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Westlake Elementary

Q: Is Westlake Elementary a good school?

Westlake Elementary ranks 836 th of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

836^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 86% of California elementary schools

Summary

Westlake Elementary is a consistently high-performing K-5 public school serving 453 students in Santa Cruz, part of the Santa Cruz City Elementary district, known for its strong academic results that outpace both district and state averages.

Academically, Westlake stands out in the area, with proficiency rates in English, Math, and Science that are significantly higher than most nearby schools like De Laveaga Elementary, Bay View Elementary, and Live Oak Elementary. It maintains a stable 4-star rating, while some comparable schools have shown more volatility in their rankings. The school's science instruction is particularly strong. An interesting comparison is Brook Knoll Elementary in the Scotts Valley Unified district, which achieves similar academic results with different resources.

While Westlake is a top performer within its district, it faces some challenges, including a chronic absenteeism rate that is higher than the district average. The school's performance with economically disadvantaged students has declined recently, and it has experienced a gradual slide from its historical peak rankings a decade ago, though this decline is less severe than at some neighboring schools. Overall, Westlake remains a benchmark for academic achievement in the region.

453

Students ?

20.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$22,072

Per pupil spending ?

24.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1000 High St.
Santa Cruz, CA 95060-2596

(831) 429-3878

District: Santa Cruz City Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

61.1%

Hispanic:

22.3%

Two or more races:

9.7%

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Compare Westlake Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 93rd percentile in 2013 → 86th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (65% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 14% of California elementary schools

✓Among the top-ranked schools in Santa Cruz City Elementary

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 7 percentile points since 2013

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school65%

District avg53%

California avg41%

836^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Top 14%▼ down 7 pts since 2015

From top 7% (2015) to top 14% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 5Elementary Schools in the Santa Cruz City Elementary

360^th of 1,543Santa Cruz City 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)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	86.7	836 of 5857	85.7%	★★★★☆
2024	89.0	752 of 5869	87.2%	★★★★☆
2023	88.6	788 of 5859	86.6%	★★★★☆
2022	87.9	810 of 5883	86.2%	★★★★☆
2019	90.0	645 of 5789	88.9%	★★★★☆
2018	82.6	1000 of 5662	82.3%	★★★★☆
2017	87.6	779 of 5692	86.3%	★★★★☆
2016	90.8	562 of 5614	90.0%	★★★★★
2015	93.4	419 of 5611	92.5%	★★★★★
2013	91.1	392 of 5530	92.9%	★★★★★
2012	89.6	447 of 5390	91.7%	★★★★★
2011	90.8	392 of 5377	92.7%	★★★★★
2010	92.9	273 of 5314	94.9%	★★★★★
2009	86.7	662 of 5193	87.3%	★★★★☆
2008	85.4	735 of 5113	85.6%	★★★★☆
2007	87.7	639 of 5113	87.5%	★★★★☆
2006	91.6	400 of 4818	91.7%	★★★★★
2005	88.2	581 of 4822	88.0%	★★★★☆
2004	84.1	743 of 4809	84.5%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	69.9	417 of 2227	81.3%	★★★★☆
2019	84.7	270 of 2585	89.6%	★★★★☆
2018	80.5	275 of 2128	87.1%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	88.9	648 of 5597	88.4%	★★★★☆
2024	89.3	656 of 5612	88.3%	★★★★☆
2023	90.2	607 of 5609	89.2%	★★★★☆
2022	88.7	704 of 5635	87.5%	★★★★☆
2019	92.9	369 of 5492	93.3%	★★★★★
2018	88.3	654 of 5413	87.9%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	64.5	1468 of 5107	71.3%	★★★★☆
2024	71.0	1143 of 5107	77.6%	★★★★☆
2023	70.8	1146 of 5087	77.5%	★★★★☆
2022	70.1	1156 of 5084	77.3%	★★★★☆
2019	74.3	952 of 4963	80.8%	★★★★☆
2018	60.9	1583 of 4830	67.2%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	60.7	1821 of 5460	66.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	78.2	917 of 5517	83.4%	★★★★☆
2023	61.7	1655 of 5363	69.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	52.0	2156 of 5264	59.0%	★★★☆☆
2019	62.2	1619 of 5173	68.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	52.9	2173 of 5084	57.3%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	76.8	1204 of 5628	78.6%	★★★★☆
2024	85.6	845 of 5643	85.0%	★★★★☆
2023	84.8	876 of 5638	84.5%	★★★★☆
2022	85.1	861 of 5663	84.8%	★★★★☆
2019	84.1	858 of 5510	84.4%	★★★★☆
2018	73.9	1326 of 5431	75.6%	★★★★☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	88.1	34 of 670	94.9%	★★★★★
2023	68.8	213 of 669	68.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	68.4	207 of 610	66.1%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	53.2	969 of 2847	66.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	74.7	433 of 2635	83.6%	★★★★☆
2023	62.0	608 of 2420	74.9%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	74.2	618 of 2598	76.2%	★★★★☆
2024	74.5	648 of 2651	75.6%	★★★★☆
2023	78.8	480 of 2661	82.0%	★★★★☆
2022	77.1	556 of 2726	79.6%	★★★★☆
2019	81.9	397 of 2834	86.0%	★★★★☆
2018	72.3	741 of 2737	72.9%	★★★★☆

