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Curie Elementary

Public Grades K-5

152^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 97% of California elementary schools

Summary

Curie Elementary is a top-performing K-5 public school serving 536 students in San Diego's University City area, operating within the San Diego Unified School District.

The school consistently ranks among the very best in California, with students significantly outperforming district and state averages in English, math, and science. What truly sets Curie apart is its exceptional success with all student groups; for example, its Hispanic students and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds rank in the 98th to 100th percentiles statewide. This high achievement is supported by a strong culture of attendance, with chronic absenteeism at less than half the district average.

Curie achieves these outstanding results while spending less per student than many nearby schools, such as Field Elementary and Alcott Elementary. Among ten nearby schools, only Torrey Pines Elementary matches its academic performance level. The school has maintained this 5-star excellence for over a decade, demonstrating a resilient and effective model for public education.

536

Students ?

24.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$19,094

Per pupil spending ?

18.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4080 Governor Dr.
San Diego, CA 92122-2523

(858) 221-5500

District: San Diego Unified

Students who attend Curie Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Standley Middle
High:	University City High

Racial breakdown:

White:

57.3%

Hispanic:

17.2%

Asian:

12.5%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Curie Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 93rd percentile in 2013 → 97th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (82% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 3% of California elementary schools

✓Among the top-ranked schools in San Diego Unified

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

!Large classes — about 24 students per teacher

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school82%

District avg49%

California avg41%

152^nd of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Top 3%▲ up 2 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

7^th of 120Elementary Schools in the San Diego Unified

577^th of 1,543San Diego Unified among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	97.0	152 of 5857	97.4%	★★★★★
2024	97.3	139 of 5869	97.6%	★★★★★
2023	97.0	184 of 5859	96.9%	★★★★★
2022	93.8	455 of 5883	92.3%	★★★★★
2019	92.9	447 of 5789	92.3%	★★★★★
2018	96.1	209 of 5662	96.3%	★★★★★
2017	96.7	201 of 5692	96.5%	★★★★★
2016	96.7	188 of 5614	96.7%	★★★★★
2015	96.5	230 of 5611	95.9%	★★★★★
2013	91.2	388 of 5530	93.0%	★★★★★
2012	90.6	392 of 5390	92.7%	★★★★★
2011	92.7	273 of 5377	94.9%	★★★★★
2010	94.5	168 of 5314	96.8%	★★★★★
2009	94.1	223 of 5193	95.7%	★★★★★
2008	92.5	346 of 5113	93.2%	★★★★★
2007	93.2	335 of 5113	93.4%	★★★★★
2006	93.7	289 of 4818	94.0%	★★★★★
2005	92.9	333 of 4822	93.1%	★★★★★
2004	95.5	207 of 4809	95.7%	★★★★★

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	59.5	620 of 1205	48.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	67.4	466 of 1190	60.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	50.5	720 of 1154	37.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	75.1	253 of 1149	78.0%	★★★★☆
2018	68.0	402 of 1071	62.5%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	97.2	69 of 2227	96.9%	★★★★★
2019	67.0	558 of 2585	78.4%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	96.1	178 of 5597	96.8%	★★★★★
2024	95.5	246 of 5612	95.6%	★★★★★
2023	96.3	177 of 5609	96.8%	★★★★★
2022	93.7	393 of 5635	93.0%	★★★★★
2019	91.4	477 of 5492	91.3%	★★★★★
2018	94.1	275 of 5413	94.9%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	98.8	22 of 5107	99.6%	★★★★★
2024	98.3	53 of 5107	99.0%	★★★★★
2023	98.5	46 of 5087	99.1%	★★★★★
2022	99.7	16 of 5084	99.7%	★★★★★
2019	70.3	1157 of 4963	76.7%	★★★★☆
2018	97.1	80 of 4830	98.3%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	97.5	93 of 5460	98.3%	★★★★★
2024	78.7	895 of 5517	83.8%	★★★★☆
2023	91.5	329 of 5363	93.9%	★★★★★
2022	76.6	888 of 5264	83.1%	★★★★☆
2019	64.0	1516 of 5173	70.7%	★★★★☆
2018	96.8	80 of 5084	98.4%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	96.6	142 of 5628	97.5%	★★★★★
2024	97.5	95 of 5643	98.3%	★★★★★
2023	95.8	233 of 5638	95.9%	★★★★★
2022	92.1	494 of 5663	91.3%	★★★★★
2019	92.8	392 of 5510	92.9%	★★★★★
2018	96.4	158 of 5431	97.1%	★★★★★

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	81.0	106 of 670	84.2%	★★★★☆
2019	65.5	171 of 445	61.6%	★★★☆☆
2018	74.5	80 of 339	76.4%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	62.2	672 of 2635	74.5%	★★★★☆
2023	78.7	326 of 2420	86.5%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	89.5	91 of 2598	96.5%	★★★★★
2024	88.7	121 of 2651	95.4%	★★★★★
2023	87.2	187 of 2661	93.0%	★★★★★
2022	85.3	258 of 2726	90.5%	★★★★★
2019	83.3	331 of 2834	88.3%	★★★★☆
2018	85.8	226 of 2737	91.7%	★★★★★

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Hispanic (2025)100th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)98th percentile~ school

Male (2025)97th percentile~ school

Disabled (2022)97th percentile+5 vs school

Female (2025)97th percentile~ school

White (2025)96th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2024)84th percentile-13 vs school

Special Education (2024)74th percentile-23 vs school

Asian (2024)49th percentile-49 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy82%+34 vs state

Mathematics82%+45 vs state

Science81%+49 vs state

1.0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, January 17, 2018

My son had a horrible kindergarten experience! Never would recommend this school for kindergartners especially. My son who is normally a very happy kid cried everyday going to class and night dreading the morning. Teacher won't do anything other then what is "required of her" that means she only does whats on paper and not a hug more and my sons progress dropped drastically. Changed schools and HUGE difference for the better all around. Not a good place for kindergartners in my opinion! We almost moved to another state to get away from this district all together because of our experience and the Principal was not helpful only in the end when I took things further but at that point we were done. Close Quote

