Best Public Schools in Keyes, CA

Keyes, California, has two schools in the supplied data: Keyes Elementary, serving kindergarten through grade 5, and Keyes to Learning Charter, an alternative school serving kindergarten through grade 12. In 2025–2026, the charter’s all-grade proficiency results were 62% in English language arts (ELA), 45% in math, and 39% in science; Keyes Elementary scored 37%, 30%, and 20%, respectively. Compared with state results, the charter was ahead by 13 points in ELA, 6 in math, and 3 in science, while Keyes Elementary was behind by 12, 8, and 16 points. The most important finding is the sharp divide between the schools: the charter was above state results in all three subjects, while Keyes Elementary was below in all three.

The charter stands out at the top in the reported all-grade results, and the elementary school is lower in each subject. The difference also appears in grades both schools serve: across grades 3–5, the charter led by 16–24 points in ELA and 13–25 points in math. In fifth-grade science, 47% of charter students were proficient, compared with 20% at Keyes Elementary—a 27-point gap; the state result was 35%. The charter was above the state in all listed shared-grade ELA and math results and in fifth-grade science, while Keyes Elementary was below. The charter’s results are not above the state in every grade and subject, however: its sixth-grade math was 35%, versus 37% statewide, and its eleventh-grade science was 33%, versus 38% statewide.

Results improved across all three subjects at the charter from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026: ELA rose 6 points, math 3, and science 6. Keyes Elementary’s ELA result rose 2 points, math was essentially unchanged, and science fell 2 points. SchoolDigger’s ranking for Keyes Elementary moved from the 31st percentile in 2023–2024 to the 34th in 2024–2025 and the 33rd in 2025–2026, a small net improvement rather than a steady rise. In 2024–2025, its student-teacher ratio was 20.7, compared with 27.8 at the charter; reported spending was $28,387 per student versus $21,706. The schools also reported different shares of students free/reduced lunch eligible that year: 88% at the elementary school and 28% at the charter. These are contextual differences, not explanations for test results; the schools’ grade spans and school types also differ.