School district · Santa Clara County

Santa Clara Unified schools

Santa Clara Unified’s 19 public elementary schools run from the 9th to the 99th percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests). They sit in all four bands, from Strong to Needs Support.

Elementary · 19 schools

from 9th to 99th · among 5,726 California elementary schools we score · spring 2026 tests

  • Millikin Elementary: 99th percentile, Strong
  • Laurelwood Elementary: 97th percentile, Strong
  • Washington Open Elementary: 96th percentile, Strong
  • Don Callejon: 91st percentile, Strong
  • Sutter Elementary: 86th percentile, Strong
  • Ponderosa Elementary: 85th percentile, Strong
  • Abram Agnew Elementary: 83rd percentile, Strong
  • Central Park Elementary: 83rd percentile, Strong
  • Braly Elementary: 82nd percentile, Strong
  • George Mayne Elementary: 69th percentile, Solid
  • Briarwood Elementary: 65th percentile, Solid
  • Kathryn Hughes Elementary: 63rd percentile, Solid
  • Westwood Elementary: 60th percentile, Solid
  • C. W. Haman Elementary: 57th percentile, Solid
  • Montague Elementary: 55th percentile, Solid
  • Bracher Elementary: 52nd percentile, Solid
  • Pomeroy Elementary: 45th percentile, Developing
  • Bowers Elementary: 41st percentile, Developing
  • Scott Lane Elementary: 9th percentile, Needs Support
1Needs Support
2Developing
7Solid
9Strong

One dot per school.

Middle and high school pictures

Middle · 5 schools

from 34th to 87th · among 2,529 California middle schools we score · spring 2026 tests

  • Marian A. Peterson Middle: 87th percentile, Strong
  • Don Callejon: 79th percentile, Strong
  • Juan Cabrillo Middle: 74th percentile, Solid
  • Buchser Middle: 70th percentile, Solid
  • Dolores Huerta Middle: 34th percentile, Developing
0Needs Support
1Developing
2Solid
2Strong

High · 3 schools

from 82nd to 96th · among 1,498 California high schools we score · spring 2025 tests

  • Mission Early College High: 96th percentile, Strong
  • Santa Clara High: 84th percentile, Strong
  • Adrian Wilcox High: 82nd percentile, Strong
0Needs Support
0Developing
0Solid
3Strong

One dot per school. Each stage is placed only among California schools at its own level. 1 of the 26 ranked schools teaches two levels, so it appears in more than one picture.

  • 26 ranked schools
  • 4 schools not ranked statewide

Schools around Santa Clara Unified

30 listed public schools with mapped locations.

Open full map →

Loading school locations…

Percentile among California schools at the same level

  • Strong75th+
  • Solid50–74th
  • Developing25–49th
  • Needs Supportbelow 25th
  • Not scored

The school lists on this page are also available without the map.

Elementary schools

Which elementary schools in Santa Clara Unified score highest?

Millikin Elementary is highest, at the 99th percentile.

That’s higher than 99 in 100 of the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Highest in Santa Clara Unified

Each percentile compares a school with California schools at its own level. What patterns mean

  • Millikin ElementarySanta Clara · High ceiling · Broad base · Grade-to-grade gains
    99thStrongScope Score 92
  • Laurelwood ElementarySanta Clara · High ceiling · Broad base · Grade-to-grade gains
    97thStrongScope Score 79
  • Washington Open ElementarySanta Clara · High ceiling · Broad base · Grade-to-grade gains
    96thStrongScope Score 76
Show the other 16 elementary schools
Context

The average elementary school in Santa Clara Unified had 13 in 100 students chronically absent (missed 10% or more of school days) in 2025–26; the average California elementary school we score had 17 in 100. Both are averages of school rates, each school counted once.

Middle schools

Which middle schools in Santa Clara Unified score highest?

Marian A. Peterson Middle is highest, at the 87th percentile.

That’s higher than 87 in 100 of the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Highest in Santa Clara Unified

Each percentile compares a school with California schools at its own level.

