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Pajaro Valley High

Q: Is Pajaro Valley High a good school?

Pajaro Valley High ranks 1397 th of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

1397^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California High Schools

Better than 35% of California high schools

Summary

Pajaro Valley High is a public high school located in Watsonville, California, serving grades 9-12 with a total enrollment of 1,428 students. The school faces significant challenges, with its academic performance consistently ranking in the bottom half of California high schools and its standardized test scores falling well below the state average.

Pajaro Valley High's four-year graduation rate has declined in recent years, dropping from 94.1% in 2023-2024 to 86.2% in 2022-2023, while its dropout rate has increased from 2.6% to 8.2% over the same period. The school has a high percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, with 92.95% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in 2022-2023. Additionally, the school has a large Hispanic student population and a significant population of English Language Learner (ELL) students.

Compared to nearby schools, Pajaro Valley High performs significantly worse than Aptos High School, which is also part of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District and consistently ranks in the top 25% of California high schools. Another nearby school, Diamond Technology Institute, a public charter school, also outperforms Pajaro Valley High on academic measures, ranking in the top 30% of California high schools. Soquel High, which is in a different school district (Santa Cruz City High), also outperforms Pajaro Valley High, ranking in the top 20% of California high schools.

1,293

Students ?

21.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

84.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

500 Harkins Slough Rd.
Watsonville, CA 95076-9453

(831) 728-8102

District: Pajaro Valley Unified

Feeder schools for Pajaro Valley High:

Elementary:	Amesti Elementary
	Freedom Elementary
	H. A. Hyde Elementary
	Starlight Elementary
Middle:	Cesar E. Chavez Middle

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

96.9%

White:

1.8%

Asian:

0.9%

See top rated California high schools

Compare Pajaro Valley High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 41st percentile in 2013 → 35th in 2025

Strengths

✓94% graduate in 4 years — above the California average (88%)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (21% vs 41% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped — down 6 percentile points since 2013

!Mathematics scores 28 pts below the California average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school21%

District avg21%

California avg41%

1,397^th of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Bottom 35%▼ down 17 pts since 2015

From top 47% (2015) to bottom 35% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 6High Schools in the Pajaro Valley Unified

1253^rd of 1,543Pajaro Valley 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	34.1	1397 of 2162	35.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	38.3	1287 of 2159	40.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	31.2	1460 of 2170	32.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	37.6	1246 of 2123	41.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	37.9	1267 of 2133	40.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	41.9	1180 of 2017	41.5%	★★☆☆☆
2017	38.5	1266 of 2021	37.4%	★★☆☆☆
2016	50.0	1018 of 2039	50.1%	★★★☆☆
2015	51.9	943 of 1994	52.7%	★★★☆☆
2013	26.5	1425 of 2426	41.3%	★★☆☆☆
2012	29.4	1312 of 2354	44.3%	★★☆☆☆
2011	27.7	1383 of 2367	41.6%	★★☆☆☆
2010	23.5	1479 of 2281	35.2%	★★☆☆☆
2009	23.0	1712 of 2238	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	20.9	1504 of 2117	29.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	22.4	1404 of 2063	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2006	58.3	502 of 1968	74.5%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	34.0	710 of 1161	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	22.1	976 of 1117	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	40.3	525 of 1052	50.1%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	38.3	628 of 1085	42.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	30.9	802 of 1064	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	48.4	349 of 1044	66.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	42.1	413 of 941	56.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	40.2	445 of 938	52.6%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	29.0	1353 of 1906	29.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	30.4	1326 of 1915	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	28.7	1351 of 1915	29.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	36.3	1147 of 1858	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	34.7	1175 of 1833	35.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	44.1	1019 of 1760	42.1%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	40.0	1158 of 1900	39.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	46.1	1003 of 1902	47.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	36.5	1214 of 1917	36.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	47.1	896 of 1861	51.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	43.4	1028 of 1814	43.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	46.6	979 of 1742	43.8%	★★☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	44.0	210 of 410	48.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.6	214 of 328	34.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	40.0	165 of 299	44.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	54.0	121 of 290	58.3%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	40.6	1200 of 2013	40.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	46.2	1043 of 2026	48.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	36.9	1257 of 2030	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	48.6	883 of 1943	54.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	44.9	1054 of 1937	45.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	48.8	994 of 1862	46.6%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	32.7	1291 of 1942	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	41.1	1083 of 1948	44.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	30.0	1329 of 1963	32.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	34.9	1170 of 1916	38.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	34.0	1199 of 1880	36.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	35.3	1175 of 1834	35.9%	★★☆☆☆

Migrant

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	43.5	45 of 85	47.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	80.7	10 of 85	88.2%	★★★★☆
2023	49.1	40 of 74	45.9%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	29.1	898 of 1252	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.0	907 of 1216	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	27.8	900 of 1197	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Homeless (2025)49th percentile+13 vs school

Migrant (2025)47th percentile+12 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)42nd percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)40th percentile+5 vs school

