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Wilson Alternative · Santa Clara

Wilson Alternative: The scores are below where anyone wants them. Here's what they don't tell you.

Wilson Alternative posts low test scores — and suspensions run below the state rate (1.7% vs 3.6%). If this is your zoned school, the numbers below are where to start a conversation, not where to end one.

1840 Benton Street, 95050 (opens in new tab)·Santa Clara Unified·Santa Clara·Grades K-12·131 students·42% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(408) 423-3600·Website
Alternative school — serves students who benefit from a non-traditional educational setting. Scores are not directly comparable to comprehensive schools.
2019–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
This schoolCA avg
Scope2044
% Exceeded3%16%
% Met+21%36%
Grad rate55.2%87.6%
College readiness0.0%35.4%
Absence46.0%30.2%
Suspension1.7%3.6%
Scope Score
20
🌱 Building Momentum · Needs Support
ranked #1,966 statewide · #6 of 6 in Santa Clara Unified

Wilson Alternative scores 20 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 9th percentile of 2,160 California high schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).

Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →

🌱 Building Momentum — This label means the data doesn't clearly sort the school one way or the other — ask what the school is proud of, and what it's working on.

Most rating sites would stop at “21% proficient” and call it done. Wilson Alternative deserves a closer read. The school sits in Santa Clara, where two in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.

The headline number: 46.7% of English learners reached the top ELPAC level, versus 18.0% statewide.

The seven-year arc

Percentile among 2,160 high schools statewide

Has stayed near the 9th percentile since 2019.

CA Dashboard
ELAOrange(Declined Significantly)MathRed(Declined Significantly)

This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 21% meet the standard today, versus 28% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.

ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 1145%43%52%38%37%
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 1111%7%11%4%6%

The story this school is actually telling

Proficient by 11th grade
21%
State 36%
Graduate
55%
State 88%
Pass an AP exam
0%
State 35%

Of 100 students here: 21 are proficient by 11th grade → 55 graduate → 0 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.

The 7 things our score weighs

Graduation rate
55.2%
State 87.6%
32.4pp below state avg
Exceeded standard
2.6%
State 15.8%
13.2pp below state avg
College readiness
0.0%
State 35.4%
AP exam pass rate below state avg
Met or exceeded
21.4%
State 35.7%
14.3pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
46.0%
State 30.2%
15.8pp above state avg
Suspension rate
1.7%
State 3.6%
2.0pp below state avg
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
46.7%
State 18.0%
28.7pp above state avg
Worth a school visit

Ask what changed in the last two years, and what the school is asking families for. Growth shows up in these numbers a year or two after it shows up in classrooms.

  • Ask how the school follows up when a student starts missing days — chronic absence often starts outside the classroom, not inside it.
  • 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.

How every group of students does here

All students at this school: 22% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 22%, district —, state 36%22%
Hispanic/LatinoHispanic/Latino: this school 18%, district 30%, state 32%18% · −4 vs school

8 of 10 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.

this school district, same group California, same group

Showing up, and staying in class

Chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeism: this school 46.0%, district 17.3%, state 30.2%46.0% · +15.8pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 1.7%, district —, state 3.6%1.7% · −2.0pp vs state
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 9–1258.0%

Where the path goes

Wilson Alternative serves grades K-12 — students can complete their entire K-12 education here, with no school-to-school transitions.

The people teaching here

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Student : teacherStudent to teacher ratio: this school 10:1, district 20:110:1
Teaching staff14 teachers
Avg. experience21.8 years
Fully credentialed43%
Salary Schedule
Teacher salary schedule$95,734 – $171,568
Principal salary$219,111 – $234,952
Superintendent salary$338,130

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

Course Breadth
AP courses offered0

What gets spent here

Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $64,189, CA average $14,815$64,189 · spent at this school
District current expense · FY 2024–25$32,023 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
Instruction62%
Instruction support14%
Student services7%
Administration7%
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$20,344 per pupil
2019$18,925 per pupil
2018$19,279 per pupil
2017$17,223 per pupil
2016$15,125 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood it serves

Hispanic51.1%
District 38.1% · CA 56.1%
White22.9%
District 15.9% · CA 19.9%
Asian12.2%
District 31.1% · CA 10.2%
Other10.7%
District 12.4% · CA 9.0%
Black3.0%
District 2.4% · CA 4.8%
GenderFemale 53.4%Male 45.8%Non-binary 0.8%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 42.0% (22pp below CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Median income$138K · CA $85K
Median home value$1.46M · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+57% · CA 35%
ZIP population39,834
Median age36 years

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

Worth Knowing

At 131 students, this school is much smaller than the typical California high school (≈1450).