Show the other 2 middle schools
Context

The average middle school in Santa Clara Unified had 11 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California middle school we score had 18 in 100.

High schools

Which high schools in Santa Clara Unified score highest?

Mission Early College High is highest, at the 96th percentile.

That’s higher than 96 in 100 of the 1,498 California high schools we score (spring 2025 tests).

Highest in Santa Clara Unified

Each percentile compares a school with California schools at its own level. What patterns mean

Context

The average high school in Santa Clara Unified had 14 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California high school we score had 22 in 100.

4 high schools not ranked statewide

Continuation schools, alternative schools and court and community schools enroll students differently from a regular school, so each is compared only with its own kind or not ranked.

The district

Where does Santa Clara Unified’s money go, and what does it plan?

Santa Clara Unified spent $32,023 per student in the 2024–25 school year.

The typical California district spent $20,491. About 63 cents of every Santa Clara Unified dollar went to classroom instruction.

Spending by function

Day-to-day spending per student in average daily attendance, from the district’s annual financial report (SACS) to the California Department of Education. District-wide: it includes central administration and costs never assigned to one campus.

Share by function, 2024–25

  • Instruction63%
  • Instruction support14%
  • Student services7%
  • Administration7%
  • Buildings & maintenance9%

Shares of the same spending total, by the report’s spending categories, rounded so they add up to 100. Names are simplified from the report’s own categories.

What the district plans

$30.3 million

planned in its 2026–27 plan for 23 funded actions in 5 goals. That’s 7% of its $446.6 million general fund budget. These are planned amounts; the district reports what it spent in a later plan.

The plan in short

Source: the district’s yearly spending plan (Local Control and Accountability Plan, or LCAP, 200 pages), as posted to the California School Dashboard.

Where the money goes

Three actions take 62% of the money; their titles are below. The plan itself puts 86% of it toward staff.

Reading, math and catch-up help

5 of the plan’s 23 funded actions name reading, math, catch-up help or English learners in their titles.

Actions whose titles name reading, math, catch-up help or English learners
  • Reading $3.0 million
  • Math $0.1 million
  • Catch-up help $2.8 million
  • English learners $2.4 million

An action naming two of these appears under both.

Largest of these

  • Provide small group in-class Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 early literacy support to students with highest need$3.0 million
  • Provide supplementary targeted services to English learner students and their families to support growth in English language proficiency and academic achievement$2.4 million
  • Provide supplemental site level support for improved instruction and academic intervention according to unduplicated student needs$2.2 million
For high-need students (English learners, low-income students and foster youth), what changed and what its goals measure
For high-need students

It plans $12.5 million in extra services for English learners, low-income students and foster youth. For 2025–26, it planned $13.3 million and estimates it spent $13.4 million, $0.1 million (1%) more than planned (our arithmetic).

What changed

The total is $3.3 million (10%) lower than in the 2025–26 plan. The biggest change in dollars is Provide equitable mental health and wellness support for all students, with a focus on support for our English learners, foster youth, homeless students, and low income students, which went from $14.9 million to $13.5 million.

Largest cuts

  • Provide equitable mental health and wellness support for all students, with a focus on support for our English learners, foster youth, homeless students, and low income students−⁠$1.4 million
  • Provide small group in-class Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 early literacy support to students with highest need−⁠$561,485
  • Provide supplemental site level support for improved instruction and academic intervention according to unduplicated student needs−⁠$124,744

Largest increases

  • Support school staff and school leadership teams to analyze student achievement and unduplicated student progress data to inform decisions and take action to provide academic interventions and other supports+⁠$221,517

New in the 2026–27 plan

  • REVISED Invest in improvements and training to increase student and staff perceptions and experience of campus safety and security, with particular attention to the needs of our unduplicated students population$2.3 million
  • REVISED Provide K-12 summer program for students identified as in need of Tier 2 and 3 support$1.3 million
  • REVISED Using a whole child approach, school site teams continue to develop, implement, refine and monitor their tiered systems of social emotional and behavioral support and intervention$255,258
What its goals measure

Read these state results for the district’s own schools as context for the goals they measure; results alone can’t show what the plan caused.

