Best Elementary Schools in California

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Find the best California elementary schools with SchoolDigger.com! Focused on test scores for accurate rankings, our user-friendly site simplifies your search. Empower your decisions by exploring top-rated schools, only on SchoolDigger.com - the ultimate guide to K-12 schools!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish California test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the CAST and Smarter Balanced Assessments test scores by the California Department of Education. The most recent update was on Thursday, October 9, 2025.

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School														Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)							Ranking (2025 vs 2024)					ID
Rank (of 5856)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Average Standard Score (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Rank (2024)	Rank Change from 2024	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	ID
5172	Cole Elementary	Public	K-6	1331 Cole Ave.	Highland	92346	San Bernardino County	San Bernardino City Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 388-6510	380	18	21.1	95.5%	19 (5.0%)	36 (9.5%)	300 (78.9%)	8 (2.1%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.5%)	14 (3.7%)	$23,712			$4,735			$18,977	16.2	11.1	5617	445		063417005353
5173	Eucalyptus Elementary	Public	K-6	11224 10th Ave.	Hesperia	92345	San Bernardino County	Hesperia Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 949-0815	737	32	23	86.8%	28 (3.8%)	60 (8.1%)	623 (84.5%)	9 (1.2%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (2.2%)	$38,337			$5,779			$32,558	16.2	13.2	5466	293		060001409076
5174	Carl E. Gilbert Elementary	Public	K-5	7255 Eighth St.	Buena Park	90621	Orange County	Buena Park Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 522-7281	490	18	27	93.9%	4 (0.8%)	19 (3.9%)	429 (87.6%)	17 (3.5%)	1 (0.2%)	5 (1.0%)	15 (3.1%)	$21,455			$2,003			$19,452	16.1	18.7	4962	212		060636000556
5175	La Canada Elementary	Public	K-6	621 West North Ave.	Lompoc	93436	Santa Barbara County	Lompoc Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 742-2250	541	24	22.5	87.2%	39 (7.2%)	13 (2.4%)	450 (83.2%)	18 (3.3%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (3.5%)	$14,931			$771			$14,160	16.1	17.1	5106	69		062241002682
5176	King-Chavez Academy of Excellence	Public, Charter	K-8	2716 Marcy Ave.	San Diego	92113	San Diego County	King-Chavez Academy of Excellence District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 232-2825	242	15	16.4	94.2%	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	236 (97.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	4 (1.7%)	$22,518			$2,535			$19,983	16.1	20.8	4787	389		060158510381
5177	Alpine Elementary	Public	K-8	8244 East Pearblossom Hwy.	Littlerock	93543	Los Angeles County	Keppel Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 944-3221	591	23	26.2	64.8%	39 (6.6%)	15 (2.5%)	534 (90.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	$22,366			$2,487			$19,879	16.1	17.8	5046	131		061944002332
5178	Fremont Elementary	Public	K-6	1005 West Weldon	Fresno	93705	Fresno County	Fresno Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 457-2910	443	26	17.2	91.6%	28 (6.3%)	24 (5.4%)	352 (79.5%)	20 (4.5%)	5 (1.1%)	2 (0.5%)	12 (2.7%)	$21,649			$2,903			$18,746	16.1	17.5	5073	105		061455001728
5179	Miller (Isaac) Elementary	Public	K-6	410 East Camino Colegio	Santa Maria	93454	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 361-7560	883	40	21.8	94.5%	20 (2.3%)	2 (0.2%)	839 (95.0%)	5 (0.6%)	7 (0.8%)	2 (0.2%)	8 (0.9%)	$19,563			$2,237			$17,326	16	18	5030	149		060558009319
5180	Herman Leimbach Elementary	Public	K-6	8101 Grandstaff Dr.	Sacramento	95823	Sacramento County	Elk Grove Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 689-2120	659	30	21.9	86.9%	28 (4.2%)	130 (19.7%)	247 (37.5%)	201 (30.5%)	1 (0.2%)	15 (2.3%)	37 (5.6%)	$18,041			$2,277			$15,764	16	15.7	5239	59		061233001404
5181	Neil Hafley Elementary	Public	K-8	849 Northgate Ave.	Manteca	95336	San Joaquin County	Manteca Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 858-7215	799	31	25.9	61.5%	156 (19.5%)	30 (3.8%)	495 (62.0%)	85 (10.6%)	4 (0.5%)	6 (0.8%)	23 (2.9%)	$14,148			$2,277			$11,871	16	15.8	5227	46		062361008160

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for CA student subgroups:

Female Students Male Students Asian Students African American Students Hispanic Students White Students Multi-racial Students Special Education Students Low Socio Economic Status Students Migrant Students Homeless Students Military Connected Students

About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy, Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics, CAST Science test scores released by the California Department of Education.
These rankings were last updated on October 9, 2025, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the California Department of Education, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the California Department of Education.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

Student-Teacher Ratios and their Impact on Class Sizes & School Selection

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.