Best Public Schools in Eureka, CA

Eureka, California, has 23 schools: 10 elementary, 4 middle, 4 high and 5 alternative schools, with enrollment ranging from 9 to 1,162 students. Across schools with reported 2025–26 results, unweighted averages were 43% in ELA, 33% in math and 32% in science, below state results of 49%, 38% and 36%. The most important takeaway is that school results vary far more than these citywide averages suggest: the gaps between the highest and lowest reported results are 81 percentage points in ELA, 72 in math and 77 in science.

Academy of the Redwoods leads reported All Grades results in ELA at 88% and science at 77%; its math result is 63%. Its SchoolDigger statewide ranking is at the 97th percentile. Garfield Elementary leads math at 72% and has 70% in ELA; Freshwater Elementary and Freshwater Charter Middle are above state results in all three subjects. At the low end, Eureka Community has 7% in ELA and 0% in math and science; Zoe Barnum High has 9%, 0% and 4%. Attendance and completion figures are also concerning at these two schools: chronic absenteeism is 95% at Eureka Community and 88% at Zoe Barnum, versus 18% statewide. By contrast, Eureka Senior High reports 99% graduation and 1% dropout, but its math result is 23%, below the state’s 38%.

Recent changes do not show a consistent area-wide improvement: average school ELA rose about 1 point from 2024–25, math fell about 1 point, and science’s gap to the state stayed near 4 points below. Some schools moved more: Freshwater Charter Middle gained 13 points in math and 20 in science, while Grant Elementary fell 8 points in math. Other context does not create a simple pattern: Garfield’s student–teacher ratio is 18.2 and 27% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–25; Freshwater Elementary’s ratio is 26.9 and its eligible share is 49%, yet both are above state results in multiple subjects. All Grades results may cover different grade spans, and some schools have small enrollments, so grade-specific results are useful when comparing schools.