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San Francisco Unified: San Francisco Unified elementary schools lead at 44.8. A 78.5-point spread across all schools shows this is a district of contrasts.

Near Average2024–25 data112 schools · avg 43.8/100

San Francisco Unified has 112 ranked schools across elementary, middle and high levels with an average Scope Score of 43.8/100 — within 1.0 points of the state average of 44.8. The highest-scoring school is Chinese Immersion School at DeAvila at 88/100, where 59.2% of students exceed the state standard. The district spends $17,416 per student (above the state average of $14,815). 11 schools show positive growth trajectories. Chronic absenteeism averages 27.1%, above the state average. Data source: CDE CAASPP 2025 and NCES fiscal data, analyzed by SchoolScope.

Avg Scope Score
43.8
State avg: 44.8
SchoolScope composite
Score Range
78.5
10.0 – 88.5
Avg Exceeded %
22.3%
State avg: 21.3%
CDE CAASPP 2025
Chronic Absenteeism
27.1%
State avg: 17.9%
CDE Attendance 2025
Schools Ranked
112
With Scope Scores
Charter Schools
11
of 112 ranked
LevelAvg ScoreSchoolsExceededAbsent
ElementaryDeveloping
44.8/100
7425.1%24.2%
MiddleDeveloping
44.2/100
1618.8%24.3%
HighDeveloping
40.2/100
2215.4%39.0%

San Francisco Unified's elementary schools average 44.8/100 — within 0.1 points of the state average.

K–12 pipeline

The typical school path in San Francisco Unified, top-scoring shown first.

Elementary
44.8
avg score · 74 schools
→
Middle
44.2
avg score · 16 schools
Roosevelt Middle
Solid
66/100
Presidio Middle
Solid
65/100
Giannini (A.P.) Middle
Solid
65/100
+13 more middle schools
→
High
40.2
avg score · 22 schools
Lowell High
Strong
78/100
Asawa (Ruth) SF Sch of the Arts, A Public School
Strong
73/100
Washington (George) High
Solid
62/100
+19 more high schools

District Analysis

San Francisco Unified has 112 ranked schools with an average Scope Score of 43.8/100 — within 1.0 points of the state average of 44.8 (CDE CAASPP 2025).

Strongest level: San Francisco Unified's elementary schools lead the district with an average Scope Score of 44.8.

District-wide elementary growth averages +0.5pp (state avg: -2.9pp) — schools are making incremental gains.

Score range of 78.5 points — showing significant variation between schools.

District chronic absenteeism averages 27.1%, 9.2pp above the state average of 17.9%.

District suspension rate averages 2.2%, near the state average of 1.6%.

Chinese Immersion School at DeAvila leads the district at 88 with 59.2% exceeding standard.

How we score · Scope Score methodology

School archetypes in San Francisco Unified

22 On the Rise11 Growth Engine8 Strong All-Around7 High Ceiling54 Building Momentum

Hidden gems: 33 schools in San Francisco Unified are classified as On the Rise (22) or Growth Engine (11) — 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

Student demographics

Hispanic
38.9%
White
13.4%
Asian
23.1%
Black
9.2%
Other
15.4%
Free/Reduced Lunch
58%
Economic need indicator · district avg
CDE CAASPP 2025

District averages · California Department of Education enrollment data

District Funding

San Francisco Unified spends $17,416 per student in current expenditures — $2,601 above the state average of $14,815.

Per-Pupil Spending
$17,416
State avg: $14,815
District Enrollment
51,790
Students for funding calc
2016–2020 Trend
↑ 51%
$11,532 → $17,416
Spending Efficiency
2.51
Scope Score per $1K spent
Spending Breakdown
Instruction 56%Support 41%Other 3%
NCES F-33 Finance · District-level data — not school-specific

Data source: NCES Common Core of Data, Fiscal Survey (F-33) · 2019–2020

Teacher compensation

Salary Range
$69,525–$131,654
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
Teaching Staff
3,263
Full-time equivalent teachers

CDE Form J-90 salary schedule · 2024–25

For the data nerds

Every school in San Francisco Unified

ranked by Scope Score · 2024–25 CAASPP

Elementary Schools (74)

San Francisco Unified has 74 ranked elementary schools averaging a Scope Score of 44.8 — within 0.1 points of the state average of 44.8. 10 of 74 elementary schools score above 70.

