Public school rankings · Irvine Unified
This page lists the 30 elementary and K-8 schools of Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) in the order of the U.S. News 2026 public elementary school rankings, together with state test proficiency rates, enrollment and gifted programs. Choosing an Irvine public elementary school starts with the home address, so this page also explains school assignment, the application window for school choice and the assigned schools for new communities.
District average (English 74.5%, math 70.5%)California average (English 48.8%, math 37.3%)
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IUSD assigns one school for each grade span based on the home address, and new students must first enroll at the school assigned to that address. To find the elementary, middle and high school for a street address, use the district's School Locator for each one; the neighborhood name alone is not enough, because one neighborhood may be split between two schools.
Culverdale Elementary and Westpark Elementary share an attendance area: when one of them is full in a grade, the other becomes the assigned school. When schools in an attendance area are full, a student may be placed at another school and gains the right to continue there. Beginning in fall 2028, incoming grade 9 students from the Woodbury community will be assigned to Irvine High School.
Use the IUSD School Locator, or download the attendance maps for elementary, middle and high schools.
For communities built in recent years, the district publishes the assigned schools separately. The table below reproduces the district's table; for other communities, look up the address in the School Locator.
| Community | Elementary | Middle | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cadence Park | Cadence Park | Cadence Park | Portola |
| Cypress Village | Cypress Village | Jeffrey Trail | Irvine |
| Irvine Business Complex (north of 405, IUSD areas only) | Culverdale or Westpark (year-round) | South Lake | University or Woodbridge (north of Alton) |
| Los Olivos | Alderwood | Rancho San Joaquin | University |
| Luna Park (west of Bosque) | Cadence Park | Cadence Park | Portola |
| Luna Park (east of Chinon & Treble) | Solis Park | Solis Park | Portola |
| Orchard Hills | Canyon View | Sierra Vista | Northwood |
| Portola Springs (Neighborhoods 4 & 5) | Loma Ridge | Jeffrey Trail | Portola |
| Rise | Solis Park | Solis Park | Portola |
| Solis | Solis Park | Solis Park | Portola |
GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) identification is handled by the district: students in grades 3 through 5 are screened each year on several measures, and students in the top 20% of their grade qualify. The district does not accept outside private assessments and has no appeal process. Qualifying students attend GATE cluster classes at their own school.
APAAS (Alternative Program for Academically Advanced Students) is a separate gifted program for grades 4 through 6 that requires its own application. It does not require prior GATE identification and is offered only at designated elementary schools. The district reports about 1,000 applications and about 200 grade 4 seats each year; the application window for the 2027-28 school year runs from January 4 to 4 p.m. on February 12, 2027.
IUSD calls transitional kindergarten (TK) Pre-Kindergarten (PK). A child who turns 4 by September 1 may enroll in PK, and a child who turns 5 by September 1 may enroll in kindergarten. PK is optional, and the district does not provide bus service for PK.
for elementary schools, applications go to the target school from the first day of school after winter break through the last Friday in February; students are placed on a waitlist by grade through a lottery, and parents provide transportation.
Math acceleration begins in grade 7; elementary schools do not separate students into faster and slower math classes.
IUSD is not certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). The district advises that enrolling students who hold B, F-1, J-1 or M visas may affect their visa status.
Ranks come from the U.S. News 2026 Best Public Elementary and Middle Schools rankings. Each school has two ranks: its rank within Irvine Unified School District and its rank in California. U.S. News gives a specific rank only to schools near the top; lower-ranked schools receive a range (for example, No. 21 to 28 in the district), and newly opened schools or schools with too few tested students are not ranked. The rankings are based mainly on state reading and math test results; the calculation is explained in the U.S. News methodology.
The proficiency rate is the share of students in all tested grades who met or exceeded the state standard (Standard Met or Exceeded) in English and math on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), the statewide test. This page uses results from the 2024-25 school year (spring 2025), the most recent year published as of October 5, 2026. Tested grades are 3 through 6 at elementary schools, 3 through 8 at K-8 schools and 7 through 8 at middle schools.
Enrollment comes from the California Department of Education's DataQuest for the 2025-26 school year, and gifted programs and calendars come from the district website. Every elementary and K-8 school offers GATE cluster classes in grades 4 through 6, so the table lists only the programs that differ from school to school.
U.S. News methodology · Irvine Public Middle School Rankings · Irvine Public High School Rankings · Irvine math placement and pathways
In the U.S. News 2026 rankings, the top five are Stonegate Elementary (No. 1 in the district, No. 60 in California); Turtle Rock Elementary (No. 2 in the district, No. 112 in California); Santiago Hills Elementary (No. 3 in the district, No. 125 in California); Canyon View Elementary (No. 4 in the district, No. 174 in California); Stone Creek Elementary (No. 5 in the district, No. 197 in California). Ranks come from the U.S. News 2026 public elementary school rankings. The rankings are based mainly on state test results, and schools a few places apart differ little. Irvine families should first confirm which school their address is assigned to, then check whether that school's programs and calendar are a good fit.
Enter the exact street address in the IUSD School Locator; the results show the assigned elementary, middle and high school separately. A single neighborhood may be split between different schools, and district boundaries change. For example, beginning in fall 2028, incoming grade 9 students from the Woodbury community will be assigned to Irvine High School. Families should confirm with the district once more before signing a purchase or lease.
Families can apply for intradistrict school choice. Applications are submitted on the target school's website from the first day of school after winter break through the last Friday in February; students are placed on a waitlist by grade through a lottery, and parents provide transportation. Schools that are full may stop accepting applications, and families new to IUSD must first enroll at their assigned school before applying.
GATE requires no parent application: the district screens all students in grades 3 through 5 each year, and students in the top 20% of their grade qualify. Private assessments are not accepted. APAAS requires a separate application, serves grades 4 through 6 and offers about 200 grade 4 seats each year; the application window for the 2027-28 school year is January 4 to February 12, 2027.
IUSD calls transitional kindergarten (TK) Pre-Kindergarten (PK). A child who turns 4 by September 1 may enroll in PK, and a child who turns 5 by September 1 may enroll in kindergarten. For the 2026-27 school year, PK is for children born September 2, 2021 through September 1, 2022, and kindergarten is for children born September 2, 2020 through September 1, 2021. PK is optional.
Ranks link to the U.S. News page for Irvine Unified School District; each school's proficiency rate links to its California CAASPP results page, and enrollment links to DataQuest. School assignment, school choice, gifted programs and age rules all come from the IUSD website.
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