Schools Near Curie Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)			Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)							Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)							% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Curie Elementary	Public	K-5	4080 Governor Dr.	San Diego	92122	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 221-5500	536	22	24.3	18.8%	307 (57.3%)	9 (1.7%)	92 (17.2%)	67 (12.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	60 (11.2%)	97	152^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	97.4%		97.3	139^th of 5869 public elementary schools	97.6%	13	81.2		81.2	86.4	80.7	79.7				82.5	92.1	77.3	75.0				82.0						$19,094	$2,779	$16,315
Spreckels Elementary	Public	K-5	6033 Stadium St.	San Diego	92122	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 453-5377	680	25	27.2	35.6%	321 (47.2%)	6 (0.9%)	204 (30.0%)	61 (9.0%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	85 (12.5%)	86.6	843^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	85.6%		86.8	873^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	85.1%	30	51.8		51.8	67.9	73.1	67.3				69.3	75.7	66.4	51.8				64.6	98.0					$19,196	$2,905	$16,291
Doyle Elementary	Public	K-5	3950 Berino Ct.	San Diego	92122	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 605-4500	603	24	24.9	41.8%	170 (28.2%)	6 (1.0%)	147 (24.4%)	236 (39.1%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	42 (7.0%)	86.7	839^th of 5857 public elementary schools	85.7%		89.9	703^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	88.0%	136	45.9		45.9	70.8	66.7	62.7				67.0	74.4	70.4	62.3				69.6	90.0	96.2	91.5	95.4	96.9	$19,854	$2,758	$17,096
Whitman Elementary	Public	K-5	4050 Appleton St.	San Diego	92117	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 935-2900	102	4	25.5	72.5%	17 (16.7%)	2 (2.0%)	65 (63.7%)	8 (7.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (9.8%)	47.7	2720^th of 5857 public elementary schools	53.6%		49.1	2600^th of 5869 public elementary schools	55.7%	120	25.0		25.0	41.2	66.7	33.3				48.9	26.3	50.0	33.3				36.7						$30,271	$3,496	$26,775
Hawthorne Elementary	Public	K-5	4750 Lehrer Dr.	San Diego	92117	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 634-5701	248	11	22.5	61.7%	78 (31.5%)	6 (2.4%)	99 (39.9%)	28 (11.3%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.6%)	33 (13.3%)	72.5	1498^th of 5857 public elementary schools	74.4%		69.4	1617^th of 5869 public elementary schools	72.4%	119	44.7		44.7	51.2	58.1	68.4				59.1	53.7	51.6	50.0				51.8						$25,942	$4,249	$21,693
Field Elementary	Public	K-5	4375 Bannock Ave.	San Diego	92117	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 800-5900	238	10	23.8	68.5%	43 (18.1%)	4 (1.7%)	166 (69.7%)	11 (4.6%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (5.5%)	71.3	1545^th of 5857 public elementary schools	73.6%		62.8	1938^th of 5869 public elementary schools	67.0%	393	48.8		48.8	50.0	50.0	55.8				52.3	63.3	61.8	44.2				55.1						$27,474	$4,809	$22,665
Alcott Elementary	Public	K-5	4680 Hidalgo St.	San Diego	92117	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 605-1200	234	10	23.4	38.9%	100 (42.7%)	7 (3.0%)	97 (41.5%)	8 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (9.4%)	57.6	2189^th of 5857 public elementary schools	62.6%		52.9	2403^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	59.1%	214	30.4		30.4	57.1	30.3	60.9				46.8	47.8	48.5	52.2				49.4						$40,786	$5,841	$34,945
Sequoia Elementary	Public	K-5	4690 Limerick Ave.	San Diego	92117	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 605-1800	180	10	18.0	74.4%	37 (20.6%)	5 (2.8%)	97 (53.9%)	21 (11.7%)	1 (0.6%)	1 (0.6%)	18 (10.0%)	80.6	1136^th of 5857 public elementary schools	80.6%		69.8	1606^th of 5869 public elementary schools	72.6%	470	55.9		55.9	61.5	56.5	67.7				62.7	61.5	50.0	58.8				57.1						$30,140	$2,937	$27,203
John Muir	Public	K-8	4431 Mt. Herbert Ave.	San Diego	92117	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 268-1954	336	17	19.7	43.8%	100 (29.8%)	21 (6.3%)	181 (53.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (9.8%)	86.2	867^th of 5857 public elementary schools	85.2%		47.9	2670^th of 5869 public elementary schools	54.5%	1803	73.9	23.1	55.6	66.7	57.1	78.3	72.4	56.3	46.2	65.1	66.7	52.4	60.9	56.7	31.3	30.8	53.1						$23,931	$3,140	$20,791
Torrey Pines Elementary	Public	K-5	8350 Cliffridge Ave.	La Jolla	92037	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 605-3700	465	19	24.4	16.8%	217 (46.7%)	0 (0.0%)	83 (17.8%)	102 (21.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	63 (13.5%)	97.2	141^st of 5857 public elementary schools	97.6%		98	80^th of 5869 public elementary schools	98.6%	61	76.1		76.1	86.3	83.3	82.1				84.0	83.6	82.7	74.6				80.5						$18,674	$2,289	$16,385

Frequently Asked Questions about Curie Elementary

What schools do graduates of Curie Elementary attend?

Students who attend Curie Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Standley Middle
High : University City High

What is the racial makeup of Curie Elementary?

Students at Curie Elementary are 57% White, 17% Hispanic, 13% Asian, 11% Two or more races, 2% African American.

What district is Curie Elementary in?

San Diego Unified

How many students attend Curie Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 536 students attended Curie Elementary.

Is Curie Elementary a good school?

Yes! Curie Elementary is one of the best elementary schools in the state. It ranks 152^nd of 5857 California elementary schools.

Rate Curie Elementary!

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

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.