The top reported proficiency rate is 43% in Math. The lowest is 22% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Beresford Elementary
Beresford Elementary sits on 28th Avenue in San Mateo, serving kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public elementary school within the San Mateo-Foster City School District. The school is small enough that each grade cohort is modest, and the student body skews heavily Hispanic, with white and Asian students making up most of the remaining enrollment. Roughly half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that places the school in noticeably different economic territory from San Mateo's very high-income citywide profile. Data on English learner rates and students with IEPs were not available in the source material.
On the most recent California state assessments, proficiency rates across subjects and grades are low. In reading, results ranged from the mid-twenties to mid-forties depending on grade, with third graders performing below where fourth graders landed, and fifth grade coming in near the bottom of the tested range. Math followed a similar pattern, with fourth grade standing out as meaningfully stronger than third or fifth. Science scores for fifth graders were the lowest of any reported result. When the school's overall proficiency index is placed against districts in San Mateo County, it lands in the bottom quartile of that comparison set. Only one year of data was available, so no trend line can be drawn; parents who want to understand whether scores have been improving or holding steady should ask the school directly.
The one program listed in the available data is music. No information about special electives, intervention programs, dual-language offerings, or enrichment pathways was present in the source material, and course access data was not reported.
Several district-level developments matter for families considering enrollment. San Mateo-Foster City restructured its middle school math sequence a few years ago, replacing a tracked acceleration program in sixth grade with a single heterogeneous class. Publicly reported accounts describe significant parent pushback at the time. The stated goal was broader access to Algebra by eighth grade, and publicly reported enrollment in that course has grown substantially districtwide. Families whose children are high performers in math should look into how the pathway from Beresford into middle school now works in practice. On the facilities side, voters approved a bond measure in 2020 that has funded school construction projects, including a fully rebuilt academic wing at one middle school. A new bond measure was publicly reported to be heading toward the June 2026 ballot, which would add a property tax levy if passed. A separate parcel tax is set to expire in a few years, with renewal planned. The district is also publicly reported to be spending beyond revenue in its current budget cycle, with administrative cuts underway and enrollment continuing to fall.
San Mateo itself is a sizable Peninsula city with a compact, genuinely walkable downtown where Central Park, restaurants, a library, and Caltrain access cluster within easy reach. A secondary hub near Hillsdale Station mixes shopping, parks, and transit. The city's development direction favors higher-density mixed-use buildings rather than single-family expansion. Housing costs here are among the highest in the country, running many multiples above the California and national medians, and rents consume a very large share of a typical income. Year-over-year values have edged up modestly. Families renting or buying near Beresford are entering one of the most expensive residential markets in the state.
Chronic absenteeism data was not available for this school. A graduation rate does not apply, since Beresford serves only elementary grades.
The clearest thing the data shows is that assessed proficiency at Beresford is well below both county and statewide norms, across reading, math, and science. That is a straightforward fact worth sitting with. Parents would do well to ask the school about specific instructional supports, how it identifies and addresses learning gaps, and what the typical experience looks like for students who arrive below grade level or above it.
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