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Foster City Elementary

Public Grades K-5

522^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 91% of California elementary schools

Summary

Foster City Elementary is a consistently high-performing K-5 public school serving 624 students in the San Mateo-Foster City School District, ranking in the top 10% of all California elementary schools.

The school differentiates itself from others in the area through remarkable consistency in test scores, particularly in mathematics and science, and through its exceptional support for English Language Learners, where it ranks in the state's 99th percentile. It also maintains very low chronic absenteeism at 7.7%, significantly better than the district average and nearby schools like George Hall Elementary (19.9%). While other high-performing schools exist, such as Redwood Shores Elementary and Central Elementary in the neighboring Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary district, Foster City Elementary achieves its strong results with moderate per-student spending, suggesting efficient use of resources.

An interesting finding is the school's effective post-pandemic recovery, with attendance improving sharply since 2022. While the school excels overall, recent data shows a need for focused attention on supporting specific student subgroups to ensure all children thrive. Its performance stands in contrast to wider variations within its own district, such as the lower rankings of Fiesta Gardens International Elementary, highlighting that factors beyond funding contribute to its sustained success.

624

Students ?

21.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$25,312

Per pupil spending ?

12%

Free/discounted lunch ?

461 Beach Park Blvd.
Foster City, CA 94404-2713

(650) 312-7522

District: San Mateo-Foster City

Students who attend Foster City Elementary usually attend:

Middle:

Bowditch Middle

Racial breakdown:

Asian:

59.9%

White:

17.1%

Two or more races:

11.2%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Foster City Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 96th percentile in 2015 → 91st in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (72% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 9% of California elementary schools

✓Among the top-ranked schools in San Mateo-Foster City

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 5 percentile points since 2015

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school72%

District avg50%

California avg41%

522^nd of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Top 9%▼ down 5 pts since 2015

From top 4% (2015) to top 9% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 18Elementary Schools in the San Mateo-Foster City

476^th of 1,543San Mateo-Foster City 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	92.3	522 of 5857	91.1%	★★★★★
2024	94.8	359 of 5869	93.9%	★★★★★
2023	95.6	303 of 5859	94.8%	★★★★★
2022	97.4	166 of 5883	97.2%	★★★★★
2021	96.6	57 of 1417	96.0%	★★★★★
2019	95.9	231 of 5789	96.0%	★★★★★
2018	95.9	226 of 5662	96.0%	★★★★★
2017	96.3	236 of 5692	95.9%	★★★★★
2016	95.8	251 of 5614	95.5%	★★★★★
2015	96.7	208 of 5611	96.3%	★★★★★
2013	90.6	427 of 5530	92.3%	★★★★★
2012	90.6	389 of 5390	92.8%	★★★★★
2011	92.6	275 of 5377	94.9%	★★★★★
2010	93.4	238 of 5314	95.5%	★★★★★
2009	93.9	238 of 5193	95.4%	★★★★★
2008	92.9	318 of 5113	93.8%	★★★★★
2007	92.6	371 of 5113	92.7%	★★★★★
2006	91.4	414 of 4818	91.4%	★★★★★
2005	92.9	330 of 4822	93.2%	★★★★★
2004	93.2	320 of 4809	93.3%	★★★★★

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	71.7	364 of 1203	69.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	74.8	299 of 1205	75.2%	★★★★☆
2023	74.9	275 of 1190	76.9%	★★★★☆
2022	81.0	125 of 1154	89.2%	★★★★☆
2019	72.0	323 of 1149	71.9%	★★★★☆
2018	72.2	319 of 1071	70.2%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	77.0	342 of 2227	84.6%	★★★★☆
2021	63.8	69 of 293	76.5%	★★★★☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	97.4	34 of 3162	98.9%	★★★★★
2023	90.6	128 of 3245	96.1%	★★★★★
2022	99.6	19 of 3311	99.4%	★★★★★
2021	99.9	1 of 602	99.8%	★★★★★
2019	76.0	390 of 3275	88.1%	★★★★☆
2018	95.7	93 of 3246	97.1%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	90.1	588 of 5597	89.5%	★★★★☆
2024	94.9	304 of 5612	94.6%	★★★★★
2023	95.5	234 of 5609	95.8%	★★★★★
2022	97.1	137 of 5635	97.6%	★★★★★
2021	94.8	69 of 1267	94.6%	★★★★★
2019	95.7	185 of 5492	96.6%	★★★★★
2018	96.0	158 of 5413	97.1%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	58.1	1775 of 5107	65.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	90.0	347 of 5087	93.2%	★★★★★
2022	88.7	400 of 5084	92.1%	★★★★★
2019	99.8	7 of 4963	99.9%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	76.2	953 of 5460	82.5%	★★★★☆
2024	97.2	145 of 5517	97.4%	★★★★★
2022	98.2	75 of 5264	98.6%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	91.4	495 of 5628	91.2%	★★★★★
2024	93.0	421 of 5643	92.5%	★★★★★
2023	93.6	392 of 5638	93.0%	★★★★★
2022	96.7	181 of 5663	96.8%	★★★★★
2021	96.4	52 of 1272	95.9%	★★★★★
2019	93.4	342 of 5510	93.8%	★★★★★
2018	94.5	282 of 5431	94.8%	★★★★★