Grade-to-grade growth averages +0.5pp — schools are adding value beyond what students arrive with.

The highest-scoring elementary school is Chinese Immersion School at DeAvila with a Scope Score of 88 and 59.2% exceeding standard.

#SchoolExceededScore
1Chinese Immersion School at DeAvila
San Francisco Unified High Ceiling
59.2%Strong
88/100
2Yu (Alice Fong) Elementary
San Francisco Unified High Ceiling
55.5%Strong
80/100
3Stevenson (Robert Louis) Elementary
San Francisco Unified Growth Engine
44.3%Strong
77/100
4Lawton Alternative
San Francisco Unified High Ceiling
53.4%Strong
77/100
5Peabody (George) Elementary
San Francisco Unified High Ceiling
52.9%Strong
76/100
6Sunset Elementary
San Francisco Unified High Ceiling
53.9%Strong
74/100
7Lilienthal (Claire) Elementary
San Francisco Unified High Ceiling
51.1%Strong
73/100
8Alamo Elementary
San Francisco Unified Growth Engine
43.1%Strong
72/100
9Clarendon Alternative Elementary
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
48.7%Strong
70/100
10Grattan Elementary
San Francisco Unified Growth Engine
42.4%Strong
70/100
11New Traditions Elementary
San Francisco Unified Strong All-Around
47.9%Solid
69/100
12Key (Francis Scott) Elementary
San Francisco Unified Strong All-Around
43.1%Solid
67/100
13Argonne Elementary
San Francisco Unified Growth Engine
36.0%Solid
65/100
14King (Thomas Starr) Elementary
San Francisco Unified Strong All-Around
41.7%Solid
64/100
15Lau (Gordon J.) Elementary
San Francisco Unified Growth Engine
38.1%Solid
63/100
16Chin (John Yehall) Elementary
San Francisco Unified Solid Base
55.1%Solid
61/100
17Ulloa Elementary
San Francisco Unified Strong All-Around
44.4%Solid
60/100
18Lafayette Elementary
San Francisco Unified Solid Base
44.8%Solid
60/100
19Sutro Elementary
San Francisco Unified Solid Base
38.9%Solid
58/100
20Miraloma Elementary
San Francisco Unified Solid Base
44.3%Solid
57/100
21Yick Wo Elementary
San Francisco Unified Solid Base
33.4%Solid
56/100
22Ortega (Jose) Elementary
San Francisco Unified Culture First
37.3%Solid
56/100
23Rooftop Elementary
San Francisco Unified Growth Engine
26.3%Solid
55/100
24Alvarado Elementary
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
34.6%Solid
54/100
25Feinstein (Dianne) Elementary
San Francisco Unified Culture First
26.9%Solid
51/100
26Sloat (Commodore) Elementary
San Francisco Unified Culture First
29.0%Solid
51/100
27Jefferson Elementary
San Francisco Unified Culture First
34.2%Solid
51/100
28McKinley Elementary
San Francisco Unified Solid Base
38.5%Solid
51/100
29West Portal Elementary
San Francisco Unified Growth Engine
32.9%Solid
51/100
30Monroe Elementary
San Francisco Unified Growth Engine
24.0%Developing
50/100

Middle Schools (16)

San Francisco Unified has 16 ranked middle schools averaging a Scope Score of 44.2 — within 1.6 points of the state average of 42.6.

Grade-to-grade growth averages +1.8pp — schools are adding value beyond what students arrive with.

The highest-scoring middle school is Roosevelt Middle with a Scope Score of 66 and 40.4% exceeding standard.

