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Carpinteria Family

Grades K-5Alternative School2024–25 data
Carpinteria UnifiedCarpinteria, Santa Barbara County93013
📍 1480 Linden Avenue📞 (805) 684-4141🌐 Website
Alternative school — serves students who benefit from a non-traditional educational setting. Scores are not directly comparable to comprehensive schools.
Solid
54/100
Solid — 75th percentile statewide
#1,311 of 5,230 CA elementary schools
↓ 19.5 pts since 2019
🏫 Solid Base

A solid, reliable choice — most students meet proficiency standards consistently. Above-average investment supporting a reliable academic foundation

School Climate
84% of students attend consistently
Chronic absenteeism: 16.4% (state avg: 18.1%)
"Attend consistently" means missing ≤10% of school days (the chronic absenteeism threshold).
Minimal suspensions
0.7% suspension rate (state avg: 1.7%)
Share of students who received at least one suspension during the year.
Source: California Dept. of Education, 2024–25See breakdown by student group →

What the numbers actually mean

Most rating sites report "67% proficient" and stop there. We think that number deserves more context — here's what we found when we looked deeper:

30.1% of students exceeded standard? Level 4 on California's CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment — the state defines four levels: Not Met, Nearly Met, Met, and Exceeded. while 36.6% met it. That exceeded rate is 8.5 points above the state average of 21.6%. That's 5.5 points above the Carpinteria Unified district average of 24.6%. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

CDE CAASPP 2025
Carpinteria Family
30%
37%
California average
22%
21%
ExceededMet onlyBelow

Proficiency drops by 33.3 percentage points from Grade 3 to grade 5 growth? Cross-sectional comparison (this year's 5th graders vs this year's 3rd graders), not longitudinal cohort tracking. Historical data for cohort tracking is not available for this school. — a signal that the school may not be sustaining early gains.

SchoolScope derived · Cross-sectional proficiency change across grades, not longitudinal cohort tracking

Chronic absenteeism? Missing 10%+ of enrolled school days. This is an official California Dashboard accountability indicator. is 16.4%, better than the state average of 18.1%.

CDE Attendance 2025

Data you won't find on other sites: School-level per-pupil spending (not just district averages) · Current-year 2025 data direct from CDE · The exceeded vs. met split that most rating sites collapse into one number

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters → · Scope Score is SchoolScope's analysis of CDE data — not an official CDE rating. How we built this score (and what it misses) →

No single score captures a school. This is a starting point — visit, ask questions, trust your instincts.

▸ What this score doesn't capture
  • — Teaching quality, classroom culture, and how teachers connect with students
  • — Arts, athletics, extracurriculars, and enrichment programs
  • — How well the school serves students with IEPs or gifted learners
  • — Parent community engagement and satisfaction
  • — Whether the curriculum aligns with your family's values

Most of our data is updated once per year and may reflect the prior school year.

Before you visit
Questions worth asking and signals worth checking
What to verify
⚠Score is solid but proficiency rates dropped 33.3 points from G3 to G5. Strong overall, but fewer students hit the benchmark in later grades — could reflect harder standards, cohort differences, or a curriculum gap worth asking about.
Who this school is great for
✓Families who value a smaller school community — 56 students
✓Families looking for a low-discipline-incident environment
△Worth checking: Families wanting top-end academic rigor — more students meet the bar (37%) than exceed it (30%); Students needing sustained momentum — proficiency dips between grades
These reflect data patterns, not guarantees. Your child's experience will depend on their teacher, grade, and classroom — things no score captures.
Score Factors
Academic Performance
✓Exceeded standard: 30.1%
8.5pp above state avg (state avg 21.6%)
43% weight

Exceeded rate gets the highest weight because it separates schools that clear the bar from those that raise it.

Limitation: Reflects tested students only — opt-out rates are not published by CDE.

CDE CAASPP 2025
✓Met or exceeded: 66.7%
23.7pp above state avg (state avg 42.9%)
22% weight

Overall proficiency provides the broadest measure of academic achievement.

