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Balboa Elementary

Public Grades K-5

4858^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,817 California Elementary Schools

Better than 16% of California elementary schools

Summary

Balboa Elementary is a 457-student K–5 school in San Diego and is part of San Diego Unified. Its 2025–26 proficiency was 26% in ELA, 23% in math and 18% in science. Those results were below both state averages—49%, 38% and 36%—and district averages—54%, 46% and 42%. The most important finding is that the school remains substantially behind state and district levels in all three tested subjects, by 16 to 27 percentage points.

Among the ten nearby schools, Balboa Elementary ranked fourth in all-grades ELA proficiency and fifth in math and science, so it was not at the bottom of the local group. Within the six nearby San Diego Unified K–5 schools, it had the highest fourth-grade ELA result, at 34%, and the second-highest third-grade math result, at 33%. Its third-grade ELA result, 17%, was the lowest in that group. Fifth-grade math was a particular weak spot: 11%, or 26 points below the state and 36 below the district. Fifth-grade science was second-highest among those same-district schools, despite remaining below state and district results.

Results and attendance have shifted over time. From 2022–23 to 2025–26, ELA proficiency rose by 2 points, while math fell by 1 point and science changed little; the school’s gaps to the state widened in all three subjects. Chronic absenteeism dropped from 63% in 2021–22 to 31% in 2025–26, but remained 13 points above the state and 14 above the district. SchoolDigger placed Balboa Elementary at the 17th statewide percentile in 2025–26 (1 star), down 10 percentile points from 2023–24; the district was at the 58th percentile (3 stars). Its student–teacher ratio was 21.7 in 2024–25, the third-lowest among nearby schools. The school’s free/reduced lunch eligible share was 92% in 2024–25, a community-context measure, not an explanation for test results. SchoolDigger’s ranking for how well it served Female Students fell sharply, from the 41st percentile in 2023–24 to the 11th in 2025–26.

457

Students ?

21.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$25,590

Per pupil spending ?

92.1%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in California receive free school meals.

96%

Kindergartners with all required immunizations (2024-25)

Exemptions: 0% (any vaccine)

1844 South 40th St.
San Diego, CA 92113-4017

(619) 362-4100

District: San Diego Unified

Students who attend Balboa Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Knox Middle
High:	Lincoln High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

86.9%

Asian:

4.2%

African American:

3.9%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Balboa Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 20th percentile in 2015 → 16th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (24% vs 42% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (16th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (31% vs 18% California)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school24%

District avg48%

California avg42%

4,858^th of 5,817

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 16%▼ down 11 pts since 2016

From bottom 27% (2016) to bottom 16% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

103^rd of 120Elementary Schools in the San Diego Unified

600^th of 1,530San Diego Unified among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	19.5	4858 of 5817	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	24.8	4424 of 5857	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.2	4269 of 5869	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.4	4608 of 5859	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.8	4973 of 5883	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.9	3867 of 5789	33.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	35.0	3467 of 5662	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2017	19.5	4736 of 5692	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	26.1	4087 of 5614	27.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	21.4	4477 of 5611	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	29.7	4069 of 5530	26.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	20.6	4605 of 5390	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	24.2	4388 of 5377	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	27.3	4057 of 5314	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	29.3	3761 of 5193	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	21.7	4216 of 5113	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	18.5	4416 of 5113	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	16.5	4254 of 4818	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	16.7	4196 of 4822	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	13.8	4430 of 4809	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	35.1	2174 of 3162	31.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	20.2	3137 of 3245	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	35.9	2125 of 3311	35.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	64.5	695 of 3275	78.8%	★★★★☆
2018	54.1	1066 of 3246	67.2%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	16.6	4940 of 5581	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	32.2	3679 of 5597	34.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	36.2	3324 of 5612	40.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	22.7	4455 of 5609	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.7	5212 of 5635	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	29.1	3900 of 5492	29.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.8	3623 of 5413	33.1%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	27.6	3922 of 5094	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	33.3	3517 of 5107	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	34.6	3383 of 5107	33.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	32.4	3509 of 5087	31.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	23.4	4249 of 5084	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	42.5	2787 of 4963	43.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	49.1	2282 of 4830	52.8%	★★★☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	41.0	216 of 366	41.0%	★★☆☆☆
2025	64.3	105 of 429	75.5%	★★★★☆
2024	59.7	108 of 364	70.3%	★★★★☆
2023	47.8	151 of 335	54.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	35.4	242 of 356	32.0%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	26.1	4260 of 5423	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	34.2	3644 of 5460	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	32.8	3723 of 5517	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	28.7	4000 of 5363	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	25.7	4198 of 5264	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	44.2	2806 of 5173	45.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	50.4	2332 of 5084	54.1%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	25.7	4238 of 5603	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	21.3	4610 of 5628	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.4	4682 of 5643	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	23.6	4384 of 5638	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	23.6	4353 of 5663	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	33.6	3493 of 5510	36.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	39.2	3101 of 5431	42.9%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	29.2	2041 of 2847	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	37.3	1306 of 2420	46.0%	★★☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Homeless (2026)41st percentile+24 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)31st percentile+4 vs school

