Elementary Schools in San Marcos Unified

San Marcos Unified has 12 elementary schools: ten serve grades K–5, while Double Peak and La Mirada Academy serve K–8. In 2025–2026, the schools’ unweighted average proficiency was 59% in ELA, 56% in math and 44% in science, compared with California’s 49%, 38% and 36%. But those averages mask wide differences: the gap between the highest- and lowest-scoring schools was 50 percentage points in ELA, 57 in math and 58 in science. The most important takeaway is that results vary substantially from one school to another, so district-wide averages do not describe every family’s school options.

San Elijo Elementary led ELA at 77%, just 0.3 points ahead of Discovery Elementary at 77%; Discovery led math at 76% and science at 69%. Those Discovery results were 38 points above California in math and 33 points above in science, while San Elijo’s ELA result was 28 points above the state. At the other end, San Marcos Elementary had the lowest ELA and science results, 27% and 11%—22 and 25 points below state results. La Mirada Academy had the lowest math result at 18%, 20 points below California. SchoolDigger’s statewide rankings place Discovery and Double Peak in the 94th and 93rd percentiles; San Marcos is in the 15th percentile and La Mirada in the 32nd.

Across the 12 schools, average results were roughly flat in ELA and fell about 1 point in math and science from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, while California’s results rose or held steady; the schools’ leads over the state narrowed by about 1 point in ELA, 2 in math and 5 in science. Individual schools moved in different directions: Joli Ann Leichtag Elementary gained 11 points in ELA and 17 in science, while Knob Hill Elementary fell 14 points in science. Reported free/reduced lunch eligible shares for 2024–2025 ranged from 16% at San Elijo to 87% at San Marcos; these figures provide context, not an explanation for scores. Ratios also do not neatly order results: Discovery’s was 26.0 students per teacher, compared with 20.9 at Twin Oaks Elementary, which scored below the state in science.