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
201	Palo Verde Elementary	Public	K-5	3450 Louis Rd.	Palo Alto	94303	Santa Clara County	Palo Alto Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 856-1672	334	18	18.8	12.6%	89 (26.6%)	4 (1.2%)	44 (13.2%)	173 (51.8%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)	21 (6.3%)	$26,913			$947			$25,966	96.4	97.2	141	60		062961004597
202	Kelly Elementary	Public	K-5	4885 Kelly Dr.	Carlsbad	92008	San Diego County	Carlsbad Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 331-5800	449	22	19.9	20.9%	270 (60.1%)	8 (1.8%)	72 (16.0%)	32 (7.1%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	65 (14.5%)	$17,531			$751			$16,780	96.4	95.3	319	117		060750000711
203	Cumberland Elementary	Public	K-5	824 Cumberland Ave.	Sunnyvale	94087	Santa Clara County	Sunnyvale	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 522-8255	586	31	19	9.7%	192 (32.8%)	6 (1.0%)	86 (14.7%)	243 (41.5%)	2 (0.3%)	4 (0.7%)	53 (9.0%)	$22,365			$1,398			$20,967	96.4	96.3	241	38		063846006459
204	Laguna Road Elementary	Public	K-6	300 West Laguna Rd.	Fullerton	92835	Orange County	Fullerton Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 447-7725	623	21	30.3	22.6%	53 (8.5%)	2 (0.3%)	73 (11.7%)	445 (71.4%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	48 (7.7%)	$15,856			$238			$15,618	96.4	96.5	205	1		061473001796
205	Donald L. Rheem Elementary	Public	K-5	90 Laird Dr.	Moraga	94556	Contra Costa County	Moraga Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 376-4441	441	19	23.2	8.4%	202 (45.8%)	6 (1.4%)	59 (13.4%)	82 (18.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	92 (20.9%)	$17,138			$1,021			$16,117	96.4	97.4	127	78		062574003850
206	West Valley Elementary	Public	K-5	1635 Belleville Way	Sunnyvale	94087	Santa Clara County	Cupertino Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 245-0148	422	21	20.1	15.9%	109 (25.8%)	1 (0.2%)	25 (5.9%)	236 (55.9%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (11.6%)	$19,049			$477			$18,572	96.4	92.4	545	339		061029001154
207	A. G. Cook Elementary	Public	K-6	9802 Woodbury Ave.	Garden Grove	92844	Orange County	Garden Grove Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 663-6251	345	16	22.1	64.6%	13 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	66 (19.1%)	249 (72.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	15 (4.3%)	$19,126			$1,646			$17,480	96.4	97.2	149	58		061488001834
208	Deer Canyon Elementary	Public	K-5	13455 Russet Leaf Ln.	San Diego	92129	San Diego County	Poway Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 484-6064	354	17	21.1	10.2%	97 (27.4%)	6 (1.7%)	33 (9.3%)	177 (50.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (11.6%)	$20,830			$1,024			$19,806	96.4	96.4	223	15		063153010005
209	Philip J. Reilly Elementary	Public	K-5	24171 Pavion	Mission Viejo	92692	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 454-1590	421	19	22.1	27.3%	215 (51.1%)	10 (2.4%)	71 (16.9%)	32 (7.6%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	90 (21.4%)	$19,358			$1,257			$18,101	96.3	96.3	236	27		060744009745
210	Walnut Acres Elementary	Public	K-5	180 Cerezo Dr.	Walnut Creek	94598	Contra Costa County	Mt. Diablo Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 939-1333	689	24	28.7	14.9%	313 (45.4%)	7 (1.0%)	103 (14.9%)	119 (17.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	146 (21.2%)	$1,233			$243			$990	96.3	95.4	313	103		062637003980

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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:

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Impact on Education

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.