Carlton Elementary: More than half of kids exceed the standard. But this year's 5th graders test below its 3rd graders.
Carlton is one of the strongest elementary schools in San Jose by raw achievement. The catch worth understanding: the cohort doesn't gain ground year-over-year.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 72 | 56% | 77% | -4.5 | 2.8% | 1.0% |
| CA average · Elementary School | 45 | 21% | 43% | -2.9 | 17.9% | 1.6% |
Carlton Elementary scores 72 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 93rd 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 →
⭐ High Ceiling — Ask what happens for a kid who shows up behind — a high ceiling for the top can sit right next to thin support at the bottom, and the score alone won't show you which.
Most rating sites would stop at “77% proficient” and call it done. Carlton deserves a closer read. It sits at the 93rd percentile of 5,744 California elementary schools — but the ranking is the least interesting thing on this page.
The headline number: 56.1% of students scored in the top band on the state test. The California average is 21.3%.
The seven-year arc
Has held the 93rd-percentile line every tested year since 2019.
This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 77% meet the standard today, versus 82% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 76% | 78% | 79% | 76% | 74% |
| Grade 4 | 80% | 88% | 79% | 77% | 74% |
| Grade 5 | 86% | 86% | 89% | 82% | 73% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 88% | 88% | 80% | 80% | 82% |
| Grade 4 | 82% | 87% | 86% | 79% | 82% |
| Grade 5 | 81% | 84% | 83% | 83% | 74% |
The story this school is actually telling
of students scored in the top band on the state test. The California average is 21.3%.
proficiency runs 78% in this year's grade 3 against 74% in its grade 5. The state average rises by +4.5pp over the same span.
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 2.8pp across grades; the proficiency floor barely moves. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. The school's 5th graders aren't posting a wider lead than its 3rd graders. One question worth asking on a tour: are the strongest students being pushed, or coasting? A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
The 6 things our score weighs
Ask the principal what changes between grade 3 and grade 5. Ask who teaches the older grades, and what the school does when a child starts falling behind.
- Ask what changes between grade 3 and grade 5 here, and who teaches the older kids.
- 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 Carlton Elementary in San Jose, 85.8% of asian students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 86.9% district-wide and 74.4% statewide. Carlton Elementary trails its district average for asian students by 1.0 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Asian students (92.6% Math proficient); White students (66.1% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 7.0 percentage points for white students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 134 students tested.
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.
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
$522 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), 58% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Carlton Elementary a good elementary school?
What are Carlton Elementary's CAASPP test scores?
How does Carlton Elementary rank in California?
Is Carlton Elementary getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Carlton Elementary?
How does Carlton Elementary compare to other schools in San Jose?
How does Carlton Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 82
Nearby Middle Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 73
Nearby High Schools
2 within ~3 mi · avg 73
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 | 107 | 53% | 21% | 14% | 12% | 74% | +30 |
| Grade 4 | 109 | 54% | 20% | 16% | 10% | 74% | +30 |
| Grade 5 | 101 | 51% | 23% | 12% | 15% | 73% | +25 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 107 | 61% | 22% | 9% | 8% | 82% | +37 |
| Grade 4 | 109 | 62% | 19% | 14% | 5% | 82% | +40 |
| Grade 5 | 103 | 55% | 18% | 10% | 17% | 74% | +38 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 103 | 35% | 23% | 29% | 13% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asian | 134 | 85.8% | −1 | +11 |
| White | 109 | 66.1% | −8 | +4 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 27 | 48.2% | +2 | +9 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlton Elementary ← | — | 72 | 56.1% | 76.5% | −4.5 | 1.0% |
| Alta Vista Elementary | 0.5 mi | 84 | 60.1% | 80.5% | +5.5 | 0.4% |
| Daves Avenue Elementary | 2 mi | 83 | 57.5% | 83.5% | +9.5 | 0.1% |
| Oster Elementary | 1.5 mi | 80 | 57.9% | 78.3% | +2.1 | 1.2% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 83 | 98 | #108 | 56.2% | 82.2% | 2.4% | 0.1% | +1.7pp |
| 2022 | 77 | 98 | #142 | 60.7% | 85.1% | 7.3% | 0.3% | +1.4pp |
| 2023 | 84 | 99 | #68 | 62.0% | 82.9% | 7.6% | 0.0% | +6.5pp |
| 2024 | 74 | 95 | #303 | 53.0% | 79.5% | 4.2% | 0.6% | +4.7pp |
| 2025 | 72 | 93 | #389 | 56.1% | 76.5% | 2.8% | 1.0% | -4.5pp |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 1.5% | 1.3% | -0.2pp |
| Male | 3.2% | 2.9% | -0.3pp |
| Asian | 0.4% | 0.0% | -0.4pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 7.2% | 7.6% | +0.4pp |
| Two or More Races | 0.0% | 3.4% | +3.4pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 3.2% | 3.4% | +0.2pp |
| English Learners | 0.0% | 4.1% | +4.1pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 6.5% | 9.8% | +3.3pp |
| All Students | 2.3% | 2.1% | -0.2pp |
| White | — | 0.0% | — |
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