Corte Madera, Portola Valley CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Corte Madera

Corte Madera serves fourth through eighth grade in Portola Valley, a small, affluent residential town in the San Mateo County foothills. The school is part of the Portola Valley Elementary district, which includes two public schools serving this low-density, nature-oriented community of large-lot homes and open spaces.

The school shows strong academic performance across tested subjects. In math, students demonstrated solid proficiency, with the highest results in eighth grade. English language arts results were notably stronger across the board, with eighth graders reaching particularly high proficiency. Science proficiency on the California Science Test showed strength as well, with students in both tested grades performing at comparable levels to math. Across all tested subjects and grades combined, Corte Madera's proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to other districts in San Mateo County.

The school serves fewer than three hundred students spread across five grades. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Asian, multiracial, two or more races, and Hispanic students. A very small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic character of the community. Data on English learner and special education populations were not available.

The district renewed a local parcel tax in 2021 that funds a substantial portion of the budget and supports small class sizes and teacher retention. Both Corte Madera and its sister school underwent major renovation between 2022 and 2023, with Corte Madera adding a new middle school building and a new fourth- and fifth-grade building. These facilities are newly operational.

Portola Valley itself is an intentionally low-density community with no commercial downtown. The town has no walkable shopping or street-life environment; civic life centers instead on a purpose-built Town Center campus housing the library, community hall, and town offices, plus an extensive network of trails and open-space preserves. The broader region around the school is affluent Silicon Valley foothills territory, with major employers in the region located elsewhere. Most families have ties to the tech industry or professional services in nearby communities like Menlo Park and Palo Alto.

Housing values in the immediate area are very high, reflective of San Mateo County's broader market and Portola Valley's character as an exclusive residential enclave. Rents are similarly elevated. The town has deliberately constrained growth through low-density zoning and open-space protection, though recent state housing requirements have prompted some planning adjustments.

Corte Madera fits families seeking a small, academically solid, newly renovated school in an affluent, nature-focused community with strong local school funding and a long commitment to small class sizes.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 478%

School 78% · District 78%

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

Grade 588%

School 88% · District 88%

▲ 57 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 682%

School 82% · District 82%

▲ 52 pts above state median · ▲ 42 pts above county median

Grade 780%

School 80% · District 80%

▲ 49 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 889%

School 89% · District 89%

▲ 61 pts above state median · ▲ 43 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 478%

School 78% · District 78%

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

Grade 588%

School 88% · District 88%

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

Grade 688%

School 88% · District 88%

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

Grade 786%

School 86% · District 86%

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

Grade 893%

School 93% · District 93%

▲ 48 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Science

Grade 586%

School 86% · District 86%

▲ 58 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

Grade 883%

School 83% · District 83%

▲ 58 pts above state median · ▲ 46 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 877%

School 77% · District 77%

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

This schoolPortola Valley Elementary, 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.