How does Santa Cruz High compare to other high schools in Santa Cruz?

Santa Cruz High has a SchoolScope composite score of 68.3/100, placing it at the 89th percentile statewide. 37% of students exceed standard, with a total of 483 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Santa Cruz High?

37.5% of students at Santa Cruz High exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 59.8% 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 Santa Cruz High?

18.0% of students at Santa Cruz 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.

Santa Cruz High

High School

Santa Cruz City High Santa CruzSanta Cruz County95060

📍 415 Walnut Avenue

Composite Score

out of 100

State Percentile

of high schools

State Rank

of 1,739 California high schools

💪

Strong All-Around

Strong across every dimension we measure — academics, growth, culture, and engagement.

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

1,104 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

22:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

26%

Teachers

50 full-time

College & career readiness

Graduation Rate

96.7%

AP Exam Prepared

63.7%

A-G Completion

79.5%

College-Going Rate

79.5%

Data source: California Department of Education — ACGR, CCI, CGR reports

Dashboard indicators

ELA Year-over-Year

Declined

-6.7 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Declined Significantly

-27.2 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

26.9%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 26 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic29.4%

White57.1%

Asian2.6%

Black2.0%

Other9.0%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Santa Cruz High
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	37.5%
Met Standard	22.4%
Below Standard	40.2%

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "60% proficient" for Santa Cruz High and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

37.5% of students exceeded standard while 22.4% met it. That exceeded rate is 22.0 points above the state average of 15.5%. That's 18.9 points above the Santa Cruz City High district average of 18.6%. Compared to the 4 nearby schools within ~3 miles, this exceeded rate is 26.9 points higher (vs 10.6% average). The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

The graduation rate is 96.7% — above the state target. 79.5% of students complete A-G requirements for UC/CSU eligibility — a strong college readiness signal. 79.5% of graduates go on to college within a year.

Chronic absenteeism is 18.0%, better than the state average of 34.0%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →