The top reported proficiency rate is 79% in Math. The lowest is 58% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Carlton Elementary
Carlton Elementary sits on Carlton Avenue in the Cambrian area of San Jose, serving kindergarten through fifth grade within Union Elementary School District. It is a regular public school with no charter or magnet designation. The school draws from one of the most expensive residential zip codes in California, a housing market that runs dramatically above both the state and national medians for home values, with rents that also place a heavy burden relative to income. That context shapes who can realistically access this school zone.
Academically, Carlton performs well. On the most recent California CAASPP Smarter Balanced assessments, proficiency in math is strong across all tested grades, with third and fourth graders performing particularly well and fifth graders still posting a solid result by state standards. English language arts proficiency runs consistently across third, fourth, and fifth grade, landing in the low-to-mid seventies range as a share of students meeting or exceeding standards. That puts the school's overall proficiency index in the top quartile relative to districts across Santa Clara County, a county that itself contains some of California's highest-performing districts. Fifth-grade science results, from the California Science Test, are more moderate, with somewhat more than half of students reaching proficiency. A parent curious about how the school approaches science instruction, and whether the trajectory improves, would be worth raising with the school directly.
Because only one year of results is available in the data, trend information is not yet meaningful. The data does not allow a read on whether performance is improving, holding steady, or shifting.
The student body is substantial for an elementary school at this grade band. It skews strongly toward families who are economically secure: only a very small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, one of the lower economic need rates you will find anywhere in the state. Racially, the school is diverse in a way that reflects Silicon Valley's tech-industry demographics, with Asian students making up a plurality, white students a large second group, students of two or more races a meaningful third, and Hispanic students a smaller but present share. Data on English learner enrollment and students with IEPs was not available in this dataset.
The district, Union Elementary, covers TK through eighth grade across several campuses in San Jose and one in Los Gatos. Two voter-approved funding measures shape the financial picture for anyone buying into the district's boundaries. Publicly reported, voters passed a general obligation bond a few years ago to fund facility repairs, modernization, new construction, and technology upgrades across campuses, with repayment through property taxes. More recently, voters renewed and increased the district's parcel tax in late 2024, directing locally controlled funds toward math, reading, writing, science, arts, and teacher retention. Both measures translate to ongoing property-tax obligations for homeowners in the district, on top of a base home price that is already far above national norms. Renters face their own affordability pressure: the rent-to-income ratio in this zip code is well above typical thresholds of strain.
San Jose as a city is large and varied. Carlton's neighborhood sits in the southwestern residential portion of the city, which is primarily single-family, suburban in feel, and car-oriented. The broader civic infrastructure of downtown San Jose, including the joint city-university library, the Guadalupe River Trail, VTA light rail, and Diridon Station's regional rail connections, is accessible but not walkable from this part of town. The major tech-sector employer base, anchored by Cisco and extending across the Silicon Valley corridor to Apple, Google, and Intel, means the area attracts and retains a highly educated professional workforce, and Carlton's demographics reflect that.
What the data does not include: IEP rates, English learner counts, chronic absenteeism, and any information on specific program offerings at Carlton itself. The graduation rate metric does not apply here because the school ends at fifth grade. Anyone wanting to understand the full continuum of academic support, enrichment programs, or student services would need to contact the school or district directly.
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