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6.1avg / 10

San Francisco Unified School District

School District · San Francisco, California

Students: 48,736
Teachers (FTE): 2,364
Estimated Scores: 2%

Avg Rating

6.1

out of 10

Schools

106

76 elem, 13 mid, 17 high

Enrollment

48,736

Student-Teacher Ratio

20.6:1

How this district compares

California rank

#421 of 713

districts by avg. composite

Vs. state average

-0.2

below California avg

Per-pupil spending

$22,909

+$5,262 vs California median

District size

48,736 students

Much larger than California median

The short answer

San Francisco Unified ranks #421 of 713 California districts by overall school rating. San Francisco Unified's schools with real test data average 6.1/10 across 101 schools. Its top-rated schools are Lowell High (9.2/10), Roosevelt Middle (8.8/10), and Stevenson (robert Louis) Elementary (8.6/10). Schools with estimated (proxy) scores are excluded from this ranking.

Best value · beats the odds
Lau (gordon J.) Elementary

Rates 8.2/10 despite 82% of students being economically disadvantaged. That's about 3.1 points higher than its student-poverty level predicts. Roughly as clean a case of strong results without an affluent-ZIP price tag as you'll find among San Francisco Unified schools.

Most improved · 2022 → 2024
Muir (john) Elementary

STAAR proficiency rose +18.6 points from 2022 to 2024. That's the biggest jump among San Francisco Unified schools across the two most recent comparable testing years.

Top-Rated Schools in San Francisco Unified

Ranked by MySchoolScout composite rating using only schools with real test data (101 of 106). "Value" = points above what student poverty predicts. Estimated (proxy) scores are excluded.

#SchoolRating
1Lowell High9.2 / 10
2Roosevelt Middle8.8 / 10
3Stevenson (robert Louis) Elementary8.6 / 10
4Presidio Middle8.5 / 10
5Asawa (ruth) Sf Sch of the Arts a Public School8.5 / 10
6Jefferson Elementary8.5 / 10
7Argonne Elementary8.5 / 10
8Yu (alice Fong) Elementary8.4 / 10
9Parks (rosa) Elementary8.4 / 10
10Brown Jr. (willie L) Middle8.4 / 10

See all 106 schools — including those with estimated data — in the full directory below. How we rate schools.

About San Francisco Unified

San Francisco Unified School District serves 48,736 students across 113 schools in San Francisco, California. Of those, 103 schools carry a ranking, averaging a solid 7.0 out of 10 — a respectable baseline that tells parents most schools here clear a meaningful performance bar before they even start comparing options.

At the top of that range sits Parker (Jean) Elementary, rated 9.5 out of 10 and the highest-scoring school in the district. Close behind are Chin (John Yehall) Elementary and Sutro Elementary, both earning 9.4s, while Harvey Milk Civil Rights Elementary rounds out the strong elementary tier at 9.3. Parents prioritizing elementary placement have several high-performing options to consider, and the concentration of top scores at this level suggests the district invests meaningfully in its youngest learners.

On the secondary side, Asawa (Ruth) SF School of the Arts stands out as the district's top-rated high school at 9.3 out of 10. It operates as a public school with an arts focus, giving families a specialized pathway that competes with the district's best elementary performers on raw score alone. For parents planning years ahead, that continuity — strong elementary options feeding toward a competitive arts-focused high school — represents a coherent academic track within a single public system.

With 113 total schools and a 48,736-student enrollment, San Francisco Unified is a large urban district where school-to-school variation matters. The 7.0 district average signals that mid-tier options are competitive, but the gap between the average and the top scorers — nearly 2.5 points — means location and school assignment decisions carry real weight. Parents comparing neighborhoods should check individual school scores carefully rather than relying on district-wide reputation alone. The data here gives families a concrete starting point for those comparisons.

District Map

Schools in San Francisco Unified, colored by MySchoolScout rank. Click a pin for details.

District Average Test Scores

Math Proficiency47.0%
School
State
Not reported
ELA Proficiency49.7%
School
State
Not reported

Average proficiency across all schools in San Francisco Unified with test data.

