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Orcutt Junior High · Santa Maria

Orcutt Junior High: The state doesn't publish enough data to score this school fairly.

Orcutt is a middle school in Santa Maria. The state doesn't publish enough data to score it fairly — so we won't. Here's what we can show.

No Scope Score available

California doesn't publicly report per-grade test results when fewer than 11 students are tested in a grade — a privacy protection for small schools. We can't compute a Scope Score without that data.

Worth a school visit

With little published data, a visit does the heavy lifting: ask about class sizes, teacher tenure, and where last year's students went next.

  • Ask about typical class sizes and the student-teacher ratio.
  • Ask how long teachers have stayed at the school.
  • Ask where recent graduates or transfers went next.
  • Ask whether the tour can step into a working classroom, and watch how a lesson actually runs.

How every group of students does here

At Orcutt Junior High in Santa Maria, 33.0% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 39.3% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Orcutt Junior High trails its district average for low-income students by 6.3 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (28.8% Math proficient); Hispanic students (37.0% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 36.1 percentage points for homeless students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 236 students tested.

All students at this school: 40% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 40%, district —, state 39%40%
Socioeconomically DisadvantagedSocioeconomically Disadvantaged: this school 31%, district 36%, state 32%31% · −9 vs school
Hispanic/LatinoHispanic/Latino: this school 33%, district 36%, state 32%33% · −7 vs school
MaleMale: this school 36%, district 43%, state 42%36% · −4 vs school
FemaleFemale: this school 45%, district 43%, state 44%45% · +4 vs school
WhiteWhite: this school 48%, district 55%, state 56%48% · +8 vs school
Students with DisabilitiesStudents with Disabilities: this school 13%, district 15%, state 15%13% · −28 vs school
Two or More RacesTwo or More Races: this school 48%, district 51%, state 56%48% · +8 vs school
HomelessHomeless: this school 11%, district 22%, state 22%11% · −29 vs school
English LearnersEnglish Learners: this school 0%, district 8%, state 11%0% · −40 vs school
Military-ConnectedMilitary-Connected: this school 28%, district 41%, state 46%28% · −12 vs school

5 of 16 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.

this school district, same group California, same group
Subgroup growth by grade

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.

Where the path goes

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

K-12 Feeder Path

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 23:1, district 26:123:1
Teaching staff24 teachers
Avg. experience13.9 years
Fully credentialed81%
Salary Schedule
Teacher salary schedule$56,367 – $122,589
Principal salary$156,289 – $166,249
Superintendent salary$270,266

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

What gets spent here

Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $34,106, CA average $14,815$34,106 · spent at this school
Federal share$1,150 per student

$1,150 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.

District current expense · FY 2024–25$15,461 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
Instruction67%
Instruction support14%
Student services9%
Administration1%
Buildings & maintenance9%

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$11,751 per pupil
2019$10,472 per pupil
2018$11,083 per pupil
2017$10,240 per pupil
2016$10,074 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood it serves

Hispanic53.7%
District 58.2% · CA 56.1%
White31.3%
District 28.6% · CA 19.9%
Other12.1%
District 11.3% · CA 9.0%
Black1.7%
District 0.9% · CA 4.8%
Asian1.3%
District 1.0% · CA 10.2%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 55.0% (9pp below CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Median income$111K · CA $85K
Median home value$610K · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+32% · CA 35%
ZIP population44,611
Median age39 years

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

Worth Knowing

At 464 students, this school is much smaller than the typical California middle school (≈860).

On the state's science test (CAST), 32% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.

Your other options

Private alternatives nearby

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


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