How to read Silicon Valley school results
California does not grade schools A to F. The California School Dashboard reports how far a school's average test score sits above or below the state standard on the Smarter Balanced tests, in points, for English language arts (ELA) and math, plus a four-year graduation rate for high schools. A result of +90 means the average student scored well above the standard; 0 means right at it. Statewide in 2025, students scored 8.1 points below standard in ELA and 42.4 below in math, and the graduation rate was 87.8%.
All figures on this page come from the California Department of Education's 2025 Dashboard data files, for all students. They describe last year's test takers, not the quality of any classroom, and small schools can swing a lot from year to year. Silicon Valley also does not map neatly onto districts: most cities have one elementary district and a separate high school district, and many districts cross city lines.
Silicon Valley school districts compared, 2025 Dashboard
The table lists the Santa Clara County districts with the highest 2025 results, plus the larger city districts for comparison. Elementary districts have no graduation rate.
| District | Main cities served | ELA vs standard | Math vs standard | Graduation rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto Unified | Palo Alto | +86.8 | +86.7 | 97.7% |
| Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High | Los Gatos, Saratoga | +97.0 | +64.4 | 96.7% |
| Fremont Union High | Cupertino, Sunnyvale and west San Jose (schools in all three) | +93.0 | +85.4 | 95.7% |
| Mountain View-Los Altos Union High | Mountain View, Los Altos | +88.5 | +52.9 | 94.8% |
| Los Altos Elementary | Los Altos | +94.7 | +100.7 | n/a |
| Saratoga Union Elementary | Saratoga | +87.0 | +112.0 | n/a |
| Cupertino Union | Cupertino, west San Jose, parts of Sunnyvale | +84.5 | +102.1 | n/a |
| Los Gatos Union Elementary | Los Gatos | +67.3 | +67.5 | n/a |
| Milpitas Unified | Milpitas | +53.9 | +37.3 | 94.1% |
| Santa Clara Unified | Santa Clara, north San Jose | +25.1 | -5.6 | 90.9% |
| San Jose Unified | Central and south San Jose | -5.1 | -26.9 | 92.2% |
Palo Alto Unified, like Milpitas, Santa Clara and San Jose Unified, runs kindergarten through twelfth grade under one board, which makes its boundaries simpler to check. In the west valley, a house can sit in Cupertino Union for kindergarten to eighth grade and Fremont Union High for ninth to twelfth grade, or in Los Gatos Union and then Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High.
Silicon Valley high schools with the highest 2025 results
Lynbrook High, Fremont Union High (San Jose, west side)
Lynbrook had the county's highest high school math result, 165.0 points above standard, and 143.4 in ELA, second only to the small Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academy (+155.4 on 72 students), with a 97.6% graduation rate for a class of 409.
Saratoga High, Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High
Saratoga High scored 116.5 points above standard in ELA and 109.6 in math, and graduated 96.0% of its 303 students.
Cupertino High and Monta Vista High, Fremont Union High
Cupertino High scored +111.7 in ELA and +114.9 in math with a 98.0% graduation rate. Monta Vista scored +102.8 and +128.9, with 97.5%. Homestead High, in the same district, scored +77.4 and +59.0.
Henry M. Gunn High and Palo Alto High, Palo Alto Unified
Gunn scored 107.3 above standard in ELA and 113.7 in math, with a 97.2% graduation rate. Palo Alto High scored +71.3 and +73.4 and graduated 98.1%. See our Palo Alto schools guide for every PAUSD school.
Mountain View High and Los Altos High, Mountain View-Los Altos
Mountain View High scored +107.4 in ELA and +66.3 in math, with a 94.9% graduation rate. Los Altos High scored +86.1 and +56.2, with 96.9%.
Leland High, San Jose Unified (Almaden Valley)
Leland scored +109.1 in ELA and +86.3 in math with a 97.4% graduation rate, far above San Jose Unified's district averages. See our San Jose schools guide for the city's other districts.
Los Gatos High and Evergreen Valley High
Los Gatos High scored +86.1 in ELA and +38.6 in math, with 97.3% graduating. Evergreen Valley High in East Side Union scored +95.4 and +56.9, with 95.1%, on a large class of 700.
Silicon Valley middle and elementary schools with the highest 2025 results
Cupertino Union middle schools
Joaquin Miller Middle scored 109.0 points above standard in ELA and 144.4 in math, and John F. Kennedy Middle +112.7 and +135.5. Sam H. Lawson Middle scored +92.9 and +127.5. Cupertino Union also had William Faria Elementary at +119.4 and +133.9.
Los Altos and Saratoga elementary districts
In Los Altos Elementary, Georgina P. Blach Junior High scored +98.6 in ELA and +130.5 in math, and Covington Elementary +110.3 and +115.4. In Saratoga Union, Redwood Middle scored +94.7 and +126.4.
Palo Alto Unified elementary and middle schools
Herbert Hoover Elementary scored +117.3 in ELA and +126.0 in math. Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle scored +100.5 and +107.4, and Ellen Fletcher Middle +92.3 and +87.2.
Strong results outside the highest-priced cities
High scores are not limited to the most expensive towns. Millikin Elementary in Santa Clara Unified scored +109.8 in ELA and +105.1 in math, Cherry Chase Elementary in the Sunnyvale district +93.3 and +92.3, and Amy Imai Elementary in Mountain View Whisman +97.4 and +96.4.
School choice, charters and magnets in Silicon Valley
Bullis Charter School, Los Altos
Bullis Charter is listed under the Santa Clara County Office of Education in the Dashboard files. It scored +128.2 in ELA and +138.5 in math in 2025 on 633 tested students. Admission is by application, not by address; check its current admission rules and any lottery on the school's own site.
Magnet programs and transfers
San Jose Unified runs magnet programs such as Hammer Montessori at Galarza Elementary and the River Glen K-8 two-way Spanish immersion program. Its magnet page describes a lottery in two phases: registrations completed during the regular enrollment window, then those received after it. Transfers in other districts depend on space, so plan around the school that serves the address rather than counting on a transfer.
How to check which schools serve a Silicon Valley address
Listings often name schools, but listing agents cannot guarantee them, and boundaries change. Before you make an offer:
- Find the elementary and high school districts for the address with each district's own tool. Palo Alto Unified uses a residency map at residency.school; Cupertino Union has a school locator that it says shows preliminary assignments, with the official assignment made at registration; Fremont Union High offers an address check tool on its boundary maps page.
- Look up each school on the California School Dashboard to see the latest results for all students and for each student group.
- Call the district's enrollment office to confirm current boundaries and whether the school is at capacity. Fremont Union High states that students must reside full-time within its boundaries, and it investigates residency claims.
- Check the tax bill. Several school districts levy parcel taxes on top of the general rate; our Santa Clara County property tax guide explains them.
School lines matter to prices. Redfin's median sale price in the three months to September 2026 was $2,848,643 in Cupertino and $3,608,282 in Palo Alto, against $1,349,357 across San Jose. See our Silicon Valley homes for sale guide for prices by city.