Santee

The 10 schools in Santee are categorized as elementary schools; most serve kindergarten through grade 8, while Sycamore Canyon serves kindergarten through grade 6. In 2025–2026, the nine schools with reported results averaged 60% in English language arts (ELA), 50% in math and 44% in science, compared with state averages of 49%, 38% and 36%. All nine were above the state in ELA and science, and eight of nine were above it in math. The most important takeaway is that these area averages conceal wide differences from school to school.

Sycamore Canyon led ELA at 74%, while Carlton Hills narrowly led math at 58%; Carlton Oaks led science at 52%. Each was well ahead of the other eight schools’ average in its leading subject: 58% for ELA, 49% for math and 44% for science. At the other end, Cajon Park had the lowest ELA and math results, 50% and 38%—12 and 14 percentage points below the other schools’ averages. Chet F. Harritt had the lowest science result at 39%, though that was 3 points above the state average. Across schools, the highest-to-lowest spread was 25 points in ELA, 20 in math and 13 in science.

Recent changes were mixed: the school average rose by about 1 point in ELA and science, but dipped slightly in math; the group’s advantage over the state held at about 11 points in ELA and narrowed from 13 to 11 points in math and from 11 to 8 in science. Carlton Oaks improved in all three subjects, while Rio Seco declined in all three. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking rose for Carlton Oaks, from the 78th to the 82nd percentile, while Sycamore Canyon remained high but slipped from the 86th to the 83rd percentile. Ratios and income measures are context, not explanations: Sycamore Canyon’s student–teacher ratio was 20.7, compared with 22.8 at science-leading Carlton Oaks; free/reduced lunch eligible figures for school year 2024–2025 ranged from 37% at Sycamore Canyon to 58% at Pepper Drive. Averages are unweighted, and Santee Alternative has no reported ELA or math result and a suppressed science result.