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Cove · Corte Madera

Cove: High scores, real growth, strong attendance. We looked for a catch — we didn't find one.

Cove posts 51.8% 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.

2019–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
This schoolCA avg
Scope7645
% Exceeded52%21%
% Met+79%43%
Growth+12.9-2.9
Absence12.3%17.9%
Suspension1.8%1.6%
Scope Score
76
⭐ High Ceiling · Strong
ranked #254 statewide

Cove scores 76 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 96th 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 “79% proficient” and call it done. Cove deserves a closer read. It sits at the 96th percentile of 5,744 California elementary schools — but the ranking is the least interesting thing on this page.

The headline number: 51.8% of students scored in the top band on the state test. The California average is 21.3%.

The seven-year arc

Percentile among 5,744 elementary schools statewide

Has held the 96th-percentile line every tested year since 2019.

CA Dashboard
ELAYellow(Declined Significantly)MathGreen(Increased Significantly)

Proficiency here is back to its pre-pandemic level — 79% meet the standard, about where the school stood in 2019.

ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 372%66%79%74%59%
Grade 486%84%70%69%81%
Grade 581%96%87%87%85%
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 385%62%84%79%81%
Grade 478%86%77%81%86%
Grade 567%80%86%71%81%

The story this school is actually telling

The school, grade by grade

ELA · CAASPP 2024–25

Different students, same year — each bar is one grade's proficiency mix.

34%
24%
42%
Grade 3 · 58% proficient
50%
31%
19%
Grade 4 · 81% proficient
60%
25%
15%
Grade 5 · 85% proficient

The honest read: the share exceeding rises 25.5pp across grades; the floor rises 26.1pp. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. Kids here gain ground the longer they stay — the pattern you want to see. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.

The 6 things our score weighs

Exceeded standard
51.8%
State 21.3%
30.5pp above state avg
Growth (G3→G5)
+12.9pp
State -2.9pp
Scores improve across grades
Met or exceeded
78.7%
State 42.7%
36.0pp above state avg
Chronic absenteeism
12.3%
State 17.9%
5.6pp below state avg
Suspension rate
1.8%
State 1.6%
0.2pp above state avg
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
21.1%
State 18.0%
3.1pp above state avg
Worth a school visit

Ask what the school is working on next. Strong numbers tell you where a school is, not where it's going.

  • Ask how teachers track each child's growth over the year, not just where the class lands on test day.
  • 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 Cove in Corte Madera, 75.6% of white students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 82.2% district-wide and 61.8% statewide. Cove trails its district average for white students by 6.6 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: White students (87.2% Math proficient). Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 86 students tested.

All students at this school: 79% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 79%, district —, state 43%79%
WhiteWhite: this school 81%, district 82%, state 56%81% · +2 vs school
MaleMale: this school 83%, district 78%, state 42%83% · +4 vs school
FemaleFemale: this school 73%, district 76%, state 44%73% · −6 vs school
Hispanic/LatinoHispanic/Latino: this school 64%, district 54%, state 32%64% · −15 vs school

5 of 10 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.

this school district, same group California, same group
Subgroup growth by grade

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

Chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeism: this school 12.3%, district 9.6%, state 17.9%12.3% · −5.6pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 1.8%, district —, state 1.6%1.8% · +0.2pp vs state
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 4–612.1%
TK/K11.6%

Where the path goes

The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.

K-12 Feeder Path
Elementary
Cove
76/100
This school
High School
No feeder data available for this level

Estimated path based on proximity within the same district. Contact your school district for official feeder information.

The people teaching here

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Student : teacherStudent to teacher ratio: this school 20:1, district 20:120:1
Teaching staff23 teachers
Avg. experience12.6 years
Fully credentialed100%
First-year teachers13%
Salary Schedule
Teacher salary schedule$64,649 – $127,272
Principal salary$170,754 – $0
Superintendent salary$324,260

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

What gets spent here

Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $23,398, CA average $14,815$23,398 · spent at this school
Federal share$28 per student

$28 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.

District current expense · FY 2024–25$22,360 per student

The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.

Where the district's dollars go · FY 2024–25 · CDE SACS
Instruction64%
Instruction support11%
Student services7%
Administration9%
Buildings & maintenance9%

District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.

district detail, 2016–2020 — the newest published
2020$14,547 per pupil
2019$13,676 per pupil
2018$14,398 per pupil
2017$13,931 per pupil
2016$12,632 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood it serves

White63.6%
District 68.1% · CA 19.9%
Hispanic14.6%
District 15.9% · CA 56.1%
Other11.6%
District 10.6% · CA 9.0%
Asian9.4%
District 4.6% · CA 10.2%
Black0.7%
District 0.7% · CA 4.8%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 12.7% (51pp below CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Median income$233K · CA $85K
Median home value$1.76M · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+79% · CA 35%
ZIP population10,077
Median age46 years

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level

Worth Knowing

On the state's science test (CAST), 75% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.

Frequently asked questions

Is Cove a good elementary school?

