Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 95112

ZIP code 95112 has five listed elementary schools: four serve kindergarten through grade 5, while Shirakawa (George Senior) Elementary serves kindergarten through grade 6. In 2025–2026, Shirakawa’s proficiency was about 49% in English language arts (ELA), 39% in math and 41% in science, compared with state results of 49%, 38% and 36%. The other four schools averaged 15% in ELA, 10% in math and 11% in science. The most important finding is the sharp divide between Shirakawa and the other schools: Shirakawa was near or above state results in all three subjects, while the other four schools were far below.

Shirakawa led the area in every all-grades subject, and it also led in each reported grade 3–5 subject. Among the K–5 schools, Empire Gardens Elementary stood out in math and science, with 14% and 23% proficient; the other three K–5 schools scored 5%–13% in math and 6%–8% in science. ELA was low across those four schools, ranging from 14% to 16%. Grant Elementary had the lowest all-grades ELA result, at 15%, while Lowell Elementary had the lowest math and science results, at 5% and 6%. SchoolDigger’s 2025–2026 statewide rankings also separated the schools: Shirakawa was at the 60th percentile, Empire Gardens at the 6th, Horace Mann Elementary at the 2nd, and Grant and Lowell at the 1st.

Across the two reported years, the five-school average rose by 2 percentage points in ELA and math and 1 point in science. The ELA and math gaps to the state narrowed by about 1 point each, but the science gap widened by 2 points because the state result rose faster. School results varied: Shirakawa improved by 8 points in ELA, 4 in math and 15 in science, while Horace Mann’s science result fell by 14 points. School context figures do not map neatly to achievement: in 2024–2025, free/reduced lunch eligible rates at the four K–5 schools ranged from 70% to 85%, and student-teacher ratios ranged from 18.2 at Grant to 21.4 at Lowell; Empire Gardens had a ratio of 18.4 despite standing out in math and science. All five schools also had chronic absenteeism above the 2025–2026 state rate of 18%: Shirakawa was at 19%, while Lowell was highest at 38%. All-grades results are not perfectly comparable because Shirakawa serves one additional grade.