What its goals measure: state results, 2024–25 and 2025–26
Measure2024–252025–26Change
English, every tested grade: Proficient or Advanced in 2025–26, met or exceeded in 2024–25Goal 160%61%up 1 pt
Math, every tested grade: Proficient or Advanced in 2025–26, met or exceeded in 2024–25Goal 149%50%up 1 pt
Chronically absentCounted across all the district’s students, not averaged by schoolGoal 216 in 10015 in 1001 fewer in 100
Suspended at least onceGoal 23.0%2.3%down 0.7 pts

Goals 4 and 5 track named schools and Goal 3 tracks other measures, so they aren’t shown here.

Figures from CDE’s state test, chronic absence and suspension files. Test figures cover every grade the district tests (California tests grades 3–8 and 11), so they differ from a profile’s rated grades. We combined the district’s schools ourselves, weighted by students and leaving out charter schools. Chronically absent means a student missed 10% or more of school days.

The plan’s own titles and amounts
  • Provide equitable mental health and wellness support for all students, with a focus on support for our English learners, foster youth, homeless students, and low income students · $13,480,431
  • Provide small group in-class Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 early literacy support to students with highest need · $2,996,223
  • Provide supplementary targeted services to English learner students and their families to support growth in English language proficiency and academic achievement · $2,368,229
The full plan5 goals, 97 measures and where the money goes

We calculate each action’s share of the plan by dividing its planned amount by the total of the plan’s funded actions ($30.3 million).

Where does the money go?

55% to Goal 2. Each box is one action, sized by its planned dollars and coloured by its change since last year’s plan. Tap a box to open its goal.

G1
G2

Change since the 2025–26 plan, same title

  • fell 25% or more
  • fell 10–25%
  • fell 2–10%
  • within 2%
  • grew 2–10%
  • grew 10–25%
  • grew 25% or more
  • new or renamed title
  • not compared: unconfirmed, or repeated across goals

Every goal, in the plan’s order

Goal 1All students will make measurable annual progress toward mastering California Standards and toward…$12.5 million41% of action budgets

“All students will make measurable annual progress toward mastering California Standards and toward graduation. We will raise student achievement overall and accelerate achievement of historically underserved student groups to narrow opportunity gaps” p. 34 ↗

9 funded actions · 2025–26 plan: $12.7 million (−⁠$284,896)

Largest funded actions

  1. Provide small group in-class Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 early literacy support to students with highest need$3.0 millionaction 1.3 · p. 151 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
  2. Provide supplementary targeted services to English learner students and their families to support growth in English language proficiency and academic achievement$2.4 millionaction 1.7 · p. 152 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
  3. Provide supplemental site level support for improved instruction and academic intervention according to unduplicated student needs$2.2 millionaction 1.8 · p. 152 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
  4. REVISED Provide K-12 summer program for students identified as in need of Tier 2 and 3 support$1.3 millionaction 1.4 · p. 152 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
  5. Provide supplemental site level support to better address unduplicated student wellness, behavioral, and mental health needs$1.1 millionaction 1.9 · p. 152 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services

3 more funded actions in this goal

  • Provide equitable student access to Career Technical Education (CTE) courses and pathways and build career awareness including STEM related CTE fields in the middle grades · action 1.5 · p. 152 ↗$1.0 million
  • Support school staff and school leadership teams to analyze student achievement and unduplicated student progress data to inform decisions and take action to provide academic interventions and other supports · action 1.6 · p. 152 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $377,289 is state funding counted toward those services$0.6 million
  • Provide before and after school support for students with the highest need as a Tier 2 support · action 1.2 · p. 151 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services$0.2 million

