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
2951	Cottonwood	Public, Virtual, Charter, Alternative	K-12	3921 Sandstone Drive Ste. A	El Dorado Hills	95762	El Dorado County	Cottonwood District	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(530) 285-2003	3,563	123	29	42.5%	2,481 (69.6%)	58 (1.6%)	553 (15.5%)	111 (3.1%)	8 (0.2%)	1 (0.0%)	344 (9.7%)	$12,624			$588			$12,036	44	48.8	2626	325		060252414444
2952	Christian Sorensen Science Academy	Public	K-5	11493 East Rosehedge Dr.	Whittier	90606	Los Angeles County	Whittier City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 789-3220	446	18	24.1	79.6%	10 (2.2%)	4 (0.9%)	409 (91.7%)	11 (2.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (2.5%)	$18,925			$2,086			$16,839	44	50.5	2533	419		064245006947
2953	Eaton Elementary	Public	K-6	1451 East Sierra Ave.	Fresno	93710	Fresno County	Fresno Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 451-4470	512	26	19.8	71.7%	108 (21.1%)	19 (3.7%)	289 (56.4%)	49 (9.6%)	7 (1.4%)	1 (0.2%)	39 (7.6%)	$19,177			$2,680			$16,497	44	48.1	2656	297		061455001722
2954	Julia Morgan Elementary	Public	K-6	3777 A. G. Spanos Blvd.	Stockton	95209	San Joaquin County	Lodi Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 953-8453	407	17	24.4	66.6%	51 (12.5%)	44 (10.8%)	177 (43.5%)	86 (21.1%)	1 (0.2%)	7 (1.7%)	40 (9.8%)	$15,693			$2,094			$13,599	44	42.7	3021	67		062223010652
2955	Robert M. Pyles STEM Academy	Public	K-6	10411 South Dale St.	Stanton	90680	Orange County	Magnolia Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 761-6324	601	26	23.5	86.9%	24 (4.0%)	12 (2.0%)	447 (74.4%)	90 (15.0%)	8 (1.3%)	4 (0.7%)	16 (2.7%)	$20,627			$2,927			$17,700	43.9	42.5	3034	79		062343003562
2956	Hemlock Elementary	Public	K-5	15080 Miller Ave.	Fontana	92336	San Bernardino County	Fontana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 357-5470	426	19	22.9	78.6%	37 (8.7%)	37 (8.7%)	291 (68.3%)	55 (12.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.4%)	$14,860			$1,421			$13,439	43.9	41.4	3100	144		061392002600
2957	Hillside Elementary	Public	K-8	800 Treasure Hills Dr.	Madera	93636	Madera County	Chawanakee Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 822-4141	310	14	21.8	31.3%	123 (39.7%)	7 (2.3%)	120 (38.7%)	24 (7.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (11.6%)	$18,358			$2,004			$16,354	43.9	47.9	2676	281		060011614261
2958	Melrose Leadership Academy	Public	K-8	4730 Fleming Ave.	Oakland	94619	Alameda County	Oakland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 879-2152	722	36	20.1	54.6%	108 (15.0%)	23 (3.2%)	510 (70.6%)	8 (1.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	63 (8.7%)	$24,672			$3,888			$20,784	43.9	60.5	2045	913		062805008679
2959	President Avenue Elementary	Public	K-6	1465 West 243rd St.	Harbor City	90710	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 326-7400	362	23	15.7	73.5%	15 (4.1%)	43 (11.9%)	258 (71.3%)	21 (5.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (6.9%)	$31,528			$4,834			$26,694	43.9	34.4	3569	610		062271003291
2960	Conway Elementary	Public	K-6	1325 Conway Dr.	Escondido	92027	San Diego County	Escondido Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 432-2435	547	27	20.5	81.0%	50 (9.1%)	3 (0.5%)	449 (82.1%)	18 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (4.9%)								43.9	35.5	3481	521		061288001452

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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:

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Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

Public School Districts and Their Services: A Comprehensive Guide

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