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Elementary Schools in San Diego, California: San Diego schools average 5.5 points above the state — but the range is 82.3 points wide.

2024–25 data173 schools · avg 44.4/100

San Diego, California has 173 ranked elementary schools with an average Scope Score of 44.4/100 — 5.5 points above the state average of 38.9. The highest-scoring school is Sage Canyon at 90/100, where 66.0% of students exceed the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment. San Diego schools average 27.4% exceeded standard (state: 21.4%) — this exceeded-vs-met distinction shows how many students go beyond the standard rather than only meeting it. Of 173 schools, 10 Growth Engines and 17 High Ceiling stand out for their performance profiles. Chronic absenteeism averages 18.5% (near the state average of 17.9%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.

How San Diego schools compare

San Diego has 173 ranked elementary schools with an average Scope Score of 44.4/100 — 5.5 points above the state average of 38.9 (CDE CAASPP 2025).

The top-ranked school is Sage Canyon with a Scope Score of 90 and 66.0% of students exceeding standard.

Students here are going past the bar, not just to it. San Diego schools average 27.4% exceeding standard — well above the statewide average of 21.4%.

Chronic absenteeism in San Diego averages 18.5% — near the state average of 17.9%.

How we score · Weighted composite of test performance, growth, and school climate · Full weights on the methodology page

Elementary school archetypes in San Diego

19 Solid Base19 On the Rise17 High Ceiling10 Growth Engine+19 other89 Building Momentum3 not compared

Hidden gems: 29 schools in San Diego are classified as On the Rise (19) or Growth Engine (10) — showing positive growth trajectories that raw proficiency scores alone don't capture. These are schools where students leave with more than they arrived with.

Archetypes are data-driven labels based on Scope Score dimensions. Learn more

For the data nerds

Every school in San Diego

ranked by Scope Score · 2024–25 CAASPP · levels never mixed

Figures
Score range · elementary7.4 – 89.7
82.3 pts SchoolScope composite
Chronic absenteeismstate avg 17.9% (level-matched)
18.5% CDE Attendance 2025

Elementary Schools (176)

avg 44.3/100174 ranked elementary schools2 verdicts withheld65 Strong, 39 Solid, +70 more
#SchoolExceededScore
1Sage Canyon
Del Mar Union Elementary High Ceiling
66.0%Strong
90/100
2Carmel Del Mar Elementary
Del Mar Union Elementary High Ceiling
66.8%Strong
89/100
3Solana Ranch Elementary
Solana Beach Elementary High Ceiling
65.8%Strong
85/100
4Ocean Air
Del Mar Union Elementary High Ceiling
67.5%Strong
85/100
5Willow Grove Elementary
Poway Unified High Ceiling
56.8%Strong
82/100
6Design 39 Campus
Poway Unified High Ceiling
55.2%Strong
81/100
7Stone Ranch Elementary
Poway Unified High Ceiling
56.5%Strong
81/100
8Dingeman Elementary
San Diego Unified High Ceiling
68.8%Strong
80/100
9Rolling Hills Elementary
Poway Unified High Ceiling
58.4%Strong
78/100
10Scripps Elementary
San Diego Unified High Ceiling
62.0%Strong
78/100
11Monterey Ridge Elementary
Poway Unified High Ceiling
61.9%Strong
76/100
12Solana Highlands Elementary
Solana Beach Elementary High Ceiling
59.2%Strong
75/100
13Pacific Sky
Del Mar Union Elementary High Ceiling
50.3%Strong
75/100
14Deer Canyon Elementary
Poway Unified High Ceiling
61.1%Strong
74/100
15Adobe Bluffs Elementary
Poway Unified High Ceiling
59.6%Strong
74/100
16McKinley Elementary
San Diego Unified High Ceiling
52.0%Strong
73/100
17Torrey Hills
Del Mar Union Elementary Growth Engine
49.0%Strong
71/100
18Ashley Falls Elementary
Del Mar Union Elementary High Ceiling
55.3%Strong
70/100
19Curie Elementary
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
60.1%Strong
70/100
20Park Village Elementary
Poway Unified Building Momentum
57.8%Strong
70/100
21Birney Elementary
San Diego Unified Growth Engine
45.7%Strong
69/100
22Dailard Elementary
San Diego Unified Growth Engine
47.1%Strong
69/100
23Hearst Elementary
San Diego Unified Strong All-Around
48.1%Strong
68/100
24Sundance Elementary
Poway Unified Growth Engine
41.4%Strong
68/100
25Green Elementary
San Diego Unified Strong All-Around
49.0%Strong
68/100
26Creekside Elementary
Poway Unified Building Momentum
52.3%Strong
67/100
27Jerabek Elementary
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
56.8%Strong
67/100
28Del Sur Elementary
Poway Unified Building Momentum
53.1%Strong
67/100
29Holmes Elementary
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
57.5%Strong
66/100
30Ericson Elementary
San Diego Unified Strong All-Around
49.7%Strong
65/100

