Foothill Elementary: High scores, healthy climate, strong attendance. We looked for a catch — we didn't find one.
Foothill posts 48.5% exceeding the standard — versus 21.3% statewide — with climate numbers better than most. That doesn't make it perfect. It makes it worth a visit to find what numbers can't measure.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 72 | 49% | 71% | -6.0 | 7.0% | 0.1% |
| CA average · Elementary School | 45 | 21% | 43% | -2.9 | 17.9% | 1.6% |
Foothill Elementary scores 72 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 93rd percentile of 5,744 California elementary 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 “71% proficient” and call it done. Foothill deserves a closer read. It sits at the 93rd percentile of 5,744 California elementary schools — but the ranking is the least interesting thing on this page.
The headline number: 48.5% of students scored in the top band on the state test. The California average is 21.3%.
The seven-year arc
Has held the 93rd-percentile line every tested year since 2019.
This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 71% meet the standard today, versus 75% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 74% | 74% | 72% | 74% | 80% |
| Grade 4 | 72% | 82% | 75% | 73% | 59% |
| Grade 5 | 82% | 77% | 89% | 85% | 79% |
| Grade 6 | 86% | 81% | 73% | 89% | 82% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 72% | 78% | 85% | 72% | 85% |
| Grade 4 | 76% | 70% | 79% | 66% | 52% |
| Grade 5 | 75% | 60% | 69% | 69% | 74% |
| Grade 6 | 73% | 67% | 52% | 64% | 68% |
The story this school is actually telling
The school, grade by grade
ELA · CAASPP 2024–25Different students, same year — each bar is one grade's proficiency mix.
The honest read: the share exceeding rises 3.5pp across grades; the proficiency floor barely moves. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. Kids here gain ground the longer they stay — the pattern you want to see. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
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 changes between grade 3 and grade 5 here, and who teaches the older kids.
- 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 Foothill Elementary in Santa Barbara, 81.3% of white students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 81.1% district-wide and 61.8% statewide. Foothill Elementary outperforms its district average for white students by 0.2 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: White students (77.6% Math proficient); Hispanic students (54.0% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 20.7 percentage points for hispanic students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 107 students tested.
9 of 15 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.
Change in proficiency from the lowest tested grade — which groups gain ground the longer they stay. Groups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
Showing up, and staying in class
The people teaching here
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
What gets spent here
These measure different things: this figure is spending attributed to this campus, while district-wide figures also include central administration, districtwide programs, and the state's pension contributions made on the district's behalf — costs that never get assigned to a single school. The district number runs higher at nearly every school, not just this one.
The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.
District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.
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
Transitional kindergarten is offered here — confirmed by actual Census Day enrollment, not just the listed grade span.
On the state's science test (CAST), 71% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Foothill Elementary a good elementary school?
What are Foothill Elementary's CAASPP test scores?
How does Foothill Elementary rank in California?
Is Foothill Elementary getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Foothill Elementary?
How does Foothill Elementary compare to other schools in Santa Barbara?
How does Foothill Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 63
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 54 | 59% | 20% | 13% | 7% | 80% | +36 |
| Grade 4 | 59 | 42% | 17% | 31% | 10% | 59% | +15 |
| Grade 5 | 43 | 63% | 16% | 16% | 5% | 79% | +31 |
| Grade 6 | 57 | 53% | 30% | 9% | 9% | 82% | +36 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 54 | 56% | 30% | 13% | 2% | 85% | +39 |
| Grade 4 | 60 | 28% | 23% | 33% | 15% | 52% | +10 |
| Grade 5 | 42 | 43% | 31% | 19% | 7% | 74% | +39 |
| Grade 6 | 57 | 51% | 18% | 5% | 26% | 68% | +33 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 42 | 48% | 24% | 26% | 2% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| Subgroup · ELA | Tested | MET+ | vs district | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 107 | 81.3% | +0 | +20 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 50 | 54.0% | +12 | +15 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foothill Elementary ← | — | 72 | 48.5% | 71.5% | −6.0 | 0.1% |
| Mountain View Elementary | 1 mi | 69 | 54.2% | 79.5% | −16.3 | 0.7% |
| Vieja Valley Elementary | 2 mi | 61 | 35.0% | 57.8% | +11.2 | 0.2% |
| Kellogg Elementary | 1.2 mi | 60 | 38.0% | 64.0% | −13.5 | 0.5% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 73 | 92 | #420 | 49.0% | 75.2% | 7.4% | 0.4% | +5.9pp |
| 2022 | 66 | 92 | #459 | 50.9% | 73.4% | 8.9% | 0.0% | -7.8pp |
| 2023 | 74 | 95 | #309 | 53.0% | 78.1% | 9.3% | 0.0% | +0.3pp |
| 2024 | 72 | 93 | #392 | 49.9% | 73.2% | 7.3% | 0.8% | +4.0pp |
| 2025 | 72 | 93 | #397 | 48.5% | 71.5% | 7.0% | 0.1% | -6.0pp |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 9.4% | 7.0% | -2.4pp |
| Male | 5.2% | 5.0% | -0.2pp |
| Asian | 0.0% | 0.0% | +0.0pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 8.9% | 9.6% | +0.7pp |
| Two or More Races | 5.3% | 3.8% | -1.5pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 11.4% | 8.9% | -2.5pp |
| English Learners | 4.0% | 9.1% | +5.1pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 10.4% | 13.1% | +2.7pp |
| All Students | 7.3% | 5.9% | -1.4pp |
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