Hammer Montessori at Galarza Elementary: Most kids here clear the bar, year after year. The question is what happens after that.
Hammer Montessori at Galarza posts 72% meeting the standard, and 43.3% going well past it. Most kids here keep up. Fewer get pushed further. Ask the school what it does for a child who already finds the work easy.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 72 | 43% | 72% | +0.2 | 13.4% | 1.0% |
| CA average · Elementary School | 45 | 21% | 43% | -2.9 | 17.9% | 1.6% |
Hammer Montessori at Galarza 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 →
💪 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 “72% proficient” and call it done. Hammer Montessori at Galarza 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: 38.5% of English learners reached the top ELPAC level, versus 18.0% statewide.
The seven-year arc
Climbed from the 83rd to the 93rd percentile since 2019 — past roughly 500 elementary schools.
The pandemic drop is behind this school: 72% of students meet the standard today, above the 64% who did in 2019.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 55% | 63% | 56% | 54% | 67% |
| Grade 4 | 71% | 76% | 82% | 73% | 72% |
| Grade 5 | 77% | 72% | 87% | 74% | 72% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 59% | 67% | 77% | 66% | 76% |
| Grade 4 | 69% | 65% | 72% | 77% | 74% |
| Grade 5 | 52% | 51% | 58% | 70% | 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 rises 12.9pp across grades; the floor rises 4.7pp. 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 how the school challenges kids who clear the standard early. The gap between meeting and exceeding is where pacing shows.
- 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 Hammer Montessori at Galarza Elementary in San Jose, 44.0% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 26.5% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Hammer Montessori at Galarza Elementary outperforms its district average for low-income students by 17.5 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (44.0% Math proficient); White students (74.1% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 14.1 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 25 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
TK/K students miss school at roughly twice the rate of Grades 4–6 students (20.8% vs 10.9%). 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.
Estimated path based on proximity within the same district. Contact your school district for official feeder information.
The people teaching here
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
What gets spent here
$468 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
On the state's science test (CAST), 64% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hammer Montessori at Galarza Elementary a good elementary school?
What are Hammer Montessori at Galarza Elementary's CAASPP test scores?
How does Hammer Montessori at Galarza Elementary rank in California?
Is Hammer Montessori at Galarza Elementary getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Hammer Montessori at Galarza Elementary?
How does Hammer Montessori at Galarza Elementary compare to other schools in San Jose?
How does Hammer Montessori at Galarza Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 72
Nearby Middle Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 41
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 | 55 | 29% | 38% | 15% | 18% | 67% | +24 |
| Grade 4 | 57 | 46% | 26% | 16% | 12% | 72% | +27 |
| Grade 5 | 50 | 42% | 30% | 18% | 10% | 72% | +24 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 55 | 40% | 36% | 16% | 7% | 76% | +31 |
| Grade 4 | 57 | 49% | 25% | 23% | 4% | 74% | +32 |
| Grade 5 | 50 | 54% | 18% | 20% | 8% | 72% | +37 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 50 | 22% | 42% | 34% | 2% |
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 | 25 | 44.0% | +18 | +6 |
| White | 54 | 74.1% | +3 | +12 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 31 | 64.5% | +34 | +26 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hammer Montessori at Galarza Elementary ← | — | 72 | 43.3% | 72.2% | +0.2 | 1.0% |
| Bagby Elementary | 2.6 mi | 75 | 49.8% | 73.5% | +11.9 | 0.3% |
| Steindorf STEAM K-8 Magnet | 3.1 mi | 72 | 54.4% | 83.8% | −2.8 | 1.4% |
| Booksin Elementary | 1.5 mi | 69 | 48.6% | 75.1% | +3.2 | 1.5% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 63 | 83 | #919 | 36.4% | 64.1% | 5.6% | 0.3% | +7.6pp |
| 2022 | 60 | 88 | #705 | 38.9% | 65.6% | 18.8% | 0.0% | -3.1pp |
| 2023 | 70 | 93 | #427 | 41.9% | 71.9% | 13.4% | 0.1% | +5.9pp |
| 2024 | 67 | 89 | #620 | 41.2% | 68.8% | 13.1% | 0.4% | +11.9pp |
| 2025 | 72 | 93 | #399 | 43.3% | 72.2% | 13.4% | 1.0% | +0.2pp |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 5.5% | 11.6% | +6.1pp |
| Male | 5.4% | 14.5% | +9.1pp |
| Asian | 0.0% | 3.8% | +3.8pp |
| Black/African American | 3.8% | 13.3% | +9.5pp |
| White | 0.0% | 7.7% | +7.7pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 7.6% | 22.6% | +15.0pp |
| Two or More Races | 8.1% | 11.3% | +3.2pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 15.2% | 13.6% | -1.6pp |
| English Learners | 7.0% | 32.3% | +25.3pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 8.6% | 25.0% | +16.4pp |
| All Students | 5.4% | 13.0% | +7.6pp |
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