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Public middle school

La Colina Junior High

Santa Barbara, CA · Grades 7-8 · 832 students · Santa Barbara Unified

Most kids here clear the bar, year after year. The question is what happens after that.

69% of tested students are Proficient or Advanced in English and 59% in math. Explore the evidence alongside the opportunities your child would use.

SchoolScope archetype

Strong All-Around

What this means for your family

Ask about what we don't score — class size, electives, the feel of a classroom — strong numbers everywhere on paper don't mean every classroom feels the same.

How archetypes are assigned →

Math

59%

Grades 6 & 8 · Proficient or Advanced

English

69%

Grades 6 & 8 · Proficient or Advanced

Students

832

Total enrollment

Chronic absence

14%

Students absent 10% or more of school days

What are you trying to decide?

The overall score is a starting point.

Look at subject results, trends and student groups, then consider the opportunities your child would use.

View school performance →

Academic performance

What do the results tell us?

2025 results · Grades 6 & 8 · weighted by students tested within each subject.

Proficient or Advanced combines Levels 3 and 4, formerly Standard Met and Standard Exceeded. California changed the names for 2025–26; the cut scores did not. About the labels →

Share at Proficient or Advanced

0%25%50%75%100%2019: 64%2022: 46%2023: 56%2024: 62%2025: 59%2019: 62%2022: 54%2023: 62%2024: 68%2025: 69%201920222023202420250%25%50%75%100%2019: 64%2022: 46%2023: 56%2024: 62%2025: 59%2019: 62%2022: 54%2023: 62%2024: 68%2025: 69%20192022202320242025
● Math┄ English

Gaps in the lines mark years without annual results.

Exact annual results
YearMathEnglish
201964%62%
202246%54%
202356%62%
202462%68%
202559%69%

Each year describes that year’s tested students. Changes between years do not follow the same children over time. Cohort-growth evidence, when available, is labeled separately below.

Annual results and the full academic record
Where students land · CAASPP 2024–25

Three in five of students here meet the standard. One in three clear it by a lot.

ELA69% met or exceeded
Exceeded 28%Met 41%Nearly Met 20%Not Met 11%
Math61% met or exceeded
Exceeded 41%Met 20%Nearly Met 20%Not Met 19%
Exceeded Met Nearly Met Not Met
California middle schools · average17% exceeded · 40% met or exceeded
This school against the California average
2025–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
Scope% Exceeded% Met+GrowthAbsenceSuspension
This school6535%65%14.1%1.9%
CA average · Middle School3917%40%18.1%3.6%
This schoolCA avg
Scope6539
% Exceeded35%17%
% Met+65%40%
Growth
Absence14.1%18.1%
Suspension1.9%3.6%
California’s growth results and student groups
State growth model · CDE growth model 2024–25

California's own growth model splits here — the 35th percentile in reading against the 96th in math, among middle schools.

Context — never part of the Scope Score

California runs its own growth model — it follows individual children in grades 4 through 8 and compares each one against a prediction from their own prior scores. On that measure this school sits a little above the middle of California middle schools in reading, and the 96th in math. We show it; we don't score it.

pts vs expected is scale-score points above or below what California's model predicted for these same children from their own prior-year scores. It is not a percentage and not a percent of anything. A typical California middle school lands at −1 in reading, and the middle half of them fall between −8 and +6 — the spread is wide, so read the rank, not the sign. CDE blends two consecutive years into each published figure, so adjacent years share input data and no year-over-year trend can honestly be drawn from them. It covers grades 4-8 only, and it is not part of the Scope Score — we assessed it and left it out: it tracks school demographics roughly three times as strongly as our own growth measure does, and one published year is not enough to test how stable it is.

California's growth model, ranked against the schools it scores
State model · readingmatched students, grades 4-8California growth model, reading: −3 scale-score points versus the state's expectation, 35th percentile of 7,519 reported schools.35th pctile · −3 pts
State model · mathmatched students, grades 4-8California growth model, math: +24 scale-score points versus the state's expectation, 96th percentile of 7,518 reported schools.96th pctile · +24 pts
this school| the tick is the middle of the California field

Students & opportunity

Who shares in the school’s results?