Limitation: Combines ‘met’ and ‘exceeded’ — the gap between them matters more than either alone.

CDE CAASPP 2025
Holding back
▼Growth (G3→G5): -33.3pp
Scores decline across grades (state avg -3.0pp)
15% weight

Growth measures what the school adds, not what families bring. When available, we track the same cohort across years for a stronger signal.

Limitation: Cohort tracking is school-level (not individual students) — transfers and demographic shifts can affect results. Falls back to cross-sectional comparison when historical data is unavailable.

SchoolScope derived
School Climate
✓Chronic absenteeism: 16.4%
1.7pp below state avg (state avg 18.1%)
10% weight

Absenteeism reflects school culture and family engagement — an official CA Dashboard accountability indicator.

Limitation: 10% threshold is the same for all schools regardless of demographics or geography.

CDE Attendance 2025
✓Suspension rate: 0.7%
1.0pp below state avg (state avg 1.7%)
5% weight

Low suspension rates correlate with positive school culture and restorative practices.

Limitation: Schools may differ in reporting practices — some underreport to improve metrics.

CDE Discipline 2025
We make judgment calls about what matters. We believe exceeded scores reveal more than proficiency alone, and that growth matters more than raw test results. Reasonable people could weight these differently — and that's fine. The factors above show exactly what we weighted and why, so you can decide where you agree and where you'd adjust. The elementary Scope Score uses 5 dimensions. How we built this score (and what it misses) →

The Scope Score emphasizes academic performance. It weights test proficiency, the exceeded-vs-met gap, and growth trajectory most heavily. If your family prioritizes arts, athletics, school culture, or teaching philosophy, this score captures some of that indirectly (through absenteeism and suspension) but not all of it. Different families should weight these dimensions differently — the score factors above let you see exactly what drives this number.

How to use this
  • –Use for long-term academic patterns, not this week's classroom experience
  • –Verify with a recent visit — scores can't capture a school mid-transformation
  • –Combine with local context — talk to parents, attend a school board meeting, trust your gut
Community Profile
Context — not part of the Scope Score

Student demographics

Hispanic23.2%
White66.1%
Asian3.6%
Other7.1%
GenderFemale 44.6%Male 55.4%
Resources & Access
Enrollment
56
424 below CA avg (~480)
Free/Reduced Lunch
34%
30pp below CA avg (64%)
Student-Teacher Ratio
19:1
2 fewer students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$17,945
District avg: $16,461 · CA avg: $14,815 · School-level · CDE ESSA
Teacher Salary Range
$50,367 – $103,452
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
Subgroup Growth by Grade
Change in proficiency from lowest tested grade. Shows which groups are gaining ground.

Subgroups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.

Funding Breakdown
Instruction 56%Support 42%Other 2%

Source: NCES F-33 (2019–2020) · Full district breakdown →

Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$115K
$30K above CA median
Median Home Value
$994K
$335K above CA median
Bachelor's+
45%
10pp above CA avg
Whole Child
Teacher experience, college/career readiness, and more. Context only — never part of the Scope Score.
Teacher Experience
21.0 years avg experience
2 teachers
Teacher Credentials
100% fully credentialed

Source: CDE SARC, 2024-25

Community Profile provides context about who attends this school and the resources available. These factors are never part of the Scope Score. Learn why →

5-year trend

7454'19'22'23'24'25
↓ 19.5 points since 2019
Rank: #938 → #1124 → #82 → #272 → #1311Exceeded: 30% → 42% → 51% → 47% → 30%
2019 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · No testing 2020–21 (COVID) · Scope Score based on CAASPP, absenteeism & suspension data

How Carpinteria Family compares

Carpinteria Family vs. California averages — 2025 CAASPP data
MetricThis schoolCA avg
Exceeded Standard30.1%21.6%
Met or Exceeded66.7%42.9%
Chronic Absenteeism16.4%18.1%
Suspension Rate0.7%1.7%
Growth (G3→G5)-33.3pp-3.0pp

