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

La Cumbre Junior High has a Scope Score of 48.4/100, ranked #900 among California middle schools. 13% of students exceed standard, with a total of 818 students tested across grades and subjects.

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

13.1% of students at La Cumbre Junior High exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 38.3% 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 Cumbre Junior High?

23.3% of students at La Cumbre 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 the Scope Score.

La Cumbre Junior High

Middle School

Santa Barbara Unified Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara County93101

📍 2255 Modoc Road

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

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Scope 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

450 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

16:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

90%

Teachers

28 full-time

Dashboard indicators

How this school's scores changed from last year to this year

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased Significantly

+22.9 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased Significantly

+18.9 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

17.8%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 73 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic90.4%

White7.1%

Asian0.9%

Black0.7%

Other0.9%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for La Cumbre Junior High
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	13.1%
Met Standard	25.2%
Below Standard	61.7%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Suspension rate: 2.5%

1.6pp below state avg (state avg 4.1%)

10% weight

Holding Back

▼Exceeded standard: 13.1%

4.2pp below state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

▼Met or exceeded: 38.3%

1.2pp below state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

▼Chronic absenteeism: 23.3%

4.0pp above state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% weight

▼Baseline proficiency: 38.3%

Below state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

10% weight

Unlike traditional school ratings, we show our work. Every factor, its weight, and how this school compares to the state average — so you can decide what matters most to your family. The middle school Scope Score is weighted across 5 dimensions. See full methodology →

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "38% proficient" for La Cumbre Junior High and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

13.1% of students exceeded standard while 25.2% met it. That exceeded rate is 4.2 points below the state average of 17.3%. That's 6.1 points below the Santa Barbara Unified district average of 19.2%. The 1 nearby schools within ~3 miles average 34.6% exceeded — 21.4 points higher. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

California's Dashboard shows ELA performance increased significantly and Math increased significantly year-over-year. 17.8% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 23.3%, above the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

13.1%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

38.3%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

N/A

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

23.3%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

2.5%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

818

Across all grades & subjects

Grade trajectory

How proficiency compares across grade levels this year (different students, same test year)

ELA Trajectory

G6 → G7 → G8

Math Trajectory

G6 → G7 → G8

ELA scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	0	—	—	—	—	—
7th	175	8.6%	37.1%	24.6%	29.7%	45.7%
8th	230	9.6%	29.6%	30.4%	30.4%	39.1%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	0	—	—	—	—	—
7th	178	13.5%	15.2%	30.3%	41.0%	28.6%
8th	235	20.9%	18.7%	19.1%	41.3%	39.6%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Adams Elementary

62.4# in state

Harding University Partnership

Also serves area

Washington Elementary

71.3# in state

Santa Barbara Community Academ…

38.1# in state

▼

Middle

La Cumbre Junior High

48.4# in state

This school

▼

High School

San Marcos Senior High

69.7# in state

Also serves area

Santa Barbara Senior High

53.8# in state

Feeder patterns derived from 2015-16 NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries may have changed. Contact your school district for current information.