Who it works for · CAASPP 2024–25

Low-income students here meet the ELA standard ahead of the same group statewide.

52.0% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard — versus 38.2% for the same group statewide. This comparison does not tell us what caused the difference.

Met or exceeded · reading and math combined
All students at this school: 65% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 65%, district —, state 40%65%
MaleMale: this school 61%, district 45%, state 42%61% · −4 vs school
WhiteWhite: this school 76%, district 69%, state 56%76% · +11 vs school
FemaleFemale: this school 69%, district 48%, state 44%69% · +4 vs school
Socioeconomically DisadvantagedSocioeconomically Disadvantaged: this school 47%, district 33%, state 32%47% · −18 vs school
Hispanic/LatinoHispanic/Latino: this school 47%, district 33%, state 32%47% · −18 vs school
Students with DisabilitiesStudents with Disabilities: this school 22%, district 17%, state 15%22% · −43 vs school
Two or More RacesTwo or More Races: this school 78%, district 68%, state 56%78% · +13 vs school
Military-ConnectedMilitary-Connected: this school 25%, district 36%, state 46%25% · −40 vs school
AsianAsian: this school 88%, district 82%, state 72%88% · +23 vs school

5 of 15 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.

this school district, same group California, same group
ShowHide Student-group results by grade
Student-group results by grade

Results compare different grade groups in the same year, relative to the lowest tested grade. They do not track the same children over time. Groups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.

ShowHide California's growth model by student group
The state's growth model, by student group

California follows these children individually and predicts each one's score from their own prior year. Each row is read against the same group at a typical California middle school — not against zero, and not against this school's all-students figure, because the state's expectation already differs by group.

Reading
English Only595 studentsEnglish Only, reading: −3 scale-score points versus expectation, against 0 for the same group at a typical California middle school, 595 students.−3 pts · −3 vs typical
White375 studentsWhite, reading: 0 scale-score points versus expectation, against 0 for the same group at a typical California middle school, 375 students.0 pts · 0 vs typical
Low-income students319 studentsLow-income students, reading: −4 scale-score points versus expectation, against −3 for the same group at a typical California middle school, 319 students.−4 pts · −1 vs typical
Hispanic or Latino students301 studentsHispanic or Latino students, reading: −9 scale-score points versus expectation, against −2 for the same group at a typical California middle school, 301 students.−9 pts · −7 vs typical
English Learner108 studentsEnglish Learner, reading: −4 scale-score points versus expectation, against −5 for the same group at a typical California middle school, 108 students.−4 pts · +1 vs typical
Math
English Only591 studentsEnglish Only, math: +25 scale-score points versus expectation, against −3 for the same group at a typical California middle school, 591 students.+25 pts · +28 vs typical
White371 studentsWhite, math: +29 scale-score points versus expectation, against +1 for the same group at a typical California middle school, 371 students.+29 pts · +28 vs typical
Low-income students317 studentsLow-income students, math: +20 scale-score points versus expectation, against −5 for the same group at a typical California middle school, 317 students.+20 pts · +25 vs typical
Hispanic or Latino students301 studentsHispanic or Latino students, math: +13 scale-score points versus expectation, against −6 for the same group at a typical California middle school, 301 students.+13 pts · +19 vs typical
English Learner108 studentsEnglish Learner, math: +7 scale-score points versus expectation, against −3 for the same group at a typical California middle school, 108 students.+7 pts · +10 vs typical
this school typical California middle school, same group| the centre tick is 0 = as predicted

— 2 more groups are reported here with between 11 and 29 students. We hold those back on purpose: at that size the figure swings about 17 points on its own, and a quarter of such groups land past the state's top or bottom cut point by chance alone. They are listed with their student counts in the data appendix. — A group not listed at all had fewer than 11 students with a growth score, so California published nothing for it here. That is a privacy protection, not a judgment about those students. — Context only. None of this enters the Scope Score.

The daily experience

What is it like to be a student here?

Students per teacher

Student–teacher ratio is a schoolwide staffing measure, not an average class size.

The people teaching · CDE staffing 2024–25

About 20 students for every teacher here.

