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San Luis Obispo High

Q: Is San Luis Obispo High a good school?

San Luis Obispo High ranks 260 th of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

260^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California High Schools

Better than 88% of California high schools

Summary

San Luis Obispo High is a large, highly-regarded public high school serving grades 9-12 to approximately 1,678 students in the coastal community of San Luis Obispo, operating within the San Luis Coastal Unified school district.

The school consistently ranks among the top high schools in California, currently in the 88th percentile, and is distinguished by its exceptional 97.4% graduation rate and very low 0.5% dropout rate, both of which outperform state averages and are comparable to or better than nearby comprehensive schools like Morro Bay High and Arroyo Grande High. Academically, students perform well above state averages in English (67% proficient) and Science (54% proficient), though math proficiency, while stronger than many neighboring schools, is a relative area for focus at 51%.

SLO High maintains this strong performance efficiently, even with a changing student population and a higher student-teacher ratio than some peers. While chronic absenteeism has increased post-pandemic to 21%, it remains lower than schools like Atascadero High. The school shows notable strengths in supporting English Learners and economically disadvantaged students, though support for Special Education students shows room for growth. The stark performance contrast with local alternative schools like Pacific Beach High or Lopez Continuation High highlights the different student populations served across the region's educational landscape.

1,678

Students ?

21.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$16,827

Per pupil spending ?

39%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1499 San Luis Dr.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3060

(805) 596-4040

District: San Luis Coastal Unified

Feeder schools for San Luis Obispo High:

Elementary:	Bishop's Peak Elementary
	C L Smith Elementary
	Hawthorne Elementary
	Los Ranchos Elementary
	More...
	Sinsheimer Elementary
Middle:	Laguna Middle

Racial breakdown:

White:

56.1%

Hispanic:

31.0%

Two or more races:

6.4%

See top rated California high schools

Compare San Luis Obispo High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 93rd percentile in 2015 → 88th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (57% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 12% of California high schools

✓97% graduate in 4 years — above the California average (88%)

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 5 percentile points since 2015

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school57%

District avg60%

California avg41%

260^th of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Top 12%▼ down 5 pts since 2015

From top 7% (2015) to top 12% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 3High Schools in the San Luis Coastal Unified

