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Carpinteria Senior High · Carpinteria

Carpinteria Senior High: This school runs ahead of the state average. The bar itself is the harder conversation.

Carpinteria posts 40% meeting the standard against 36% statewide — ahead of most, with real headroom above the bar.

4810 Foothill Road, 93013 (opens in new tab)·Carpinteria Unified·Carpinteria·Grades 9-12·593 students·65% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(805) 684-4107·Website
2019–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
This schoolCA avg
Scope4944
% Exceeded17%16%
% Met+40%36%
Grad rate92.7%87.6%
College readiness63.2%35.4%
Absence23.4%30.2%
Suspension8.4%3.6%
Scope Score
49
🌱 Building Momentum · Developing
ranked #870 statewide

Carpinteria Senior High scores 49 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 60th 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.

CDE CAASPP 2025

Most rating sites would stop at “40% proficient” and call it done. Carpinteria deserves a closer read. The school sits in Carpinteria, where three in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.

The seven-year arc

Percentile among 2,160 high schools statewide

Slipped from the 77th to the 60th percentile since 2019.

CA Dashboard
ELABlue(Increased Significantly)MathBlue(Increased Significantly)

This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 40% meet the standard today, versus 52% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.

ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 1161%51%39%41%50%
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 1144%24%27%24%31%

The story this school is actually telling

Proficient by 11th grade
40%
State 36%
Graduate
93%
State 88%
Pass an AP exam
63%
State 35%

Of 100 students here: 40 are proficient by 11th grade → 93 graduate → 63 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.

The 7 things our score weighs

Graduation rate
92.7%
State 87.6%
5.1pp above state avg
Exceeded standard
16.6%
State 15.8%
0.8pp above state avg
College readiness
63.2%
State 35.4%
AP exam pass rate above state avg
Met or exceeded
40.4%
State 35.7%
4.7pp above state avg
Chronic absenteeism
23.4%
State 30.2%
6.8pp below state avg
Suspension rate
8.4%
State 3.6%
4.7pp above state avg
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
6.0%
State 18.0%
12.0pp below state avg
Worth a school visit

Ask how the school challenges kids who clear the standard early. The gap between meeting and exceeding is where pacing shows.

  • Ask what typically leads to a suspension, and what happens before it gets there.
  • 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.

How every group of students does here

At Carpinteria Senior High in Carpinteria, 43.0% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 39.0% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Carpinteria Senior High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 4.0 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (26.6% Math proficient); Hispanic students (41.4% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 31.3 percentage points for military-connected students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 93 students tested.

All students at this school: 40% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 40%, district —, state 36%40%
Hispanic/LatinoHispanic/Latino: this school 32%, district 33%, state 32%32% · −9 vs school
Socioeconomically DisadvantagedSocioeconomically Disadvantaged: this school 35%, district 34%, state 32%35% · −6 vs school
MaleMale: this school 40%, district 44%, state 42%40% · +0 vs school
FemaleFemale: this school 40%, district 42%, state 44%40% · −0 vs school
WhiteWhite: this school 63%, district 72%, state 56%63% · +22 vs school
Military-ConnectedMilitary-Connected: this school 15%, district 20%, state 46%15% · −25 vs school
Students with DisabilitiesStudents with Disabilities: this school 4%, district 13%, state 15%4% · −36 vs school

6 of 14 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.

this school district, same group California, same group

Showing up, and staying in class

Chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeism: this school 23.4%, district 18.8%, state 30.2%23.4% · −6.8pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 8.4%, district —, state 3.6%8.4% · +4.7pp vs state
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 9–1222.5%

Where the path goes

The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.

K-12 Feeder Path
▼
High School
Carpinteria Senior High
49/100
This school

Feeder patterns derived from NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries are approximate and may have changed — verify with your school district for current assignments.

The people teaching here

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Student : teacherStudent to teacher ratio: this school 19:1, district 19:119:1
Teaching staff33 teachers
Avg. experience14.0 years
Fully credentialed94%
First-year teachers3%
Salary Schedule
Teacher salary schedule$50,367 – $103,452
Principal salary$139,203 – $152,790
Superintendent salary$211,646

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

Course Breadth
AP courses offered16
AP exam qualifiers67 students
CTE pathway completers45 students

What gets spent here

Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $20,558, CA average $14,815$20,558 · spent at this school
Federal share$233 per student

$233 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.

District current expense · FY 2024–25$22,506 per student

The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.

