The top reported proficiency rate is 63% in Math. The lowest is 10% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Muir (john) Elementary
John Muir Elementary sits on Webster Street in San Francisco's Western Addition, a neighborhood that sits squarely in the residential, family-oriented middle of the city. The school serves kindergarten through fifth grade within San Francisco Unified, the city's large urban district, and draws a student body that is predominantly Hispanic and Black, with the majority of families qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. That economic profile is central to understanding what the school is and who it serves.
The most recent California state assessment results, from 2024-25, show a mixed and uneven picture across grades and subjects. Third-grade math stands out: a clear majority of tested students scored at or above the proficient level, which is a genuinely strong result. Fourth and fifth grade math rates drop considerably, sitting roughly around or just above the midpoint. English language arts tells a softer story across all three tested grades, with fourth grade ELA in particular showing a low proficiency rate, well below half. Science results for fifth grade, measured by the California Science Test, are quite low. Across all tested subjects and grades combined, the school's overall proficiency index lands above the midpoint relative to other districts in San Francisco County, which is a useful context, though the grade-by-grade spread is wide enough that a parent should look closely at the grade level their child would enter rather than relying on a single summary figure. Trend data was available for only one year, so no multi-year direction can be determined from the data provided.
Enrollment is small for an elementary school, spread across six grades with relatively even cohorts. IEP rates and English learner rates were not available in the data.
The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. Program offerings were not included in the data provided, so specific enrichment, arts, or specialty programming cannot be described here. Discipline, attendance, and staffing data were also not available.
Families considering the school's neighborhood should understand that this part of San Francisco carries the full weight of the city's housing market. Home values near the school are dramatically above the California statewide median and several times the national figure, with year-over-year appreciation recorded. Rents in the area are also very high, with the estimated share of income that a typical renter would spend on housing well above what financial advisors consider sustainable. San Francisco's walkability is genuinely strong by any national measure, and the Western Addition has transit access, commercial corridors, and proximity to several parks and green spaces. Muni serves the area, and BART's underground spine runs through downtown a short ride away.
On the district side, the research budget for tracking recent San Francisco Unified policy changes or strategic priorities was exhausted before any durable findings could be confirmed, so no claims about district-level direction or initiatives are made here.
For a family living in the neighborhood, John Muir offers a racially and economically diverse peer environment in a city school where math instruction appears to produce strong results for third graders but where ELA outcomes and upper-grade math results warrant a direct conversation with the school about how it tracks and supports students across grade levels. A parent of a child entering fourth or fifth grade especially may want to ask the school specifically about literacy programming and what supports are in place for students who are not yet reading at grade level.
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