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Pioneer Valley High

Q: Is Pioneer Valley High a good school?

Pioneer Valley High ranks 1092 nd of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

1092^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California High Schools

Better than 49% of California high schools

Summary

Pioneer Valley High is a large public high school serving grades 9-12 to approximately 3,080 students in Santa Maria, California, within the Santa Maria Joint Union High district.

The school has a clear strength in ensuring students graduate, with a 92.9% graduation rate that is higher than the state average and notably better than nearby Santa Maria High (88.0%). It also does an impressive job with student attendance, with a chronic absenteeism rate lower than both its own district and the state, which is a significant achievement compared to some alternative schools like Delta High. However, academic proficiency, especially in mathematics, is a major challenge; only about 21% of students are proficient, which is a district-wide issue and lags far behind high-performing schools in neighboring districts like Central Coast New Technical High.

Performance varies for different student groups; the school shows reasonable effectiveness with its majority population but has a concerning and declining record of serving students with special education needs. While its statewide ranking has recently dipped, Pioneer Valley spends a mid-range amount per student compared to peers like Ernest Righetti High, achieving its strong graduation culture with moderate academic results. Overall, the school successfully guides students to a diploma but faces critical work in improving core academic mastery and specialized support services.

3,080

Students ?

22.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$26,979

Per pupil spending ?

71.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

675 Panther Dr.
Santa Maria, CA 93454-9700

(805) 922-1305

District: Santa Maria Joint Union High

Feeder schools for Pioneer Valley High:

Elementary:	Bruce (Robert) Elementary
	Oakley (Calvin C.) Elementary
	Ontiveros (Juan Pacifico) Elementary
	Rice (William) Elementary
	More...
	Taylor (Ida Redmond) Elementary
	Tunnell (Martin Luther) Elementary
Middle:	Kunst (Tommie) Junior High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

93.9%

Asian:

2.8%

White:

2.3%

See top rated California high schools

Compare Pioneer Valley High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 43rd percentile in 2022 → 49th in 2025

Strengths

✓93% graduate in 4 years — above the California average (88%)

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 49th (2025) from a 43rd-percentile low (2022)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (32% vs 41% meeting standards)

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

!Mathematics scores 16 pts below the California average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school32%

District avg30%

California avg41%

1,092^nd of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Bottom 49%▼ down 3 pts since 2015

From top 47% (2015) to bottom 49% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd 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	47.2	1092 of 2162	49.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	52.1	952 of 2159	55.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	43.1	1146 of 2170	47.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	39.2	1200 of 2123	43.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	52.3	920 of 2133	56.9%	★★★☆☆
2018	55.3	901 of 2017	55.3%	★★★☆☆
2017	56.8	862 of 2021	57.3%	★★★☆☆
2016	51.8	975 of 2039	52.2%	★★★☆☆
2015	51.9	942 of 1994	52.8%	★★★☆☆
2013	47.2	863 of 2426	64.4%	★★★☆☆
2012	46.5	873 of 2354	62.9%	★★★☆☆
2011	48.1	843 of 2367	64.4%	★★★☆☆
2010	51.3	726 of 2281	68.2%	★★★☆☆
2009	44.4	902 of 2238	59.7%	★★★☆☆
2008	39.9	914 of 2117	56.8%	★★★☆☆
2007	39.6	888 of 2063	57.0%	★★★☆☆
2006	73.7	220 of 1968	88.8%	★★★★☆
2005	72.1	218 of 1901	88.5%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	28.0	881 of 1161	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.1	1023 of 1117	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	27.9	746 of 1052	29.1%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	42.1	532 of 1085	51.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	38.9	586 of 1064	44.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	43.6	433 of 1044	58.5%	★★★☆☆
2019	42.0	416 of 941	55.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	44.2	368 of 938	60.8%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	48.3	941 of 1906	50.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	52.5	835 of 1915	56.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	39.3	1127 of 1915	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	35.8	1154 of 1858	37.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	48.8	878 of 1833	52.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	54.1	824 of 1760	53.2%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	54.5	841 of 1900	55.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	63.4	607 of 1902	68.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	49.2	938 of 1917	51.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	47.4	882 of 1861	52.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	61.0	615 of 1814	66.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	61.2	654 of 1742	62.5%	★★★☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	54.4	163 of 410	60.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	66.2	84 of 328	74.4%	★★★★☆
2022	45.8	146 of 290	49.7%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	51.0	941 of 2013	53.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	57.3	780 of 2026	61.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	48.0	994 of 2030	51.0%	★★★☆☆
2022	46.3	938 of 1943	51.7%	★★★☆☆
2019	59.2	700 of 1937	63.9%	★★★☆☆
2018	60.7	701 of 1862	62.4%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	41.7	1093 of 1942	43.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	46.9	943 of 1948	51.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	43.1	1022 of 1963	47.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	38.2	1098 of 1916	42.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	50.4	849 of 1880	54.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	49.7	928 of 1834	49.4%	★★☆☆☆

