Summary
Cornell Elementary is a K–5 school in Albany, California, with 560 students, compared here with nearby schools in Albany, Berkeley and neighboring communities. Its 2025–26 proficiency rates were about 80% in English language arts (ELA), 75% in math and 74% in science. The most important finding is that Cornell scored above California and its district in all three subjects, and ranked second among the 11 nearby schools in science.
Cornell’s clearest local strength is science: its rate was 14 percentage points above the nearby-school average, compared with 11 points in ELA and 7 in math. It ranked third locally in ELA and fourth in math, so it is strong but does not lead the group in those subjects. Compared with Albany City Unified, Cornell was ahead by 2 points in ELA, 5 in math and 3 in science. Its margins over California were much larger: 31 points in ELA, 37 in math and 38 in science.
Results remain high, though all three subject rates were lower in 2025–26 than in 2022–23: ELA fell 2 percentage points, math 3 and science 4. Each subject improved from the previous year, while Cornell’s lead over the state narrowed by 5 points in ELA, 7 in math and 10 in science. SchoolDigger ranks Cornell 288th of 5,804 California schools, at the 95th percentile with five stars. One notable contrast is its Asian-student ranking: SchoolDigger places the school at the 49th percentile with two stars, 46 percentile points below its overall standing. Cornell’s 2024–25 student–teacher ratio was 24.7, the highest among nearby schools with reported figures. Its reported share of students eligible for free/reduced lunch was 26% in 2024–25, the second-lowest nearby rate; this is an observation, not an explanation of the results. Chronic absenteeism was 4% in 2025–26, down from 9% in 2021–22 and below the state’s 18%.
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