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High Schools in Santa Barbara Unified


At a glance
DistrictSanta Barbara Unified665th of 1,543 California districtsFull district overview →
5
Schools
6,195
Students
Top rankedDos Pueblos Senior High344th of 2,162 California high schools
Biggest riser
San Marcos Senior High up 96 spots statewide this year
Smallest classes
Alta Vista Alternative High 12.6 students per teacher
SchoolDigger ratings
4★
2★
1★
0★
Summary:

The Santa Barbara Unified School District serves high school students through five institutions, including three large comprehensive high schools and two smaller alternative programs, located in the coastal city of Santa Barbara, California.

Among the comprehensive high schools, Dos Pueblos Senior High stands out as the top academic performer, achieving the highest test scores and statewide ranking in the district, along with a strong 95.8% graduation rate and the lowest chronic absenteeism. San Marcos Senior High shows notable improvement in its ranking and boasts the highest graduation rate at 96.0%, while Santa Barbara Senior High has comparable graduation success but lower test proficiency and higher chronic absenteeism than its peers.

The district's two alternative schools, Alta Vista Alternative High and La Cuesta Continuation High, serve at-risk students and operate with significantly more resources per student but face profound challenges, including very high dropout and chronic absenteeism rates and low test scores. Overall, the Santa Barbara Unified district exceeds state averages in graduation rates and most test scores, demonstrating effective support for student completion, though significant performance disparities exist between its different types of schools.

Ranking:
Map legend
E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private




SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.

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