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
461	Meadow Elementary	Public	K-6	880 Maria Dr.	Petaluma	94954	Sonoma County	Waugh Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 762-4905	384	17	22.1	13.3%	226 (58.9%)	3 (0.8%)	77 (20.1%)	21 (5.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	55 (14.3%)								93.2	92.8	515	54		064179010332
462	Parkmont Elementary	Public	K-5	2601 Parkside Dr.	Fremont	94536	Alameda County	Fremont Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 793-7492	734	27	27.1	24.0%	53 (7.2%)	8 (1.1%)	102 (13.9%)	523 (71.3%)	8 (1.1%)	1 (0.1%)	39 (5.3%)	$14,307			$239			$14,068	93.2	92.8	509	47		061440001684
463	Louise Van Meter Elementary	Public	K-5	16445 Los Gatos Blvd.	Los Gatos	95032	Santa Clara County	Los Gatos Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 335-2250	507	24	21.1	6.7%	222 (43.8%)	6 (1.2%)	54 (10.7%)	159 (31.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	66 (13.0%)	$19,996			$1,548			$18,448	93.1	88.5	788	325		062283003492
464	Benchley/Weinberger Elementary	Public	K-5	6269 Twin Lake Dr.	San Diego	92119	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 344-4000	560	22	25.4	20.0%	299 (53.4%)	13 (2.3%)	140 (25.0%)	31 (5.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	76 (13.6%)	$18,657			$2,548			$16,109	93.1	91.7	595	131		063432005570
465	Hickman Elementary	Public	K-5	10850 Montongo St.	San Diego	92126	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 634-8500	457	18	25.9	40.7%	80 (17.5%)	10 (2.2%)	91 (19.9%)	205 (44.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	70 (15.3%)	$19,375			$2,740			$16,635	93.1	92.9	506	41		063432005480
466	Beacon Park	Public	K-8	200 Cultivate	Irvine	92618	Orange County	Irvine Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 936-8400	1,065	39	27.4	12.9%	172 (16.2%)	6 (0.6%)	86 (8.1%)	705 (66.2%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	94 (8.8%)	$13,657			$401			$13,256	93.1	94.2	412	54		068450013996
467	Green Elementary	Public	K-5	7030 Wandermere Pl.	San Diego	92119	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 510-4200	493	19	26.2	32.3%	247 (50.1%)	32 (6.5%)	129 (26.2%)	27 (5.5%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	55 (11.2%)	$18,833			$2,823			$16,010	93.1	94.7	368	99		063432005471
468	Liberty Elementary	Public, Charter	1-6	170 Liberty School Rd.	Petaluma	94952	Sonoma County	Liberty Elementary	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 795-4380	162	7	23.1	19.1%	106 (65.4%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (25.3%)	2 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (8.0%)	$13,350			$137			$13,213	93	95.2	326	142		062154002570
469	Clay Elementary	Public	K-8	12449 South Smith Ave.	Kingsburg	93631	Fresno County	Clay Joint Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 897-4185	246	9	27.3	15.4%	158 (64.2%)	1 (0.4%)	79 (32.1%)	6 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	$14,025			$770			$13,255	93	87.1	857	388		060885000897
470	Wheatland Charter Academy	Public, Charter	K-5	123 Beale Hwy.	Beale AFB	95903	Yuba County	Wheatland	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 788-0248	89	4	22.2	39.3%	43 (48.3%)	7 (7.9%)	22 (24.7%)	1 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (18.0%)								93	83.2	1032	562		064233011548

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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

Charter Schools vs Regular Public Schools: Understanding the Key Differences

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