Source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025 · Analyzed by SchoolScope

Grade trajectory

How proficiency compares across grade levels this year (different students, same test year)

ELA Trajectory
75%63.6%G3G5
Math Trajectory
91.7%36.4%G3G5

ELA scores by grade

GradeTestedExceededMetNearly MetNot MetMet+Above
3rd1233.3%41.7%16.7%8.3%75.0%
4th9—————
5th1136.4%27.3%9.1%27.3%63.6%

Math scores by grade

GradeTestedExceededMetNearly MetNot MetMet+Above
3rd1241.7%50.0%8.3%0.0%91.7%
4th9—————
5th119.1%27.3%54.5%9.1%36.4%

Science scores by grade

GradeTestedExceededMetNearly MetNot MetMet+Above
5th1118.2%36.4%36.4%9.1%54.5%

11 students tested · CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually like ELA/Math. Not included in the Scope Score. · Data source: CDE CAST 2025

K-12 Feeder Path
Elementary
Carpinteria Family
54/100
This school

Estimated path based on proximity within the same district. Contact your school district for official feeder information.

Schools nearby

Private alternatives nearby

Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.

The Howard School
El Carro Ln · Nonsectarian · Grades Pre-K-8 · 94 students
8:1Private0.2 mi
Planning ahead? 9 licensed preschools near this school →

Frequently asked questions

Is Carpinteria Family a good elementary school?
Carpinteria Family has a Scope Score of 54 out of 100, placing it in the 75th percentile of California elementary schools and ranked #1,311 statewide. 30.1% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 8.5 percentage points above the California average of 21.6%. The Scope Score weights five dimensions: the exceeded-vs-met split (45%), proficiency (25%), grade-level growth (15%), chronic absenteeism (10%), and suspension rate (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.
What are Carpinteria Family's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 66.7% of students at Carpinteria Family met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 30.1% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 36.6% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 30.1% pushed past it. Most rating sites report only the combined "proficient" number. SchoolScope surfaces the exceeded-vs-met split because it reveals whether a school's curriculum challenges students beyond minimum proficiency or paces toward it. 46 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Carpinteria Family rank in California?
Carpinteria Family ranks #1,311 among California elementary schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 75th percentile. This ranking is based on a weighted composite of 2025 CAASPP test performance (exceeded and met rates), grade-level growth (Grade 3 to grade 5 growth), chronic absenteeism, and suspension rate. Unlike single-number ratings, the Scope Score shows what drives the ranking so parents can decide what matters most to their family. See full methodology.
Is Carpinteria Family getting better or worse?
Based on 2025 CAASPP data, proficiency at Carpinteria Family decreases by 33.3 percentage points from Grade 3 to grade 5 growth. This downward pattern doesn't necessarily mean the school is failing — it can reflect cohort differences, demographic shifts, or curriculum changes. A campus visit and conversation with teachers can reveal what the numbers can't. Growth trajectory is weighted at 15% in the elementary Scope Score because it measures what the school does, not just who walks in the door.
What is the attendance and school culture like at Carpinteria Family?
16.4% of students at Carpinteria Family are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), which is better than the California average of 18.1%. The suspension rate is 0.7%, indicating a low-discipline-incident environment. SchoolScope includes these culture metrics in the Scope Score because they reflect day-to-day school experience in ways test scores alone cannot.
How does Carpinteria Family compare to other schools in Carpinteria?
Carpinteria Family scores 54/100 (75th percentile) among California elementary schools. To compare with nearby schools, SchoolScope shows the same metrics side by side: exceeded rate, proficiency, growth trajectory, and school culture indicators. The school serves 56 students. Use the schools in Carpinteria page or the map view to compare all elementary schools nearby.
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Data source: California Department of Education (2025 test year) · How we score · Explore all schools · Blog