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McKinley Elementary

Public Grades K-6
5460th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 5,804 California Elementary Schools
Better than 6% of California elementary schools
Summary

McKinley Elementary serves 293 students in grades K–6 in Santa Barbara, within Santa Barbara Unified. The most important finding is that 2025–2026 proficiency was 19% in ELA, 15% in math and 16% in science, compared with 49%, 38% and 36% statewide—McKinley trails in all three core subjects, especially ELA.

McKinley is below the district and nearby schools in each core subject as well. Its ELA rate of 19% compares with 53% in the district and a 47% average among eight nearby district schools; its 15% in math is below the district’s 44% and nearby average of 45%. Science is the least far behind: 16% versus 40% in the district and a nearby average of 35%; only Cleveland Elementary was lower among those nearby schools. McKinley had the lowest nearby-school ELA and math rates. Fourth grade was a particular weak spot, while sixth grade was relatively stronger but still below state results. One exception outside the core subjects: CSA Spanish Writing reached 18%, slightly above the state’s 17%.

Results and school measures show both improvement and continuing concerns. Since 2022–2023, ELA proficiency fell 3 points and math fell 4, while science rose 4 points overall; chronic absenteeism improved from 40% in 2021–2022 to 13% in 2025–2026, below the state and district rates of about 18%. SchoolDigger rates McKinley at the 6th percentile with 0 stars for 2025–2026, down from the 24th percentile in 2021–2022; the district is at the 63rd percentile with 3 stars. McKinley’s 2024–2025 student-teacher ratio was 17.0:1, close to nearby schools’ 16.5:1 average. Its free/reduced lunch eligible share was 81% that year, compared with a nearby-school average of 70%; this is context, not an explanation for results. A notable subgroup exception is SchoolDigger’s English Language Learner Students ranking: the group reached the 50th percentile in 2023–2024, compared with the school’s overall 13th percentile that year. This is a relative ranking, not a direct measure of individual students.

293
Students ?
17.0
Student/teacher ratio ?
$20,270
Per pupil spending ?
80.9%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
All students in California receive free school meals.
 350 Loma Alta Dr.
       Santa Barbara, CA  93109-2359

(805) 966-9926

District: Santa Barbara Unified


Students who attend McKinley Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    La Cumbre Junior High
High:    Santa Barbara Senior High
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
89.1%
White:
6.8%
Two or more races:
3.8%
more
 See top rated California elementary schools

 Compare McKinley Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 26th percentile in 2015 → 6th in 2026
Worth a look
!Test scores below the California average (14% vs 42% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (6th percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 20 percentile points since 2015
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school14%
District avg46%
California avg42%
5,460th of 5,804
California public elementary schools ?
Bottom 6%▼ down 5 pts since 2016
From bottom 11% (2016) to bottom 6% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
12th of 12Elementary Schools in the Santa Barbara Unified
354th of 968Santa Barbara Unified among California districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202612.05460 of 58045.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202519.34893 of 585716.5%★☆☆☆☆
202417.25099 of 586913.1%★☆☆☆☆
202320.04846 of 585917.3%★☆☆☆☆
202223.74480 of 588323.8%★☆☆☆☆
201912.95386 of 57897.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201810.35424 of 56624.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201713.95200 of 56928.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201615.84974 of 561411.4%★☆☆☆☆
201524.64165 of 561125.8%★☆☆☆☆
201324.84413 of 553020.2%★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
201918.12441 of 25855.6%☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202443.71572 of 316250.3%★★★☆☆
202336.32058 of 324536.6%★★☆☆☆
202225.92885 of 331112.9%★☆☆☆☆
201920.73139 of 32754.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201819.63072 of 32465.4%☆☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202611.05346 of 55694.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202522.04510 of 559719.4%★☆☆☆☆
202419.74738 of 561215.6%★☆☆☆☆
202324.14320 of 560923.0%★☆☆☆☆
202225.64158 of 563526.2%★☆☆☆☆
201914.55058 of 54927.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201811.45169 of 54134.5%☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202614.44759 of 50856.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202521.94330 of 510715.2%★☆☆☆☆
202422.84295 of 510715.9%★☆☆☆☆
202327.63896 of 508723.4%★☆☆☆☆
202232.13518 of 508430.8%★★☆☆☆
201916.74574 of 49637.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201812.74609 of 48304.6%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202612.55170 of 54124.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202520.04722 of 546013.5%★☆☆☆☆
202423.84478 of 551718.8%★☆☆☆☆
202325.54261 of 536320.5%★☆☆☆☆
202235.63368 of 526436.0%★★☆☆☆
201916.64755 of 51738.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201814.84758 of 50846.4%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankCalifornia percentileRating
202617.94841 of 559013.4%★☆☆☆☆
202520.84638 of 562817.6%★☆☆☆☆
202420.94624 of 564318.1%★☆☆☆☆
202317.84917 of 563812.8%★☆☆☆☆
202225.64183 of 566326.1%★☆☆☆☆
201912.15248 of 55104.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201810.45252 of 54313.3%☆☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
English Language Learner (2024)50th percentile+37 vs school
Male (2026)13th percentile+7 vs school
Hispanic (2026)6th percentile~ school
Disabled (2019)6th percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)4th percentile~ school
Female (2026)4th percentile~ school
By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts/Literacy19%-31 vs state
Writing18%~ state avg
Science16%-20 vs state
Mathematics15%-24 vs state
Listening14%-10 vs state
Reading7%~ state avg
Overall5%-5 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about McKinley Elementary

McKinley Elementary ranks in the bottom 5.9% of California elementary schools.

In the 2024-25 school year, 293 students attended McKinley Elementary.

Students at McKinley Elementary are 89% Hispanic, 7% White, 4% Two or more races.

Students who attend McKinley Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : La Cumbre Junior High
High : Santa Barbara Senior High

Rate McKinley Elementary!



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Latest California data All new data »
2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNewOct 15, 2026
2025–26 CAST, CSA Spanish & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresNewOct 15, 2026
2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026
2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026


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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