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Ark Independent Studies

Q: Is Ark Independent Studies a good school?

Ark Independent Studies ranks 1154 th of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-12

1154^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California High Schools

Better than 47% of California high schools

Summary

Ark Independent Studies is a small, alternative public high school serving just 56 students in grades 6-12 within the Santa Cruz City High district, offering a non-traditional independent study pathway for families in the Santa Cruz area.

The school serves a specific niche, showing relative strength in English Language Arts and in supporting female students, but it faces significant challenges in mathematics, where student proficiency is notably lower than at nearby comprehensive high schools like Santa Cruz High or Soquel High. Its graduation rate is above the state average, yet chronic absenteeism and the dropout rate are higher than the district and state, showing year-to-year volatility. Compared to other alternative options, Ark outperforms Costanoa Continuation High but trails Santa Cruz County Community school in key metrics like attendance.

An interesting finding is that Ark has the highest per-student spending in its district group, yet it also has the highest student-teacher ratio among comparable schools, raising questions about how resources are allocated to address core academic and engagement needs. The school's recent state rating has declined, placing it in a middle ground between continuation schools and traditional high schools, suggesting it is an important option for students seeking an alternative but one that may need to strengthen its support in quantitative subjects and student attendance.

Students ?

27.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$22,913

Per pupil spending ?

41.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

840 North Branciforte Ave.
Santa Cruz, CA 95062-1028

(831) 429-3898

District: Santa Cruz City High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

50.0%

White:

44.6%

Two or more races:

5.4%

See top rated California high schools

Compare Ark Independent Studies to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 82nd percentile in 2023 → 47th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (31% vs 41% meeting standards)

!Dropout rate above the California average (11% vs 8%)

!High chronic absenteeism (32% vs 19% California)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school31%

District avg47%

California avg41%

1,154^th of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Bottom 47%▼ down 22 pts since 2022

From top 32% (2022) to bottom 47% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 6High Schools in the Santa Cruz City High

541^st of 1,543Santa Cruz City High 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	44.5	1154 of 2162	46.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	67.1	612 of 2159	71.7%	★★★★☆
2023	81.3	391 of 2170	82.0%	★★★★☆
2022	62.0	670 of 2123	68.4%	★★★☆☆
2013	36.4	1151 of 2426	52.6%	★★★☆☆
2012	60.6	527 of 2354	77.6%	★★★★☆
2011	32.7	1238 of 2367	47.7%	★★☆☆☆
2010	49.8	765 of 2281	66.5%	★★★☆☆
2009	33.1	1262 of 2238	43.6%	★★☆☆☆
2008	23.8	1361 of 2117	35.7%	★★☆☆☆
2007	37.6	937 of 2063	54.6%	★★★☆☆
2006	41.2	809 of 1968	58.9%	★★★☆☆
2005	38.7	838 of 1901	55.9%	★★★☆☆
2004	25.2	1068 of 1653	35.4%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	81.0	338 of 1915	82.3%	★★★★☆
2022	60.8	603 of 1858	67.5%	★★★☆☆

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)

Female (2023)82nd percentile~ school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy53%+5 vs state

Science26%-6 vs state

Mathematics13%-24 vs state

★

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Schools Near Ark Independent Studies

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 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 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
Ark Independent Studies	Public	6-12	840 North Branciforte Ave.	Santa Cruz	95062	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz City High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 429-3898	56	2	27.1	41.1%	25 (44.6%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (50.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (5.4%)	44.5	1154^th of 2162 public high schools	46.6%		67.1	612^th of 2159 public high schools	71.7%	542				26.3			53.3	53.3			13.3	13.3	$22,913	$2,179	$20,734
Costanoa Continuation High	Public	9-12	840 North Branciforte Ave.	Santa Cruz	95062	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz City High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 429-3898	77	3	22.7	57.1%	15 (19.5%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (74.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (6.5%)	13.3	1868^th of 2162 public high schools	13.6%		16.6	1770^th of 2159 public high schools	18.0%	98		4.0	13.3	7.5			4.4	4.4			0.0	0.0	$22,210	$2,267	$19,943
Harbor High	Public	9-12	300 La Fonda Ave.	Santa Cruz	95062	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz City High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 429-3810	1,013	55	18.5	38.2%	350 (34.6%)	6 (0.6%)	564 (55.7%)	27 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	64 (6.3%)	66.4	667^th of 2162 public high schools	69.1%		68.9	584^th of 2159 public high schools	73.0%	83		34.6	33.3	34.0			59.7	59.7			25.7	25.7	$18,858	$2,563	$16,295
Santa Cruz High	Public	9-12	415 Walnut Ave.	Santa Cruz	95060	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz City High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 429-3960	1,093	46	23.8	22.7%	634 (58.0%)	18 (1.6%)	317 (29.0%)	27 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	95 (8.7%)	89.7	203^rd of 2162 public high schools	90.6%		93.8	140^th of 2159 public high schools	93.5%	63		51.7	50.6	51.1			69.0	69.0			50.6	50.6	$17,409	$1,956	$15,453
Santa Cruz County Regional Occupational Program	Public	10-12	400 Encinal St.	Santa Cruz	95060	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz County Regional Occupational Program	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(831) 466-5762	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Santa Cruz County Court	Public	7-12	400 Encinal St.	Santa Cruz	95060	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 466-5728	20	2	10.0	85.0%	4 (20.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (75.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (5.0%)								(n/a)													$50,038	$5,664	$44,374
Santa Cruz County Community	Public	7-12	400 Encinal St.	Santa Cruz	95060	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 466-5728	730	32	22.6	58.5%	256 (35.1%)	9 (1.2%)	426 (58.4%)	12 (1.6%)	8 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (1.5%)	31.3	1461^st of 2162 public high schools	32.4%		30	1488^th of 2159 public high schools	31.1%	27			19.2	18.0		9.1	32.9	31.1		8.3	6.4	6.4	$31,571	$2,919	$28,652
Pacific Collegiate Charter	Public, Charter	7-12	3004 Mission St.	Santa Cruz	95060	Santa Cruz County	Pacific Collegiate Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 479-7785	536	31	17.5	9.7%	331 (61.8%)	2 (0.4%)	86 (16.0%)	37 (6.9%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	77 (14.4%)	99.1	13^th of 2162 public high schools	99.4%		99.2	12^th of 2159 public high schools	99.4%	1	58.8		80.8	68.6	89.1	77.3	95.2	86.1	60.2	58.8	77.8	64.0
Soquel High	Public	9-12	401 Old San Jose Rd.	Soquel	95073	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz City High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 429-3909	1,074	54	19.9	29.1%	510 (47.5%)	7 (0.7%)	424 (39.5%)	17 (1.6%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	113 (10.5%)	80	411^th of 2162 public high schools	81.0%		77.4	448^th of 2159 public high schools	79.2%	37		50.4	31.9	40.6			72.5	72.5			34.2	34.2	$18,421	$2,017	$16,404
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

Frequently Asked Questions about Ark Independent Studies

Is Ark Independent Studies a good school?

Ark Independent Studies ranks 1154^th of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What district is Ark Independent Studies in?

Santa Cruz City High

How many students attend Ark Independent Studies?

In the 2024-25 school year, 56 students attended Ark Independent Studies.

What is the racial makeup of Ark Independent Studies?

Students at Ark Independent Studies are 50% Hispanic, 45% White, 5% Two or more races.

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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.