Santa Monica · Los Angeles County

Schools in Santa Monica

Santa Monica’s 8 public elementary schools run from the 60th to the 99th percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Elementary · 8 schools

from 60th to 99th · among 5,726 California elementary schools we score · spring 2026 tests

  • Franklin Elementary: 99th percentile, Strong
  • Canyon Charter Elementary: 96th percentile, Strong
  • Edison Elementary: 93rd percentile, Strong
  • Grant Elementary: 89th percentile, Strong
  • Roosevelt Elementary: 89th percentile, Strong
  • Santa Monica Alternative (K-8): 86th percentile, Strong
  • McKinley Elementary: 83rd percentile, Strong
  • Will Rogers Elementary: 60th percentile, Solid
0Needs Support
0Developing
1Solid
7Strong

One dot per school.

Middle and high school pictures

Middle · 3 schools

from 81st to 91st · among 2,529 California middle schools we score · spring 2026 tests

  • Santa Monica Alternative (K-8): 91st percentile, Strong
  • Lincoln Middle: 91st percentile, Strong
  • John Adams Middle: 81st percentile, Strong
0Needs Support
0Developing
0Solid
3Strong

High · 1 school

at 93rd · among 1,498 California high schools we score · spring 2025 tests

  • Santa Monica High: 93rd percentile, Strong
0Needs Support
0Developing
0Solid
1Strong

One dot per school. Each stage is placed only among California schools at its own level. 1 of the 11 ranked schools teaches two levels, so it appears in more than one picture.

Schools around Santa Monica

12 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 Monica score highest?

Franklin Elementary is highest, at the 99th percentile.

That’s higher than 99 in 100 of the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Highest in Santa Monica

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

  • Franklin ElementarySanta Monica-Malibu Unified · High ceiling · Broad base · Grade-to-grade gains
    99thStrongScope Score 87
  • Canyon Charter ElementaryLos Angeles Unified · High ceiling · Broad base · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
    96thStrongScope Score 77
  • Edison ElementarySanta Monica-Malibu Unified · High ceiling · Broad base
    93rdStrongScope Score 72
Show the other 5 elementary schools
Context

The average Santa Monica elementary school had 9 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 Monica score highest?

Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) and Lincoln Middle are highest, both at the 91st percentile.

That’s higher than 91 in 100 of the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Highest in Santa Monica

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

Context

The average Santa Monica middle school had 10 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California middle school we score had 18 in 100.

High schools

Where does the high school we score in Santa Monica stand?

Santa Monica High is at the 93rd percentile.

That’s higher than 93 in 100 of the 1,498 California high schools we score (spring 2025 tests). It’s the only public high school we score in Santa Monica.

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

1 high school not ranked statewide

15 private schools have a Santa Monica 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

Guides

Before kindergarten

Common questions

Which public schools in Santa Monica rank highest?

Elementary: Franklin Elementary, 99th percentile (Strong). Middle: 2 schools at the 91st percentile (Strong): Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) and Lincoln Middle. High: Santa Monica High, 93rd 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 Monica 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 Monica good?

Santa Monica’s 8 public elementary schools run from the 60th to the 99th percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 7 Strong and 1 Solid. Santa Monica’s 3 public middle schools run from the 81st to the 91st percentile among the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 3 Strong. Santa Monica has one public high school we score, Santa Monica High, at the 93rd percentile among the 1,498 California high schools we score (spring 2025 tests). By band: 1 Strong. 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 Monica compare with California?

The average Santa Monica elementary school had 9 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 Monica middle school had 10 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California middle school we score had 18 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 Monica 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.