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Santa Cruz County Office of Education

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At a glance

This district is not ranked due to insufficient test score data.

High 3 Alternative 1Grades K-12

400 Encinal St.
Santa Cruz, CA 95060-2115·(831) 466-5600·All California district rankings →

Statewide performance 2012–2023

2023: better than 15.4% of districts

Schools

1,062

Students

Top rankedSanta Cruz County Community1564^th of 2,135 California high schools

Compare California districts →See the top-ranked California schools →

Summary:

The four schools in Santa Cruz County Office of Education serve grades K–12 overall: three are high schools and one is an alternative school, with individual enrollments ranging from 20 to 730. The clearest academic contrast is in 12th-grade science: Santa Cruz County Community had 20% proficient, compared with 0% at Santa Cruz County Career Advancement Charter; both were below the state’s 33%.

Santa Cruz County Community stands out for the stronger reported 12th-grade science result and graduation rate: its science score was 20 points above Charter’s, and its 2025–26 graduation rate was 82% versus Charter’s 27%. Community’s graduation rate was 6 points below the state rate, while Charter’s was 61 points below; their dropout rates were 18% and 73%, respectively. Absenteeism tells a different story: Charter and Santa Cruz County Court each reported 0% chronic absenteeism, while Santa Cruz County Special Education had the highest rate, 42%—24 points above the state.

Santa Cruz County Community’s test results moved in different directions from 2024–25 to 2025–26: ELA fell from 31% to 28%, mathematics edged down from 6.4% to 6.2%, and science rose from 18% to 19%. Even with the science increase, its gap to the state widened because the state result rose more. SchoolDigger’s Community ranking history went from the 31st percentile in 2023–24 to the 27th in 2025–26; its 4-star rating and rank of 210 out of 968 apply to the district, not individual schools. Student–teacher ratios range from 7 at Special Education to 27.4 at Charter. Reported free/reduced lunch eligible (FRL) shares, sy 2024–25, range from 12% at Charter to 85% at Court; these figures provide context, not an explanation of outcomes.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				CAST Science (2026)			Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2026)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2026)				Vaccination (2024-25)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science 12th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Vaccination: Kindergartners with all required immunizations	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Santa Cruz County Special Education	Public, Alternative	K-12	400 Encinal St.	Santa Cruz	95060	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 466-5700	105	15	7.0	34.3%	50 (47.6%)	1 (1.0%)	36 (34.3%)	9 (8.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (8.6%)								(n/a)
Santa Cruz County Court	Public	7-12	400 Encinal St.	Santa Cruz	95060	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 466-5728	20	2	10.0	85.0%	4 (20.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (75.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (5.0%)								(n/a)														$79,935	$19,521	$60,414
Santa Cruz County Community	Public	7-12	400 Encinal St.	Santa Cruz	95060	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 466-5728	730	32	22.6	58.5%	256 (35.1%)	9 (1.2%)	426 (58.4%)	12 (1.6%)	8 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (1.5%)	26	1564^th of 2135 public high schools	26.7%		31.3	1461^st of 2162 public high schools	32.4%	103		20.5	19.4			28.7	27.6			6.0	6.2			$32,367	$1,642	$30,725
Santa Cruz County Career Advancement Charter	Public, Charter	12	229 Green Valley Rd.	Freedom	95076	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz County Office of Education	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 466-5697	207	8	27.4	12.1%	44 (21.3%)	0 (0.0%)	161 (77.8%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)								(n/a)		0.0	0.0											$25,592	$1,208	$24,384

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Santa Cruz County Regional Occupational Program	0.06 mi	1
Santa Cruz City Elementary	0.85 mi	5	368^th
Santa Cruz City High	0.94 mi	9	567^th
Scotts Valley Unified	2.04 mi	4	130^th
Pacific Collegiate Charter District	2.22 mi	1	61^st

See the top CA California districts

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.