Summary:
Santa Barbara Unified includes 19 schools: 10 elementary, 4 middle and 5 high schools, serving students across the K–12 years. The schools’ unweighted 2025–26 averages were 47% in ELA, 38% in math and 34% in science, compared with state averages of 49%, 38% and 36%. Results vary substantially from school to school, especially in science, where the gap between the highest and lowest school was 70 percentage points. The most important takeaway for families is that an area-wide average does not capture the very different results at individual schools.
Several schools lead their own grade-level groups across multiple subjects. Washington Elementary topped the elementary results with 65% in ELA, 62% in math and 74% in science; McKinley Elementary was lowest in ELA and math at 19% and 15%, while Cleveland Elementary was lowest in science at 4%. Among middle schools, La Colina Junior High led in all three subjects; compared with the lowest school in each subject, its lead was 33 points in ELA, 37 in math and 25 in science. Dos Pueblos Senior High led high schools in ELA, math and science, scoring 71%, 48% and 51%. La Cuesta Continuation High was lowest, at 17%, 6% and 11%, respectively; its continuation-school setting makes it a different comparison from a comprehensive high school.
Average results improved from 2024–25 to 2025–26 by 2 points in ELA and 3 points each in math and science, but individual schools moved in different directions: Washington gained 33 points in science, while Santa Barbara Charter fell 24 points. Other school context also varies: Franklin Elementary had a 91% free/reduced lunch eligible share in 2024–25, yet its ELA and math results were above the state figures; Washington had a 41% share and led elementary results. These are observations, not explanations of performance; families may find each school’s results more useful than broad averages when comparing options.
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