Santa Clara Unified

The Santa Clara Unified district serves a diverse community across Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Alviso, and San Jose with 30 schools, including 19 elementary, 4 middle, 6 high, and 1 alternative K-12 school, where overall performance ranks in the top quarter of California districts.

There are standout schools of exceptional quality, such as Millikin Elementary, which ranks among the very best in the state, and Mission Early College High, which boasts a perfect graduation rate. In contrast, schools like Scott Lane Elementary and New Valley Continuation High face significant academic challenges, highlighting a notable performance gap within the district that often correlates with economic factors and student attendance rates.

Key takeaways for parents include the district's strength in English and science compared to the state average, though high schools show a common struggle with math scores. The specialized early college model at Mission High is a proven success, while the district's alternative schools require high investment for students with intense needs. When evaluating schools, examining test scores, graduation rates, and chronic absenteeism data—which is publicly available for each school—provides a clear picture of both opportunity and challenge across Santa Clara Unified.