Discovery Charter, San Jose CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Discovery Charter

Discovery Charter is a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade charter school located on Teale Avenue in West San Jose, a residential pocket of the city characterized by single-story homes, tree-lined streets, and a quieter pace than the denser downtown core a few miles east. The school draws from one of the most economically competitive housing markets in California: home values in the surrounding zip code are dramatically above both the state and national medians, and rents have continued to climb. Families considering this school are almost certainly contending with Silicon Valley's cost of living rather than being shielded from it.

The student body is moderately sized for a K-8 school. Racially, the enrollment is quite diverse: Asian students make up roughly a third of the population, white students the next largest group, followed by Hispanic students, students of two or more races, and Black students. The share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch is notably low, pointing toward a largely middle- and upper-income family base. English learner and IEP data were not available in what was provided, so parents with children who receive special education services or English language support should ask the school directly about those populations and staffing.

On California's CAASPP state assessments, Discovery Charter posts solid proficiency rates across grades three through eight in both English language arts and math. ELA scores cluster in the low-to-mid sixties across most tested grades, with fourth and eighth grades performing somewhat better than the middle grades. Math follows a similar range, with third grade at the stronger end and grades five and six somewhat lower, while seventh and eighth grades recover slightly. Taken together, the school's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint among districts in Santa Clara County, which is a meaningful result given how competitive that county's schools tend to be. Science scores from the California Science Test show a more mixed picture: fifth-grade science sits in the high fifties, while eighth-grade science comes in notably lower, closer to the mid-forties. Parents of middle schoolers interested in STEM pathways may want to ask the school about how science instruction is structured in the upper grades.

Multi-year trend data was not available. Only a single year of results appears in the data provided, so it is not possible to say whether these proficiency levels reflect improvement, stability, or a decline from earlier years. That is worth asking about at an information session.

No information on specific program offerings, AP or elective coursework, extracurricular activities, or pedagogical approach was included in the data provided. Because this school covers only kindergarten through eighth grade, there is no graduation rate, and AP coursework does not apply to this grade band. The district brief turned up no parent-relevant changes such as curriculum shifts, funding measures, or governance transitions in recent years.

The surrounding West San Jose neighborhood is car-oriented day to day, though the Guadalupe River Trail connects to downtown and provides a pedestrian and cycling corridor. San Jose's broader job market is anchored by the technology sector, with major employers including Cisco, Apple, and Google concentrated across Silicon Valley, which shapes both the economic profile of the parent community and the longer-range context for students entering high school and beyond.

For a family seeking a diverse charter school in a lower-density part of San Jose, with proficiency results that hold their own against a competitive county peer group, Discovery Charter is worth a serious look. The science gap in the middle grades and the absence of multi-year trend data are the two areas where a parent would benefit from a direct conversation with school leadership before enrolling.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 371%

School 71% · district not reported

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 465%

School 65% · district not reported

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 560%

School 60% · district not reported

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 658%

School 58% · district not reported

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 763%

School 63% · district not reported

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 863%

School 63% · district not reported

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 364%

School 64% · district not reported

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 467%

School 67% · district not reported

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 562%

School 62% · district not reported

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 661%

School 61% · district not reported

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 764%

School 64% · district not reported

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 867%

School 67% · district not reported

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Science

Grade 559%

School 59% · district not reported

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 845%

School 45% · district not reported

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

This schoolDistrict average, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 4Lower-income64%Higher-income68%5 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income25%Higher-income71%46 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income17%Higher-income73%56 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income55%Higher-income68%14 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income25%Higher-income68%43 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income33%Higher-income68%35 pp gap