Summary:
Novato Unified includes 14 schools, from elementary through high school, including a K–8 school, serving families in the Novato area. In 2025–26, seven schools were above the state proficiency rate in each of the three tested subjects, but the district’s school-by-school averages were slightly below state results in ELA, math and science. The most important finding is how sharply results vary by school: subject leaders were about 19 to 20 points above state proficiency, while the lowest-scoring school was 30 to 38 points below.
Novato High led ELA, with 69% proficient—7 points above the next-highest school, Pleasant Valley Elementary, and 20 points above the state. Rancho Elementary led math at 58% and science at 56%, about 19 and 20 points above state results. At the other end, Marin Oaks High had the lowest results in all three subjects: 19% in ELA, 0% in math and 5% in science. Sinaloa Middle also stood out among the two middle schools, leading San Jose Middle by 16 points in ELA, 15 in math and 13 in science.
Across schools, average ELA and math proficiency each fell about 1 point from 2024–25 to 2025–26, even as state results rose; science increased about 2 points, less than the state’s 3-point gain. School trends differed: Rancho Elementary science rose 18 points, while Nova Education Center science fell 27 points. SchoolDigger’s statewide percentile rankings also shifted: Lynwood Elementary rose from the 39th to the 56th percentile, while Nova fell from the 73rd to the 52nd. Income figures provide context, not an explanation: in 2024–25, Rancho and Olive Elementary had similar free/reduced lunch eligible shares—49% and 50%—but Rancho’s 2025–26 math result was 26 points higher.
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