Special Education (2025)28th percentile+4 vs school

Male (2026)24th percentile+8 vs school

Hispanic (2026)23rd percentile+7 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)21st percentile+5 vs school

Female (2026)11th percentile-5 vs school

By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy26%-23 vs state

Mathematics23%-16 vs state

Science18%-18 vs state

★

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Schools Near Balboa Elementary

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				CAST Science (2026)			Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2026)							Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2026)							Vaccination (2024-25)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Vaccination: Kindergartners with all required immunizations	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Balboa Elementary	Public	K-5	1844 South 40th St.	San Diego	92113	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 362-4100	457	21	21.7	92.1%	12 (2.6%)	18 (3.9%)	397 (86.9%)	19 (4.2%)	2 (0.4%)	4 (0.9%)	5 (1.1%)	19.5	4858^th of 5817 public elementary schools	16.5%		24.8	4424^th of 5857 public elementary schools	24.5%	434	17.5		17.5	17.2	33.9	27.8				26.4	32.8	24.2	10.5				22.6	96%	0%	$25,590	$2,308	$23,282
Chavez Elementary	Public	K-5	1404 South 40th St.	San Diego	92113	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 362-3200	361	15	24.0	96.4%	1 (0.3%)	8 (2.2%)	342 (94.7%)	6 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (0.8%)	15.2	5208^th of 5817 public elementary schools	10.5%		17.6	5045^th of 5857 public elementary schools	13.9%	163	12.3		12.3	30.4	29.2	19.3				25.8	26.1	16.3	8.8				16.5	97%	0%	$22,839	$2,784	$20,055
Integrity Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	701 National City Blvd.	National City	91950	San Diego County	Integrity Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 336-0808	393	21	18.8	87.0%	6 (1.5%)	7 (1.8%)	366 (93.1%)	10 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (0.8%)	29.3	4048^th of 5817 public elementary schools	30.4%		23.6	4533^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	22.6%	485	13.3	8.7	11.0	33.3	35.0	34.9	47.8	52.3	32.6	39.5	34.9	19.5	22.2	25.5	25.5	13.0	23.4	≥ 95%		$26,555	$1,828	$24,727
Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary	Public	K-5	3510 Newton Ave.	San Diego	92113	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 344-6200	456	18	25.3	96.7%	5 (1.1%)	14 (3.1%)	430 (94.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	5 (1.1%)	22.5	4589^th of 5817 public elementary schools	21.1%		20	4822^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	17.7%	233	14.9		14.9	26.9	26.2	32.3				28.4	31.8	25.8	25.4				27.6	92%	0%	$23,236	$2,207	$21,029
Baker Elementary	Public	K-5	4041 T St.	San Diego	92113	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 344-4800	361	15	24.0	97.2%	3 (0.8%)	31 (8.6%)	315 (87.3%)	5 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.9%)	15.7	5162^nd of 5817 public elementary schools	11.3%		13.6	5378^th of 5857 public elementary schools	8.2%	216	17.0		17.0	21.3	18.9	29.8				23.1	27.7	15.1	17.0				19.7	91%	0%	$22,555	$2,762	$19,793