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	46.3	442 of 718	38.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	66.6	251 of 670	62.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	70.4	199 of 669	70.3%	★★★★☆
2022	61.6	267 of 610	56.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	55.7	177 of 339	47.8%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	72.1	513 of 2847	82.0%	★★★★☆
2023	84.0	248 of 2420	89.8%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	61.6	1055 of 2598	59.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	77.2	535 of 2651	79.8%	★★★★☆
2023	76.6	557 of 2661	79.1%	★★★★☆
2022	86.5	212 of 2726	92.2%	★★★★★
2019	69.7	834 of 2834	70.6%	★★★★☆
2018	75.1	640 of 2737	76.6%	★★★★☆

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)

English Language Learner (2024)99th percentile+5 vs school

Male (2025)91st percentile~ school

Female (2025)89th percentile~ school

Disabled (2022)85th percentile-13 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)83rd percentile-9 vs school

Special Education (2025)82nd percentile-9 vs school

Asian (2025)70th percentile-21 vs school

Hispanic (2024)65th percentile-29 vs school

White (2025)59th percentile-32 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)38th percentile-53 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics76%+39 vs state

English Language Arts/Literacy73%+25 vs state

Science56%+24 vs state

1.0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, September 7, 2016

It's a horrendous school. Especially if you have a child that's not cookie cutter. They cannot handle kids here that do not fit a prototype. Horrible horrible experience! Close Quote