Where the district's dollars go · FY 2024–25 · CDE SACS
Instruction51%
Instruction support10%
Student services13%
Administration11%
Buildings & maintenance10%
Other5%

District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.

district detail, 2016–2020 — the newest published
2020$16,461 per pupil
2019$15,177 per pupil
2018$14,972 per pupil
2017$14,403 per pupil
2016$12,572 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood it serves

Hispanic75.5%
District 72.1% · CA 56.1%
White20.4%
District 24.4% · CA 19.9%
Asian1.9%
District 0.9% · CA 10.2%
Other1.9%
District 2.1% · CA 9.0%
Black0.3%
District 0.5% · CA 4.8%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 65.3% (1pp above CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Median income$110K · CA $85K
Median home value$1.15M · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+45% · CA 35%
ZIP population16,317
Median age45 years

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level

Worth Knowing

At 593 students, this school is much smaller than the typical California high school (≈1450).

On the state's science test (CAST), 30% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.

Frequently asked questions

Is Carpinteria Senior High a good high school?

Carpinteria Senior High has a Scope Score of 49 out of 100, placing it in the 60th percentile of California high schools and ranked #870 statewide. 16.6% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is near the California average of 15.8%. The Scope Score weights 7 dimensions for high schools: graduation rate (25%), exceeded standard (22%), college/career readiness (20%), met or exceeded (proficient) (18%), chronic absenteeism (5%), suspension rate (5%), and ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.

What are Carpinteria Senior High's CAASPP test scores?

On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 40.4% of students at Carpinteria Senior High met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 16.6% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 23.8% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 16.6% 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. 265 student-subject combinations were assessed.

How does Carpinteria Senior High rank in California?

Carpinteria Senior High ranks #870 among California high schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 60th percentile. This ranking is based on a weighted composite of 2025 CAASPP test performance (exceeded and met rates), 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.

What is the attendance and school culture like at Carpinteria Senior High?

23.4% of students at Carpinteria Senior High are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), which is better than the California average of 30.2%. The suspension rate is 8.4%. 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 Senior High compare to other schools in Carpinteria?

Carpinteria Senior High scores 49/100 (60th percentile) among California high 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 593 students. Use the schools in Carpinteria page or the map view to compare all high schools nearby.

How does Carpinteria Senior High serve low-income and underrepresented students?

At Carpinteria Senior High in Carpinteria, 43.0% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 39.0% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Carpinteria Senior High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 4.0 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (26.6% Math proficient); Hispanic students (41.4% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 31.3 percentage points for military-connected students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 93 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.

Your other options

All schools in Carpinteria →

Private alternatives nearby

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

For the data nerds

Every number on this page

Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.

01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Graduation rate · 25%
92.7%
↑ vs CA 87.6% · 56th pctile
Exceeded standard · 22%
16.6%
↑ vs CA 15.8% · 51th pctile
College readiness · 20%
63.2%
↑ vs CA 35.4% · 66th pctile
Met or exceeded · 18%
40.4%
↑ vs CA 35.7% · 53th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
23.4%
↑ vs CA 30.2% · 56th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
8.4%
↓ vs CA 3.6% · 29th pctile
EL proficiency (ELPAC) · 5%
6.0%
↓ vs CA 18.0% · 34th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 1113221%29%16%34%50%+3
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 1113312%19%22%47%31%+7
Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Grade 5/8/1113210%20%58%13%

CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.

Subgroup · ELATestedMET+vs districtvs CA
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged9343.0%+4+5
Hispanic/Latino9941.4%+3+3
White2972.4%−2+11
03Peer comparison · nearest high schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Carpinteria Senior High ←—4916.6%40.4%—8.4%
California average—4415.8%35.7%—3.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Graduation Rate
92.7%
AP Exam Prepared
63.2%
A-G Completion
59.3%
A-G are the 15 courses (across 7 subjects) required for UC/CSU eligibility
College-Going Rate
81.8%
YearScopePctileRankExcMet+AbsentSuspGrowth
20195877#46723.5%52.5%15.0%4.9%—
20224863#78012.3%37.8%31.6%9.0%—
20234863#80415.0%33.0%25.6%10.4%—
20244654#9807.8%32.3%21.1%9.8%—
20254960#87016.6%40.4%23.4%8.4%—
NO STATEWIDE TESTING 2020–21 (COVID) · SCORE AND PERCENTILE ARE RELATIVE TO EACH YEAR'S FIELD
05Climate by student groupchronic absenteeism · 2019 vs 2025 — the two years CDE publishes at subgroup level
Group20192025Δ
Female18.4%22.2%+3.8pp
Male9.2%22.7%+13.5pp
Hispanic/Latino14.3%25.1%+10.8pp
Students with Disabilities26.7%50.6%+23.9pp
English Learners15.7%31.0%+15.3pp
Homeless11.1%30.6%+19.5pp
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged13.9%24.0%+10.1pp
All Students13.7%22.5%+8.8pp
Asian—9.1%—
EXC = exceeded standard · MET+ = met or exceeded ("proficient") · Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=2,160 high schools · Vintages: climate subgroups 2019+2025 · district finance per its label · ACS 2022 · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue

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

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