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Delta High

Public Grades 9-12

1974^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California High Schools

Better than 9% of California high schools

Summary

Delta High is a small public high school serving 291 students in grades 9-12 within the Santa Maria Joint Union High district, characterized by consistently low academic rankings despite spending levels comparable to other schools in the area.

The school faces significant challenges, with academic proficiency in core subjects like math and English far below both district and state averages, and it suffers from an extremely high rate of chronic student absenteeism. Interestingly, Delta High maintains a strong graduation rate that exceeds the state average, creating a paradox where students are earning diplomas but demonstrate very low proficiency on standardized tests. This performance profile is more similar to alternative schools like Maple High or Lopez Continuation High than to the comprehensive high schools it is grouped with.

When compared to other high schools in the region, such as Ernest Righetti High, Pioneer Valley High, and Santa Maria High, Delta High's academic outcomes are the lowest, even though these nearby schools serve student populations with similar economic needs. This suggests the challenges may be specific to the school's environment or programs, indicating a need for substantial intervention to improve foundational academic support for its students.

291

Students ?

20.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$17,356

Per pupil spending ?

78.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4893 Bethany Ln.
Santa Maria, CA 93455-4880

(805) 937-6356

District: Santa Maria Joint Union High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

94.2%

White:

3.8%

American Indian:

1.0%

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At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 28th percentile in 2013 → 9th in 2025

Strengths

✓92% graduate in 4 years — above the California average (88%)

Worth a look

!In the lower quartile statewide (9th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (66% vs 19% California)

!Ranking has slipped — down 19 percentile points since 2013

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school42%

District avg30%

California avg41%

1,974^th of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Bottom 9%▼ down 7 pts since 2015

From bottom 15% (2015) to bottom 9% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 4High Schools in the Santa Maria Joint Union High

963^rd of 1,543Santa Maria Joint Union 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	10.9	1974 of 2162	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.6	2033 of 2159	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.5	2000 of 2170	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.2	1992 of 2123	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.6	2013 of 2133	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.9	1777 of 2017	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	9.5	1883 of 2021	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	10.9	1804 of 2039	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	12.2	1685 of 1994	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	17.8	1745 of 2426	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	16.5	1756 of 2354	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	16.4	1781 of 2367	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	22.3	1519 of 2281	33.4%	★★☆☆☆
2009	34.6	1211 of 2238	45.9%	★★☆☆☆
2008	21.6	1477 of 2117	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2007	25.3	1290 of 2063	37.5%	★★☆☆☆
2006	19.7	1445 of 1968	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	23.5	1259 of 1901	33.8%	★★☆☆☆
2004	34.5	819 of 1653	50.5%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	26.3	933 of 1085	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	27.9	877 of 1064	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	27.9	912 of 1044	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.8	734 of 941	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.2	673 of 938	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	8.6	1799 of 1906	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.1	1864 of 1915	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.7	1772 of 1915	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.5	1771 of 1858	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	9.0	1738 of 1833	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.5	1593 of 1760	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	10.8	1736 of 1900	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.5	1779 of 1902	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.5	1768 of 1917	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.3	1729 of 1861	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	11.0	1677 of 1814	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.7	1526 of 1742	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	12.7	369 of 410	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	11.4	304 of 328	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	15.7	260 of 290	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	11.3	1819 of 2013	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.3	1884 of 2026	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	12.8	1840 of 2030	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.7	1815 of 1943	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	11.1	1801 of 1937	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.4	1625 of 1862	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	11.6	1725 of 1942	11.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	11.8	1753 of 1948	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	11.1	1817 of 1963	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.1	1796 of 1916	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.2	1771 of 1880	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.8	1623 of 1834	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	4.8	1147 of 1193	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	4.5	1172 of 1204	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)14th percentile+8 vs school

Male (2025)11th percentile~ school

Homeless (2025)10th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)10th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)9th percentile~ school

Female (2025)6th percentile-3 vs school

White (2023)4th percentile-4 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics100%+63 vs state

