Anne Darling Elementary, San Jose CA

Original Research by School Decision on Anne Darling Elementary

Anne Darling Elementary is a small public elementary school in San Jose serving kindergarten through fifth grade. The school sits in a neighborhood where housing costs are high and the majority of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Just over three-quarters of students are Hispanic, with smaller Asian, white, and other populations. The enrollment skews slightly toward younger grades, with a modest total student body.

On state testing, Anne Darling's academic proficiency is low across the board. In English language arts, students in grades three, four, and five show proficiency rates in the single digits to low twenties. Mathematics proficiency is even lower, ranging from single digits to just under twelve percent across tested grades. Science proficiency in fifth grade rounds out the picture at around five percent. Within the Santa Clara County district comparison set, Anne Darling's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among county schools that have reported data. These are numbers a parent would want to understand in depth with the school, including what academic support structures exist and what the school's own improvement trajectory looks like.

The district context matters. In March 2026, the San Jose Unified board voted to close five elementary schools, including Empire Gardens, which fed students to Anne Darling. Students from Empire Gardens have been reassigned to Anne Darling beginning in the 2026-27 school year as part of a district-wide consolidation tied to enrollment decline. This means Anne Darling will receive incoming families from another closed campus. Additionally, San Jose voters approved Measure R, a facilities bond in November 2024 that raises local property taxes for roughly a decade or so, funding building upgrades and teacher housing.

San Jose itself is a large, mixed city with a dense downtown anchored by San Jose State University and a light-rail network, surrounded by sprawling residential neighborhoods. The school's neighborhood is part of the broader suburban residential fabric. Housing values in the 95133 zip code where Anne Darling sits are high relative to national norms, and rents have also risen recently. The area's economy is technology-driven, dominated by employers like Cisco, Apple, and Google, though the city also has significant manufacturing and service-sector work.

A family considering Anne Darling would be weighing very low current proficiency data alongside a school receiving new students from a consolidation and a district undertaking major capital improvements. The housing market in this part of San Jose is expensive, and most of the student body comes from families of modest means. Whether this particular school is the right fit depends on a family's own priorities regarding academic support, school stability through the consolidation period, and their own circumstances in a high-cost housing area.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 311%

School 11% · District 48% · ▼ 37 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 46 pts below county median

Grade 412%

School 12% · District 46% · ▼ 34 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 42 pts below county median

Grade 58%

School 8% · District 42% · ▼ 34 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 40 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 37%

School 7% · District 44% · ▼ 37 pts below district

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 45 pts below county median

Grade 421%

School 21% · District 47% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 52% · ▼ 34 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 39 pts below county median

Science

Grade 55%

School 5% · District 38% · ▼ 33 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 38 pts below county median

This schoolSan Jose 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 5Lower-income15%Higher-income27%13 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income7%Higher-income9%2 pp gap