2	776
2001	343	14	349	42	2	n/a	n/a	0	750
2002	318	16	363	43	1	n/a	n/a	0	741
2003	318	16	363	43	1	n/a	n/a	0	741
2004	314	15	366	39	0	n/a	n/a	32	766
2005	333	21	355	37	2	n/a	n/a	34	782
2006	325	22	363	31	0	n/a	n/a	39	780
2007	301	19	361	30	0	n/a	n/a	41	752
2008	257	13	356	20	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	646
2009	240	10	420	24	0	6	80	0	780
2010	244	8	416	42	0	9	53	0	772
2011	248	11	413	39	0	9	71	0	791
2012	236	8	423	50	0	11	72	0	800
2013	239	8	473	51	0	7	79	0	857
2014	248	10	485	50	0	5	89	0	887
2015	242	6	513	55	0	3	81	0	900
2016	228	8	525	50	1	2	83	0	897
2017	211	7	528	58	1	1	74	0	880
2018	221	5	522	61	2	2	81	0	894
2019	201	5	499	66	1	2	92	0	866
2020	194	5	497	70	1	4	96	0	867
2021	190	5	494	74	1	4	86	0	854
2022	156	6	441	72	1	3	80	0	759
2023	133	2	401	74	2	4	83	0	699

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Foster City Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	856	31.0	27.6	n/a
1989	898	32.5	27.6	n/a
1990	905	32.0	28.2	n/a
1991	911	32.0	28.4	n/a
1992	919	32.5	28.2	1.5
1993	947	37.5	25.3	2.5
1994	930	38.5	24.2	4.4
1995	808	32.0	25.3	4.7
1996	808	32.0	25.3	4.7
1997	836	36.0	23.2	2.6
1998	836	39.0	21.4	3.1
1999	806	38.0	21.2	2.5
2000	776	39.0	19.9	2.6
2001	750	35.0	21.4	3.5
2002	741	36.4	20.4	5.1
2003	741	36.4	20.4	5.1
2004	766	36.5	21.0	6
2005	782	36.0	21.7	6.8
2006	780	36.0	21.7	5.5
2007	752	34.0	22.1	5.6
2008	646	34.0	19.0	3.6
2009	780	36.0	20.5	3.5
2010	772	34.0	22.7	4.5
2011	791	n/a	n/a	5.4
2012	800	30.5	26.2	n/a
2013	857	34.0	25.2	4.1
2014	887	36.0	24.6	2.3
2015	900	36.0	25.0	1.9
2016	897	36.0	24.9	1.8
2017	880	36.0	24.4	2.5
2018	894	35.0	25.5	3
2019	866	34.0	25.4	3.8
2020	867	n/a	n/a	4.7
2021	854	36.0	23.7	7.1
2022	759	36.0	21.0	6.7
2023	699	33.0	21.1	6.6

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Foster City Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	856	31.0	27.6	n/a
1989	898	32.5	27.6	n/a
1990	905	32.0	28.2	n/a
1991	911	32.0	28.4	n/a
1992	919	32.5	28.2	1.5
1993	947	37.5	25.3	2.5
1994	930	38.5	24.2	4.4
1995	808	32.0	25.3	4.7
1996	808	32.0	25.3	4.7
1997	836	36.0	23.2	2.6
1998	836	39.0	21.4	3.1
1999	806	38.0	21.2	2.5
2000	776	39.0	19.9	2.6
2001	750	35.0	21.4	3.5
2002	741	36.4	20.4	5.1
2003	741	36.4	20.4	5.1
2004	766	36.5	21.0	6
2005	782	36.0	21.7	6.8
2006	780	36.0	21.7	5.5
2007	752	34.0	22.1	5.6
2008	646	34.0	19.0	3.6
2009	780	36.0	20.5	3.5
2010	772	34.0	22.7	4.5
2011	791	n/a	n/a	5.4
2012	800	30.5	26.2	n/a
2013	857	34.0	25.2	4.1
2014	887	36.0	24.6	2.3
2015	900	36.0	25.0	1.9
2016	897	36.0	24.9	1.8
2017	880	36.0	24.4	2.5
2018	894	35.0	25.5	3
2019	866	34.0	25.4	3.8
2020	867	n/a	n/a	4.7
2021	854	36.0	23.7	7.1
2022	759	36.0	21.0	6.7
2023	699	33.0	21.1	6.6

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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