Summary:
ZIP code 94545 has two elementary schools in Hayward Unified: Southgate Elementary and Palma Ceia Elementary; both serve kindergarten through grade six and have reported results in English language arts (ELA), math, and science. The clearest takeaway for families is that results vary sharply by school, with Southgate ahead of Palma Ceia in all three subjects.
Southgate Elementary stands out at the top: in 2025–2026, 62% of students were proficient in ELA, 46% in math, and 37% in science. Palma Ceia Elementary was lower in each subject, at 39%, 28%, and 21%, respectively—a school-to-school difference of 22 percentage points in ELA, 19 in math, and 16 in science. Southgate was above state results in all three subjects, by 13 points in ELA, 8 in math, and 1 in science; Palma Ceia was below the state by 10, 11, and 15 points. Across the two schools, the unweighted average was 1 point above the state in ELA, 1 point below in math, and 7 points below in science.
Recent trends favor ELA, while science is the main concern: the two-school ELA average rose by 2 points from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, math rose by 1 point, and science fell by 3 points. Southgate’s results rose in ELA and math and were nearly unchanged in science; Palma Ceia declined in all three, including a 7-point science drop. SchoolDigger ranks Southgate 1,628th of 5,804 schools (72nd percentile, four stars) and Palma Ceia 3,713th (36th percentile, two stars). As context, both schools reported free/reduced lunch eligible for school year 2024–2025: 64% at Southgate and 76% at Palma Ceia. Their 2025–2026 chronic absenteeism rates were 18% and 28%; their 2024–2025 student-teacher ratios were 21.9 and 22.8. These measures are observations, not explanations for test-score differences; the school averages describe only these two schools.
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