Hamilton Elementary: Scores climb 23.4 points from grade 3 to grade 5. But the zoned next school scores lower.
Hamilton holds its own. Scores drop at the schools it feeds into. Ask where its graduates actually enrol, and whether families stay on the zoned path.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52 | 14% | 37% | +23.4 | 12.1% | 0.5% |
| CA average · Elementary School | 45 | 21% | 43% | -2.9 | 17.9% | 1.6% |
Hamilton Elementary scores 52 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 71st 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 →
🚀 Growth Engine — Ask how the school tracks each kid's growth year to year, and what happens when a kid stalls instead of gaining.
Most rating sites would stop at “37% proficient” and call it done. Hamilton deserves a closer read. The school sits in San Diego, where four in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
The headline number: +23.4pp separates this year's grade 3 from its grade 5. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. Following the same students from 2023 G3 → 2025 G5 points the same way.
The seven-year arc
Has stayed near the 71st percentile since 2019.
This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 37% meet the standard today, versus 44% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 35% | 28% | 27% | 14% | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 45% | 50% | 26% | 45% | 35% |
| Grade 5 | 51% | 43% | 55% | 37% | 54% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 36% | 24% | 40% | 29% | 38% |
| Grade 4 | 46% | 38% | 21% | 38% | 33% |
| Grade 5 | 48% | 31% | 34% | 34% | 45% |
The story this school is actually telling
separates this year's grade 3 from its grade 5. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. Following the same students from 2023 G3 → 2025 G5 points the same way.
the zoned path continues to Clark Middle, which scores 24 points lower — worth asking about on a tour.
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 rises 14.1pp across grades; the floor rises 39.3pp. 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
Ask which schools families here actually choose next — the zoned path is only the default.
- Ask how teachers track each child's growth over the year, not just where the class lands on test day.
- Ask which schools families here actually choose next — the zoned path is only the default.
- 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 Hamilton Elementary in San Diego, 30.6% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 42.6% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Hamilton Elementary trails its district average for low-income students by 12.0 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (37.5% Math proficient); Hispanic students (29.3% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 16.0 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 162 students tested.
8 of 16 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 37.7pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +5.6pp.
Showing up, and staying in class
Where the path goes
The zoned path continues to Clark Middle, which scores 24 points lower than this school — worth weighing alongside everything above. Families here often look at charter or magnet options for middle school.
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
$1,736 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), 22% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hamilton Elementary a good elementary school?
What are Hamilton Elementary's CAASPP test scores?
How does Hamilton Elementary rank in California?
Is Hamilton Elementary getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Hamilton Elementary?
How does Hamilton Elementary compare to other schools in San Diego?
How does Hamilton Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 68
Nearby Middle Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 29
Nearby High Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 36
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 | 68 | 6% | 9% | 49% | 37% | 15% | −29 |
| Grade 4 | 51 | 8% | 27% | 20% | 45% | 35% | −10 |
| Grade 5 | 50 | 20% | 34% | 20% | 26% | 54% | +6 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 69 | 12% | 26% | 30% | 32% | 38% | −8 |
| Grade 4 | 55 | 5% | 27% | 44% | 24% | 33% | −9 |
| Grade 5 | 53 | 32% | 13% | 30% | 25% | 45% | +10 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 54 | 7% | 15% | 67% | 11% |
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 | 162 | 30.6% | −12 | −8 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 128 | 29.3% | −12 | −10 |
| English Learners | 76 | 15.8% | +7 | +5 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton Elementary ← | — | 52 | 13.8% | 36.6% | +23.4 | 0.5% |
| McKinley Elementary | 1.2 mi | 77 | 52.0% | 80.9% | +2.5 | 0.3% |
| Hardy Elementary | 2.7 mi | 68 | 38.8% | 66.3% | −0.4 | 1.6% |
| Rowan Elementary | 1.1 mi | 60 | 23.3% | 46.2% | −7.4 | 0.7% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 50 | 67 | #1833 | 19.9% | 43.7% | 25.0% | 1.8% | +13.8pp |
| 2022 | 44 | 67 | #1901 | 13.8% | 35.7% | 35.0% | 2.5% | +11.4pp |
| 2023 | 45 | 63 | #2114 | 12.1% | 33.9% | 33.1% | 0.6% | +10.6pp |
| 2024 | 45 | 58 | #2434 | 11.5% | 32.9% | 24.3% | 0.7% | +13.7pp |
| 2025 | 52 | 71 | #1668 | 13.8% | 36.6% | 12.1% | 0.5% | +23.4pp |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 24.5% | 8.4% | -16.1pp |
| Male | 26.1% | 14.7% | -11.4pp |
| Asian | 12.2% | 5.6% | -6.6pp |
| Black/African American | 25.9% | 3.8% | -22.1pp |
| Filipino | 25.0% | — | — |
| Hispanic/Latino | 28.9% | 12.1% | -16.8pp |
| Two or More Races | 8.7% | 28.6% | +19.9pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 44.0% | 23.4% | -20.6pp |
| English Learners | 19.1% | 7.8% | -11.3pp |
| Homeless | 31.8% | 11.5% | -20.3pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 25.3% | 12.2% | -13.1pp |
| All Students | 25.3% | 11.6% | -13.7pp |
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