Schools · El Cajon
El Cajon, CA schools
El Cajon’s public schools score well above California’s averages: 60% of students are proficient in reading against 48.5% statewide, and 82% of high schoolers graduate on time against 87.6%. Kids attend one of 9 schools through grade 8, then one of 4 middle schools.
Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.
TownTapestry School GradeNew
B−
El Cajon’s School Grade: B-
The public schools El Cajon’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 54% of California’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they sit near the middle.
B+Test scoresC-Graduation
California school districts we grade (1,139)Better than 54%
Lower resultsHigher results
California towns with similar household incomes (437)Better than 64%
High confidence. Built on 2,242 tested students and a graduating class of 3,820; ordinary year-to-year swings are unlikely to change the grade.
How the School Grade works
- Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on California’s state tests, each against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown below but don’t count toward the grade. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2020.
- The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids: every district that serves it, weighted by the number of students tested in each. Tests count 60% and graduation 40%.
- Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are lined up against the rest of California only. A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
- Individual schools are graded the same way on their own test results, against every public school in California with 25+ students. Private schools aren’t graded: they don’t take the state tests.
- What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income closely, so a high grade partly reflects who lives in a town. That’s why we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.
School path
Where El Cajon kids go to school
Grades K–8
9 schoolsDepends on your address · see the list Cajon Valley Union Elementary School DistrictGrades 8
4 middle schoolsDepends on your address · see the list Cajon Valley Union Elementary School DistrictBased on district boundaries from the U.S. Department of Education. Check with the district before you enroll.
Test scores · 2020–21
Well above the state in reading
Reading (Grossmont Union High)60%
State average 48.5%
Reading (grades K–8, Cajon Valley Union Elementary)2.5%
State average 48.5%
Math (Grossmont Union High)31%
State average 33.4%
Math (grades K–8, Cajon Valley Union Elementary)2.5%
State average 33.4%
Graduation · class of 2020
82% graduate on time
Graduation rate
82%
CA: 87.6%
Graduating class
3,820
students
The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years. #599 of 720 CA towns →
Districts
Two districts serve El Cajon
Grossmont Union High School DistrictGrades 9–12 · 15 schools · 16,401 students
$20,908 per studentCA $21,206BCajon Valley Union Elementary School DistrictGrades K–8 · 26 schools · 15,974 students
$19,663 per studentCA $21,206D-Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.
Every school
All 38 schools in El Cajon
Showing 1–30 of 38 schools
Naranca ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 985 students
D-PublicLexington ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 878 students
D-PublicJohnson ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 766 students
PublicChase Avenue ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 757 students
PublicFlying Hills School of ArtsElementary · Grades K–8 · 742 students
CPublicMagnolia ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 703 students
D-PublicAnza ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 687 students
D-PublicMadison Avenue ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 670 students
CPublicEJE Elementary Academy CharterElementary · Grades K–5 · 582 students
CharterMeridian ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 570 students
D-PublicFletcher Hills ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 540 students
PublicKidinnu AcademyElementary · Grades K–8 · 433 students
B+CharterEmpowerElementary · Grades K–8 · 21 students
PublicCajon Valley MiddleMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 942 students
C-PublicMontgomery MiddleMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 929 students
CPublicGreenfield MiddleMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 730 students
PublicEJE Middle AcademyMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 254 students
CharterGranite Hills HighHigh · Grades 9–12 · 2,331 students
B+PublicGrossmont HighHigh · Grades 9–12 · 2,172 students
A-PublicEl Cajon Valley HighHigh · Grades 9–12 · 1,701 students
BPublicAltus Schools East CountyHigh · Grades 7–12 · 287 students
BCharterIDEA CenterHigh · Grades 9–12 · 127 students
C+PublicMERIT AcademyHigh · Grades 9–12 · 68 students
CPublicChaparral HighHigh · Grades 9–12 · 45 students
CPublicGrossmont Middle College HighHigh · Grades 11–12 · 37 students
CPublicElite AcademyHigh · Grades 9–12 · 34 students
PublicREACH AcademyHigh · Grades 9–12 · 21 students
PublicLiteracy First CharterOther · Grades K–12 · 2,160 students
ACharterBostonia GlobalOther · Grades K–12 · 1,266 students
CharterDiego Valley East Public CharterOther · Grades K–12 · 408 students
CCharterSchool data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES). Ratings are from neighbors on TownTapestry.