Santa Cruz · Santa Cruz County

Schools in Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz’s 13 public elementary schools run from the 46th to the 96th percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Elementary · 13 schools

from 46th to 96th · among 5,726 California elementary schools we score · spring 2026 tests

  • Happy Valley Elementary: 96th percentile, Strong
  • Brook Knoll Elementary: 88th percentile, Strong
  • Westlake Elementary: 85th percentile, Strong
  • Bay View Elementary: 70th percentile, Solid
  • Tierra Pacifica Charter: 69th percentile, Solid
  • Santa Cruz Gardens Elementary: 68th percentile, Solid
  • De Laveaga Elementary: 65th percentile, Solid
  • Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch: 65th percentile, Solid
  • Green Acres Elementary: 64th percentile, Solid
  • Bonny Doon Elementary: 64th percentile, Solid
  • Gault Elementary: 60th percentile, Solid
  • Del Mar Elementary: 54th percentile, Solid
  • Live Oak Elementary: 46th percentile, Developing
0Needs Support
1Developing
9Solid
3Strong

One dot per school.

Middle and high school pictures

Middle · 6 schools

from 38th to 80th · among 2,529 California middle schools we score · spring 2026 tests

  • Tierra Pacifica Charter: 80th percentile, Strong
  • Mission Hill Middle: 80th percentile, Strong
  • Branciforte Middle: 67th percentile, Solid
  • Alternative Family Education: 55th percentile, Solid
  • Shoreline Middle: 52nd percentile, Solid
  • Ocean Alternative Education Center: 38th percentile, Developing
0Needs Support
1Developing
3Solid
2Strong

High · 4 schools

from 12th to 98th · among 1,498 California high schools we score · spring 2025 tests

  • Pacific Collegiate Charter: 98th percentile, Strong
  • Santa Cruz High: 86th percentile, Strong
  • Harbor High: 53rd percentile, Solid
  • Ark Independent Studies: 12th percentile, Needs Support
1Needs Support
0Developing
1Solid
2Strong

One dot per school. Each stage is placed only among California schools at its own level. 1 of the 22 ranked schools teaches two levels, so it appears in more than one picture.

Schools around Santa Cruz

26 listed public schools with mapped locations.

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Percentile among California schools at the same level

  • Strong75th+
  • Solid50–74th
  • Developing25–49th
  • Needs Supportbelow 25th
  • Not scored

The school lists on this page are also available without the map.

Elementary schools

Which elementary schools in Santa Cruz score highest?

Happy Valley Elementary is highest, at the 96th percentile.

That’s higher than 96 in 100 of the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Highest in Santa Cruz

Each percentile compares a school with California schools at its own level. What patterns mean

Show the other 10 elementary schools
Context

The average Santa Cruz elementary school had 12 in 100 students chronically absent (missed 10% or more of school days) in 2025–26; the average California elementary school we score had 17 in 100. Both are averages of school rates, each school counted once.

Middle schools

Which middle schools in Santa Cruz score highest?

Tierra Pacifica Charter and Mission Hill Middle are highest, both at the 80th percentile.

That’s higher than 80 in 100 of the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Highest in Santa Cruz

Each percentile compares a school with California schools at its own level.

Show the other 3 middle schools
Context

The average Santa Cruz middle school had 11 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California middle school we score had 18 in 100.

High schools

Which high schools in Santa Cruz score highest?

Pacific Collegiate Charter is highest, at the 98th percentile.

That’s higher than 98 in 100 of the 1,498 California high schools we score (spring 2025 tests).

Highest in Santa Cruz

Each percentile compares a school with California schools at its own level. What patterns mean

  • Pacific Collegiate CharterSanta Cruz County Office of Education · High ceiling · Broad base · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
    98thStrongScope Score 90
  • Santa Cruz HighSanta Cruz City High
    86thStrongScope Score 73
  • Harbor HighSanta Cruz City High
    53rdSolidScope Score 56
Show the other 1 high school
Context

The average Santa Cruz high school had 22 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California high school we score had 22 in 100.

4 high schools not ranked statewide

Continuation schools, court and community schools and special education centers enroll students differently from a regular school, so each is compared only with its own kind or not ranked.

11 private schools have a Santa Cruz address. They don’t take California’s state tests, so we don’t score them. See them in the private-school directory →

Which places nearby can you look at next?

School districts

More places (8)

ZIP codes

Before kindergarten

Common questions

Which public schools in Santa Cruz rank highest?

Elementary: Happy Valley Elementary, 96th percentile (Strong). Middle: 2 schools at the 80th percentile (Strong): Tierra Pacifica Charter and Mission Hill Middle. High: Pacific Collegiate Charter, 98th percentile (Strong). Each percentile is among the California schools at the same level we score. A rank doesn’t decide fit or whether a child can enroll.

Does living in Santa Cruz decide which school my child attends?

No. A city can hold schools from more than one district, and attendance boundaries decide which school serves an address. Confirm the school for your address with the district.
More questions (3)

Are the public schools in Santa Cruz good?

Santa Cruz’s 13 public elementary schools run from the 46th to the 96th percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 3 Strong, 9 Solid and 1 Developing. Santa Cruz’s 6 public middle schools run from the 38th to the 80th percentile among the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 2 Strong, 3 Solid and 1 Developing. Santa Cruz’s 4 public high schools run from the 12th to the 98th percentile among the 1,498 California high schools we score (spring 2025 tests). By band: 2 Strong, 1 Solid and 1 Needs Support. A percentile compares a school with California public schools at the same level that we score. How we score schools.

How does chronic absence in Santa Cruz compare with California?

The average Santa Cruz elementary school had 12 in 100 students chronically absent (missed 10% or more of school days) in 2025–26; the average California elementary school we score had 17 in 100. Both are averages of school rates, each school counted once. The average Santa Cruz middle school had 11 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California middle school we score had 18 in 100. The average Santa Cruz high school had 22 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California high school we score had 22 in 100. These are averages of school rates: each school counts once, whatever its size.

Where do these results come from?

California’s state tests (CAASPP): spring 2026 for elementary and middle schools, spring 2025 for high schools, and chronic-absence rates for 2025–26, published by the California Department of Education. Percentiles, bands and Scope Scores are SchoolScope’s calculations. How we score schools.

Sources and methodology

This page lists the public schools with a Santa Cruz address, which can belong to more than one school district.

Data source: California Department of Education · CAASPP 2025–26 elementary and middle school; 2024–25 high school

Percentiles, bands and Scope Scores are SchoolScope’s own calculations from these state files.

View CDE data ↗ (opens in a new tab)How Scope Scores work →

Download these schools (CSV)Free to use under CC BY 4.0 with attribution.