How we score schools
Full transparency. Our data is public. Our analysis is what you're paying for.
The composite score
Every elementary school gets a single composite score from 0–100. This score is a weighted blend of six dimensions, each capturing a different aspect of school performance. Only schools with both grade 3 and grade 5 test data are included — this ensures we're comparing elementary schools on equal footing and can measure growth.
When a signal is unavailable for a school (e.g., no chronic absenteeism data), the weight is redistributed proportionally across available signals.
Why elementary schools only
Our composite rankings include only schools that have test data for both grade 3 and grade 5. This focus on elementary schools ensures meaningful growth comparisons and prevents high schools (which test only at grade 11) from appearing in rankings designed to measure early education quality.
Why we split exceeded vs. met
Most rating sites report "% proficient" — students who met or exceeded the standard. This hides a crucial difference.
Consider two schools, both "70% proficient":
- School A: 50% exceeded, 20% met — a school actively pushing students to excel
- School B: 10% exceeded, 60% met — a school where most students barely clear the bar
GreatSchools and Niche would rate these identically. We don't. The exceeded rate is the strongest signal of a school that challenges students, which is why it gets the highest weight in our formula.
What growth trajectory means
We compare proficiency rates at grade 3 vs. grade 5 (both ELA and math). A school where 5th graders score higher than 3rd graders is likely adding value — not just benefiting from students who arrived already ahead.
This isn't true cohort tracking (the state doesn't publish that publicly), but it's a useful proxy. A school with declining scores from grade 3 to 5 is a red flag regardless.
Absenteeism and suspension
Chronic absenteeism measures the percentage of students who miss 10% or more of school days. It's one of the strongest predictors of academic outcomes and reflects both school culture and family engagement.
Suspension rate measures the percentage of students suspended at least once. High suspension rates often indicate a discipline-heavy culture rather than a supportive one, and disproportionately affect underserved communities.
Both metrics are inverted in our formula — lower is better.
Data sources
- CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment — ELA and Math scores, grades 3–8 and 11, school-level aggregates. Published annually by the California Department of Education.
- CDE Chronic Absenteeism Data — School-level chronic absenteeism rates for the 2024–25 academic year.
- CDE Suspension Data — School-level suspension rates for the 2024–25 academic year.
- CDE Entity File — School names, districts, counties, and metadata.
All data is publicly available from the California Department of Education. No restrictions on commercial use. Our test year is 2025.
Percentile rankings
Each school's state percentile tells you what percentage of California elementary schools score below it. A school at the 90th percentile outscores 90% of all ranked elementary schools in the state.
Limitations
- Test scores measure what tests measure. They correlate with many things we care about but don't capture everything.
- Growth is approximated across grades, not tracked per student.
- Small schools may have volatile scores due to small sample sizes.
- We don't account for demographics, income, or special education populations in the base score. We show you the raw signal — context is up to you.