#SchoolExceededScore
1Roosevelt Middle
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
40.4%Solid
66/100
2Presidio Middle
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
34.3%Solid
65/100
3Giannini (A.P.) Middle
San Francisco Unified Strong All-Around
39.2%Solid
65/100
4Aptos Middle
San Francisco Unified Growth Engine
28.4%Solid
58/100
5Hoover (Herbert) Middle
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
25.4%Solid
53/100
6Marina Middle
San Francisco Unified Growth Engine
21.2%Developing
50/100
7Brown Jr. (Willie L) Middle
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
20.7%Developing
47/100
8Gateway Middle
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
21.8%Developing
46/100
9KIPP Bayview Academy
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
6.3%Developing
43/100
10KIPP San Francisco Bay Academy
San Francisco Unified On the Rise
13.8%Developing
43/100
11Francisco Middle
San Francisco Unified On the Rise
15.2%Developing
39/100
12Denman (James) Middle
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
11.3%Developing
33/100
13Lick (James) Middle
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
7.9%Developing
31/100
14King Jr. (Martin Luther) Academic Middle
San Francisco Unified On the Rise
7.4%Developing
31/100
15Everett Middle
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
3.5%Needs Support
20/100
16Visitacion Valley Middle
San Francisco Unified On the Rise
4.5%Needs Support
18/100

High Schools (22)

San Francisco Unified has 22 ranked high schools averaging a Scope Score of 40.2 — 3.5 points below the state average of 43.7. 2 of 22 high schools score above 70.

The highest-scoring high school is Lowell High with a Scope Score of 78 and 50.4% exceeding standard.

#SchoolExceededScore
1Lowell High
San Francisco Unified High Ceiling
50.4%Strong
78/100
2Asawa (Ruth) SF Sch of the Arts, A Public School
San Francisco Unified Strong All-Around
43.7%Strong
73/100
3Washington (George) High
San Francisco Unified Strong All-Around
28.6%Solid
62/100
4Lincoln (Abraham) High
San Francisco Unified Strong All-Around
29.8%Solid
60/100
5Balboa High
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
20.7%Solid
55/100
6Wallenberg (Raoul) Traditional High
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
24.9%Solid
54/100
7Galileo High
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
24.5%Solid
53/100
8Burton (Phillip and Sala) Academic High
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
17.1%Solid
51/100
9Academy (The)- SF @McAteer
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
20.4%Developing
50/100
10Gateway High
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
18.1%Developing
48/100
11Independence High
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
15.8%Developing
40/100
12Five Keys Independence HS (SF Sheriff's)
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
11.2%Developing
37/100
13KIPP San Francisco College Preparatory
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
10.2%Developing
33/100
14Mission High
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
2.1%Developing
31/100
15Jordan (June) School for Equity
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
1.6%Needs Support
28/100
16O'Connell (John) High
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
8.5%Needs Support
27/100
17City Arts & Leadership Academy
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
4.7%Needs Support
27/100
18Marshall (Thurgood) High
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
0.0%Needs Support
23/100
19Life Learning Academy Charter
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
3.6%Needs Support
18/100
20Wells (Ida B.) High
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
1.7%Needs Support
17/100
21S.F. International High
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
0.7%Needs Support
11/100
22Downtown High
San Francisco Unified Building Momentum
0.0%Needs Support
10/100
Source: CDE CAASPP 2025 · 112 schoolsMethodology · Explore all schools

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.

What Scope Scores can't tell you about San Francisco Unified

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 resources are distributed across schools within the district. Full methodology

Frequently asked questions

Is San Francisco Unified a good school district?
San Francisco Unified has 112 ranked schools averaging a Scope Score of 43.8/100, which is within 1.0 points of the state average. 22.3% of students exceed the state standard on average. The Scope Score measures academic performance and school climate across seven dimensions. Data source: CDE CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.
What is the best school in San Francisco Unified?
The highest-scoring school in San Francisco Unified is Chinese Immersion School at DeAvila with a Scope Score of 88/100 and 59.2% exceeding standard. See methodology.
How much does San Francisco Unified spend per student?
San Francisco Unified spends $17,416 per student in current expenditures. The state average is $14,815. Spending data comes from the NCES Common Core of Data Fiscal Survey (F-33). Higher spending does not automatically mean better outcomes — the Scope Score measures what happens in the classroom regardless of budget.
What is the teacher salary range in San Francisco Unified?
Teacher salaries in San Francisco Unified range from $69,525–$131,654 based on the district's salary schedule (CDE Form J-90). The California statewide median teacher salary is approximately $98,000.
What does the Scope Score measure?
The Scope Score is SchoolScope's proprietary composite rating (0–100) based on seven dimensions of publicly available California school data: the exceeded-vs-met standard split, overall proficiency, grade-level growth, chronic absenteeism, suspension rate, ELPAC English Learner proficiency, and baseline proficiency. Full methodology and weights.

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