South Bay is home to four of California’s top 20 public elementary schools, according to U.S. News’ first nationwide elementary school ratings list. William Faria Elementary in Cupertino, Murdock-Portal Elementary in San Jose, Oak Avenue Elementary in Los Altos, and Argonaut Elementary in Saratoga rank third, eighth, 17th, and 20th, respectively.
To determine elementary school rankings, U.S. News analyzed U.S. Department of Education data and state assessment data from the 2018-2019 school year to prevent any COVID-related biases. Schools were primary evaluated based on math and reading proficiency levels, but additional factors such as standardized test performance and school performance compared to expectations were also taken into account.
U.S. News evaluated data from over 80,000 schools across the country, and California is the state with the most ranked elementary schools with 5,534.
William Faria Elementary is the third-ranked elementary school in California with an overall score of 99.96/100. The school has a total enrollment of 691 students—99 percent of which are minority students—and serves students grades K-5. Of the students at William Faria Elementary, 97 percent score at or above the proficiency level for math, and 95 percent score at or above the proficiency level for reading.
Murdock-Portal Elementary is the eighth-ranked elementary school in the state with an overall score of 99.87/100. Murdock-Portal enrolls 576 students, and like William Faria Elementary, the school serves students K-5. Ninety-three percent of students at Murdock-Portal Elementary scores at or above math and reading proficiency levels.
Oak Avenue Elementary and Argonaut Elementary ranked 17th and 20th out of thousands of ranked elementary schools in California. Both schools have at or above math and reading proficiency levels of 92 percent.
For reference, the statewide average math proficiency score is 41 percent while the statewide average reading proficiency score is 50 percent.
For the full list of U.S. News elementary school rankings, click here.