Middle Schools (38)

avg 41.7/10037 ranked middle schools1 verdict withheld14 Strong, 9 Developing, +14 more
#SchoolExceededScore
1Mt. Everest Academy
San Diego Unified Strong All-Around
46.5%Strong
82/100
2Mesa Verde Middle
Poway Unified High Ceiling
50.5%Strong
78/100
3Oak Valley Middle
Poway Unified Strong All-Around
49.0%Strong
76/100
4Marshall Middle
San Diego Unified Strong All-Around
50.0%Strong
75/100
5Magnolia Science Academy San Diego
San Diego Unified Growth Engine
36.6%Strong
65/100
6Challenger Middle
San Diego Unified Strong All-Around
39.0%Strong
64/100
7Black Mountain Middle
Poway Unified Strong All-Around
33.7%Strong
61/100
8De Portola Middle
San Diego Unified Strong All-Around
36.5%Strong
60/100
9Standley Middle
San Diego Unified Solid Base
40.6%Strong
59/100
10Pacific Beach Middle
San Diego Unified Solid Base
43.7%Strong
59/100
11Bernardo Heights Middle
Poway Unified Solid Base
35.1%Strong
58/100
12Lewis Middle
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
31.6%Strong
56/100
13Pershing Middle
San Diego Unified Culture First
28.8%Strong
50/100
14Marston Middle
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
27.5%Strong
50/100
15Farb Middle
San Diego Unified On the Rise
17.8%Solid
43/100
16Vista Del Mar
San Ysidro Elementary Building Momentum
19.1%Solid
42/100
17Wangenheim Middle
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
19.4%Solid
41/100
18San Diego SCPA
San Diego Unified Culture First
15.3%Solid
36/100
19High Tech Middle Mesa
SBC - High Tech High Culture First
17.0%Developing
36/100
20Innovation Middle
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
14.4%Developing
35/100
21High Tech Middle Media Arts
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
14.1%Developing
35/100
22Roosevelt International Middle
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
20.0%Developing
34/100
23Montgomery Middle
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
9.2%Developing
31/100
24High Tech Middle
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
11.3%Developing
28/100
25Knox Middle
San Diego Unified On the Rise
6.0%Developing
28/100
26Taft Middle
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
10.5%Developing
27/100
27Gompers Preparatory Academy
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
6.5%Developing
27/100
28Altus Schools Charter School of San Diego
San Diego Unified alternative school
7.9%Solid
25/100 · 74th in class
29Creative Performing and Media Arts
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
7.6%Needs Support
24/100
30Bell Middle
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
6.2%Needs Support
24/100

High Schools (44)

