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PVUSD Virtual Academy

Q: Is PVUSD Virtual Academy a good school?

PVUSD Virtual Academy ranks 407 th of 2162 California alternative schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public, Virtual, Alternative Grades K-12

407^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California Alternative Schools

Better than 81% of California alternative schools

Summary

PVUSD Virtual Academy is a small, online K-12 school serving 43 students within the Pajaro Valley Unified district in Watsonville, a district that faces significant challenges statewide.

Despite its small size and serving a high-need community, the school achieves academic results that stand out. Its students score significantly higher in both English and Math than their peers across the Pajaro Valley Unified district and the state, and it maintains consistently high graduation rates. Compared directly to a similar alternative school in the same district, Pacific Coast Charter, PVUSD Virtual Academy shows stronger proficiency and graduation rates. It also performs comparably to or better than other regional online schools like California Online Public Schools Monterey Bay.

A notable challenge is a high rate of chronic absenteeism, which is common in virtual settings and may reflect engagement difficulties. However, the school's model appears effective for students who may struggle in traditional classrooms, supported by a improving student-teacher ratio and higher per-student spending than some comparable schools. While test scores have improved dramatically in recent years, addressing student participation remains a key area for focus alongside its academic strengths.

Students ?

15.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

83.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

250 East Beach St.
Watsonville, CA 95076-4831

(831) 786-2482

District: Pajaro Valley Unified

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

83.7%

White:

11.6%

African American:

2.3%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare PVUSD Virtual Academy to nearby alternative schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 47th percentile in 2022 → 81st in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (48% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 19% of California alternative schools

✓93% graduate in 4 years — above the California average (86%)

Worth a look

!High chronic absenteeism (46% vs 19% California)

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school48%

District avg21%

California avg41%

407^th of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Top 19%▲ up 21 pts since 2022

From top 40% (2022) to top 19% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 2Alternative 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)

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	28.2	1877 of 2781	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	17.9	2315 of 2740	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	17.3	2206 of 2531	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.8	2079 of 2509	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	49.7	995 of 2374	58.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	17.5	2114 of 2359	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	26.5	1894 of 2531	25.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.3	2125 of 2458	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆

High school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	80.2	407 of 2162	81.2%	★★★★☆
2023	21.8	1659 of 2170	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	54.2	842 of 2123	60.3%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	25.9	1407 of 1915	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	44.5	949 of 1858	48.9%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	27.6	1387 of 1917	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	56.8	683 of 1861	63.3%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	16.4	1697 of 2030	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	57.3	692 of 1943	64.4%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	18.1	1582 of 1963	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Elementary school

Hispanic (2022)52nd percentile+6 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2022)34th percentile-12 vs school

Middle school

Hispanic (2023)58th percentile+26 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2023)25th percentile-7 vs school

Female (2023)13th percentile-20 vs school

High school

Hispanic (2023)28th percentile+4 vs school

Female (2023)27th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2023)19th percentile-4 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2023)16th percentile-7 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy61%+12 vs state

Mathematics46%+9 vs state

Science27%-5 vs state

5.0

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Schools Near PVUSD Virtual Academy

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking ()				Ranking ()				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 ()	Statewide Rank ()	State Percentile ()	SchoolDigger Rating ()	Average Standard Score ()	Statewide Rank ()	State Percentile ()	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science 11th Grade	CAST Science 12th 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 11th 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 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
PVUSD Virtual Academy	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	250 East Beach St.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(831) 786-2482	43	3	15.9	83.7%	5 (11.6%)	1 (2.3%)	36 (83.7%)	1 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)					27.3						54.6	66.7	60.9						50.0	41.7	45.8
Pacific Coast Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	294 Green Valley Rd.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 786-2180	132	6	21.6	78.0%	13 (9.8%)	0 (0.0%)	109 (82.6%)	5 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (3.8%)								(n/a)		14.3			16.7					53.9	28.6	42.1	44.3					23.1	21.4	15.0	17.7
Alternative Family Education	Public, Alternative	K-12	840 North Branciforte Ave.	Santa Cruz	95062	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz City High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 429-3898	110	4	27.5	34.5%	59 (53.6%)	4 (3.6%)	25 (22.7%)	5 (4.5%)	1 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (14.5%)								(n/a)					66.7								64.1								37.5	$20,011	$2,254	$17,757
Wellington M. Smith Junior	Public, Alternative	4-12	1420 Natividad Rd.	Salinas	93906	Monterey County	Monterey County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 755-3979	50	4	12.4	94.0%	1 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (98.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																						$67,988	$13,272	$54,716
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)																						$149,864	$4,253	$145,611
California Online Public Schools Monterey Bay	Public, Virtual, Charter, Alternative	K-12	108 Whispering Pines Dr. Ste.	Scotts Valley	95066	Santa Cruz County	California Online Public Schools Monterey Bay District	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(800) 906-5166	440	16	27.3	41.4%	129 (29.3%)	10 (2.3%)	174 (39.5%)	65 (14.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	56 (12.7%)								(n/a)	29.4	36.0	28.6	34.8	31.7	43.8	64.7	52.9	46.4	60.5	40.8	50.0	50.4	31.3	57.9	35.3	37.0	47.7	40.0	41.9	42.1	$13,423	$140	$13,283
San Benito County Juvenile Hall Court	Public, Alternative	K-12	708 Flynn Rd.	Hollister	95023	San Benito County	San Benito County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 636-4053	7	0	17.5		0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (85.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (14.3%)								(n/a)																						$5,385	$1,451	$3,934
Monterey County Special Education	Public, Alternative	K-12	901 Blanco Cir.	Salinas	93912	Monterey County	Monterey County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 755-0300	274	40	6.9	62.0%	12 (4.4%)	4 (1.5%)	243 (88.7%)	5 (1.8%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (3.3%)								(n/a)					0.0								0.0								5.6	$69,794	$2,452	$67,342
Monterey County Home Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	901 Blanco Cir.	Salinas	93901	Monterey County	Monterey County Office of Education	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 755-0331	255	14	18.8	69.0%	43 (16.9%)	1 (0.4%)	201 (78.8%)	1 (0.4%)	2 (0.8%)	4 (1.6%)	3 (1.2%)								(n/a)		11.8		24.0	17.7				25.0	46.7	23.5	33.3	31.8				8.3	0.0	0.0	7.7	8.4	$39,872	$290	$39,582

Frequently Asked Questions about PVUSD Virtual Academy

What is the racial makeup of PVUSD Virtual Academy?

Students at PVUSD Virtual Academy are 84% Hispanic, 12% White, 2% African American, 2% Asian.

How many students attend PVUSD Virtual Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 43 students attended PVUSD Virtual Academy.

Is PVUSD Virtual Academy a good school?

PVUSD Virtual Academy ranks 407^th of 2162 California alternative schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What district is PVUSD Virtual Academy in?

Pajaro Valley Unified

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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.