Migrant

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	39.0	54 of 85	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	22.9	70 of 85	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	39.1	106 of 175	39.4%	★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	33.7	358 of 515	30.5%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	19.7	1129 of 1252	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	32.8	762 of 1216	37.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	26.4	935 of 1197	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	38.4	753 of 1155	34.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	16.4	998 of 1173	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	49.8	605 of 1193	49.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	22.2	952 of 1204	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	50.2	611 of 1222	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	61.3	518 of 1173	55.8%	★★★☆☆

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)

Homeless (2025)60th percentile+11 vs school

Hispanic (2025)56th percentile+6 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)53rd percentile+4 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)51st percentile-5 vs school

Female (2025)51st percentile~ school

Male (2025)44th percentile-6 vs school

Military Connected (2025)39th percentile-10 vs school

Migrant (2025)36th percentile-13 vs school

White (2025)35th percentile-15 vs school

Multi-racial (2022)30th percentile-13 vs school

Disabled (2022)24th percentile-19 vs school

Special Education (2025)10th percentile-40 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy50%~ state avg

Science24%-8 vs state

Mathematics21%-16 vs state

★

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Schools Near Pioneer Valley High

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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 (2025)
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
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	$26,979	$25,752	$1,227
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	$27,920	$26,640	$1,280
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	$29,708	$28,504	$1,204
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	$33,469	$32,788	$681
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	$19,079	$16,452	$2,627
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	$19,372	$16,590	$2,782
Lopez Continuation High	Public	10-12	1055 Mesa View Dr.	Arroyo Grande	93420	San Luis Obispo County	Lucia Mar Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 474-3750	96	9	10.9	77.1%	27 (28.1%)	0 (0.0%)	63 (65.6%)	2 (2.1%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.1%)	11.2	1959^th of 2162 public high schools	9.4%		19.1	1716^th of 2159 public high schools	20.5%	243	0.0		0.0	15.2	15.2	4.6	4.6	$28,736	$24,444	$4,292
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	$15,413	$12,818	$2,595
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	$26,829	$26,010	$819
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	$38,111	$36,882	$1,229

Frequently Asked Questions about Pioneer Valley High

How many students attend Pioneer Valley High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 3,080 students attended Pioneer Valley High.

What is the racial makeup of Pioneer Valley High?

Students at Pioneer Valley High are 94% Hispanic, 3% Asian, 2% White.

What district is Pioneer Valley High in?

Santa Maria Joint Union High

Is Pioneer Valley High a good school?

Pioneer Valley High ranks 1092^nd of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What schools feed into Pioneer Valley High?

Pioneer Valley High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Bruce (Robert) Elementary
Elementary : Oakley (Calvin C.) Elementary
Elementary : Ontiveros (Juan Pacifico) Elementary
Elementary : Rice (William) Elementary
Elementary : Taylor (Ida Redmond) Elementary
Elementary : Tunnell (Martin Luther) Elementary
Middle : Kunst (Tommie) Junior High

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Latest California data All new data »

2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026

2024–25 CSA Spanish test scoresDec 22, 2025

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 14, 2025

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.