Frequently asked questions

Is Wilson Alternative a good high school?

Wilson Alternative has a Scope Score of 20 out of 100, placing it in the 9th percentile of California high schools and ranked #1,966 statewide. 2.6% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 13.2 percentage points below the California average of 15.8%. The Scope Score weights 7 dimensions for high schools: graduation rate (25%), exceeded standard (22%), college/career readiness (20%), met or exceeded (proficient) (18%), 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 Wilson Alternative's CAASPP test scores?

On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 21.4% of students at Wilson Alternative met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 2.6% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 18.7% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 2.6% pushed past it. Most rating sites report only the combined "proficient" number. SchoolScope surfaces the exceeded-vs-met split because it reveals whether a school's curriculum challenges students beyond minimum proficiency or paces toward it. 36 student-subject combinations were assessed.

How does Wilson Alternative rank in California?

Wilson Alternative ranks #1,966 among California high schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 9th percentile. This ranking is based on a weighted composite of 2025 CAASPP test performance (exceeded and met rates), 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 Wilson Alternative?

46.0% of students at Wilson Alternative are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), compared to the California average of 30.2%. The suspension rate is 1.7%, 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 Wilson Alternative compare to other schools in Santa Clara?

Wilson Alternative scores 20/100 (9th percentile) among California high 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 131 students. Use the schools in Santa Clara page or the map view to compare all high schools nearby.

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.


For the data nerds

Every number on this page

Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.

01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Graduation rate · 25%
55.2%
↓ vs CA 87.6% · 11th pctile
Exceeded standard · 22%
2.6%
↓ vs CA 15.8% · 36th pctile
College readiness · 20%
0.0%
↓ vs CA 35.4% · 29th pctile
Met or exceeded · 18%
21.4%
↓ vs CA 35.7% · 40th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
46.0%
↓ vs CA 30.2% · 37th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
1.7%
↑ vs CA 3.6% · 59th pctile
EL proficiency (ELPAC) · 5%
46.7%
↑ vs CA 18.0% · 78th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 11195%32%42%21%37%−10
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 11170%6%12%82%6%−17
03Peer comparison · nearest high schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Wilson Alternative ←202.6%21.4%1.7%
Adrian Wilcox High2.2 mi6137.4%59.5%2.6%
Santa Clara High1.5 mi6135.0%57.4%2.9%
Abraham Lincoln High2.1 mi5315.3%35.7%4.9%
California average4415.8%35.7%3.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Graduation Rate
55.2%
AP Exam Prepared
Not offered
This school may not offer AP courses
A-G Completion
12.5%
A-G are the 15 courses (across 7 subjects) required for UC/CSU eligibility
College-Going Rate
48.4%
YearScopePctileRankExcMet+AbsentSuspGrowth
2019189#18666.2%28.2%56.5%7.2%
2022199#19067.4%24.9%34.9%0.9%
20232010#19298.6%31.4%49.8%1.2%
2024188#19758.4%20.9%48.6%2.8%
2025209#19662.6%21.4%46.0%1.7%
NO STATEWIDE TESTING 2020–21 (COVID) · SCORE AND PERCENTILE ARE RELATIVE TO EACH YEAR'S FIELD
What we can't show
  • — Subgroup results are suppressed for small student counts (fewer than 15 tested), following CDE privacy rules.
  • — Scored here as a high school — other grade spans appear in the data appendix.
05Climate by student groupchronic absenteeism · 2019 vs 2025 — the two years CDE publishes at subgroup level
Group20192025Δ
Female67.7%68.5%+0.8pp
Male63.5%47.6%-15.9pp
Asian59.4%27.8%-31.6pp
Black/African American52.9%
White22.2%
Hispanic/Latino66.5%63.9%-2.6pp
Two or More Races75.0%58.3%-16.7pp
Students with Disabilities55.1%54.1%-1.0pp
English Learners53.7%53.3%-0.4pp
Foster Youth83.3%
Homeless93.0%
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged67.6%67.4%-0.2pp
All Students65.4%58.0%-7.4pp
EXC = exceeded standard · MET+ = met or exceeded ("proficient") · Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=2,160 high schools · Vintages: climate subgroups 2019+2025 · district finance per its label · ACS 2022 · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue

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