Watsonville · Santa Cruz County

Schools in Watsonville

Watsonville’s 16 public elementary schools run from the bottom 1% to the 44th percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Elementary · 16 schools

from bottom 1% to 44th · among 5,726 California elementary schools we score · spring 2026 tests

  • Watsonville Prep: 44th percentile, Developing
  • Watsonville Charter School of the Arts: 42nd percentile, Developing
  • Linscott Charter: 37th percentile, Developing
  • Bradley Elementary: 26th percentile, Developing
  • Starlight Elementary: 25th percentile, Developing
  • Alianza Charter: 20th percentile, Needs Support
  • Hall District Elementary: 18th percentile, Needs Support
  • Ohlone Elementary: 16th percentile, Needs Support
  • H. A. Hyde Elementary: 13th percentile, Needs Support
  • Calabasas Elementary: 8th percentile, Needs Support
  • Radcliff Elementary: 5th percentile, Needs Support
  • T. S. MacQuiddy Elementary: 3rd percentile, Needs Support
  • Ann Soldo Elementary: 1st percentile, Needs Support
  • Mintie White Elementary: 1st percentile, Needs Support
  • Landmark Elementary: 1st percentile, Needs Support
  • Amesti Elementary: bottom 1%, Needs Support
11Needs Support
5Developing
0Solid
0Strong

One dot per school.

Middle and high school pictures

Middle · 10 schools

from 1st to 58th · among 2,529 California middle schools we score · spring 2026 tests

  • Linscott Charter: 58th percentile, Solid
  • Ceiba College Preparatory Academy: 57th percentile, Solid
  • Watsonville Prep: 45th percentile, Developing
  • Watsonville Charter School of the Arts: 35th percentile, Developing
  • Lakeview Middle: 29th percentile, Developing
  • Alianza Charter: 17th percentile, Needs Support
  • Cesar E. Chavez Middle: 16th percentile, Needs Support
  • Rolling Hills Middle: 12th percentile, Needs Support
  • Pajaro Middle: 4th percentile, Needs Support
  • E. A. Hall Middle: 1st percentile, Needs Support
5Needs Support
3Developing
2Solid
0Strong

High · 3 schools

from 17th to 82nd · among 1,498 California high schools we score · spring 2025 tests

  • Ceiba College Preparatory Academy: 82nd percentile, Strong
  • Pajaro Valley High: 21st percentile, Needs Support
  • Watsonville High: 17th percentile, Needs Support
2Needs Support
0Developing
0Solid
1Strong

One dot per school. Each stage is placed only among California schools at its own level. 5 of the 24 ranked schools teach two levels, so they appear in more than one picture.

Schools around Watsonville

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 Watsonville score highest?

Watsonville Prep is highest, at the 44th percentile.

That’s higher than 44 in 100 of the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Highest in Watsonville

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

  • Watsonville PrepSBE - Watsonville Prep · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
    44thDevelopingScope Score 33
  • Watsonville Charter School of the ArtsPajaro Valley Unified · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
    42ndDevelopingScope Score 32
  • Linscott CharterPajaro Valley Unified · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
    37thDevelopingScope Score 30
Show the other 13 elementary schools
Context

The average Watsonville elementary school had 20 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 Watsonville score highest?

Linscott Charter is highest, at the 58th percentile.

That’s higher than 58 in 100 of the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests).

Highest in Watsonville

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

  • Linscott CharterPajaro Valley Unified · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
    58thSolidScope Score 41
  • Ceiba College Preparatory AcademyPajaro Valley Unified · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
    57thSolidScope Score 41
  • Watsonville PrepSBE - Watsonville Prep · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
    45thDevelopingScope Score 36
Show the other 7 middle schools
Context

The average Watsonville middle school had 18 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 Watsonville score highest?

Ceiba College Preparatory Academy is highest, at the 82nd percentile.

That’s higher than 82 in 100 of the 1,498 California high schools we score (spring 2025 tests).

Highest in Watsonville

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

Context

The average Watsonville high school had 17 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California high school we score had 22 in 100.

2 high schools not ranked statewide

Court and community schools enroll students differently from a regular school, so we don’t rank them. The others have no statewide percentile this year.

6 private schools have a Watsonville 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 (3)

ZIP codes

Before kindergarten

Common questions

Which public schools in Watsonville rank highest?

Elementary: Watsonville Prep, 44th percentile (Developing). Middle: Linscott Charter, 58th percentile (Solid). High: Ceiba College Preparatory Academy, 82nd 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 Watsonville 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 Watsonville good?

Watsonville’s 16 public elementary schools run from the bottom 1% to the 44th percentile among the 5,726 California elementary schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 5 Developing and 11 Needs Support. Watsonville’s 10 public middle schools run from the 1st to the 58th percentile among the 2,529 California middle schools we score (spring 2026 tests). By band: 2 Solid, 3 Developing and 5 Needs Support. Watsonville’s 3 public high schools run from the 17th to the 82nd percentile among the 1,498 California high schools we score (spring 2025 tests). By band: 1 Strong and 2 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 Watsonville compare with California?

The average Watsonville elementary school had 20 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 Watsonville middle school had 18 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26; the average California middle school we score had 18 in 100. The average Watsonville high school had 17 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 Watsonville 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.