Summary:
ZIP code 94704 has three schools serving 3,673 students: Berkeley High and Berkeley Technology Academy serve high-school grades, while Washington Elementary serves grades K–5. The most striking contrast is that Academy’s grade-11 proficiency is far below Berkeley High’s, even though their graduation rates are nearly the same: 96% at Academy and 97% at Berkeley High, versus 88% statewide; Academy’s chronic absenteeism is also 93%, compared with 14% at Berkeley High and 18% statewide.
Washington Elementary stands out in math and science, while Berkeley High leads in ELA. In 2025–2026, Washington had 68% proficiency in math—29 percentage points above the state—and 57% in science; Berkeley High had 71% in ELA, 22 points above the state, and 51% in science. Academy is the clear low scorer in reported grade-11 results: 6% in ELA and 18% in math, compared with Berkeley High’s 71% and 59%, gaps of 66 and 41 points. SchoolDigger rates Berkeley High 5 stars, Washington 4, and Academy 1; Academy’s science score is suppressed.
Recent trends are mixed: from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, Berkeley High gained about 1 point each in ELA and math, while Washington fell 3 points in ELA, 4 in math, and 7 in science. Academy’s ELA fell 12 points, but its math rose 18 points from 0%. SchoolDigger’s ranking history shows Academy improving from the 1st to the 20th percentile over three years, though it remains behind the other schools. Context measures also differ: for 2024–2025, free/reduced lunch eligible was 25% at Berkeley High, 33% at Washington, and 56% at Academy; Academy had the lowest student-teacher ratio at 9.1, versus 18.4 and 24.6 at the other schools. These figures are context, not explanations for school results.
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