How does La Colina Junior High compare to other middle schools in Santa Barbara?

La Colina Junior High has a SchoolScope composite score of 59.7/100, placing it at the 88th percentile statewide. 35% of students exceed standard, with a total of 1,578 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at La Colina Junior High?

34.6% of students at La Colina Junior High exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 64.9% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at La Colina Junior High?

14.0% of students at La Colina Junior High are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days). This metric reflects school culture and family engagement, and is weighted at 15% in our composite score.

La Colina Junior High

Middle School

Santa Barbara Unified Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara County93110

📍 4025 Foothill Road

Composite Score

out of 100

State Percentile

of middle schools

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

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Composite scores are SchoolScope's analysis of public data from the California Dept. of Education (CAASPP, chronic absenteeism, suspension rates). They are not official CDE ratings and should not be the sole basis for school decisions. See methodology.

School overview

Enrollment

893 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

20:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

42%

Teachers

44 full-time

Dashboard indicators

ELA Year-over-Year

Maintained

+0.1 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased Significantly

+19.7 pts DFS change

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic39.9%

White50.6%

Asian3.1%

Black0.5%

Other5.9%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for La Colina Junior High
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	34.6%
Met Standard	30.3%
Below Standard	35.1%

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "65% proficient" for La Colina Junior High and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

34.6% of students exceeded standard while 30.3% met it. That exceeded rate is 17.2 points above the state average of 17.3%. That's 15.4 points above the Santa Barbara Unified district average of 19.2%. Compared to the 1 nearby schools within ~3 miles, this exceeded rate is 21.4 points higher (vs 13.1% average). The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

California's Dashboard shows ELA performance maintained and Math increased significantly year-over-year.

Chronic absenteeism is 14.0%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →