Summary:
The Santa Rosa High area includes six district high schools serving grades 9–12: five comprehensive schools and Ridgway High (Continuation). In 2025–26, the schools’ unweighted average proficiency was about 40% in English language arts (ELA), 19% in math and 23% in science, compared with state results of 49%, 38% and 36%. The most important takeaway is that outcomes vary greatly by school, so the area-wide averages do not describe every family’s options.
Maria Carrillo High leads the group, with 64% proficient in ELA, 39% in math and 43% in science; its results are about 29, 25 and 23 points above the average of the other five schools. At the other end, Ridgway’s results are 10%, 5% and 8%, and it is a continuation school with a distinct setting. Santa Rosa High also stands out for improvement, while Piner High and Maria Carrillo have the highest graduation rates, at 96% each, versus 88% statewide. Attendance and dropout figures flag additional concerns at Ridgway: chronic absenteeism is 70% versus 18% statewide, and dropout is 16% versus 8%.
Results are moving in different directions: Santa Rosa gained about 8 points in ELA, 7 in math and 6 in science from 2024–25 to 2025–26, while Maria Carrillo fell about 1, 7 and 1 points, respectively. Across the six schools, average ELA slipped about 1 point, while math and science rose about 1 and 2 points; the group’s gap from state averages widened in all three subjects. SchoolDigger’s reported percentile ranking fell from 59 to 35 for Montgomery High over 2023–24 to 2025–26, while Ridgway’s rose from 5 to 10. Ratios also vary: Maria Carrillo has 21.7 students per teacher, compared with 11.7 at Ridgway. All six report free/reduced lunch eligible shares for 2024–25, ranging from 35% at Maria Carrillo to 72% at Elsie Allen High; these are context, not an explanation for school results.
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