High Schools in Atascadero Unified

Atascadero Unified has three high schools in the Atascadero area: Atascadero High and Paloma Creek High serve grades 9–12, while Atascadero Choices in Education Academy (ACE) serves grades 6–12. The most important difference is that Paloma Creek is a clear outlier: its 2025–2026 proficiency was 20% in English language arts (ELA) and 0% in math and science, and its graduation, dropout, and chronic-absenteeism results were also much worse than the state’s.

ACE led in all-grades ELA and science, with 64% proficient in ELA and 42% in science; Atascadero High followed at 55% and 40%, respectively. Atascadero High led in math at 29%, compared with 19% at ACE and 0% at Paloma Creek, though it was still below the state’s 38%. ACE and Atascadero High also had graduation rates above the state’s 88%: 100% and 98%, compared with Paloma Creek’s 64%. Paloma Creek’s dropout rate was 33% versus 8% statewide, and its chronic absenteeism was 97% versus 18%. SchoolDigger placed Atascadero High at the 63rd percentile, ACE at the 57th, and Paloma Creek at the 7th.

Recent changes were mixed: from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, ACE rose 20 percentage points in ELA and 21 points in science, while Atascadero High declined 5 points in ELA and 3 in math; Paloma Creek gained 8 points in ELA but remained at 0% in math and fell 4 points in science. Across the three schools, the average moved closer to the state in ELA and science, but the math gap widened. Context also differs: 2024–2025 student–teacher ratios ranged from 16.0 at Paloma Creek to 28.5 at ACE, and free/reduced lunch eligible rates that year were 71% at Paloma Creek, 45% at Atascadero High, and 41% at ACE. These figures do not follow a simple pattern with results. All-grades comparisons reflect different grade spans; the 11th-grade results show a similar broad pattern.