Schools Near Foster City 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 Immunizations Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CSA Spanish Overall (2025)				CSA Spanish Listening (2025)				CSA Spanish Writing (2025)				CSA Spanish Reading (2025)				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 (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/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	CSA Spanish Overall 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	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
Foster City Elementary	Public	K-5	461 Beach Park Blvd.	Foster City	94404	San Mateo County	San Mateo-Foster City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 312-7522	624	29	21.5	12.0%	107 (17.1%)	3 (0.5%)	60 (9.6%)	374 (59.9%)	3 (0.5%)	7 (1.1%)	70 (11.2%)	92.3	522^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	91.1%		94.8	359^th of 5869 public elementary schools	93.9%	163																	56.2		56.2	64.9	75.9	80.0				73.5	75.0	75.2	78.1				76.1	96.9	97.7	97.7	96.9	97.7	96.9	$25,312	$23,608	$1,704
Beach Park Elementary	Public	K-5	1058 Shell Blvd.	Foster City	94404	San Mateo County	San Mateo-Foster City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 312-7490	347	15	23.1	14.7%	70 (20.2%)	3 (0.9%)	60 (17.3%)	175 (50.4%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (0.9%)	35 (10.1%)	87.5	801^st of 5857 public elementary schools	86.3%		88.6	776^th of 5869 public elementary schools	86.8%	25																	38.5		38.5	67.9	70.0	61.5				67.0	76.8	87.5	69.2				78.1							$22,182	$20,756	$1,426
George Hall Elementary	Public	K-5	130 San Miguel Way	San Mateo	94403	San Mateo County	San Mateo-Foster City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 312-7533	370	18	20.5	31.4%	95 (25.7%)	2 (0.5%)	118 (31.9%)	90 (24.3%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (3.0%)	54 (14.6%)	85.3	913^th of 5857 public elementary schools	84.4%		88.2	802^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	86.3%	111																	47.2		47.2	62.0	72.6	70.4				68.4	72.0	67.3	53.7				64.1							$30,179	$28,356	$1,823
Brewer Island Elementary	Public	K-5	1151 Polynesia Dr.	Foster City	94404	San Mateo County	San Mateo-Foster City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 312-7532	306	14	21.8	18.6%	41 (13.4%)	4 (1.3%)	62 (20.3%)	154 (50.3%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.0%)	42 (13.7%)	92	546^th of 5857 public elementary schools	90.7%		93.6	464^th of 5869 public elementary schools	92.1%	82																	64.7		64.7	59.1	75.0	76.5				70.9	72.7	78.0	74.5				75.3	95.5						$27,766	$26,442	$1,324
San Mateo-Foster City Special Education Preschool	Public	K	1170 Chess Dr.	Foster City	94404	San Mateo County	San Mateo-Foster City	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(650) 312-7766	1				0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Nesbit Elementary	Public	K-8	500 Biddulph Way	Belmont	94002	San Mateo County	Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 637-4860	566	27	20.8	27.0%	108 (19.1%)	16 (2.8%)	180 (31.8%)	153 (27.0%)	1 (0.2%)	12 (2.1%)	96 (17.0%)	81.4	1104^th of 5857 public elementary schools	81.2%		77.9	1246^th of 5869 public elementary schools	78.8%	142																	48.0	49.0	48.4	68.6	63.6	62.2	47.2	46.5	62.0	60.2	75.4	64.2	60.0	42.9	26.1	41.2	54.8							$23,240	$22,556	$684
Fiesta Gardens International Elementary	Public	K-5	1001 Bermuda Dr.	San Mateo	94403	San Mateo County	San Mateo-Foster City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 312-7737	418	19	22.0	56.0%	51 (12.2%)	1 (0.2%)	344 (82.3%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (4.3%)	29.1	4034^th of 5857 public elementary schools	31.1%		36.5	3402^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	42.0%	632	9.8	4.7	11.1	8.1	47.1	10.9	43.1	31.5	10.2	10.9	15.5	12.4	8.3	4.7	7.0	6.2	34.7		34.7	12.0	18.8	37.5				23.5	22.5	20.3	38.0				26.8							$29,472	$28,332	$1,140
Redwood Shores Elementary	Public	K-5	225 Shearwater Pkwy.	Redwood City	94065	San Mateo County	Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 802-8060	404	20	20.2	8.2%	109 (27.0%)	4 (1.0%)	51 (12.6%)	180 (44.6%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.5%)	57 (14.1%)	95.6	275^th of 5857 public elementary schools	95.3%		94.4	395^th of 5869 public elementary schools	93.3%	120																	76.6		76.6	72.7	70.6	85.9				76.5	87.5	75.0	87.5				83.0							$21,481	$21,078	$403
Central Elementary	Public	K-5	525 Middle Rd.	Belmont	94002	San Mateo County	Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 637-4820	437	17	25.7	5.3%	117 (26.8%)	1 (0.2%)	33 (7.6%)	185 (42.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	101 (23.1%)	98.5	36^th of 5857 public elementary schools	99.4%		98.9	20^th of 5869 public elementary schools	99.7%	16																	76.0		76.0	93.2	89.0	84.0				88.7	93.2	89.0	89.3				90.5							$18,281	$17,878	$403
Parkside Montessori	Public	K-8	1685 Eisenhower St.	San Mateo	94403	San Mateo County	San Mateo-Foster City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 312-7575	418	20	21.2	17.7%	145 (34.7%)	7 (1.7%)	86 (20.6%)	122 (29.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	56 (13.4%)	77.1	1279^th of 5857 public elementary schools	78.2%		87.4	840^th of 5869 public elementary schools	85.7%	439																	57.1	57.9	57.4	37.2	68.9	71.4	92.1	80.0	89.5	70.3	44.2	60.0	45.2	76.3	68.0	84.2	59.9							$24,984	$23,420	$1,564

Frequently Asked Questions about Foster City Elementary

What district is Foster City Elementary in?

San Mateo-Foster City

How many students attend Foster City Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 624 students attended Foster City Elementary.

Is Foster City Elementary a good school?

Yes. Foster City Elementary ranks in the top 8.9% of California elementary schools.

What schools do graduates of Foster City Elementary attend?

Students who attend Foster City Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Bowditch Middle

What is the racial makeup of Foster City Elementary?

Students at Foster City Elementary are 60% Asian, 17% White, 11% Two or more races, 10% Hispanic, 1% Pacific Islander.

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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.