Benchley/Weinberger Elementary: High scores, healthy climate, strong attendance. We looked for a catch — we didn't find one.
Benchley/Weinberger posts 45.2% exceeding the standard — versus 21.3% statewide — with climate numbers better than most. That doesn't make it perfect. It makes it worth a visit to find what numbers can't measure.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 66 | 45% | 73% | -6.6 | 7.5% | 0.3% |
| CA average · Elementary School | 45 | 21% | 43% | -2.9 | 17.9% | 1.6% |
Benchley/Weinberger Elementary scores 66 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 89th percentile of 5,744 California elementary schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).
Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →
🌱 Building Momentum — This label means the data doesn't clearly sort the school one way or the other — ask what the school is proud of, and what it's working on.
Most rating sites would stop at “73% proficient” and call it done. Benchley/Weinberger deserves a closer read. It sits at the 89th percentile of 5,744 California elementary schools — but the ranking is the least interesting thing on this page.
Benchley/Weinberger's low-income kids hit 56.3% proficiency in ELA — a number the same group reaches at 38.2% statewide. If you're trying to read past zip-code-driven test scores, that's the signal worth weighing.
The seven-year arc
Has held the 89th-percentile line every tested year since 2019.
Proficiency here is back to its pre-pandemic level — 73% meet the standard, about where the school stood in 2019.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 74% | 79% | 70% | 68% | 74% |
| Grade 4 | 71% | 66% | 66% | 73% | 73% |
| Grade 5 | 77% | 81% | 68% | 76% | 76% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 81% | 84% | 76% | 71% | 81% |
| Grade 4 | 73% | 65% | 78% | 69% | 70% |
| Grade 5 | 73% | 69% | 66% | 74% | 66% |
The story this school is actually telling
The school, grade by grade
ELA · CAASPP 2024–25Different students, same year — each bar is one grade's proficiency mix.
The honest read: the share exceeding falls 12.2pp across grades; the floor rises 1.8pp. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
Benchley/Weinberger's most underrated number
56.3% of low-income students met the ELA standard — versus 38.2% for the same group statewide. That's the strongest kind of signal a school can post: it holds across income lines.
The 6 things our score weighs
Ask what the school is working on next. Strong numbers tell you where a school is, not where it's going.
- Ask what changes between grade 3 and grade 5 here, and who teaches the older kids.
- Ask whether extra support — tutoring, counseling, small groups — reaches kids across income lines, not just the students already ahead.
- Ask whether the tour can step into a working classroom — watch how the teacher handles a student who's stuck.
- Ask to tour while school's in session, and notice how hallways and transitions feel — culture shows up between classes, not just in them.
- Ask how the school communicates with families when a child starts to struggle.
- Ask what a typical day looks like for a new student in the first few weeks.
How every group of students does here
At Benchley/Weinberger Elementary in San Diego, 56.3% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 42.6% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Benchley/Weinberger Elementary outperforms its district average for low-income students by 13.7 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (48.4% Math proficient); White students (76.0% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 33.2 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 64 students tested.
6 of 14 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.
Change in proficiency from the lowest tested grade — which groups gain ground the longer they stay. Groups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
Low-income student ELA proficiency rises by 1.2pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +5.6pp.
Showing up, and staying in class
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
Feeder patterns derived from NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries are approximate and may have changed — verify with your school district for current assignments.
The people teaching here
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
What gets spent here
$619 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.
The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.
District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.
Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →
The neighborhood it serves
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
Transitional kindergarten is offered here — confirmed by actual Census Day enrollment, not just the listed grade span.
On the state's science test (CAST), 68% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Benchley/Weinberger Elementary a good elementary school?
What are Benchley/Weinberger Elementary's CAASPP test scores?
How does Benchley/Weinberger Elementary rank in California?
Is Benchley/Weinberger Elementary getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Benchley/Weinberger Elementary?
How does Benchley/Weinberger Elementary compare to other schools in San Diego?
How does Benchley/Weinberger Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 71
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 77 | 56% | 18% | 18% | 8% | 74% | +31 |
| Grade 4 | 86 | 49% | 24% | 14% | 13% | 73% | +28 |
| Grade 5 | 87 | 44% | 32% | 16% | 8% | 76% | +28 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 77 | 48% | 32% | 13% | 6% | 81% | +35 |
| Grade 4 | 86 | 29% | 41% | 22% | 8% | 70% | +28 |
| Grade 5 | 87 | 46% | 20% | 20% | 15% | 66% | +30 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 87 | 36% | 32% | 29% | 3% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| Subgroup · ELA | Tested | MET+ | vs district | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 64 | 56.3% | +14 | +18 |
| White | 129 | 76.0% | +1 | +14 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 62 | 66.1% | +25 | +27 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benchley/Weinberger Elementary ← | — | 66 | 45.2% | 73.2% | −6.6 | 0.3% |
| Dailard Elementary | 1.4 mi | 72 | 47.1% | 76.2% | −5.9 | 0.4% |
| Green Elementary | 0.7 mi | 71 | 49.0% | 77.2% | +8.1 | 0.3% |
| Hearst Elementary | 2 mi | 71 | 48.1% | 78.5% | −3.1 | 0.8% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 71 | 91 | #474 | 47.4% | 75.0% | 4.1% | 0.7% | -2.5pp |
| 2022 | 65 | 91 | #539 | 45.2% | 73.9% | 17.5% | 0.4% | -6.8pp |
| 2023 | 59 | 84 | #944 | 38.9% | 70.8% | 13.6% | 0.6% | -6.0pp |
| 2024 | 63 | 85 | #832 | 42.4% | 71.8% | 10.8% | 0.5% | +5.5pp |
| 2025 | 66 | 89 | #660 | 45.2% | 73.2% | 7.5% | 0.3% | -6.6pp |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 4.7% | 7.7% | +3.0pp |
| Male | 3.3% | 6.2% | +2.9pp |
| Asian | 0.0% | 4.0% | +4.0pp |
| Black/African American | 6.7% | 15.4% | +8.7pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 2.3% | 12.9% | +10.6pp |
| Two or More Races | 2.0% | 6.9% | +4.9pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 1.5% | 11.0% | +9.5pp |
| English Learners | 0.0% | 7.1% | +7.1pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 5.6% | 18.7% | +13.1pp |
| All Students | 4.0% | 6.9% | +2.9pp |
SchoolScope scores and verdicts are our interpretation of public California Department of Education data — independent analysis, not an official rating. How we analyze · Request a correction