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Santa Monica Alternative (K-8)

Grades K-8Alternative School2024–25 data
Santa Monica-Malibu UnifiedSanta Monica, Los Angeles County90405
📍 2525 Fifth Street📞 (310) 396-2640🌐 Website
Alternative school — serves students who benefit from a non-traditional educational setting. Scores are not directly comparable to comprehensive schools.
Solid
55/100
Solid — 76th percentile statewide
#1,239 of 5,230 CA elementary schools
↓ 21.9 pts since 2019
🤝 Culture First

Strong school culture with high family engagement, even if test scores are still developing. Investment in school culture is showing in engagement metrics

School Climate
91% of students attend consistently
Chronic absenteeism: 8.7% (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 "58% proficient" and stop there. We think that number deserves more context — here's what we found when we looked deeper:

31.4% 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 27.1% met it. That exceeded rate is 9.8 points above the state average of 21.6%. That's 5.7 points below the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified district average of 37.0%. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

CDE CAASPP 2025
Santa Monica Alternative (K-8)
31%
27%
California average
22%
21%
ExceededMet onlyBelow

We tracked the same cohort across years (2023 G3 → 2025 G5): students gained 70 scale score points? Pseudo-cohort tracking: we compare this school's G3 class from a prior year to the G5 class in the current year. Same school, same cohort aged forward. Uses SBAC scale scores designed for cross-year comparison., suggesting this school is adding measurable value over time.

SchoolScope cohort tracking · Same cohort tracked across years using SBAC scale scores — stronger than single-year cross-grade comparison

Chronic absenteeism? Missing 10%+ of enrolled school days. This is an official California Dashboard accountability indicator. is 8.7%, better than the state average of 18.1%.

CDE Attendance 2025

Data you won't find on other sites: 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
Who this school is great for
✓Families prioritizing upward trajectory — proficiency improves 4.2pp G3→G5
✓Families where consistent attendance and school culture matter — absenteeism is well below state average
✓Families who value a smaller school community — 219 students
✓Families looking for a low-discipline-incident environment
△Worth checking: Test scores are still developing — verify your child's grade-level performance independently
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: 31.4%
9.8pp 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: 58.5%
15.5pp 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
✓Growth (G3→G5): +4.2pp
Scores improve 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: 8.7%
9.4pp 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%
0.9pp 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

Hispanic18.7%
White53.9%
Asian7.3%
Black5.0%
Other15.1%
GenderFemale 44.3%Male 55.7%
Resources & Access
Enrollment
219
401 below CA avg (~620)
Free/Reduced Lunch
13%
51pp below CA avg (64%)
Student-Teacher Ratio
22:1
1 more students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$17,123
CA avg: $14,815 · District avg · NCES F-33
Teacher Salary Range
$62,469 – $125,576
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
At Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) in Santa Monica, 64.7% of white students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 81.5% district-wide and 61.8% statewide. Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) trails its district average for white students by 16.8 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: White students (63.5% Math proficient). Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 51 students tested.
Equity Gaps
Absenteeism · Low-Income+10.2pp
18.9% vs 8.7% overall · n=37

Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.

Subgroup Proficiency
White52 tested
ELA 64.7%·Math 63.5%· -16.8pp vs district

Weighted average across tested grades. Subgroups with fewer than 15 students excluded. Data: CDE CAASPP 2024-25.