275^th of 1,543San Luis Coastal 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	87.2	260 of 2162	88.0%	★★★★☆
2024	89.9	232 of 2159	89.3%	★★★★☆
2023	95.2	107 of 2170	95.1%	★★★★★
2022	91.7	178 of 2123	91.6%	★★★★★
2021	83.5	209 of 1290	83.8%	★★★★☆
2019	96.1	79 of 2133	96.3%	★★★★★
2018	89.8	206 of 2017	89.8%	★★★★☆
2017	89.6	203 of 2021	90.0%	★★★★★
2016	89.3	204 of 2039	90.0%	★★★★★
2015	92.4	136 of 1994	93.2%	★★★★★
2013	61.0	516 of 2426	78.7%	★★★★☆
2012	68.4	340 of 2354	85.6%	★★★★☆
2011	65.8	380 of 2367	83.9%	★★★★☆
2010	65.9	376 of 2281	83.5%	★★★★☆
2009	66.2	319 of 2238	85.7%	★★★★☆
2008	66.2	335 of 2117	84.2%	★★★★☆
2007	73.1	211 of 2063	89.8%	★★★★☆
2006	68.8	307 of 1968	84.4%	★★★★☆
2005	67.4	287 of 1901	84.9%	★★★★☆
2004	65.3	260 of 1653	84.3%	★★★★☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	74.6	167 of 585	71.5%	★★★★☆
2024	78.2	115 of 573	79.9%	★★★★☆
2023	82.6	87 of 591	85.3%	★★★★☆
2022	77.9	127 of 581	78.1%	★★★★☆
2019	76.0	140 of 582	75.9%	★★★★☆
2018	78.2	134 of 581	76.9%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	52.5	364 of 1161	68.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	64.6	241 of 1117	78.4%	★★★★☆
2018	37.1	580 of 1052	44.9%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	91.4	37 of 1085	96.6%	★★★★★
2023	48.8	374 of 1064	64.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	43.7	431 of 1044	58.7%	★★★☆☆
2019	89.0	36 of 941	96.2%	★★★★★
2018	47.0	339 of 938	63.9%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	88.5	192 of 1906	89.9%	★★★★☆
2024	89.6	188 of 1915	90.2%	★★★★★
2023	93.2	126 of 1915	93.4%	★★★★★
2022	89.5	182 of 1858	90.2%	★★★★★
2021	73.6	255 of 1054	75.8%	★★★★☆
2019	95.3	74 of 1833	96.0%	★★★★★
2018	91.0	137 of 1760	92.2%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	66.5	567 of 1900	70.2%	★★★★☆
2024	80.2	295 of 1902	84.5%	★★★★☆
2023	85.7	211 of 1917	89.0%	★★★★☆
2022	73.6	364 of 1861	80.4%	★★★★☆
2019	88.4	142 of 1814	92.2%	★★★★★
2018	62.7	630 of 1742	63.8%	★★★☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	42.7	213 of 410	48.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	82.3	31 of 290	89.3%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	73.7	457 of 2013	77.3%	★★★★☆
2024	80.5	321 of 2026	84.2%	★★★★☆
2023	86.2	232 of 2030	88.6%	★★★★☆
2022	80.9	262 of 1943	86.5%	★★★★☆
2021	57.3	432 of 1126	61.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	86.1	194 of 1937	90.0%	★★★★★
2018	64.1	645 of 1862	65.4%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	84.0	295 of 1942	84.8%	★★★★☆
2024	87.6	243 of 1948	87.5%	★★★★☆
2023	95.6	97 of 1963	95.1%	★★★★★
2022	91.6	161 of 1916	91.6%	★★★★★
2021	86.6	158 of 1122	85.9%	★★★★☆
2019	94.2	97 of 1880	94.8%	★★★★★
2018	84.9	285 of 1834	84.5%	★★★★☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	53.1	82 of 175	53.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	80.5	37 of 190	80.5%	★★★★☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	85.7	73 of 577	87.3%	★★★★☆
2024	43.3	345 of 574	39.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	91.6	26 of 541	95.2%	★★★★★
2022	89.1	29 of 515	94.4%	★★★★★
2019	75.5	99 of 422	76.5%	★★★★☆
2018	73.0	102 of 366	72.1%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	44.4	570 of 1252	54.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	39.4	623 of 1216	48.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	70.0	215 of 1197	82.0%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	85.3	120 of 1155	89.6%	★★★★☆
2024	85.9	126 of 1173	89.3%	★★★★☆
2023	94.4	43 of 1193	96.4%	★★★★★
2022	87.6	104 of 1204	91.4%	★★★★★
2019	91.2	70 of 1222	94.3%	★★★★★
2018	88.9	88 of 1173	92.5%	★★★★★

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)97th percentile+7 vs school

Female (2025)90th percentile~ school

White (2025)90th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2025)87th percentile~ school

Male (2025)85th percentile-3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)77th percentile-11 vs school

Asian (2025)71st percentile-17 vs school

Hispanic (2025)70th percentile-18 vs school

Disabled (2022)69th percentile-23 vs school

Special Education (2025)54th percentile-34 vs school

Military Connected (2025)53rd percentile-35 vs school

Homeless (2025)48th percentile-40 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy67%+18 vs state

