Marin Elementary, Albany CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Marin Elementary

Marin Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Albany, a compact, walkable Bay Area city where the school fits into a highly residential neighborhood environment. The school enrolls students across all six grade bands, with a student body that spans diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds including Asian, white, Hispanic, and multiracial students, along with a smaller share of Black students. About a quarter of the enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in an economically mixed community.

Academically, Marin's students show strength in English language arts, where proficiency rates cluster around the high seventies across grades three through five, with third grade performing notably higher. Mathematics proficiency runs lower, ranging from the low to mid-sixties across the same grades. Fifth graders took the California Science Test, with about half meeting proficiency standards. Overall, Marin's proficiency index places it in the top quartile among schools in Alameda County districts, a meaningful position that reflects solid grade-level performance even where there are softer spots.

The gaps between reading and math proficiency are worth noting if you're considering this school. Mathematics is the area where a larger share of students fall short of proficiency, particularly in grades four and five. A parent may want to look into further with the school what supports exist for students working toward math proficiency and how the school thinks about intervention and acceleration.

The Albany housing market shapes who can live here. Median home values run high by national standards, though the upward momentum has been modest. Rents similarly sit well above the national median. This pricing reflects both the school district's reputation and Albany's location next to Berkeley. The city itself is dense and highly walkable, organized around two main commercial spines (Solano Avenue and San Pablo Avenue) with homes on small lots in mixed Craftsman and Mediterranean styles. Schools sit embedded in these walkable neighborhoods rather than on isolated campuses. Albany Memorial Park and the Ohlone Greenway, a paved multi-use trail running alongside BART, anchor community life along with the library and the small commercial streets. Regional transit connects the city via BART and AC Transit.

The district has been managing fiscal stress. Voters approved a parcel tax in March 2024 replacing the prior flat-rate system with a square-footage-based tax, and approved a school facilities bond in November 2024 to fund modernization and construction. The district declared a significant deficit and adopted budget reductions for 2024-25. Even with the new parcel tax, per-pupil funding remains below the state average. These budget pressures can affect program breadth and class sizes. At the same time, families moving to Albany make a multi-decade property tax commitment through these bond measures, a lasting financial stake in school infrastructure.

Marin sits in Albany's residential core, making it part of a walkable small city where school and neighborhood life are tightly interwoven. The academic picture is solid in reading, more variable in mathematics, and uneven in science at the tested grade. The housing and tax environment is affluent but tight, and the district's recent fiscal moves reflect real budget strain even as it pursues modernization.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 375%

School 75% · District 73% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 463%

School 63% · District 65% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 563%

School 63% · District 62% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 379%

School 79% · District 74% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 479%

School 79% · District 73% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 573%

School 73% · District 73%

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

Science

Grade 557%

School 57% · District 59% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

This schoolAlbany City Unified, 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 3Lower-income60%Higher-income84%24 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income66%Higher-income88%22 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income68%Higher-income74%6 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income60%Higher-income79%19 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income52%Higher-income69%18 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income41%Higher-income71%30 pp gap