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Gardner Elementary

Public Grades K-5

5270^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 10% of California elementary schools

Summary

Gardner Elementary is a K-5 public school serving 385 students in the San Jose Unified district, located in a neighborhood with significant economic need where over 70% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Academically, the school's test scores are below state and district averages, but this is an important context: when compared to nearby schools with similar levels of student economic need, such as Washington Elementary and Lowell Elementary, Gardner's students perform better in core subjects. The school shows particular strengths in supporting specialized student groups, with its special education program ranked in the 86th percentile statewide and its English Language Learner program showing marked improvement. Furthermore, while chronic student absenteeism is a challenge, the rate has improved steadily from nearly 50% to about 32% over the last few years.

An interesting comparison in the area is at the shared Galarza campus, where Hammer Montessori at Galarza Elementary (91st percentile) and Ernesto Galarza Elementary (3rd percentile) operate in the same building but serve very different student populations. Gardner spends a mid-range amount per student compared to peers but achieves relatively stronger results than some higher-spending schools with similar demographics, suggesting efficient use of its resources to support its high-need community.

385

Students ?

18.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,101

Per pupil spending ?

70.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

502 Illinois Ave.
San Jose, CA 95125-1534

(408) 535-6225

District: San Jose Unified

Students who attend Gardner Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Herbert Hoover Middle
High:	Abraham Lincoln High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

86.8%

White:

4.7%

Two or more races:

3.1%

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At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 22nd percentile in 2019 → 10th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (20% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (10th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (32% vs 19% California)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school20%

District avg45%

California avg41%

5,270^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 10%▲ up 8 pts since 2015

From bottom 2% (2015) to bottom 10% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

21^st of 27Elementary Schools in the San Jose Unified

788^th of 1,543San Jose 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
2025	14.9	5270 of 5857	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.9	4684 of 5869	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.9	4851 of 5859	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.6	4994 of 5883	15.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	19.3	1177 of 1417	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	23.3	4507 of 5789	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.9	4609 of 5662	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	12.3	5338 of 5692	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	11.3	5356 of 5614	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	9.5	5497 of 5611	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	10.7	5265 of 5530	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	19.8	4658 of 5390	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	30.0	3979 of 5377	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	32.4	3669 of 5314	31.0%	★★☆☆☆
2009	35.2	3353 of 5193	35.4%	★★☆☆☆
2008	18.7	4423 of 5113	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	15.4	4617 of 5113	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	10.6	4602 of 4818	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	7.2	4767 of 4822	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2004	12.6	4506 of 4809	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	45.5	1444 of 3162	54.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	32.1	2385 of 3245	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.1	2876 of 3311	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	37.6	344 of 602	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	48.7	1316 of 3275	59.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	25.6	2679 of 3246	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	14.0	5177 of 5597	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	19.1	4794 of 5612	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.9	4960 of 5609	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.7	5127 of 5635	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	17.8	1101 of 1267	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.3	4206 of 5492	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	30.9	3695 of 5413	31.7%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	16.7	4658 of 5107	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	26.5	3994 of 5107	21.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	23.0	4250 of 5087	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.7	4654 of 5084	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	30.6	3648 of 4963	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.8	3840 of 4830	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	12.4	5207 of 5460	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	20.0	4784 of 5517	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.6	4656 of 5363	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.3	4694 of 5264	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	23.5	941 of 1110	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.1	4216 of 5173	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.3	4243 of 5084	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	17.2	4943 of 5628	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.1	4179 of 5643	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.5	4197 of 5638	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	24.2	4302 of 5663	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	22.9	987 of 1272	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.6	4413 of 5510	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.3	4935 of 5431	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	78.2	373 of 2635	85.8%	★★★★☆

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)

Special Education (2024)86th percentile+66 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)54th percentile+34 vs school

Male (2025)12th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)9th percentile~ school

Female (2025)8th percentile-3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)5th percentile-5 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy23%-26 vs state

Mathematics18%-19 vs state

Science14%-19 vs state

★

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Schools Near Gardner Elementary

