Ark Independent Studies: No single number tells this school's story. Here's the honest picture.
Ark Independent Studies posts 33% meeting the standard and 16.7% exceeding it, against 36% and 15.8% statewide. The gaps and the bright spots below are the real read.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Grad rate | College readiness | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 38 | 17% | 33% | 88.6% | 0.0% | 32.0% | 2.3% |
| CA average · High School | 44 | 16% | 36% | 87.6% | 35.4% | 30.2% | 3.6% |
Ark Independent Studies scores 38 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 34th percentile of 2,160 California high schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).
Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →
🌱 Building Momentum — This label means the data doesn't clearly sort the school one way or the other — ask what the school is proud of, and what it's working on.
Most rating sites would stop at “33% proficient” and call it done. Ark Independent Studies deserves a closer read. The school sits in Santa Cruz, where two in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
The seven-year arc
Has stayed near the 34th percentile since 2022.
| Grade | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 74% | 70% | 56% | 53% |
| Grade | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 12% | 35% | 20% | 13% |
The story this school is actually telling
Of 100 students here: 33 are proficient by 11th grade → 89 graduate → 0 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.
The 6 things our score weighs
Ask what the school is working on next. Strong numbers tell you where a school is, not where it's going.
- Ask what share of students complete the full college-prep course sequence, and who gets steered into it.
- Ask whether the tour can step into a working classroom — watch how the teacher handles a student who's stuck.
- Ask to tour while school's in session, and notice how hallways and transitions feel — culture shows up between classes, not just in them.
- Ask how the school communicates with families when a child starts to struggle.
- Ask what a typical day looks like for a new student in the first few weeks.
Showing up, and staying in class
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
Estimated path based on proximity within the same district. Contact your school district for official feeder information.
The people teaching here
What gets spent here
$133 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.
Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →
The neighborhood it serves
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
At 56 students, this school is much smaller than the typical California high school (≈1450).
On the state's science test (CAST), 26% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ark Independent Studies a good high school?
What are Ark Independent Studies's CAASPP test scores?
How does Ark Independent Studies rank in California?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Ark Independent Studies?
How does Ark Independent Studies compare to other schools in Santa Cruz?
Your other options
Nearby High Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 47
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 11 | 15 | 27% | 27% | 27% | 20% | 53% | +6 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Grade 11 | 15 | 7% | 7% | 40% | 47% | 13% | −10 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 19 | 5% | 21% | 74% | 0% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ark Independent Studies ← | — | 38 | 16.7% | 33.3% | — | 2.3% |
| Santa Cruz High | 1.2 mi | 65 | 37.5% | 59.8% | — | 1.5% |
| Harbor High | 1.2 mi | 45 | 19.9% | 42.7% | — | 2.7% |
| Santa Cruz County Community | 1.4 mi | 30 | 5.7% | 19.6% | — | 1.8% |
| California average | — | 44 | 15.8% | 35.7% | — | 3.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 40 | 41 | #1233 | 18.7% | 42.7% | 46.1% | 1.6% | — |
| 2023 | 44 | 50 | #1072 | 22.5% | 52.6% | 30.7% | 2.1% | — |
| 2024 | 36 | 32 | #1452 | 6.3% | 38.1% | 26.5% | 2.7% | — |
| 2025 | 38 | 34 | #1422 | 16.7% | 33.3% | 32.0% | 2.3% | — |
- — Subgroup results are suppressed for small student counts (fewer than 15 tested), following CDE privacy rules.
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 50.0% | 26.4% | -23.6pp |
| Male | 59.3% | 40.0% | -19.3pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 71.8% | 35.6% | -36.2pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 66.7% | 46.2% | -20.5pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 65.0% | 38.2% | -26.8pp |
| All Students | 53.2% | 32.3% | -20.9pp |
| English Learners | — | 64.3% | — |
SchoolScope scores and verdicts are our interpretation of public California Department of Education data — independent analysis, not an official rating. How we analyze · Request a correction