Cold Spring Elementary Tops California Test Score Rankings as State Results Inch Up
Every tested Cold Spring student met or exceeded the English standard and 98.97 percent did so in math, a California Post analysis of the state data found. The district says the school again ranked No. 1 in both subjects for 2026.
Cold Spring Elementary in Santa Barbara County topped California's newly released test score rankings, with 100 percent of its tested students meeting or exceeding the state standard in English language arts and 98.97 percent doing so in math, according to a California Post analysis of the California Department of Education's 2025-26 Smarter Balanced results, reported by the New York Post.
The Cold Spring School District said the same thing in its own announcement: the school again ranked as the No. 1 performing public elementary school and school district in California for 2026 in both English language arts and mathematics, citing the EdSource Smarter Balanced test results. The district describes Cold Spring as a TK-6 public school serving approximately 194 students, and its staff listing names Dr. Amy Alzina as superintendent and principal.
The California Post analysis covered 8,682 public schools, including charter schools, ranked on the average percentage of students meeting or exceeding the standards in English and math, the New York Post reported. Thirty-eight schools averaged 90 percent or higher in the analysis.
Statewide, the picture was one of small gains. EdSource reported that 49.3 percent of California students scored proficient or advanced in English language arts in 2025-26, up half a percentage point from the previous year, and 38.4 percent did so in math. Science proficiency rose 3.3 percentage points to 36 percent, EdSource and CalMatters both reported. EdSource reported that scores in English and math remain below pre-Covid levels, and that the state released its test scores, enrollment data and California School Dashboard together for the first time this year.
Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the State Board of Education, said in a statement carried by EdSource that the results tell a story of continued progress, but also of the work that remains ahead.
Students in grades 3 through 8 and in grade 11 take the Smarter Balanced tests in English and math each spring, the New York Post reported in its coverage of the largest districts' results.
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