English Language Arts/Literacy17%-32 vs state

Science4%-29 vs state

★

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Schools Near Delta High

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CSA Spanish Overall (2025)			CSA Spanish Listening (2025)			CSA Spanish Writing (2025)			CSA Spanish Reading (2025)			CSA Spanish Speaking (2025)		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	CSA Spanish Overall 9th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 10th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 9th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 10th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 9th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 10th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 9th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 10th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	CSA Spanish Speaking 9th Grade	CSA Spanish Speaking 10th Grade	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
Delta High	Public	9-12	4893 Bethany Ln.	Santa Maria	93455	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria Joint Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 937-6356	291	14	20.7	78.7%	11 (3.8%)	2 (0.7%)	274 (94.2%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	10.9	1974^th of 2162 public high schools	8.7%		10.6	2033^rd of 2159 public high schools	5.8%	59															3.3		3.7	17.0	17.0	1.1	1.1	$17,356	$1,967	$15,389
Ernest Righetti High	Public	9-12	941 East Foster Rd.	Santa Maria	93455	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria Joint Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 937-2051	2,416	115	21.0	55.5%	424 (17.5%)	32 (1.3%)	1,815 (75.1%)	78 (3.2%)	17 (0.7%)	6 (0.2%)	34 (1.4%)	58	877^th of 2162 public high schools	59.4%		62.4	711^th of 2159 public high schools	67.1%	166															31.1	13.3	30.6	60.5	60.5	22.6	22.6	$18,122	$1,775	$16,347
Santa Maria High	Public	9-12	901 South Broadway	Santa Maria	93458	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria Joint Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 925-2567	3,143	144	21.9	76.1%	39 (1.2%)	6 (0.2%)	3,057 (97.3%)	29 (0.9%)	4 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.1%)	40.3	1251^st of 2162 public high schools	42.1%		38.7	1277^th of 2159 public high schools	40.9%	26															24.0		23.8	44.5	44.5	15.7	15.7	$17,274	$1,811	$15,463
Pioneer Valley High	Public	9-12	675 Panther Dr.	Santa Maria	93454	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria Joint Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 922-1305	3,080	140	22.0	71.9%	70 (2.3%)	13 (0.4%)	2,893 (93.9%)	87 (2.8%)	4 (0.1%)	2 (0.1%)	8 (0.3%)	47.2	1092^nd of 2162 public high schools	49.5%		52.1	952^nd of 2159 public high schools	55.9%	140															24.2	23.5	24.2	50.2	50.2	21.3	21.3	$16,176	$1,641	$14,535
Cabrillo High	Public	9-12	4350 Constellation Rd.	Lompoc	93436	Santa Barbara County	Lompoc Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 742-2900	1,060	56	19.0	48.3%	322 (30.4%)	22 (2.1%)	544 (51.3%)	47 (4.4%)	11 (1.0%)	4 (0.4%)	108 (10.2%)	61.3	790^th of 2162 public high schools	63.5%		59.8	767^th of 2159 public high schools	64.5%	23															41.3	16.7	40.2	44.4	44.4	30.7	30.7	$17,892	$815	$17,077
Maple High	Public	9-12	4010 Jupiter Ave.	Lompoc	93436	Santa Barbara County	Lompoc Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 742-3150	135	9	14.7	85.2%	26 (19.3%)	2 (1.5%)	99 (73.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.5%)	1 (0.7%)	3 (2.2%)	9	2072^nd of 2162 public high schools	4.2%		8.8	2131^st of 2159 public high schools	1.3%	59															1.5		1.4	9.3	9.3	1.3	1.3	$24,735	$1,625	$23,110
Central Coast New Technical High	Public	9-12	523 North Thompson Ave.	Nipomo	93444	San Luis Obispo County	Lucia Mar Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 474-3350	318	17	19.1	50.3%	160 (50.3%)	2 (0.6%)	123 (38.7%)	7 (2.2%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (6.0%)	92.9	150^th of 2162 public high schools	93.1%		95.6	99^th of 2159 public high schools	95.4%	51															62.8		62.8	77.2	77.2	53.2	53.2	$19,258	$1,810	$17,448
Nipomo High	Public	9-12	525 North Thompson Rd.	Nipomo	93444	San Luis Obispo County	Lucia Mar Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 474-3300	819	43	19.0	70.2%	225 (27.5%)	5 (0.6%)	542 (66.2%)	10 (1.2%)	2 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	31 (3.8%)	61.4	785^th of 2162 public high schools	63.7%		49.7	1002^nd of 2159 public high schools	53.6%	217															34.0		33.3	67.7	67.7	19.8	19.8	$17,811	$1,470	$16,341
Lompoc High	Public	9-12	515 West College Ave.	Lompoc	93436	Santa Barbara County	Lompoc Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 742-3000	1,593	82	19.5	76.7%	151 (9.5%)	41 (2.6%)	1,312 (82.4%)	29 (1.8%)	7 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	51 (3.2%)	30	1485^th of 2162 public high schools	31.3%		32.2	1440^th of 2159 public high schools	33.3%	45	0.0	9.1	7.7	6.7	9.1	10.3	0.0	0.0	5.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	13.3	27.3	20.7	14.3	20.4	31.5	31.5	12.9	12.9	$17,068	$1,320	$15,748
Dr Bob Forinash Community Day	Public	7-12	320 North J St.	Lompoc	93436	Santa Barbara County	Lompoc Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 742-2940	31	6	5.1	96.8%	2 (6.5%)	1 (3.2%)	26 (83.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (6.5%)								(n/a)																			0.0			$52,878	$1,467	$51,411

Frequently Asked Questions about Delta High

How many students attend Delta High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 291 students attended Delta High.

Is Delta High a good school?

Delta High ranks in the bottom 8.7% of California high schools.

What district is Delta High in?

Santa Maria Joint Union High

What is the racial makeup of Delta High?

Students at Delta High are 94% Hispanic, 4% White, 1% American Indian.

Rate Delta High!

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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.