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 60%Support 39%Other 2%

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

Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$102K
$17K above CA median
Median Home Value
$1.68M
$1.02M above CA median
Bachelor's+
68%
33pp above CA avg
Whole Child
Teacher experience, college/career readiness, and more. Context only — never part of the Scope Score.
Teacher Experience
9.3 years avg experience
19 teachers · 5% first-year · 5% second-year
Teacher Credentials
91% 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

7755'19'22'23'24'25
↓ 21.9 points since 2019
Rank: #735 → #1100 → #860 → #144 → #1239Exceeded: 28% → 33% → 36% → 41% → 31%
2019 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · No testing 2020–21 (COVID) · Scope Score based on CAASPP, absenteeism & suspension data

How Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) compares

Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) vs. California averages — 2025 CAASPP data
MetricThis schoolCA avg
Exceeded Standard31.4%21.6%
Met or Exceeded58.5%42.9%
Chronic Absenteeism8.7%18.1%
Suspension Rate0.7%1.7%
Cohort GrowthBelow avgAverage

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
42.9%65.2%G3G4G5
Math Trajectory
61.9%47.8%G3G4G5

ELA scores by grade

GradeTestedExceededMetNearly MetNot MetMet+Above
3rd2133.3%9.5%33.3%23.8%42.9%
4th1936.8%21.1%21.1%21.1%57.9%
5th2339.1%26.1%34.8%0.0%65.2%
6th1625.0%50.0%25.0%0.0%75.0%
7th2231.8%54.5%4.5%9.1%86.4%
8th1717.6%47.1%29.4%5.9%64.7%

Math scores by grade

GradeTestedExceededMetNearly MetNot MetMet+Above
3rd2128.6%33.3%19.1%19.1%61.9%
4th2020.0%55.0%15.0%10.0%75.0%
5th2330.4%17.4%34.8%17.4%47.8%
6th1637.5%12.5%43.8%6.3%50.0%
7th2147.6%33.3%14.3%4.8%81.0%
8th1752.9%17.6%29.4%0.0%70.6%

Science scores by grade

GradeTestedExceededMetNearly MetNot MetMet+Above
5th4015.0%47.5%37.5%0.0%62.5%

40 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
Santa Monica Alternative (K-8)
55/100
This school

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

Schools nearby
All schools in Santa Monica →

Private alternatives nearby

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

Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences
21st St · Nonsectarian · Grades Pre-K-12 · 1213 students
8:1Private1.4 mi
Wildwood School
Washington Pl · Nonsectarian · Grades Pre-K-12 · 742 students
10:1Private3 mi
Wildwood School
W Olympic Blvd · Nonsectarian · Grades Pre-K-12 · 739 students
9:1Private2.6 mi
Le Lycee Francais de Los Angeles
Overland Ave · Nonsectarian · Grades Pre-K-12 · 663 students
6:1Private4.1 mi
New Roads School
Olympic Blvd · Nonsectarian · Grades Pre-K-12 · 548 students
7:1Private2.1 mi
Planning ahead? 10 licensed preschools near this school →

Frequently asked questions

Is Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) a good elementary school?
Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) has a Scope Score of 55 out of 100, placing it in the 76th percentile of California elementary schools and ranked #1,239 statewide. 31.4% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 9.8 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 Santa Monica Alternative (K-8)'s CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 58.5% of students at Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 31.4% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 27.1% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 31.4% 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. 127 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) rank in California?
Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) ranks #1,239 among California elementary schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 76th 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 Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) getting better or worse?
Based on 2025 CAASPP data, proficiency at Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) increases by 4.2 percentage points from Grade 3 to grade 5 growth. This upward trajectory suggests the school is adding measurable value — students leave with higher proficiency rates than they entered with. 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 Santa Monica Alternative (K-8)?
8.7% of students at Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) 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 Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) compare to other schools in Santa Monica?
Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) scores 55/100 (76th 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 219 students. Use the schools in Santa Monica page or the map view to compare all elementary schools nearby.
How does Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) in Santa Monica, 64.7% of white students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 81.5% district-wide and 61.8% statewide. Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) trails its district average for white students by 16.8 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: White students (63.5% Math proficient). Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 51 students tested. SchoolScope shows disaggregated test scores by demographic subgroup so you can see how a school performs for your child's specific group — not just the school-wide average. Subgroup data is context, not part of the Scope Score: we don't penalize schools for who they serve. See our equity approach.
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Data source: California Department of Education (2025 test year) · How we score · Explore all schools · Blog