Summary:
The three schools in Hamilton Unified serve grades K–12: Hamilton Elementary serves K–8, Hamilton High serves grades 9–12, and Ella Barkley High serves grades 10–12. The clearest overall finding is that Hamilton High leads the schools with reported scores, especially in ELA, while math and science remain below state levels.
Hamilton High is the proficiency standout for 2025–2026: 50% of students were proficient in ELA, about 1 percentage point above the state, compared with 28% at Hamilton Elementary. High also led Elementary by 4 points in math and 8 points in science, but both schools were below state rates in those subjects. Ella Barkley’s proficiency scores are suppressed, so it cannot be compared on those results. Attendance sets Ella apart in the other direction: chronic absenteeism was 85%, versus 7% at Hamilton High, 6% at Elementary, and 18% statewide. Hamilton High’s graduation rate was 98%, above the state’s 88%; its dropout rate was 2%, below the state’s 8%.
Results changed unevenly from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026: Elementary ELA rose 9 percentage points, while its math was essentially unchanged and science fell 1 point; Hamilton High’s ELA fell 1 point, math was essentially unchanged, and science rose 6 points. SchoolDigger ranks Hamilton High at the 44th percentile with 2 stars, and Elementary at the 12th percentile with 1 star. In 2024–2025, the free/reduced lunch eligible share was 91% at Elementary, 68% at Hamilton High, and 67% at Ella Barkley; student–teacher ratios were 18.1, 15.7, and 7.5, respectively. These are useful context about different school profiles, not explanations for their results.
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