El Carmelo Elementary: High scores, healthy climate, strong attendance. We looked for a catch — we didn't find one.
El Carmelo posts 51.6% 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 | 71 | 52% | 73% | -1.2 | 9.3% | 3.2% |
| CA average · Elementary School | 45 | 21% | 43% | -2.9 | 17.9% | 1.6% |
El Carmelo Elementary scores 71 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 92nd 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 “73% proficient” and call it done. El Carmelo deserves a closer read. It sits at the 92nd percentile of 5,744 California elementary schools — but the ranking is the least interesting thing on this page.
The headline number: 51.6% of students scored in the top band on the state test. The California average is 21.3%.
The seven-year arc
Has held the 92nd-percentile line every tested year since 2019.
This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 73% meet the standard today, versus 79% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 70% | 70% | 73% | 58% | 74% |
| Grade 4 | 80% | 85% | 68% | 73% | 76% |
| Grade 5 | 87% | 78% | 85% | 67% | 72% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 71% | 73% | 75% | 74% | 73% |
| Grade 4 | 82% | 72% | 73% | 77% | 73% |
| Grade 5 | 82% | 77% | 84% | 62% | 72% |
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 2.6pp across grades; the floor slips 2.1pp. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
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 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 El Carmelo Elementary in Palo Alto, 86.8% of asian students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 91.4% district-wide and 74.4% statewide. El Carmelo Elementary trails its district average for asian students by 4.6 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Asian students (94.6% Math proficient); White students (72.7% ELA proficient). Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 53 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.
Showing up, and staying in class
TK/K students miss school at roughly three times the rate of Grades 4–6 students (18.9% vs 5.1%). Chronic absence here concentrates in the earliest grades — worth asking how the school works with new families on attendance.
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
$211 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), 60% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is El Carmelo Elementary a good elementary school?
What are El Carmelo Elementary's CAASPP test scores?
How does El Carmelo Elementary rank in California?
Is El Carmelo Elementary getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at El Carmelo Elementary?
How does El Carmelo Elementary compare to other schools in Palo Alto?
How does El Carmelo Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 93
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 | 42 | 55% | 19% | 14% | 12% | 74% | +30 |
| Grade 4 | 62 | 50% | 26% | 8% | 16% | 76% | +31 |
| Grade 5 | 46 | 52% | 20% | 15% | 13% | 72% | +24 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 44 | 45% | 27% | 14% | 14% | 73% | +27 |
| Grade 4 | 64 | 50% | 23% | 14% | 13% | 73% | +32 |
| Grade 5 | 47 | 57% | 15% | 15% | 13% | 72% | +37 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 47 | 30% | 30% | 34% | 6% |
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 | 53 | 86.8% | −5 | +12 |
| White | 33 | 72.7% | −12 | +11 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 23 | 30.4% | −21 | −8 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Carmelo Elementary ← | — | 71 | 51.6% | 73.3% | −1.2 | 3.2% |
| Bullis Charter | 2.1 mi | 96 | 84.1% | 96.1% | +1.4 | 0.4% |
| Ohlone Elementary | 1 mi | 93 | 66.4% | 88.1% | +4.8 | 0.5% |
| Herbert Hoover Elementary | 1.1 mi | 90 | 79.2% | 92.3% | +4.3 | 1.3% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 86 | 99 | #60 | 55.3% | 78.8% | 5.3% | 0.0% | +13.9pp |
| 2022 | 81 | 99 | #82 | 55.3% | 75.8% | 8.3% | 0.3% | +5.9pp |
| 2023 | 82 | 98 | #111 | 51.8% | 76.3% | 15.6% | 1.4% | +11.1pp |
| 2024 | 66 | 88 | #671 | 45.7% | 68.7% | 8.0% | 2.3% | -1.8pp |
| 2025 | 71 | 92 | #440 | 51.6% | 73.3% | 9.3% | 3.2% | -1.2pp |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 4.4% | 9.9% | +5.5pp |
| Male | 5.8% | 7.2% | +1.4pp |
| Asian | 4.1% | 6.9% | +2.8pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 9.8% | 11.3% | +1.5pp |
| Two or More Races | 7.7% | 10.5% | +2.8pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 12.8% | 15.1% | +2.3pp |
| English Learners | 5.8% | 6.3% | +0.5pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 8.5% | 10.9% | +2.4pp |
| All Students | 5.2% | 8.5% | +3.3pp |
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