Schools in San Francisco Unified

106 schools
Elementary Schools76
Stevenson (robert Louis) Elementary
8.6
Argonne Elementary
8.5
Jefferson Elementary
8.5
Yu (alice Fong) Elementary
8.4
Parks (rosa) Elementary
8.4
Lau (gordon J.) Elementary
8.2
Huerta (dolores) Elementary
8.2
Mckinley Elementary
8.1
Key (francis Scott) Elementary
8.0
Sunnyside Elementary
8.0
Miraloma Elementary
7.8
Noriega Children Center
7.8
Alamo Elementary
7.7
Lilienthal (claire) Elementary
7.6
Peabody (george) Elementary
7.5
Tule Elk Park Children Center
7.5
Lawton Alternative
7.4
Sutro Elementary
7.4
Grattan Elementary
7.3
Bryant Elementary
7.1
Parker (jean) Elementary
7.1
Monroe Elementary
7.1
King (thomas Starr) Elementary
7.0
Glen Park Elementary
6.8
New Traditions Elementary
6.8
Sherman Elementary
6.7
Yick Wo Elementary
6.6
Cleveland Elementary
6.5
Sheridan Elementary
6.3
Taylor (edward R.) Elementary
6.2
Rooftop Elementary
6.1
Revere (paul) Elementary
6.0
Ulloa Elementary
6.0
Sunset Elementary
6.0
Clarendon Alternative Elementary
5.9
Malcolm X Academy
5.8
Drew (charles) College Preparatory Academy
5.8
Chinese Immersion School at Deavila
5.8
Alvarado Elementary
5.7
Mccoppin (frank) Elementary
5.7
Chin (john Yehall) Elementary
5.7
Carver (george Washington) Elementary
5.6
Ortega (jose) Elementary
5.6
Feinstein (dianne) Elementary
5.6
Lafayette Elementary
5.3
West Portal Elementary
5.2
Garfield Elementary
5.1
Muir (john) Elementary
5.1
Webster (daniel) Elementary
5.0
Guadalupe Elementary
5.0
Carmichael (bessie)/fec
4.9
Flynn (leonard R.) Elementary
4.9
Sloat (commodore) Elementary
4.8
Spring Valley Elementary
4.8
Longfellow Elementary
4.7
Lakeshore Alternative Elementary
4.6
Sanchez Elementary
4.6
Milk (harvey) Civil Rights Elementary
4.3
Buena Vista/ Horace Mann K-8
4.3
Visitacion Valley Elementary
4.3
San Francisco Community Alternative
4.1
Chavez (cesar) Elementary
4.0
Cobb (william L.) Elementary
4.0
Moscone (george R.) Elementary
3.7
Tenderloin Community
3.7
San Francisco Public Montessori
3.5
Mission Education Center
3.4
Serra (junipero) Elementary
3.1
Hillcrest Elementary
2.9
Marshall Elementary
2.8
Harte (bret) Elementary
2.6
Redding Elementary
2.4
EL Dorado Elementary
1.7
Lee (edwin and Anita) Newcomer
—
Mclaren (john) Children Centers
—
Stockton (commodore) Children Center
—
Middle Schools13
High Schools17

District Details

City
San Francisco
Total Enrollment
48,736
Teachers (FTE)
2,364
District spending per student
$22,909NCES F-33 · FY 2023 · This annual source is three years behind the current year.
Child poverty rate
9.8%Census SAIPE · 2024
District directory year
2023

Frequently Asked Questions

How many schools are in San Francisco Unified?

San Francisco Unified has 106 schools in total — 76 elementary, 13 middle, and 17 high schools. You can explore each school's ratings and details on this page.

What is the average rating for San Francisco Unified?

The average composite rating for San Francisco Unified is 6.1/10. This score is calculated from the individual ratings of all schools with academic data in the district.

What is the district spending per student in San Francisco Unified?

San Francisco Unified's district-level spending was $22,909 per student in fiscal year 2023, according to NCES F-33. This is district context, not an individual-school expense.

What is the student-teacher ratio in San Francisco Unified?

The average student-teacher ratio in San Francisco Unified is 20.6:1.

What is the top-rated school in San Francisco Unified?

Lowell High is the highest-rated school in San Francisco Unified with a composite score of 9.2/10.

What are the test scores in San Francisco Unified?

Across schools in San Francisco Unified with test data, the average math proficiency is 47.0% and the average ELA (reading/writing) proficiency is 49.7%. These figures represent the percentage of students meeting or exceeding grade-level standards.

How does San Francisco Unified compare to other districts in California?

San Francisco Unified has an average school rating of 6.1/10 across 106 schools. Families can compare this to other districts in California by visiting individual district pages. Factors like school size, available programs, and community demographics also play a role in choosing the right fit.

How does MySchoolScout rate schools?

MySchoolScout ratings blend student growth, poverty-adjusted academic performance, and learning environment — plus college readiness for high schools. Weights vary by school level, and equity data is shown for context without being factored into the score. Learn more about our rating system on our methodology page.

District Averages

Overall Rating
6.1/10
Math Proficiency
47.0%
ELA Proficiency
49.7%

How we rate schools

A clear 1–10 score built from public data — growth, academics, and learning environment. No hidden criteria, no pay-to-play.

See how we rate

Data from NCES Common Core of Data, California Dept. of Education, and U.S. Census ACS for the 2023–24 school year. Rankings computed by MySchoolScout. See all data sources.

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