Central Elementary	Public	K-6	933 E Ave.	National City	91950	San Diego County	National Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 336-7400	477	20	23.8	91.0%	7 (1.5%)	8 (1.7%)	398 (83.4%)	56 (11.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.5%)	35.7	3528^th of 5817 public elementary schools	39.4%		28.7	4078^th of 5857 public elementary schools	30.4%	550	27.0		27.0	33.9	22.0	40.3	57.4			38.6	40.7	11.9	21.0	38.7			28.1	96%	1%	$26,779	$2,198	$24,581
Mountain View	Public	K-8	3550 Logan Ave.	San Diego	92113	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 344-6210	195	11	18.2	87.2%	15 (7.7%)	1 (0.5%)	171 (87.7%)	2 (1.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.1%)	13.1	5388^th of 5817 public elementary schools	7.4%		22.2	4654^th of 5857 public elementary schools	20.5%	734	21.4	33.3	27.6	14.3	5.3	28.6	27.8	35.0	33.3	23.4	14.3	10.5	28.6	5.6	14.3	40.0	17.6	≥ 95%		$24,503	$1,813	$22,690
Rancho de la Nacion	Public	K-6	1830 East Division St.	National City	91950	San Diego County	National Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 336-8100	332	14	23.6	88.9%	3 (0.9%)	6 (1.8%)	285 (85.8%)	22 (6.6%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)	11 (3.3%)	50.5	2586^th of 5817 public elementary schools	55.5%		39.5	3253^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	44.5%	667	47.7		47.7	35.6	33.3	54.6	51.4			43.6	39.1	37.5	36.4	40.0			38.2	≥ 98%		$27,145	$1,854	$25,291
El Toyon Elementary	Public	K-6	2000 East Division St.	National City	91950	San Diego County	National Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 336-8000	381	17	22.4	86.6%	9 (2.4%)	14 (3.7%)	303 (79.5%)	32 (8.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (6.0%)	26.2	4294^th of 5817 public elementary schools	26.2%		31.7	3826^th of 5857 public elementary schools	34.7%	468	20.3		20.3	15.0	9.5	28.8	39.1			25.4	52.5	7.3	22.0	31.3			27.9	≥ 98%		$29,250	$1,872	$27,378
Rodriguez Elementary	Public	K-5	825 South 31st St.	San Diego	92113	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 699-4500	280	11	25.4	95.7%	2 (0.7%)	9 (3.2%)	268 (95.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	17.8	4991^st of 5817 public elementary schools	14.2%		8.5	5708^th of 5857 public elementary schools	2.5%	717	8.9		8.9	38.0	20.0	17.8				25.9	36.0	12.5	8.9				20.0	93%	0%	$26,172	$3,452	$22,720

Frequently Asked Questions about Balboa Elementary

What is the racial makeup of Balboa Elementary?

Students at Balboa Elementary are 87% Hispanic, 4% Asian, 4% African American, 3% White, 1% Two or more races.

How many students attend Balboa Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 457 students attended Balboa Elementary.

What district is Balboa Elementary in?

San Diego Unified

Is Balboa Elementary a good school?

Balboa Elementary ranks in the bottom 16.5% of California elementary schools.

What schools do graduates of Balboa Elementary attend?

Students who attend Balboa Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Knox Middle
High : Lincoln High

Rate Balboa Elementary!

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Latest California data All new data »

2024–25 school spending data (updated)NewNov 2, 2026

2013–14 through 2024–25 immunization rates (updated)Oct 19, 2026

2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesOct 15, 2026

2025–26 CAST, CSA Spanish & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresOct 15, 2026

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

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.