Summary
Briarwood Elementary is a K–5 school serving 288 students in Santa Clara, California, within Santa Clara Unified. In 2025–2026, its all-grades proficiency was above California’s in ELA, math, and science, although it was below the district in all three. The clearest concern is fifth-grade math: 31% of students were proficient, compared with 61% in third grade and 50% in fourth grade; fifth grade was 20 points below the district and ranked 8th among 11 nearby schools.
Compared with nearby schools, Briarwood is around the middle overall, with different results by subject. Its ELA proficiency was 55%, 2 points above the nearby-school average of 53%, while math was 47%, 3 points below the nearby average of 50%, and science was 44%, 2 points below the nearby average of 47%. It ranked 6th of 11 nearby schools in both ELA and math, and 7th in science. Briarwood was also above state proficiency in each subject—by 6 points in ELA, 9 in math, and 8 in science—but below the district by 6, 3, and 7 points, respectively.
Results over time are mixed: from 2022–2023 to 2025–2026, ELA rose 2 points, math fell 2 points, and science fell 1 point, despite a strong science recovery from 26% in 2023–2024 to 44%. SchoolDigger ranks Briarwood at the 69th statewide percentile, with 3 stars, up from the 61st percentile in 2023–2024. Its 2024–2025 student-teacher ratio was 20.4, versus a nearby average of 19.9. In 2024–2025, 40% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible, 7 points above the nearby average; California provides free school meals to all students, so this eligibility measure is not an indication of meal access. SchoolDigger’s subgroup ranking was much lower for Low Socio Economic Status Students, at the 23rd percentile in 2025–2026 versus 69th overall; its English Language Learner Students ranking reached the 84th percentile in 2023–2024, compared with 61st overall that year. Chronic absenteeism fell from 36% in 2021–2022 to 17% in 2025–2026, but was above the district’s 14%; only Bracher Elementary was higher among the nearby schools. With 288 students, subgroup rankings may be sensitive to small student counts.
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