Clifford Street Elementary Math & Technology Magnet vs Sierra Vista Elementary

Sierra Vista Elementary holds a 1.0-point overall rating advantage over Clifford Street Elementary Math & Technology Magnet — 9.8 to 8.8 out of 10 — and that gap translates directly to state rank: Sierra Vista Elementary sits at #1 of 9,533 California schools while Clifford Street Elementary Math & Technology Magnet ranks #357. Both schools are strong, but five miles of distance separates the state's top-ranked elementary from one that is merely exceptional.

Academically, the two schools are close: Clifford Street Elementary Math & Technology Magnet scores 9.1 out of 10 while Sierra Vista Elementary scores 9.5. The wider divergence is in growth — Sierra Vista Elementary earns a perfect 10.0 growth score versus Clifford Street's 8.5, meaning students at Sierra Vista are outpacing academic-progress expectations by a measurably larger margin regardless of where they started. That 1.5-point growth gap is the sharpest performance delta between the two schools.

The demographic profiles differ substantially. Clifford Street Elementary Math & Technology Magnet enrolls 131 students and 53% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch; Sierra Vista Elementary enrolls 151 students and 84% qualify. Sierra Vista is therefore serving a higher share of economically disadvantaged families while still ranking first in the state — a meaningful equity signal. Sierra Vista also offers a smaller student-teacher ratio, 16.8 students per teacher versus Clifford Street's 18.7, which means more adult contact per child on average.

One structural difference matters at the upper grades: Sierra Vista Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade while Clifford Street Elementary Math & Technology Magnet runs only kindergarten through fifth. Families planning for a sixth-grade transition will face it a year earlier at Clifford Street. Clifford Street's identity as a Math & Technology Magnet also means admission is intentional — parents must apply for a specialized program rather than enrolling by neighborhood attendance boundary.