Garfield Elementary, San Diego CA

Original Research by School Decision on Garfield Elementary

Garfield Elementary sits in San Diego's mid-city area and serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The school is notably small, with an enrollment that skews heavily toward students from lower-income households; roughly three in four students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, followed by a substantial Black population, with smaller numbers of white and multiracial students and very few Asian or Native American students. Specific counts for English learners and students with disabilities were not available from the data.

On the most recent state assessments in English language arts, Garfield's results show a mixed profile by grade level. Third graders performed solidly, while fourth graders showed strength. Fifth graders' performance dipped notably in both language arts and math. In math, third and fourth graders met proficiency at a decent level, but fifth-grade results fell sharply, with roughly one in three students proficient. Science assessment data for fifth grade showed proficiency at an even lower rate. Across all tested subjects and grades combined, Garfield's overall proficiency sits in the top quartile among schools in San Diego County, a position that reflects strength relative to the county's elementary and secondary schools on average.

The pattern visible across grade levels suggests that while Garfield produces solid outcomes in the lower and middle elementary years, academic performance encounters a steeper challenge in fifth grade, particularly in mathematics. A parent considering this school may want to understand whether transition supports or curriculum changes occur as students reach the upper elementary grades, and what the school offers to help fifth graders build math skills specifically.

Garfield is part of San Diego Unified, the large urban district serving the city. The district has implemented a standards-based grading system for secondary schools that removes non-academic factors from academic grades and gives students chances to reassess mastery, though this applies to middle and high school rather than Garfield's elementary band. San Diego Unified also recently passed a major bond measure for school facilities repairs and upgrades, and approved an ethnic studies graduation requirement for high school.

The school sits in a zip code where housing values are high and rents remain steep relative to median household income. The area's mortgage rates and economic conditions suggest families at this school likely span a range of economic circumstances, though the prevalence of free-lunch eligibility points to substantial economic need in the student population. A music program is offered.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 371%

School 71% · District 55% · ▲ 16 pts above district

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

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 50% · ▲ 17 pts above district

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

Grade 537%

School 37% · District 45% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 362%

School 62% · District 53% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 475%

School 75% · District 54% · ▲ 21 pts above district

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

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 58% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 42% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

This schoolSan Diego 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.