1 more action is in the plan, counted in the goal’s total: p. 151 ↗

Changes from last year’s plan, same title

  1. Provide small group in-class Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 early literacy support to students with highest need−⁠$0.6 million$3.6 million → $3.0 million · p. 151 ↗
  2. Support school staff and school leadership teams to analyze student achievement and unduplicated student progress data to inform decisions and take action to provide academic interventions and other supports+⁠$221,517$372,387 → $593,904 · p. 152 ↗
  3. Provide supplemental site level support for improved instruction and academic intervention according to unduplicated student needs−⁠$0.1 million$2.3 million → $2.2 million · p. 152 ↗

Every other line in this goal, against last year’s plan

  • Provide supplementary targeted services to English learner students and their families to support growth in English language proficiency and academic achievement · $2.3 million → $2.4 million · p. 152 ↗+⁠$48,131
  • REVISED Provide K-12 summer program for students identified as in need of Tier 2 and 3 support · $1.3 million · p. 152 ↗new or renamed
  • Provide supplemental site level support to better address unduplicated student wellness, behavioral, and mental health needs · $1.1 million → $1.1 million · p. 152 ↗−⁠$0.1 million
  • Provide equitable student access to Career Technical Education (CTE) courses and pathways and build career awareness including STEM related CTE fields in the middle grades · $1.1 million → $1.0 million · p. 152 ↗−⁠$0.1 million
  • Title not confirmed · $871,086 · p. 151 ↗not compared
  • Provide before and after school support for students with the highest need as a Tier 2 support · $200,000 → $154,000 · p. 151 ↗−⁠$46,000

A reworded title counts as new.

How the plan measures it · 37 measures

None of these has an all-students line we can quote; the plan’s table lists them from p. 34 ↗.

Goal 2All students will equitably receive the social-emotional and behavioral support they need to graduate as…$16.6 million55% of action budgets

“All students will equitably receive the social-emotional and behavioral support they need to graduate as resilient, future-ready, lifelong learners who think critically, solve problems collaboratively, and are prepared to thrive in a global society” p. 77 ↗

6 funded actions · 2025–26 plan: $19.7 million (−⁠$3.1 million)

Largest funded actions

  1. Provide equitable mental health and wellness support for all students, with a focus on support for our English learners, foster youth, homeless students, and low income students$13.5 millionaction 2.3 · p. 153 ↗
  2. REVISED Invest in improvements and training to increase student and staff perceptions and experience of campus safety and security, with particular attention to the needs of our unduplicated students population$2.3 millionaction 2.6 · p. 154 ↗
  3. Provide support and engage with students and families, with a focus on foster and unhoused youth, to increase regular school attendance, and decrease chronic absenteeism$0.3 millionaction 2.4 · p. 153 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
  4. REVISED Using a whole child approach, school site teams continue to develop, implement, refine and monitor their tiered systems of social emotional and behavioral support and intervention$0.3 millionaction 2.1 · p. 152 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services · of which $223,686 is state funding counted toward those services
  5. Invest in expansion of inclusive practices in order to improve access to rigorous, college/​career readiness courses especially for students with disabilities and unhoused youth, to address areas of focus for Differentiated Assistance$0.2 millionaction 2.5 · p. 154 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services

1 more funded action in this goal

  • REVISED Provide professional learning to build staff diversity, equity and inclusion awareness, and staff capacity to respond effectively to mental health, substance abuse and risk factors in order to better foster socio-emotionally safe and culturally inclusive classroom and school environments · action 2.2 · p. 152 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need servicesunder $0.1 million

Changes from last year’s plan, same title

  1. Provide equitable mental health and wellness support for all students, with a focus on support for our English learners, foster youth, homeless students, and low income students−⁠$1.4 million$14.9 million → $13.5 million · p. 153 ↗
  2. Invest in expansion of inclusive practices in order to improve access to rigorous, college/​career readiness courses especially for students with disabilities and unhoused youth, to address areas of focus for Differentiated Assistance−⁠$84,471$234,471 → $150,000 · p. 154 ↗
  3. Provide support and engage with students and families, with a focus on foster and unhoused youth, to increase regular school attendance, and decrease chronic absenteeism−⁠$3,529$295,100 → $291,571 · p. 153 ↗