Context — never part of the Scope Score

Students per teacher20 · district 20
Teaching staff43 teachers
Avg. experience16.3 years
Fully credentialed92%
PrincipalJennifer Foster
ShowHide what the district pays
Teacher salary schedule$64,099 – $121,627
Principal salary$164,342 – $181,610
Superintendent salary$314,838

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

Attendance & discipline · 2024–25

Kids here show up more, and get suspended less, than the state average.

Chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeism: this school 14.1%, district 20.1%, state 18.1%14.1% · −4.0pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 1.9%, district —, state 3.6%1.9% · −1.7pp vs state
This schoolDistrictCalifornia
ShowHide attendance by student group and by grade
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 7–814.0%

Resources & neighborhood

What sits behind the school experience?

Explore school spending and the district budget
What gets spent · FY 2024–25

It spends $17,023 per student, more than the California average.

Context — never part of the Scope Score

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.

$687 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.

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

Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $17,023, CA average $14,491$17,023 · spent at this school
Federal share$687 per student
District current expense · FY 2024–25$21,939 per student
This schoolDistrictCalifornia
Where the district's dollars go · FY 2024–25 · CDE SACS
Instruction 56%Instruction support 15%Student services 12%Administration 6%Buildings & maintenance 10%Other 1%

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

ShowHide the district's spending year by year
district detail, 2016–2020 — the newest published
2020$14,447 per pupil
2019$13,462 per pupil
2018$13,495 per pupil
2017$11,638 per pupil
2016$10,981 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood · ACS 2024

Two in five of students here qualify for free or reduced lunch, versus three in five statewide.

Context — never part of the Scope Score

Worth knowing

On the state's science test (CAST), 48% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 and once in high school, and it never enters the Scope Score.

Hispanic or Latino40.0% · district 59.1% · CA 56.1%
White49.2% · district 31.0% · CA 19.9%
Asian3.3% · district 2.3% · CA 10.2%
Black0.2% · district 0.6% · CA 4.8%
Other7.3% · district 6.9% · CA 9.0%
Free or reduced lunch41.5% · CA 64%
Median income$129K · CA $85K
Median home value$1.20M · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+51% · CA 35%
ZIP population15,436
Median age47 years

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

Culture & philosophy

What is the school’s approach?

School-stated approach · questions for your visit

Look beyond the brochure

A source-reviewed culture summary is not available for this profile yet. Ask how teaching, student support and family communication work day to day.

Read the school’s own website ↗

Family voices

What would you want another family to know about the daily experience here?

Ask a current family: “When your child needs help, how does the school respond?”

Educator voices

What should families understand about teaching, support and the school community?

Ask an educator: “How do you adapt a typical day for children with different needs?”

Bring these questions on a visit →

Compare nearby schools

What are the alternatives?

Compare schools serving the same grade stage. Private schools have no comparable state-test score.

2025 · middle schools · combined reading and math measures. Percentiles compare schools within their enrollment group.

Private options →
SchoolTypePerformance bandAdvancedProficient or AdvancedDistanceSelect
La Colina Junior HighPublicStrong35%65%School being viewed
La Cumbre Junior HighPublicSolid13%38%2.5 mi
Open the comparison tool →
More nearby public and private options
Your other options

Your other options

Nearby public schools across grade levels, plus private options within 10 miles.

All schools in Santa Barbara →

Private schools do not receive a Scope Score or statewide ranking on SchoolScope.

10 private schools within 10 miles
Not scored
What should I check before applying?
District public
Confirm the attendance boundary and any permit options.
Charter
Check applications, priorities and deadlines with each school.
Private
Confirm admission requirements, tuition and financial aid.

Moving & enrollment

Which schools could serve my child?

Check your address with the district

School location and nearby schools do not establish attendance eligibility. Confirm boundaries and permit requirements with Santa Barbara Unified.

District information →School website →

Schools across the K–12 journey

San Marcos Senior HighScope 60estimated path

The road from this school ends at San Marcos Senior High, which sent 46 graduates to UC campuses last fall and teaches 22 AP subjects. Those numbers describe past cohorts — a child starting here today would reach San Marcos Senior High around 2031, and 6 years is a long time for a school to hold still, and by the state's 2023 count 83% of San Marcos Senior High's graduates enrolled in college somewhere, UC or not.