Cove has a Scope Score of 76 out of 100, placing it in the 96th percentile of California elementary schools and ranked #254 statewide. 51.8% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 30.5 percentage points above the California average of 21.3%. The Scope Score weights 6 dimensions for elementary schools: exceeded standard (38%), grade 3-to-5 growth (27%), met or exceeded (proficient) (20%), chronic absenteeism (5%), suspension rate (5%), and ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.

What are Cove's CAASPP test scores?

On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 78.7% of students at Cove met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 51.8% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 26.8% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 51.8% pushed past it. Most rating sites report only the combined "proficient" number. SchoolScope surfaces the exceeded-vs-met split because it reveals whether a school's curriculum challenges students beyond minimum proficiency or paces toward it. 272 student-subject combinations were assessed.

How does Cove rank in California?

Cove ranks #254 among California elementary schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 96th percentile. This ranking is based on a weighted composite of 2025 CAASPP test performance (exceeded and met rates), grade-level growth (Grade 3 to grade 5 growth), chronic absenteeism, and suspension rate. Unlike single-number ratings, the Scope Score shows what drives the ranking so parents can decide what matters most to their family. See full methodology.

Is Cove getting better or worse?

Based on 2025 CAASPP data, proficiency at Cove increases by 12.9 percentage points from Grade 3 to grade 5 growth. This upward trajectory suggests the school is adding measurable value — students leave with higher proficiency rates than they entered with. Growth trajectory is weighted at 15% in the elementary Scope Score because it measures what the school does, not just who walks in the door.

What is the attendance and school culture like at Cove?

12.3% of students at Cove are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), which is better than the California average of 17.9%. The suspension rate is 1.8%, indicating a low-discipline-incident environment. SchoolScope includes these culture metrics in the Scope Score because they reflect day-to-day school experience in ways test scores alone cannot.

How does Cove compare to other schools in Corte Madera?

Cove scores 76/100 (96th percentile) among California elementary schools. To compare with nearby schools, SchoolScope shows the same metrics side by side: exceeded rate, proficiency, growth trajectory, and school culture indicators. The school serves 275 students. Use the schools in Corte Madera page or the map view to compare all elementary schools nearby.

How does Cove serve low-income and underrepresented students?

At Cove in Corte Madera, 75.6% of white students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 82.2% district-wide and 61.8% statewide. Cove trails its district average for white students by 6.6 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: White students (87.2% Math proficient). Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 86 students tested. SchoolScope shows disaggregated test scores by demographic subgroup so you can see how a school performs for your child's specific group — not just the school-wide average. Subgroup data is context, not part of the Scope Score: we don't penalize schools for who they serve. See our equity approach.

Your other options

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 nerds

Every number on this page

Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.

01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Exceeded standard · 38%
51.8%
↑ vs CA 21.3% · 79th pctile
Growth (G3→G5) · 27%
+12.9pp
↑ vs CA -2.9pp · 70th pctile
Met or exceeded · 20%
78.7%
↑ vs CA 42.7% · 77th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
12.3%
↑ vs CA 17.9% · 59th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
1.8%
↓ vs CA 1.6% · 49th pctile
EL proficiency (ELPAC) · 5%
21.1%
↑ vs CA 18.0% · 55th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 34134%24%29%12%59%+15
Grade 44250%31%17%2%81%+36
Grade 55260%25%12%4%85%+37
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 34243%38%7%12%81%+35
Grade 44363%23%12%2%86%+44
Grade 55262%19%13%6%81%+45
Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Grade 5/8/115246%29%23%2%

CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.

Subgroup · ELATestedMET+vs districtvs CA
White8675.6%−7+14
03Peer comparison · nearest elementary schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Cove ←7651.8%78.7%+12.91.8%
Strawberry Point Elementary1.6 mi8666.2%84.4%+1.01.2%
Neil Cummins Elementary1.3 mi7753.6%78.8%−12.40.9%
Edna Maguire Elementary1.6 mi7749.7%78.2%+6.10.8%
California average4521.3%42.7%−2.91.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
YearScopePctileRankExcMet+AbsentSuspGrowth
20197191#48451.6%78.2%4.7%2.3%-4.6pp
20228599#3253.5%79.0%5.6%0.3%+24.0pp
20238097#14652.6%80.3%11.5%0.3%+5.1pp
20247897#18350.0%76.7%10.7%2.1%+2.7pp
20257696#25451.8%78.7%12.3%1.8%+12.9pp
NO STATEWIDE TESTING 2020–21 (COVID) · SCORE AND PERCENTILE ARE RELATIVE TO EACH YEAR'S FIELD
05Climate by student groupchronic absenteeism · 2019 vs 2025 — the two years CDE publishes at subgroup level
Group20192025Δ
Female5.2%13.5%+8.3pp
Male4.1%9.9%+5.8pp
Asian3.8%7.7%+3.9pp
Hispanic/Latino6.9%13.6%+6.7pp
Two or More Races6.9%8.8%+1.9pp
Students with Disabilities2.9%25.5%+22.6pp
English Learners11.8%16.0%+4.2pp
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged10.0%25.0%+15.0pp
All Students4.6%11.7%+7.1pp
EXC = exceeded standard · MET+ = met or exceeded ("proficient") · Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=5,744 elementary schools · Vintages: climate subgroups 2019+2025 · district finance per its label · ACS 2022 · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue

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