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)			Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)							Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)							% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
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/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	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	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Gardner Elementary	Public	K-5	502 Illinois Ave.	San Jose	95125	Santa Clara County	San Jose Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 535-6225	385	21	18.5	70.1%	18 (4.7%)	11 (2.9%)	334 (86.8%)	9 (2.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.1%)	14.9	5270^th of 5857 public elementary schools	10.0%		21.9	4684^th of 5869 public elementary schools	20.2%	586	13.6		13.6	18.3	25.0	26.8				23.0	21.7	19.3	13.8				18.5							$21,101	$786	$20,315
Rocketship Mateo Sheedy Elementary	Public, Charter	K-5	788 Locust St.	San Jose	95110	Santa Clara County	Rocketship Mateo Sheedy Elementary District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(877) 806-0920	454	17	27.5	79.5%	8 (1.8%)	48 (10.6%)	376 (82.8%)	15 (3.3%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.1%)	45	2882^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	50.8%		49.6	2581^st of 5869 public elementary schools	56.0%	301	20.7		20.7	30.0	51.5	44.8				41.3	35.8	51.5	39.0				41.8	83.2	85.2	94.1	84.2	86.1	84.2	$21,822	$2,777	$19,045
Washington Elementary	Public	K-5	100 Oak St.	San Jose	95110	Santa Clara County	San Jose Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 535-6261	329	17	19.3	83.0%	4 (1.2%)	1 (0.3%)	316 (96.0%)	4 (1.2%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)	8.7	5699^th of 5857 public elementary schools	2.7%		13.4	5445^th of 5869 public elementary schools	7.2%	254	11.1		11.1	9.8	3.6	19.2				10.7	17.0	16.1	7.4				13.5	96.5					96.5	$23,656	$1,463	$22,193
River Glen	Public	K-8	1088 Broadway	San Jose	95125	Santa Clara County	San Jose Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 535-6240	463	16	29.3	46.9%	41 (8.9%)	5 (1.1%)	391 (84.4%)	8 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (3.9%)	55.5	2277^th of 5857 public elementary schools	61.1%		48.4	2642^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	55.0%	365	27.3	44.7	35.3	40.0	50.9	45.5	74.5	66.0	51.1	54.2	38.2	49.1	29.1	51.0	41.7	36.2	40.8							$20,522	$752	$19,770
Rocketship Alma Academy	Public, Charter	K-5	198 West Alma Ave.	San Jose	95110	Santa Clara County	Rocketship Alma Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(877) 806-0920	532	17	32.2	80.5%	7 (1.3%)	50 (9.4%)	451 (84.8%)	20 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.8%)	30.8	3891^st of 5857 public elementary schools	33.6%		41.2	3105^th of 5869 public elementary schools	47.1%	786	17.6		17.6	28.1	27.3	40.0				31.6	35.4	33.3	33.8				34.2							$18,658	$1,765	$16,893
Lowell Elementary	Public	K-5	625 South Seventh St.	San Jose	95112	Santa Clara County	San Jose Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 535-6243	261	12	21.4	85.1%	6 (2.3%)	1 (0.4%)	240 (92.0%)	11 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.1%)	6.6	5794^th of 5857 public elementary schools	1.1%		7.7	5784^th of 5869 public elementary schools	1.4%	10	8.5		8.5	2.6	11.4	19.5				11.4	0.0	11.4	4.3				4.8	91.9						$22,447	$1,069	$21,378
Willow Glen Elementary	Public	K-5	1425 Lincoln Ave.	San Jose	95125	Santa Clara County	San Jose Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 535-6265	660	32	20.7	35.9%	171 (25.9%)	19 (2.9%)	368 (55.8%)	30 (4.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	71 (10.8%)	58.3	2151^st of 5857 public elementary schools	63.3%		71.3	1535^th of 5869 public elementary schools	73.8%	616	33.3		33.3	45.0	61.1	52.0				52.3	50.5	45.7	34.6				43.6	95.7						$21,383	$892	$20,491
Horace Mann Elementary	Public	K-5	55 North Seventh St.	San Jose	95112	Santa Clara County	San Jose Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 535-6237	293	14	20.4	74.4%	15 (5.1%)	10 (3.4%)	233 (79.5%)	24 (8.2%)	5 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.0%)	15.4	5232^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	10.7%		18.4	4997^th of 5869 public elementary schools	14.9%	235	19.6		19.6	7.7	15.2	36.5				20.0	9.3	3.9	23.2				12.4	89.5	96.5	96.5	94.7	94.7		$20,810	$769	$20,041
Hammer Montessori at Galarza Elementary	Public	K-5	1610 Bird Ave.	San Jose	95125	Santa Clara County	San Jose Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 535-6671	309	13	23.7	20.1%	90 (29.1%)	14 (4.5%)	88 (28.5%)	62 (20.1%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	53 (17.2%)	92	545^th of 5857 public elementary schools	90.7%		89.1	743^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	87.3%	198	64.0		64.0	67.3	71.9	72.0				70.4	76.4	73.7	72.0				74.1							$18,463	$730	$17,733
Ernesto Galarza Elementary	Public	K-5	1610 Bird Ave.	San Jose	95125	Santa Clara County	San Jose Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 535-6671	322	14	22.5	77.3%	18 (5.6%)	10 (3.1%)	262 (81.4%)	18 (5.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (4.3%)	9.4	5662^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	3.3%		10.7	5652^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	3.7%	10	10.9		10.9	8.3	20.0	15.4				14.7	12.2	19.2	5.5				12.2	93.3				93.3		$21,740	$896	$20,844

Frequently Asked Questions about Gardner Elementary

How many students attend Gardner Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 385 students attended Gardner Elementary.

Is Gardner Elementary a good school?

Gardner Elementary ranks in the bottom 10.0% of California elementary schools.

What schools do graduates of Gardner Elementary attend?

Students who attend Gardner Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Herbert Hoover Middle
High : Abraham Lincoln High

What district is Gardner Elementary in?

San Jose Unified

What is the racial makeup of Gardner Elementary?

Students at Gardner Elementary are 87% Hispanic, 5% White, 3% Two or more races, 3% African American, 2% Asian.

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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.