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Ocean Alternative Education Center

Public Grades K-8

Summary

Ocean Alternative Education Center is a 76-student K–8 school in Santa Cruz, in the Live Oak Elementary district. Its 2025–2026 proficiency was 47% in English language arts (ELA), 32% in math, and 36% in science. Math stands out as the clearest concern: Ocean scored below every nearby school, averaging 11 percentage points below them, and was also below district and state results.

Ocean’s strongest comparison is its very low reported chronic absenteeism: 0% in 2025–2026, compared with 12% in the district, 18% statewide, and 6%–20% at nearby schools. ELA was close to the district (47% versus 47%), though 2 points below the state and 3 points below the nearby-school average. Science was essentially level with the state (36% versus 36%), but 5 points below the district and 7 points below the nearby-school average. Eighth-grade math was especially low at 17%, compared with 29% in the district and 36% statewide. Nearby schools serve K–5, so their all-grades scores are not direct grade-span matches for Ocean, and several of Ocean’s grade-level results are suppressed.

Results have moved unevenly: math gained 2 percentage points from 2022–2023 to 2025–2026, but fell from 39% in 2024–2025 to 32%; science dropped 24 points from 60% to 36% over the last year. ELA declined 6 points over the four-year period, and its earlier advantage over the state became a 2-point shortfall. SchoolDigger’s available rating for Ocean is 3 stars and the 65th percentile in 2021–2022; it is not from the same year as nearby schools’ ratings, so a current rank comparison is unavailable. Ocean’s 2024–2025 student-teacher ratio was 21.5, the lowest among nearby schools (21.8–24.3), while enrollment was also the smallest. In 2024–2025, 47% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible, near the middle of the nearby range (25%–62%); this is the reported eligibility measure, not the share receiving free meals statewide.

Students ?

21.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

47.4%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in California receive free school meals.

Not published

Kindergartners with all required immunizations (2024-25)

984 Bostwick Ln. Ste. 6
Santa Cruz, CA 95062-1775

(831) 475-0767

District: Live Oak Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

52.6%

Hispanic:

31.6%

Two or more races:

14.5%

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Compare Ocean Alternative Education Center to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school39%

District avg42%

California avg42%

1,560^th of 2,740

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 43%▲ up 18 pts since 2016

From bottom 25% (2016) to bottom 43% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

635^th of 1,530Live Oak Elementary 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)

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	37.9	1560 of 2740	43.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	87.8	328 of 2783	88.2%	★★★★☆
2023	58.2	954 of 2781	65.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	46.6	1262 of 2740	53.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	61.0	895 of 2715	67.0%	★★★☆☆
2016	24.2	1864 of 2497	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	49.8	1097 of 2516	56.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	78.7	465 of 2551	81.8%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	31.9	1622 of 2458	34.0%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	51.0	1029 of 2527	59.3%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	21.5	1249 of 1555	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Middle school

Male (2022)59th percentile+5 vs school

Female (2026)56th percentile+13 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2022)34th percentile-20 vs school

White (2022)20th percentile-34 vs school

By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy47%~ state avg

Science36%~ state avg

Mathematics32%-6 vs state

★

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Schools Near Ocean Alternative Education Center