Every other line in this goal, against last year’s plan

  • REVISED Invest in improvements and training to increase student and staff perceptions and experience of campus safety and security, with particular attention to the needs of our unduplicated students population · $2.3 million · p. 154 ↗new or renamed
  • REVISED Using a whole child approach, school site teams continue to develop, implement, refine and monitor their tiered systems of social emotional and behavioral support and intervention · $255,258 · p. 152 ↗new or renamed
  • REVISED Provide professional learning to build staff diversity, equity and inclusion awareness, and staff capacity to respond effectively to mental health, substance abuse and risk factors in order to better foster socio-emotionally safe and culturally inclusive classroom and school environments · $50,000 · p. 152 ↗new or renamed

A reworded title counts as new.

How the plan measures it · 27 measures

None of these has an all-students line we can quote; the plan’s table lists them from p. 77 ↗.

Goal 3SCUSD will partner with students and families, and with labor, business and community members to create and…$1.1 million4% of action budgets

“SCUSD will partner with students and families, and with labor, business and community members to create and expand opportunities for students to graduate as resilient, future ready, lifelong learners who think critically, solve problems collaboratively and are prepared to thrive in a global society” p. 97 ↗

6 funded actions · 2025–26 plan: $1.0 million (+⁠$134,572)

Largest funded actions

  1. The Family Resource Center partners with school sites to offer a comprehensive set of services and supports to foster youth, students experiencing homelessness, English learners, low income, and other families to address basic needs and access both community and school site resources$440,177action 3.3 · p. 154 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
  2. Sustain and expand post-secondary partnerships to equitably provide opportunities and resources to unduplicated students, including support for families to equitably understand and access college and career resources, in multiple languages$300,000action 3.6 · p. 155 ↗
  3. Provide interpretation and translation services to allow non-English speaking families to participate in school and district services and activities$227,206action 3.5 · p. 155 ↗ · marked as contributing to high-need services
  4. REVISED Increase student, staff and family intercultural awareness and understanding through a diverse range of staff, student and family engagement activities, cultural events and on visible representations of cultural diversity on campuses$129,008action 3.2 · p. 154 ↗
  5. Increase meaningful engagement through educational opportunities for parents and families, district events, and volunteerism$13,807action 3.1 · p. 154 ↗

1 more action is in the plan, counted in the goal’s total: p. 154 ↗

Changes from last year’s plan, same title

  1. The Family Resource Center partners with school sites to offer a comprehensive set of services and supports to foster youth, students experiencing homelessness, English learners, low income, and other families to address basic needs and access both community and school site resources+⁠$48,844$391,333 → $440,177 · p. 154 ↗
  2. Increase meaningful engagement through educational opportunities for parents and families, district events, and volunteerism+⁠$8,807$5,000 → $13,807 · p. 154 ↗
  3. Provide interpretation and translation services to allow non-English speaking families to participate in school and district services and activities+⁠$508$226,698 → $227,206 · p. 155 ↗

Every other line in this goal, against last year’s plan

  • Sustain and expand post-secondary partnerships to equitably provide opportunities and resources to unduplicated students, including support for families to equitably understand and access college and career resources, in multiple languages · $300,000 → $300,000 · p. 155 ↗unchanged
  • REVISED Increase student, staff and family intercultural awareness and understanding through a diverse range of staff, student and family engagement activities, cultural events and on visible representations of cultural diversity on campuses · $129,008 · p. 154 ↗new or renamed
  • Title not confirmed · $35,000 · p. 154 ↗not compared

A reworded title counts as new.

How the plan measures it · 16 measures

None of these has an all-students line we can quote; the plan’s table lists them from p. 97 ↗.

