Cornell Elementary: High scores, real growth, strong attendance. We looked for a catch — we didn't find one.
Cornell posts 49.7% 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.
Cornell Elementary scores 74 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 94th 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 →
💪 Strong All-Around — Ask about what we don't score — class size, electives, the feel of a classroom — strong numbers everywhere on paper don't mean every classroom feels the same.
Most rating sites would stop at “76% proficient” and call it done. Cornell deserves a closer read. The school sits in Albany, where one in four students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
Cornell's low-income kids hit 62.3% 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 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 7.1pp across grades; the floor rises 10.8pp. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
Cornell's most underrated number
62.3% 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 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.
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 community around it
Student demographics
3 more gaps by subject
Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.
Weighted average across tested grades. Subgroups with fewer than 15 students excluded. Data: CDE CAASPP 2024-25.
Subgroup Growth by Grade
Low-income student ELA proficiency rises by 14.8pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: -3.8pp.
Subgroups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
Funding Breakdown
Neighborhood Context
Whole Child
Source: CDE SARC, 2024-25
Frequently asked questions
Is Cornell Elementary a good elementary school?
What are Cornell Elementary's CAASPP test scores?
How does Cornell Elementary rank in California?
Is Cornell Elementary getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Cornell Elementary?
How does Cornell Elementary compare to other schools in Albany?
How does Cornell Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 80
Nearby Middle Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 72
Nearby High Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 66
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
For the data nerdsEvery number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
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 | 95 | 55% | 19% | 15% | 12% | 74% | +30 |
| Grade 4 | 103 | 52% | 21% | 13% | 14% | 74% | +29 |
| Grade 5 | 84 | 48% | 37% | 8% | 7% | 85% | +37 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 95 | 51% | 28% | 14% | 7% | 79% | +33 |
| Grade 4 | 104 | 38% | 31% | 22% | 9% | 69% | +28 |
| Grade 5 | 83 | 54% | 19% | 17% | 10% | 73% | +38 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 84 | 35% | 37% | 25% | 4% |
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 | 77 | 62.3% | −1 | +24 |
| Asian | 93 | 75.3% | −4 | +1 |
| Two or More Races | 80 | 81.2% | +0 | +20 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornell Elementary ← | — | 74 | 49.7% | 75.6% | +2.7 | 1.4% |
| Madera Elementary | 2.7 mi | 83 | 56.7% | 78.0% | +2.8 | 0.3% |
| Berkeley Arts Magnet at Whittier | 1.6 mi | 79 | 55.5% | 75.4% | +7.5 | 0.3% |
| Ruth Acty Elementary | 0.9 mi | 79 | 62.7% | 85.6% | −4.9 | 0.1% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
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