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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 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	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 All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th 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
Ocean Alternative Education Center	Public	K-8	984 Bostwick Ln. Ste. 6	Santa Cruz	95062	Santa Cruz County	Live Oak Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 475-0767	76	4	21.5	47.4%	40 (52.6%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (31.6%)	1 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (14.5%)								(n/a)		33.3	36.4						44.4	47.2				27.3		16.7	32.1
Tierra Pacifica Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	986 Bostwick Ln.	Santa Cruz	95062	Santa Cruz County	Tierra Pacifica Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(831) 462-9404	0			—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)																		≥ 95%
Green Acres Elementary	Public	K-5	966 Bostwick Ln.	Santa Cruz	95062	Santa Cruz County	Live Oak Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 475-0111	262	12	21.8	54.2%	104 (39.7%)	7 (2.7%)	128 (48.9%)	10 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (4.6%)	58.7	2128^th of 5817 public elementary schools	63.4%		51.2	2538^th of 5857 public elementary schools	56.7%	410	40.0		40.0	47.2	47.6	52.3				49.2	61.1	33.3	44.4				45.5	95%	0%
Live Oak Elementary	Public	K-5	1916 Capitola Rd.	Santa Cruz	95062	Santa Cruz County	Live Oak Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 475-2000	362	15	24.1	58.6%	90 (24.9%)	5 (1.4%)	252 (69.6%)	7 (1.9%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.7%)	46.2	2841^st of 5817 public elementary schools	51.2%		35.7	3527^th of 5857 public elementary schools	39.8%	686	32.3		32.3	58.0	40.8	38.5				45.1	68.0	28.6	20.0				37.2	≥ 98%
De Laveaga Elementary	Public	K-5	1145 Morrissey Blvd.	Santa Cruz	95065	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 429-3807	481	20	23.5	27.7%	221 (45.9%)	6 (1.2%)	200 (41.6%)	19 (4.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (7.1%)	63.1	1920^th of 5817 public elementary schools	67.0%		66.6	1761^st of 5857 public elementary schools	69.9%	159	44.3		44.3	49.3	50.6	47.1				49.1	50.8	51.8	47.1				50.0	≥ 98%		$24,104	$23,622	$482
Del Mar Elementary	Public	K-5	1959 Merrill St.	Santa Cruz	95062	Santa Cruz County	Live Oak Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 477-2063	322	14	23.0	62.4%	109 (33.9%)	7 (2.2%)	189 (58.7%)	7 (2.2%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.8%)	53.8	2395^th of 5817 public elementary schools	58.8%		42.3	3048^th of 5857 public elementary schools	48.0%	653	50.0		50.0	47.0	36.9	55.8				45.9	42.7	38.5	40.4				40.5	≥ 98%
Gault Elementary	Public	K-5	1320 Seabright Ave.	Santa Cruz	95062	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 429-3856	314	14	22.4	48.1%	100 (31.8%)	2 (0.6%)	192 (61.1%)	4 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (5.1%)	54.4	2367^th of 5817 public elementary schools	59.3%		50.3	2573^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	56.1%	206	40.0		40.0	49.0	41.4	50.0				46.4	53.9	36.2	40.0				43.2	≥ 98%		$29,954	$28,478	$1,476
Santa Cruz Gardens Elementary	Public	K-5	8005 Winkle Ave.	Santa Cruz	95065	Santa Cruz County	Soquel Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 464-5670	214	9	24.3	30.4%	113 (52.8%)	0 (0.0%)	82 (38.3%)	2 (0.9%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (7.5%)	55.6	2294^th of 5817 public elementary schools	60.6%		53.2	2414^th of 5857 public elementary schools	58.8%	120	38.5		38.5	53.9	43.8	57.7				51.6	47.5	34.4	36.0				40.2	92%	0%	$18,864	$18,084	$780
Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch	Public	K-5	840 North Branciforte Ave.	Santa Cruz	95062	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 429-3898	114	5	22.8	27.2%	63 (55.3%)	1 (0.9%)	26 (22.8%)	3 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (18.4%)	68.4	1663^rd of 5817 public elementary schools	71.4%		77.2	1270^th of 5857 public elementary schools	78.3%	393	58.3		58.3	43.8	55.0	66.7				56.7	37.5	45.0	50.0				45.0			$32,890	$32,316	$574
Soquel Elementary	Public	K-5	2700 Porter St.	Soquel	95073	Santa Cruz County	Soquel Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 464-5655	337	15	22.0	40.1%	132 (39.2%)	6 (1.8%)	160 (47.5%)	14 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	22 (6.5%)	43.4	3025^th of 5817 public elementary schools	48.0%		49.7	2611^th of 5857 public elementary schools	55.4%	414	26.9		26.9	51.5	43.1	36.5				44.4	45.5	36.5	23.1				35.9	94%	0%	$19,611	$19,026	$585

Frequently Asked Questions about Ocean Alternative Education Center

What district is Ocean Alternative Education Center in?

Live Oak Elementary

How many students attend Ocean Alternative Education Center?

In the 2024-25 school year, 76 students attended Ocean Alternative Education Center.

What is the racial makeup of Ocean Alternative Education Center?

Students at Ocean Alternative Education Center are 53% White, 32% Hispanic, 14% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

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Latest California data All new data »

2013–14 through 2024–25 immunization rates (updated)NewOct 19, 2026

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

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.