If there is one thing California as a state tends to struggle with it would be the public school system. More often than not the overall comparisons with other states are unfavorable to California. The results support the impression that California’s relative standing in the nation has declined over the last three decades. The combination of a student population with relatively great needs, relatively low funding levels, and relatively inadequate resources may have contributed to California’s comparatively low levels of student academic achievement.
Luckily, as natives of Marin we have the fortuitous advantage of being the exception to the rule here. The public schools of the districts in Marin are some of the top performing schools in the nation. The majority of them surpass the national testing average. The lists below depict the Californian API numbers of all the public schools in Marin. Separated by elementary, middle, high school and their districts you can see which are the top ranked schools.
A school's score or placement on the API is designed to be an indicator of a school's performance level and is calculated annually by the California Department of Education, primarily based on CST and CAHSEE tests. The API Statewide Rank score ranks a school with all schools in California based on API score, while the API Similar Schools score ranks a school with 100 other schools in the state with similar demographic profiles (including parent education level, poverty level, student mobility, student ethnicity).
Each year, the California Department of Education selects the highest achieving public schools in the state as Distinguished Schools. Schools may apply for this award only every four years. Here are the Marin schools on the list over the last six years (2007-2012):
Fairfax/San Anselmo: White Hill Middle Kentfield: Anthony G. Bacich Elementary Larkspur-Corte Madera: Henry C. Hall Middle Mill Valley: Old Mill Elementary Novato: Lu Sutton Elementary, Rancho Elementary, San ramon Elementary, Sinaloa Middle Ross: Ross Elementary San Rafael (Dixie School District): Miller Creek Middle San Rafael (San Rafael District): Sun Valley Elementary Sausalito: Willow Creek Academy, Bayside Elementary Tiburon: Bel Aire Elementary, Reed Elementary, Del Mar Middle West Marin: West Marin-Inverness Elementary
Take a look below to learn about the true disparity between different public schools in Marin. The API numbers don’t lie, but there are definitely some unexpected statistics. Academic Performance Index (API) score ranges from a low of 200 to a high of 1000. Who knew that Upper Brookside would rank better than the prestigious Ross school? Scroll to the bottom to see Elementary, Middle, and High schools of Marin ranked in Order!
District/School
# of children assessed
API ranking
Dixie Elementary
1,402
919
Elementary Schools
Dixie Elementary
250
946
Mary E. Silveira Elementary
267
913
Vallecito Elementary
267
910
Middles Schools
Miller Creek Middle
593
928
Kentfield Elementary
894
953
Elementary Schools
Bacich Elementary
377
944
Middle Schools
Adaline E. Kent Middle
511
960
Larkspur-CorteMadera
1,030
924
Elementary Schools
Neil Cummins Elementary
437
917
Middle Schools
Hall Middle
593
928
Mill Valley Elementary
2,242
947
Elementary Schools
Edna Maguire Elementary
329
942
Old Mill Elementary
215
939
Park Elementary
245
940
Strawberry Point
249
934
Tamalpais Valley
336
946
Middle Schools
Mill Valley Middle
854
958
Ross Valley Elementary
1,630
928
Elementary Schools
Brookside Elementary
116
943
Brookside Upper
375
950
Manor Elementary
266
879
Wade Thomas Elementary
281
938
Middle Schools
White Hill Middle
583
932
Novato Unified
5,715
844
Elementary Schools
Hamilton Meadow Park
498
849
Loma Verde Elementary
267
871
Lu Sutton Elementary
261
853
Lynwood Elementary
285
842
Novato Charter
176
941
Olive Elementary
239
850
Pleasant Valley
287
923
Rancho Elementary
313
958
San Ramon Elementary
292
877
Middle Schools
San Jose Intermediate
621
854
Sinaloa Middle
801
858
High Schools
Novato High
993
820
San Marin High
624
802
Reed Union Elementary
1,065
963
Elementary Schools
Bel Aire Elementary
462
968
Reed Elementary
174
946
Middle Schools
Del Mar Middle
420
967
Ross Elementary
257
943
Elementary Schools
Ross Elementary
257
943
San Rafael City Elementary
2,986
826
Elementary Schools
Bahia Vista Elementary
339
785
Coleman Elementary
241
869
Glenwood Elementary
267
891
Laurel Dell Elementary
153
763
San Pedro Elementary
271
766
Sun Valley Elementary
294
917
Venetia Valley Elementary
518
801
Middle Schools
James B. Davidson Middle
873
828
San Rafael City High
1,432
784
High Schools
San Rafael High
635
773
Terra Linda High
752
798
Tamalpais Union High
2,725
873
High Schools
Redwood High
1,089
900
Sir Francis Drake High
653
852
Tamalpais High
875
866
Rank – School – API #
Elementary Schools
1. Bel Air 968
2. Rancho 958
3. Brookside Upper950
4. Dixie 946
5. Tam Valley 946
6. Bacich 944
7. Ross 943
8. Brookside 943
9. Neil Cummins 917
Middle Schools
1. Del Mar 967
2. Kent 960
3. Mill Valley 958
4. White Hill 932
5. Hall 928
6. Miller Creek 928
7. Davidson 873
8. Sinaloa 858
High Schools
1. Redwood 900
2. Tam 866
3. Drake 852
4. Novato High 820
5. San Marin High 802
6. Terra Linda 798
7. San Rafael High 773