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Santa Monica High

Public Grades 9-12

136^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,137 California High Schools

Better than 94% of California high schools

Summary

Santa Monica High is a grades 9–12 public school in Santa Monica, California, serving 2,588 students in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. Its 2025–2026 results were above California’s in English language arts (ELA), math and science, and SchoolDigger placed it in the state’s 94th percentile. Graduation was also strong at 97%, compared with 88% statewide, though chronic absenteeism was 21%, above the district’s 15% and the state’s 18%. The key trade-off is that math is well above the state but below the district’s all-grades result.

Compared with the state, Santa Monica High was ahead by 34 points in ELA, 18 in math and 25 in science; compared with its district, it was ahead by 10 points in ELA and 2 in science, but behind by 5 in all-grades math. The picture improves in the same-grade comparison: its 11th-grade math rate was 56%, about 2 points above the district’s 55%, and the highest among nearby schools with reported results. It also scored 16 points above the nearby-school average in 11th-grade math. However, New West Charter led Santa Monica High in 11th-grade ELA and science by about 3 points in each subject.

Scores were broadly steady or higher from 2022–2023 to 2025–2026: ELA changed little, math rose 6 points and science rose 2. SchoolDigger ranked the school 136th of 2,137 statewide, in the 94th percentile with five stars; its ranking has remained high but edged down from the 96th percentile in 2023–2024. In 2024–2025, it had 19.8 students per teacher, and 35% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible. One older subgroup result stands out: SchoolDigger ranked Disabled Students in the 76th percentile in 2018–2019, compared with the school’s overall 94th percentile; that subgroup ranking rose to the 91st percentile in 2021–2022, with no current-year entry reported.

2,588

Students ?

19.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

35.4%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in California receive free school meals.

601 Pico Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90405-1224

(310) 395-3204

District: Santa Monica-Malibu Unified

Feeder schools for Santa Monica High:

Elementary:	Edison Elementary
	Franklin Elementary
	Grant Elementary
	John Muir Elementary
	More...
	McKinley Elementary
	Roosevelt Elementary
	Will Rogers Elementary
Middle:	John Adams Middle
	Lincoln Middle

Racial breakdown:

White:

40.1%

Hispanic:

34.4%

Two or more races:

10.3%

See top rated California high schools

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At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 85th percentile in 2015 → 94th in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (67% vs 42% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 6% of California high schools

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

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school67%

District avg66%

California avg42%

136^th of 2,137

California public high schools ?

Top 6%▲ up 10 pts since 2016

From top 16% (2016) to top 6% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 2High Schools in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified

86^th of 968Santa Monica-Malibu 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
2026	92.9	136 of 2137	93.6%	★★★★★
2025	94.4	112 of 2162	94.8%	★★★★★
2024	95.7	96 of 2159	95.6%	★★★★★
2023	94.7	120 of 2170	94.5%	★★★★★
2022	94.2	128 of 2123	94.0%	★★★★★
2019	93.3	129 of 2133	94.0%	★★★★★
2018	91.0	178 of 2017	91.2%	★★★★★
2017	91.4	164 of 2021	91.9%	★★★★★
2016	82.8	328 of 2039	83.9%	★★★★☆
2015	83.1	304 of 1994	84.8%	★★★★☆
2013	69.3	315 of 2426	87.0%	★★★★☆
2012	62.3	481 of 2354	79.6%	★★★★☆
2011	58.4	574 of 2367	75.7%	★★★★☆
2010	59.4	529 of 2281	76.8%	★★★★☆
2009	63.6	369 of 2238	83.5%	★★★★☆
2008	60.4	468 of 2117	77.9%	★★★★☆
2007	61.2	432 of 2063	79.1%	★★★★☆
2006	61.8	434 of 1968	77.9%	★★★★☆
2005	55.1	499 of 1901	73.8%	★★★★☆
2004	54.1	434 of 1653	73.7%	★★★★☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	82.4	66 of 491	86.6%	★★★★☆
2025	84.4	58 of 523	88.9%	★★★★☆
2024	89.4	40 of 517	92.3%	★★★★★
2023	94.0	28 of 521	94.6%	★★★★★
2022	77.8	81 of 522	84.5%	★★★★☆
2019	73.2	118 of 592	80.1%	★★★★☆
2018	78.3	117 of 582	79.9%	★★★★☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	79.7	106 of 575	81.6%	★★★★☆
2025	79.2	116 of 585	80.2%	★★★★☆
2024	80.6	93 of 573	83.8%	★★★★☆
2023	85.7	50 of 591	91.5%	★★★★★
2022	88.1	36 of 581	93.8%	★★★★★
2019	76.3	136 of 582	76.6%	★★★★☆
2018	87.5	43 of 581	92.6%	★★★★★