Hispanic (2025)39th percentile+4 vs school

Disabled (2022)39th percentile~ school

Male (2025)34th percentile~ school

Female (2025)29th percentile-6 vs school

Special Education (2025)28th percentile-7 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy40%-9 vs state

Science15%-17 vs state

Mathematics9%-28 vs state

★

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Schools Near Pajaro Valley High

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)				Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)					Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)					Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
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/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science 11th Grade	CAST Science 12th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	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 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Pajaro Valley High	Public	9-12	500 Harkins Slough Rd.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 728-8102	1,293	60	21.6	84.3%	23 (1.8%)	2 (0.2%)	1,253 (96.9%)	11 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.3%)	34.1	1397^th of 2162 public high schools	35.4%		38.3	1287^th of 2159 public high schools	40.4%	110			15.3	15.3				40.0	40.0				8.9	8.9
New School Community Day	Public	9-12	165 Harkins Slough Rd.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 761-6140	42	4	10.5	95.2%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7.9	2125^th of 2162 public high schools	1.7%		8.1	2159^th of 2159 public high schools	0.0%	34								6.7	6.7				0.0	0.0
Diamond Technology Institute	Public, Charter	9-12	112 Diamond Dr.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 728-6225	87	5	17.0	77.0%	4 (4.6%)	0 (0.0%)	81 (93.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.1%)	65.4	683^rd of 2162 public high schools	68.4%		78.8	426^th of 2159 public high schools	80.3%	257		66.7		66.7				66.7	66.7				7.1	7.1
Ceiba College Preparatory Academy	Public, Charter	6-12	260 West Riverside Dr.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Ceiba College Preparatory Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 786-2100	501	31	16.3	76.4%	11 (2.2%)	1 (0.2%)	484 (96.6%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	80.7	397^th of 2162 public high schools	81.6%		50.3	990^th of 2159 public high schools	54.1%	593	8.2	55.1	29.6	26.6	25.0	34.9	33.3	71.4	37.6	27.1	48.8	25.6	36.7	34.3	$18,004	$3,134	$14,870
Santa Cruz County Career Advancement Charter	Public, Charter	12	229 Green Valley Rd.	Freedom	95019	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											$24,407	$1,409	$22,998
Watsonville High	Public	9-12	250 East Beach St.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 728-6390	2,215	94	23.5	91.1%	52 (2.3%)	5 (0.2%)	2,136 (96.4%)	16 (0.7%)	2 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.1%)	38.4	1303^rd of 2162 public high schools	39.7%		31.2	1464^th of 2159 public high schools	32.2%	161			13.5	13.5				38.9	38.9				19.9	19.9
Renaissance High Continuation	Public	9-12	11 Spring Valley Rd.	La Selva Beach	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 728-6344	112	16	7.2	92.9%	4 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	105 (93.8%)	1 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9	2068^th of 2162 public high schools	4.3%		11.4	1980^th of 2159 public high schools	8.3%	88			0.0	0.0				4.6	4.6				1.5	1.5
Aptos High	Public	9-12	100 Mariner Way	Aptos	95003	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 728-7832	1,274	58	21.9	47.6%	511 (40.1%)	4 (0.3%)	676 (53.1%)	26 (2.0%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.2%)	51 (4.0%)	64.6	696^th of 2162 public high schools	67.8%		71.2	548^th of 2159 public high schools	74.6%	148			35.4	35.4				46.5	46.5				30.8	30.8
Delta Charter	Public, Charter	9-12	6500 Soquel Dr. Bldg. 1190	Aptos	95003	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz City High	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 477-5212	113	9	13.2	38.9%	59 (52.2%)	1 (0.9%)	43 (38.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (5.3%)	24.5	1605^th of 2162 public high schools	25.8%		30.1	1486^th of 2159 public high schools	31.2%	119		12.2	18.9	15.4				24.4	24.4				2.4	2.4	$13,012	$383	$12,629
North Monterey County High	Public	9-12	13990 Castroville Blvd.	Castroville	95012	Monterey County	North Monterey County Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 633-5221	1,250	57	21.7	84.5%	94 (7.5%)	2 (0.2%)	1,132 (90.6%)	11 (0.9%)	3 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (0.6%)	36	1359^th of 2162 public high schools	37.1%		42.9	1175^th of 2159 public high schools	45.6%	184		17.7		17.4				52.1	52.1				7.9	7.9	$17,089	$3,421	$13,668

Frequently Asked Questions about Pajaro Valley High

What schools feed into Pajaro Valley High?

Pajaro Valley High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Amesti Elementary
Elementary : Freedom Elementary
Elementary : H. A. Hyde Elementary
Elementary : Starlight Elementary
Middle : Cesar E. Chavez Middle

How many students attend Pajaro Valley High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,293 students attended Pajaro Valley High.

What district is Pajaro Valley High in?

Pajaro Valley Unified

Is Pajaro Valley High a good school?

Pajaro Valley High ranks 1397^th of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Pajaro Valley High?

Students at Pajaro Valley High are 97% Hispanic, 2% White.

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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.