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
4182	Cox Academy	Public, Charter	K-5	9860 Sunnyside St.	Oakland	94603	Alameda County	Cox Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 904-6300	446	19	22.9	87.4%	1 (0.2%)	66 (14.8%)	351 (78.7%)	6 (1.3%)	3 (0.7%)	14 (3.1%)	5 (1.1%)	$11,710			$2,867			$8,843	27.4	23.3	4556	374		060171804257
4183	Cesar E. Chavez Elementary	Public	K-6	1225 Towt St.	Salinas	93905	Monterey County	Alisal Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 753-5224	628	24	26.1	95.1%	6 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	621 (98.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$21,177			$3,536			$17,641	27.4	27	4199	16		060195006050
4184	Castlemont Elementary	Public, Charter	K-5	3040 East Payne Ave.	Campbell	95008	Santa Clara County	Campbell Union	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 364-4233	436	19	22.9	50.9%	85 (19.5%)	23 (5.3%)	243 (55.7%)	48 (11.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.9%)	33 (7.6%)	$19,954			$1,180			$18,774	27.3	45	2862	1322		060720000664
4185	Leroy Nichols Elementary	Public	K-6	1301 South Crescent Ave.	Lodi	95240	San Joaquin County	Lodi Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 331-7378	344	14	24.5	76.7%	64 (18.6%)	2 (0.6%)	229 (66.6%)	37 (10.8%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.9%)	$16,643			$2,510			$14,133	27.3	28.1	4109	76		062223002654
4186	Skycrest Elementary	Public	K-5	5641 Mariposa Ave.	Citrus Heights	95610	Sacramento County	San Juan Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 867-2098	436	19	22.9	67.7%	193 (44.3%)	24 (5.5%)	169 (38.8%)	22 (5.0%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.7%)	24 (5.5%)	$20,838			$3,318			$17,520	27.3	38.3	3285	901		063462005820
4187	George Washington Elementary	Public	K-6	831 West Lockeford St.	Lodi	95240	San Joaquin County	Lodi Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 331-7451	361	16	22.5	88.9%	67 (18.6%)	7 (1.9%)	240 (66.5%)	36 (10.0%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	8 (2.2%)	$16,262			$2,485			$13,777	27.3	27.7	4138	49		062223002647
4188	Yucca Valley Elementary	Public	K-6	7601 Hopi Trail	Yucca Valley	92284	San Bernardino County	Morongo Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 365-3381	545	23	23.9	76.9%	205 (37.6%)	25 (4.6%)	279 (51.2%)	7 (1.3%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	25 (4.6%)	$17,928			$2,384			$15,544	27.3	22.4	4640	452		062586003894
4189	Sierra Oaks K-8	Public	K-8	171 Mills Rd.	Sacramento	95864	Sacramento County	San Juan Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 575-2390	614	26	23.8	56.8%	230 (37.5%)	61 (9.9%)	168 (27.4%)	94 (15.3%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.1%)	54 (8.8%)	$15,365			$2,240			$13,125	27.3	34.7	3546	643		063462005819
4190	Roche Elementary	Public	K-6	388 North Roche St.	Porterville	93257	Tulare County	Porterville Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 782-7250	334	15	22.7	97.9%	27 (8.1%)	4 (1.2%)	295 (88.3%)	4 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.2%)	$20,804			$4,960			$15,844	27.3	32.2	3759	431		060006404874
4191	Walnut Grove Elementary	Public	K-6	14181 Grove St.	Walnut Grove	95690	Sacramento County	River Delta Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 776-1844	131	8	16.3	93.1%	13 (9.9%)	4 (3.1%)	108 (82.4%)	2 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (3.1%)	$18,731			$2,405			$16,326	27.3	16.9	5127	936		063311005127

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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:

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Transforming Education in America

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.