Sun Valley leads San Rafael in U.S. News elementary rankings

Sun Valley Elementary earned the highest ranking in the San Rafael City Elementary district in the 2027 U.S. News Best K-8 Schools rankings, placing No. 664 out of 5,920 California elementary schools with an overall score of 88.8 out of 100. The rankings were released Oct. 20.

The K-5 school on Happy Lane had proficiency rates above the district and statewide figures reported by U.S. News. Its proficiency rate was 71% in each subject, math and reading, according to the school’s U.S. News profile.

Across the San Rafael City Elementary district, 40% tested proficient or above in math and 39% in reading. The profile lists statewide rates of 38% in math and 44% in reading.

The rankings, which U.S. News labels as “2027,” draw on state assessment data from the 2023-24 school year. The formula weighs four factors equally at 25% each: math proficiency, math performance, reading proficiency and reading performance. Half the formula measures assessment results without demographic adjustments, and the other half accounts for socioeconomic demographics.

The U.S. News profile reports 523 students with a 23-to-1 student-teacher ratio. It lists 30% of students as economically disadvantaged, 23 full-time-equivalent teachers and a 100% teacher certification rate. These are the figures in the ranking profile, not a current enrollment or staffing count.

Principal Kristin Hancock leads the school, which is part of the San Rafael City Elementary district under Superintendent Carmen Diaz Ghysels.

In a March 2024 district announcement about her appointment, Hancock described her commitment to helping students with “striving for academic excellence, building community and just-minded character and reaching their full potential.” That statement predates the new rankings.

Other area schools

Other San Rafael-area elementary schools in the statewide rankings include Vallecito Elementary, which placed No. 1,444 with a score of 75.59.

Glenwood Elementary followed at No. 1,473 with 75.13. Lucas Valley Elementary ranked No. 1,740 at 70.62.

Mary E. Silveira Elementary came in at No. 2,498, and Coleman Elementary at No. 2,576.

Understanding the rankings

Across the country, U.S. News ranked nearly 47,000 elementary schools and more than 24,000 middle schools. The rankings are at state and district levels, not national rankings. Only public schools are included because they participate in common statewide assessments that allow comparison within each state.

Steve Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research and a professor at Rutgers University, said the rankings give parents data beyond word of mouth.

“What information could they use? Often, they don’t have anything but reputation, which doesn’t tell you about what the school contributes,” Barnett said in the U.S. News report.

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