46 UC enrollees (fall 2025) · 22 AP subjects taught full record on San Marcos Senior High's page
Source: UC & College Board

Source: proximity. Schools are grouped by grade stage. Nearby schools are not confirmed feeder links or address assignments. Verify the current path and eligibility with the district.

Plan your next step

What should I do next?

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 whether extra support — tutoring, counseling, small groups — reaches kids across income lines, not just the students already ahead.
  • 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.
Questions

Frequently asked questions

Is La Colina Junior High a good middle school?
La Colina Junior High has a Scope Score of 65 out of 100, placing it in the 91st percentile of California middle schools and ranked #193 statewide. 34.6% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 17.4 percentage points above the California average of 17.2%. The Scope Score weights 6 dimensions for middle schools: exceeded standard (42%), met or exceeded (proficient) (23%), grade 6-to-8 growth (20%), 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 La Colina Junior High's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 64.9% of students at La Colina Junior High met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 34.6% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 30.3% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 34.6% went beyond it. Most rating sites report only the combined "proficient" number. SchoolScope surfaces the exceeded-vs-met split because it shows how many students go beyond the standard rather than only meeting it. 1,578 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does La Colina Junior High rank in California?
La Colina Junior High ranks #193 among California middle schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 91st percentile. This ranking is based on a weighted composite of 2025 CAASPP test performance (exceeded and met rates), grade-level growth (Grade 6 to grade 8 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.
What is the attendance and school culture like at La Colina Junior High?
14.1% of students at La Colina Junior High are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), which is better than the California average of 18.1%. The suspension rate is 1.9%, 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 La Colina Junior High compare to other schools in Santa Barbara?
La Colina Junior High scores 65/100 (91st percentile) among California middle 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 832 students. Use the schools in Santa Barbara page or the map view to compare all middle schools nearby.
How does La Colina Junior High serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At La Colina Junior High in Santa Barbara, 52.0% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 38.0% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. La Colina Junior High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 14.0 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (42.1% Math proficient); White students (79.1% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 42.5 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 325 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.

Use the published evidence to prepare questions, then verify fit and access with the school.

Behind the evidence

Inspect the full record

Public sources, visible methods and the underlying school record. Source years and limitations stay attached to the evidence.

How the Scope Score is calculated

On a narrow screen, scroll the table sideways to see the state comparison and weights.

What the score weighs · CAASPP 2024–25

The 5 things our score weighs

What the score weighs
What we weighHereStateWeight
Exceeded standard34.6%17.2%42%
Met or exceeded64.9%40.0%23%
Chronic absenteeism14.1%18.1%5%
Suspension rate1.9%3.6%5%
EL proficiency (ELPAC)41.7%18.0%5%

Source CAASPP 2025 · California Department of Education. Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How the score is built

A closer look at the evidence

La Colina Junior High: reading the evidence

La Colina posts 65% meeting the standard, and 34.6% going well past it. Most kids here keep up. Fewer get pushed further. Ask the school what it does for a child who already finds the work easy.

Subject proficiency describes tested students, while graduation describes a graduating cohort. These figures are not successive stages followed by the same students.

Ask about what we don't score — class size, electives, the feel of a classroom — strong numbers everywhere on paper don't mean every classroom feels the same.

Explore the underlying data →
Every number: score factors, grades, student groups and downloads
Every number · For the data nerds

Every number on this page

Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and nearest schools.

La Colina Junior High is ranked #193 statewide · #1 of 5 in Santa Barbara Unified.