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)

Multi-racial (2024)95th percentile+8 vs school

Female (2025)88th percentile+3 vs school

Disabled (2022)81st percentile-5 vs school

Male (2025)79th percentile-7 vs school

White (2025)76th percentile-10 vs school

Hispanic (2025)71st percentile-14 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)67th percentile-19 vs school

Special Education (2025)66th percentile-20 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy67%+18 vs state

Mathematics65%+27 vs state

Science63%+30 vs state

★

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Schools Near Westlake Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations 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)							% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	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 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	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Westlake Elementary	Public	K-5	1000 High St.	Santa Cruz	95060	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 429-3878	453	22	20.5	24.5%	277 (61.1%)	5 (1.1%)	101 (22.3%)	24 (5.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	44 (9.7%)	86.7	836^th of 5857 public elementary schools	85.7%		89	752^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	87.2%	84	62.8		62.8	56.9	73.3	68.8				66.8	62.5	67.1	63.6				64.5	92.8				95.2	$22,072	$3,059	$19,013
Bay View Elementary	Public	K-5	1231 Bay St.	Santa Cruz	95060	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 429-3991	394	21	18.7	45.2%	162 (41.1%)	1 (0.3%)	198 (50.3%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (7.4%)	64.5	1860^th of 5857 public elementary schools	68.2%		43.4	2972^nd of 5869 public elementary schools	49.4%	1112	38.9		38.9	56.7	50.0	59.3				55.3	56.5	52.5	27.8				46.7	93.3		93.3			$20,624	$4,224	$16,400
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%)	77.2	1270^th of 5857 public elementary schools	78.3%		75.1	1365^th of 5869 public elementary schools	76.7%	95	71.4		71.4	57.9	68.0	76.2				67.7	36.8	60.0	42.9				47.7						$23,997	$2,508	$21,489
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%)	50.3	2573^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	56.1%		46.5	2764^th of 5869 public elementary schools	52.9%	191	32.8		32.8	45.5	53.7	44.3				47.1	50.9	41.5	24.6				38.2	97.0					$22,403	$3,402	$19,001
Brook Knoll Elementary	Public	K-5	151 Brook Knoll Dr.	Santa Cruz	95060	Santa Cruz County	Scotts Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 423-2454	498	22	22.4	13.9%	332 (66.7%)	3 (0.6%)	75 (15.1%)	31 (6.2%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	50 (10.0%)	86.2	871^st of 5857 public elementary schools	85.1%		90.4	680^th of 5869 public elementary schools	88.4%	191	44.0		44.0	73.1	75.4	72.0				73.4	79.5	62.3	51.4				64.8						$14,904	$984	$13,920
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%)	66.6	1761^st of 5857 public elementary schools	69.9%		70.8	1559^th of 5869 public elementary schools	73.4%	202	42.0		42.0	50.0	56.0	62.5				55.9	51.7	50.7	39.5				47.4	96.6	96.6		96.6		$16,889	$1,887	$15,002
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%)	51.2	2538^th of 5857 public elementary schools	56.7%		56.4	2220^th of 5869 public elementary schools	62.2%	318	25.0		25.0	48.8	52.2	37.2				46.2	53.7	54.4	22.7				43.5	91.7	96.7	95.0	93.3		$21,740	$1,474	$20,266
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)			60.0							50.0							38.6						$22,434	$944	$21,490
Tierra Pacifica Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	986 Bostwick Ln.	Santa Cruz	95062	Santa Cruz County	Live Oak Elementary	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 462-9404	166	9	17.5	28.9%	105 (63.3%)	3 (1.8%)	40 (24.1%)	4 (2.4%)	2 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (7.2%)	58	2171^st of 5857 public elementary schools	62.9%		71	1551^st of 5869 public elementary schools	73.6%	620	35.3	54.6	42.9	52.9	62.5	17.7	53.3	75.0	54.6	52.2	76.5	50.0	5.9	53.3	62.5	72.7	52.2						$13,628	$00	$13,628
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%)	42.3	3048^th of 5857 public elementary schools	48.0%		51.3	2494^th of 5869 public elementary schools	57.5%	554	22.2		22.2	43.8	46.9	31.5				40.4	52.1	51.0	13.0				37.8	95.8	95.8		97.2		$21,045	$1,565	$19,480

Frequently Asked Questions about Westlake Elementary

Is Westlake Elementary a good school?

Westlake Elementary ranks 836^th of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Westlake Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 453 students attended Westlake Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Westlake Elementary?

Students at Westlake Elementary are 61% White, 22% Hispanic, 10% Two or more races, 5% Asian, 1% African American.

What district is Westlake Elementary in?

Santa Cruz City Elementary

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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.