Science54%+21 vs state

Mathematics51%+14 vs state

★

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Schools Near San Luis Obispo 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 11th Grade	CAST Science 12th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	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
San Luis Obispo High	Public	9-12	1499 San Luis Dr.	San Luis Obispo	93401	San Luis Obispo County	San Luis Coastal Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 596-4040	1,678	78	21.5	39.0%	941 (56.1%)	18 (1.1%)	521 (31.0%)	72 (4.3%)	4 (0.2%)	3 (0.2%)	107 (6.4%)	87.2	260^th of 2162 public high schools	88.0%		89.9	232^nd of 2159 public high schools	89.3%	28	55.0	25.0	53.8	67.2	67.2	50.9	50.9	$16,827	$1,039	$15,788
Pacific Beach High	Public	10-12	11950 Los Osos Valley Rd.	San Luis Obispo	93405	San Luis Obispo County	San Luis Coastal Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 596-4023	62	4	14.6	74.2%	23 (37.1%)	1 (1.6%)	32 (51.6%)	1 (1.6%)	1 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (4.8%)	8.1	2112^th of 2162 public high schools	2.3%		11.3	1982^nd of 2159 public high schools	8.2%	130	0.0		0.0	9.4	9.4	0.0	0.0	$22,078	$1,060	$21,018
San Luis Obispo County Juvenile Court	Public	6-12	1065 Kansas Ave.	San Luis Obispo	93405	San Luis Obispo County	San Luis Obispo County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 781-5395	11	2	5.1	72.7%	5 (45.5%)	1 (9.1%)	5 (45.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)								$105,414	$22,144	$83,270
Grizzly ChalleNGe Charter	Public, Charter	10-12	721 Mendocino Ave. Camp San Lu	San Luis Obispo	93405	San Luis Obispo County	San Luis Obispo County Office of Education	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 782-6882	241	15	16.3	84.6%	15 (6.2%)	5 (2.1%)	214 (88.8%)	4 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.2%)	11.8	1924^th of 2162 public high schools	11.0%		13.6	1868^th of 2159 public high schools	13.5%	56		5.7	5.7	11.4	11.4	1.3	1.3	$65,904	$14,945	$50,959
San Luis Obispo County Community	Public	6-12	2494 Pennington Creek Rd.	San Luis Obispo	93405	San Luis Obispo County	San Luis Obispo County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 782-7354	76	4	19.2	85.5%	20 (26.3%)	1 (1.3%)	49 (64.5%)	1 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (6.6%)	8.6	2091^st of 2162 public high schools	3.3%		13.8	1857^th of 2159 public high schools	14.0%	234			0.0	10.0	7.7	0.0	0.0	$83,049	$15,436	$67,613
Paloma Creek High	Public	9-12	10801 El Camino Real	Atascadero	93422	San Luis Obispo County	Atascadero Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 462-4350	55	3	16.0	70.9%	32 (58.2%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (38.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.8%)	8.5	2096^th of 2162 public high schools	3.1%		10.5	2040^th of 2159 public high schools	5.5%	56	0.0		4.2	11.8	11.8	0.0	0.0	$17,946	$917	$17,029
Atascadero Choices in Education Academy (ACE)	Public	9-12	10801 El Camino Real	Atascadero	93422	San Luis Obispo County	Atascadero Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 462-4350	159	6	28.5	40.9%	108 (67.9%)	1 (0.6%)	40 (25.2%)	3 (1.9%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.8%)	37.8	1315^th of 2162 public high schools	39.2%		56.8	841^st of 2159 public high schools	61.0%	474	20.4		20.4	44.2	44.2	15.7	15.7	$12,865	$368	$12,497
Arroyo Grande High	Public	9-12	495 Valley Rd.	Arroyo Grande	93420	San Luis Obispo County	Lucia Mar Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 474-3200	2,012	96	20.9	47.2%	966 (48.0%)	11 (0.5%)	845 (42.0%)	60 (3.0%)	4 (0.2%)	2 (0.1%)	115 (5.7%)	79.9	414^th of 2162 public high schools	80.9%		74.4	488^th of 2159 public high schools	77.4%	74	47.5	9.1	46.6	69.8	69.8	36.6	36.6	$16,426	$1,531	$14,895
Morro Bay High	Public	9-12	235 Atascadero Rd.	Morro Bay	93442	San Luis Obispo County	San Luis Coastal Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 771-1845	751	42	17.8	51.1%	427 (56.9%)	2 (0.3%)	238 (31.7%)	36 (4.8%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (5.3%)	77.9	448^th of 2162 public high schools	79.3%		78.3	431^st of 2159 public high schools	80.0%	17	40.1		40.0	69.6	69.6	38.9	38.9	$20,818	$1,985	$18,833
Atascadero High	Public	9-12	1 High School Hill	Atascadero	93422	San Luis Obispo County	Atascadero Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 462-4300	1,157	59	19.5	44.9%	698 (60.3%)	17 (1.5%)	367 (31.7%)	21 (1.8%)	7 (0.6%)	3 (0.3%)	43 (3.7%)	69.1	619^th of 2162 public high schools	71.4%		54.4	896^th of 2159 public high schools	58.5%	277	39.1		38.2	60.5	60.5	31.3	31.3	$17,190	$651	$16,539

Frequently Asked Questions about San Luis Obispo High

What schools feed into San Luis Obispo High?

San Luis Obispo High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Bishop's Peak Elementary
Elementary : C L Smith Elementary
Elementary : Hawthorne Elementary
Elementary : Los Ranchos Elementary
Elementary : Sinsheimer Elementary
Middle : Laguna Middle

What is the racial makeup of San Luis Obispo High?

Students at San Luis Obispo High are 56% White, 31% Hispanic, 6% Two or more races, 4% Asian, 1% African American.

Is San Luis Obispo High a good school?

San Luis Obispo High ranks 260^th of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend San Luis Obispo High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,678 students attended San Luis Obispo High.

What district is San Luis Obispo High in?

San Luis Coastal 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.