01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Score factors
FactorSchoolStateWeight
Exceeded standard34.6%17.2%42%
Met or exceeded64.9%40.0%23%
Chronic absenteeism14.1%18.1%5%
Suspension rate1.9%3.6%5%
EL proficiency (ELPAC)41.7%18.0%5%
Exceeded standard
↑ vs CA 17.2% · index 70 · 50 = CA middle-school midpoint
Met or exceeded
↑ vs CA 40.0% · index 71 · 50 = CA middle-school midpoint
Chronic absenteeism
↑ vs CA 18.1% · index 56 · 50 = CA middle-school midpoint
Suspension rate
↑ vs CA 3.6% · index 57 · 50 = CA middle-school midpoint
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
↑ vs CA 18.0% · index 78 · 50 = CA middle-school midpoint
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ShowHide table 02 — By grade & subgroup
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 60
Grade 740029%41%19%12%69%+21
Grade 839127%41%20%11%69%+23
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 60
Grade 739541%23%20%17%63%+29
Grade 839242%17%20%21%59%+27

We show the grade rows CDE publishes for this school. A missing grade or dash can mean the school does not serve that grade, that we hold no valid result for it, or that the tested group was too small to report. It does not mean zero.

Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Schoolwide39223%25%45%6%

CAST is tested in grades 5 and 8, then once in grade 10, 11, or 12. This row is the school's all-student aggregate. Not part of the Scope Score.

Subgroup · ELATestedMET+vs districtvs CA
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged32552.0%+14+14
White39379.1%+4+17
Hispanic/Latino31252.9%+15+14
03Nearest middle schoolssorted by Scope Score · Grade gap = grade 3 vs grade 5, this year, different students; Cohort growth = one school's returning cohort tracked across grades (mostly, not exactly, the same kids), in scale-score points — that's the measurement the Scope Score weights
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+Grade gapCohort growthSusp
La Colina Junior High ←6534.6%64.9%1.9%
La Cumbre Junior High2.5 mi3713.1%38.3%2.5%
California average3917.2%40.0%+1.5pp3.6%
What we can't show
  • — Growth data isn't available — the state needs matched grades across years to compute it.
04Climate by student groupchronic absenteeism · 2019 vs 2025 — the two years CDE publishes at subgroup level
ShowHide table 04 — Climate by student group
Group20192025Δ
Female6.3%14.2%+7.9pp
Male9.8%13.9%+4.1pp
Asian5.4%7.4%+2.0pp
Hispanic/Latino9.2%16.8%+7.6pp
Two or More Races5.0%13.3%+8.3pp
White7.9%12.4%+4.5pp
Students with Disabilities23.5%25.8%+2.3pp
English Learners18.2%6.3%-11.9pp
Homeless18.2%23.1%+4.9pp
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged12.7%21.6%+8.9pp
All Students8.1%14.0%+5.9pp
05California growth model, by student group2025 · scale-score points vs the state's prediction · shown, never scored
ShowHide table 05 — California growth model, by student group
GroupReadingnCDE bandMathnCDE band
All Students−3759Average+24755Exceptional
English Only−3595not categorised+25591not categorised
White0375Average+29371Exceptional
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged−4319Average+20317Exceptional
Hispanic or Latino−9301Moderate+13301Accelerated
English Learner−4108Average+7108Accelerated
Recently Reclassified Fluent-English Proficient Only−6102not categorised+6102not categorised
Students with Disabilities−1796Moderate+794Accelerated
Two or More Races−142Average+3142Exceptional
Asian+2226Exceptional+5326Exceptional
Homeless Youth+723Accelerated+2623Exceptional

Whole scale-score points above or below what CDE's model predicted for these same children from their own prior-year scores — not a percentage, not a percentile. Statewide a typical school lands near +1 with a spread of about 13 points either side, so read a figure against its group's own typical value, not against zero. Muted rows have fewer than 30 students with a growth score — published by CDE, held back from the narrative sections above because at that size the figure swings about 17 points on its own. “Not categorised” is CDE assigning no band — English Only, Recently Reclassified, and English Learners Only receive a value and no band, for every school in the state. It is not a missing number. Most figures blend two consecutive years, so adjacent published years share input data and no trend line can honestly be drawn across them. A group absent from this table had fewer than 11 students with a growth score and was never published. Grades 4-8 only. None of this enters the Scope Score — it is more strongly correlated with school demographics than our own growth measure, and one published year is not enough to test its reliability.

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EXC = exceeded standard · MET+ = met or exceeded ("proficient") · Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=2,177 middle schools · Vintages: climate subgroups 2019+2025 · district finance per its label · ACS 2022 · Data updated 2026-09-18

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

La Colina Junior High

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