Goal 4 · Equity Multiplier Focus Goal[THIS GOAL HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED]$00% of action budgets

“By May 2026, New Valley Continuation High School will have created and fully implemented a college and career readiness program in order to improve outcomes for students within groups identified as being of the highest need on the 2023 CA School Dashboard under state Priority 6: School Climate and Priorities 7 & 8: Access to and outcomes of a Broad Course of Study. Improved outcomes under Priorities 7 & 8 will be New Valley’s primary focus, with a goal of increasing the percent of English learners, Homeless students, low income students, students with disabilities and Hispanic/​Latino students “prepared” for college and career. Improved outcomes under Priority 6 will be integrated into the college and career readiness program in the form of discipline and suspension prevention, particularly among English learners, students with disabilities, Hispanic/​Latino Students, and students identifying as White” p. 113 ↗

No funded actions in this plan · reworded since the 2025–26 plan

How the plan measures it · 11 measures

None of these has an all-students line we can quote; the plan’s table lists them from p. 113 ↗.

Goal 5 · Equity Multiplier Focus GoalBy May 2027, Santa Clara Community Day will have reduced our schoolwide suspension rate by engaging staff in…$133,989under 1% of action budgets

“By May 2027, Santa Clara Community Day will have reduced our schoolwide suspension rate by engaging staff in professional learning opportunities geared towards creating a school climate and educational experiences that prevent or deescalate concerning behaviors throughout the day. Staff will identify triggering situations that increase the likelihood of concerning student behavior and examine alternative approaches to the structure of our classrooms and campus in order to avoid or mitigate future problems. Santa Clara Community Day’s primary focus will be on improved outcomes under State Priority 6: School Climate (engagement), however an additional focus will be on State Priority 4: Pupil Achievement (Pupil Outcomes). Although the population of students tested on state assessments is too small to generate a performance outcome on the dashboard, 100% of referred students score 2-3 levels below their current grade level on iReady and CAASPP interim Assessments. As such, engaging with academic content can often be a frustrating experience for our students that may lead to behaviors that result in suspension. Student opportunities that interrupt these associations will be explored and subsequent resources will be appropriately allocated” p. 126 ↗

2 funded actions · 2025–26 plan: $50,535 (+⁠$83,454)

Largest funded actions

  1. REVISED Increase student ownership of their academic journey and foster a sense of accountability and celebration in relation to meeting/​not meeting educational outcomes$82,292action 5.5 · p. 156 ↗
  2. REVISED Provide students with interventions in reading/​writing, and math in order to deter task avoidance and an escalation in behavior$51,697action 5.2 · p. 156 ↗

Every other line in this goal, against last year’s plan

  • REVISED Increase student ownership of their academic journey and foster a sense of accountability and celebration in relation to meeting/​not meeting educational outcomes · $82,292 · p. 156 ↗new or renamed
  • REVISED Provide students with interventions in reading/​writing, and math in order to deter task avoidance and an escalation in behavior · $51,697 · p. 156 ↗new or renamed

A reworded title counts as new.

How the plan measures it · 6 measures

None of these has an all-students line we can quote; the plan’s table lists them from p. 126 ↗.

All amounts are planned. We read them from the PDF and added up each goal’s actions ourselves. Page links open the plan at that page.

Who goes to the district’s schools
Who attends

Student mix

2024–25 · October enrollment count, 14,448 students
1. Hispanic or Latino: 38%2. Asian: 31%3. White: 16%4. Two or more races: 6%5. Filipino: 5%6. Black or African American: 2%7. American Indian or Alaska Native: <1%8. Pacific Islander: <1%9. Not reported: <1%Student mix2024–25
  1. Hispanic or Latino38%
  2. Asian31%
  3. White16%
  4. Two or more races6%
  5. Filipino5%
  6. Black or African American2%
  7. American Indian or Alaska Native<1%
  8. Pacific Islander<1%
  9. Not reported<1%
Shares use the district's own October enrollment counts from the CDE, including its charter schools. Rounded labels may not total 100%; segments use the original shares.

Free or reduced-price meals

28%

Across California, 63% of students qualify.

2024–25 · 4,068 of 14,411 students qualify, summed from the CDE’s meal counts for every school it lists under the district, charters included. It comes from a different CDE file than the student mix, so the two totals differ.

The district’s state records

Is the state giving the district extra help?

The state is giving Santa Clara Unified extra help in 2026, the second year after it qualified on the 2025 Dashboard.

How English learners moved up on the state’s English test

From spring 2025 to spring 2026, 51% of the district’s English learners moved up at least one level on the state’s English test (ELPAC), or stayed at the top (1,081 of 2,100 students). California: 47%. It counts students moving up the test’s levels, so a student can count here before becoming fluent.

4 schools getting state support, 2025–26

1 in most intensive support · 1 in extra targeted support · 2 in targeted support

This list covers the district’s own schools; each charter school’s page shows its record. Federal designation under the Every Student Succeeds Act, 2025–26.

Sources: District help (CDE) ↗ · English learner progress (CDE) ↗ · School support (CDE) ↗. State results from the 2026 California School Dashboard.

Which places nearby can you look at next?

Cities in the district

More places (7)

Districts nearby

Common questions

Which public schools in Santa Clara Unified rank highest?

Elementary: Millikin Elementary, 99th percentile (Strong). Middle: Marian A. Peterson Middle, 87th percentile (Strong). High: Mission Early College High, 96th percentile (Strong). Each percentile is among the California schools at the same level we score. A rank doesn’t decide fit or whether a child can enroll.

Does living in the Santa Clara Unified district decide which school my child attends?

Not by itself. Attendance boundaries, programs, transfers and space all matter. Confirm the school for your address, grade and program with the district.
More questions (5)

Are the public schools in Santa Clara Unified good?

Santa Clara Unified’s 19 public elementary schools run from the 9th to the 99th percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 9 Strong, 7 Solid, 2 Developing and 1 Needs Support. Santa Clara Unified’s 5 public middle schools run from the 34th to the 87th percentile among the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 2 Strong, 2 Solid and 1 Developing. Santa Clara Unified’s 3 public high schools run from the 82nd to the 96th percentile among the 1,498 California high schools we score (spring 2025 tests). By band: 3 Strong. A percentile compares a school with California public schools at the same level that we score. How we score schools.

How does chronic absence in Santa Clara Unified compare with California?

The average elementary school in Santa Clara Unified had 13 in 100 students chronically absent (missed 10% or more of school days) in 2025–26; the average California elementary school we score had 17 in 100. Both are averages of school rates, each school counted once. The average middle school in Santa Clara Unified had 11 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California middle school we score had 18 in 100. The average high school in Santa Clara Unified had 14 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California high school we score had 22 in 100. These are averages of school rates: each school counts once, whatever its size.

How much does Santa Clara Unified spend per student?

Santa Clara Unified spent $32,023 per student in the 2024–25 school year. The typical California district spent $20,491. About 63 cents of every Santa Clara Unified dollar went to classroom instruction. Day-to-day spending per student in average daily attendance, from its annual financial report to the California Department of Education. The district’s spending, by function.

What is in Santa Clara Unified’s 2026–27 spending plan?

The district’s 2026–27 spending plan puts $30.3 million into 23 funded actions in 5 goals, 7% of its $446.6 million general fund budget. Its largest goal holds $16.6 million, 55% of the action budgets. The 2026–27 plan, goal by goal.

Where do these results come from?

California’s state tests (CAASPP): spring 2026 for elementary and middle schools, spring 2025 for high schools, and chronic-absence rates for 2025–26, published by the California Department of Education. Percentiles, bands and Scope Scores are SchoolScope’s calculations. How we score schools.

Sources and methodology

This page lists the public schools governed and funded by Santa Clara Unified, with the district’s spending and state accountability records.

Data source: California Department of Education · CAASPP 2025–26 elementary and middle school; 2024–25 high school

Percentiles, bands and Scope Scores are SchoolScope’s own calculations from these state files.

View CDE data ↗ (opens in a new tab)How Scope Scores work →

Download these schools (CSV)Free to use under CC BY 4.0 with attribution.