avg 55.4/10043 ranked high schools1 verdict withheld15 Strong, 10 Solid, +18 more
#SchoolExceededScore
1Canyon Crest Academy
San Dieguito Union High High Ceiling
69.1%Strong
94/100
2Del Norte High
Poway Unified High Ceiling
51.8%Strong
86/100
3Scripps Ranch High
San Diego Unified High Ceiling
53.0%Strong
84/100
4Westview High
Poway Unified High Ceiling
50.1%Strong
84/100
5Torrey Pines High
San Dieguito Union High Strong All-Around
42.2%Strong
79/100
6University City High
San Diego Unified Strong All-Around
36.1%Strong
74/100
7Henry High
San Diego Unified Strong All-Around
32.7%Strong
71/100
8Mt. Carmel High
Poway Unified Strong All-Around
35.3%Strong
70/100
9Point Loma High
San Diego Unified Strong All-Around
29.2%Strong
70/100
10Rancho Bernardo High
Poway Unified Strong All-Around
34.7%Strong
70/100
11Mission Bay High
San Diego Unified Strong All-Around
39.0%Strong
68/100
12Mira Mesa High
San Diego Unified Strong All-Around
31.5%Strong
67/100
13High Tech High Mesa
SBC - High Tech High Strong All-Around
42.4%Strong
64/100
14School for Entrepreneurship and Technology
San Diego Unified Strong All-Around
38.8%Strong
62/100
15Canyon Hills High
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
20.1%Solid
61/100
16Poway to Palomar Middle College High
Poway Unified Building Momentum
22.2%Solid
58/100
17Montgomery Senior High
Sweetwater Union High Building Momentum
14.3%Solid
57/100
18High Tech High International
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
26.9%Solid
56/100
19Kearny College Connections
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
31.8%Solid
56/100
20Kearny School of Biomedical Science and Technology
San Diego Unified Culture First
20.6%Solid
56/100
21Kearny Eng Innov & Design
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
30.4%Solid
55/100
22East Village Middle College High
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
20.6%Solid
54/100
23Southwest Senior High
Sweetwater Union High Building Momentum
9.6%Solid
54/100
24San Ysidro High
Sweetwater Union High Building Momentum
12.8%Solid
53/100
25High Tech High
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
23.3%Developing
52/100
26San Diego High
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
16.8%Developing
52/100
27Morse High
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
15.4%Developing
49/100
28Kearny Digital Media & Design
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
18.3%Developing
49/100
29e3 Civic High
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
9.7%Developing
49/100
30Madison High
San Diego Unified Building Momentum
12.2%Developing
48/100
Source: CDE CAASPP 2025 · 248 schoolsMethodology · Explore all schools · Download this data (CSV)

Free to download, CC BY 4.0 with attribution.

Data source: California Department of Education · CAASPP 2024-25 · Methodology

Scores are SchoolScope's analysis of public data, not official CDE ratings. They represent one way of interpreting test results and should not be the sole basis for school decisions.

Private Schools in San Diego

Private schools don't participate in California's standardized testing (CAASPP) and cannot be scored or ranked. Showing enrollment, student-teacher ratio, and affiliation where available.

Cathedral Catholic High School
Roman Catholic · Grades 9-12 · 1612 students
16:1Private
Maranatha Christian Schools
Christian (no specific denomination) · Grades Pre-K-12 · 855 students
13:1Private
Academy of Our Lady of Peace
Roman Catholic · Grades 9-12 · 750 students
17:1Private
St. Augustine High School
Roman Catholic · Grades 9-12 · 743 students
14:1Private
The Rock Academy
Christian (no specific denomination) · Grades Pre-K-12 · 403 students
10:1Private
What Scope Scores can't tell you about San Diego

Numbers tell you whether students are clearing the bar. A school visit tells you whether they're happy doing it. These metrics are intentionally missing from the Scope Score: class sizes and student-teacher interaction quality; arts, music, athletics, and enrichment programs; teacher experience and turnover; campus safety and social-emotional support; parent and community engagement; quality of special education and gifted programs; how school zones and enrollment boundaries affect access. Full methodology

Frequently asked questions

Are the schools in San Diego good?
San Diego's 173 ranked elementary schools average a Scope Score of 44.4/100, which is 5.5 points above the state average. 27.4% of students exceed the state standard on average (state average: 21.4%). The Scope Score weights 6 dimensions for elementary schools: exceeded standard (42%), met or exceeded (proficient) (23%), grade 3-to-5 growth (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 is the best elementary school in San Diego?
The highest-scoring elementary school in San Diego is Sage Canyon with a Scope Score of 90/100 and 66.0% of students exceeding the state standard. Rankings are based on SchoolScope's 2025 Scope Score, which measures academic performance and school climate using publicly available California data. See full methodology.
How do San Diego schools compare to the state average?
San Diego elementary schools average a Scope Score of 44.4/100 — 5.5 points above the state average of 38.9. The exceeded rate averages 27.4% vs. 21.4% statewide. Chronic absenteeism averages 18.5% vs. 17.9% statewide.
How many schools are in San Diego?
San Diego has 173 ranked elementary schools with Scope Scores. Schools are ranked using a weighted composite of CAASPP test performance, growth trajectory, chronic absenteeism, and suspension rate. Schools with insufficient testing data are not ranked.
What does the Scope Score measure?
The Scope Score is SchoolScope's composite rating (0–100), built from publicly available California school data across academic-performance and school-climate signals. Unlike single-number ratings, the Scope Score separates students who "exceeded" from those who "met" the standard — showing how many students go beyond the standard rather than only meeting it. Full methodology and weights.

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