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	84.7	105 of 1161	91.0%	★★★★★
2019	62.5	269 of 1117	75.9%	★★★★☆
2018	77.1	154 of 1052	85.4%	★★★★☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	86.5	56 of 1085	94.8%	★★★★★
2023	90.3	29 of 1064	97.3%	★★★★★
2022	94.4	21 of 1044	98.0%	★★★★★
2019	61.6	178 of 941	81.1%	★★★★☆
2018	85.9	67 of 938	92.9%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	88.7	185 of 1865	90.1%	★★★★★
2025	94.7	81 of 1906	95.8%	★★★★★
2024	95.5	73 of 1915	96.2%	★★★★★
2023	92.3	149 of 1915	92.2%	★★★★★
2022	93.9	110 of 1858	94.1%	★★★★★
2019	92.8	120 of 1833	93.5%	★★★★★
2018	87.4	210 of 1760	88.1%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	84.7	232 of 1880	87.7%	★★★★☆
2025	87.8	162 of 1900	91.5%	★★★★★
2024	89.6	144 of 1902	92.4%	★★★★★
2023	91.1	131 of 1917	93.2%	★★★★★
2022	90.1	127 of 1861	93.2%	★★★★★
2019	86.0	170 of 1814	90.6%	★★★★★
2018	80.8	300 of 1742	82.8%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	81.4	308 of 1999	84.6%	★★★★☆
2025	79.6	340 of 2013	83.1%	★★★★☆
2024	94.3	94 of 2026	95.4%	★★★★★
2023	86.0	236 of 2030	88.4%	★★★★☆
2022	86.3	196 of 1943	89.9%	★★★★☆
2019	81.3	269 of 1937	86.1%	★★★★☆
2018	79.5	331 of 1862	82.2%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	94.3	110 of 1932	94.3%	★★★★★
2025	92.1	147 of 1942	92.4%	★★★★★
2024	94.0	123 of 1948	93.7%	★★★★★
2023	94.8	118 of 1963	94.0%	★★★★★
2022	92.8	135 of 1916	93.0%	★★★★★
2019	90.5	149 of 1880	92.1%	★★★★★
2018	91.7	152 of 1834	91.7%	★★★★★

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	89.4	47 of 588	92.0%	★★★★★
2025	92.7	21 of 577	96.4%	★★★★★
2024	90.0	34 of 574	94.1%	★★★★★
2023	87.7	43 of 541	92.1%	★★★★★
2022	91.3	23 of 515	95.5%	★★★★★
2019	86.0	37 of 422	91.2%	★★★★★
2018	87.9	31 of 366	91.5%	★★★★★

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	92.3	68 of 1235	94.5%	★★★★★
2025	86.1	113 of 1252	91.0%	★★★★★
2024	89.0	79 of 1216	93.5%	★★★★★
2023	74.5	187 of 1197	84.4%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	93.3	34 of 1132	97.0%	★★★★★
2025	94.8	26 of 1155	97.7%	★★★★★
2024	95.2	26 of 1173	97.8%	★★★★★
2023	93.5	55 of 1193	95.4%	★★★★★
2022	92.2	56 of 1204	95.3%	★★★★★
2019	93.3	49 of 1222	96.0%	★★★★★
2018	89.9	72 of 1173	93.9%	★★★★★

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)

White (2026)97th percentile+3 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)95th percentile~ school

Special Education (2026)94th percentile~ school

Male (2026)94th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2026)92nd percentile~ school

Disabled (2022)91st percentile-3 vs school

Female (2026)90th percentile-4 vs school

Hispanic (2026)88th percentile-6 vs school

African American (2026)87th percentile-7 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)85th percentile-9 vs school

Asian (2026)82nd percentile-12 vs school

By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy83%+34 vs state

Science61%+25 vs state

Mathematics56%+18 vs state

★

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Schools Near Santa Monica 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 (2026)				Ranking (2025)				CAST Science (2026)				Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2026)					Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2026)					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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	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 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 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	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
Santa Monica High	Public	9-12	601 Pico Blvd.	Santa Monica	90405	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 395-3204	2,588	130	19.8	35.4%	1,037 (40.1%)	189 (7.3%)	889 (34.4%)	191 (7.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.1%)	266 (10.3%)	92.9	136^th of 2137 public high schools	93.6%		94.4	112^th of 2162 public high schools	94.8%	24		61.6	31.8	60.5				83.4	83.4				56.5	56.5
Olympic High (Continuation)	Public	9-12	721 Ocean Park Blvd.	Santa Monica	90405	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 392-2494	30	4	7.5	83.3%	5 (16.7%)	2 (6.7%)	22 (73.3%)	1 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Animo Venice Charter High	Public, Charter	9-12	820 Broadway St.	Venice	90015	Los Angeles County	Animo Venice Charter High District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 392-8751	335	22	14.9	91.0%	11 (3.3%)	21 (6.3%)	297 (88.7%)	3 (0.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)								(n/a)
New West Charter	Public, Charter	6-12	1905 Armacost Ave.	Los Angeles	90025	Los Angeles County	New West Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 943-5444	980	53	18.4	18.5%	515 (52.6%)	44 (4.5%)	218 (22.2%)	92 (9.4%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	108 (11.0%)	92.7	141^st of 2137 public high schools	93.4%		90.4	191^st of 2162 public high schools	91.2%	50	45.4	64.9		55.9	62.0	72.6	59.8	86.2	70.7	57.0	49.0	39.7	49.7	49.1	$34,080	$33,576	$504
Venice Senior High	Public	9-12	13000 Venice Blvd.	Los Angeles	90066	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 577-4200	2,293	108	21.2	64.7%	448 (19.5%)	267 (11.6%)	1,218 (53.1%)	161 (7.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.1%)	196 (8.5%)	75.6	511^th of 2137 public high schools	76.1%		80.1	409^th of 2162 public high schools	81.1%	102		50.5	17.9	48.8				62.9	62.9				38.0	38.0	$29,951	$28,050	$1,901
Phoenix Continuation	Public	9-12	12971 Zanja St.	Los Angeles	90066	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 306-8775	61	3	20.4	—	6 (9.8%)	5 (8.2%)	47 (77.0%)	2 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.6%)	13.9	1783^rd of 2137 public high schools	16.6%		11.2	1957^th of 2162 public high schools	9.5%	174		5.3		9.5				15.8	15.8				10.5	10.5	$55,330	$53,452	$1,878
University High School Charter	Public, Charter	9-12	11800 Texas Ave.	Los Angeles	90025	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 914-3500	1,385	74	18.8	72.3%	162 (11.7%)	296 (21.4%)	789 (57.0%)	83 (6.0%)	2 (0.1%)	2 (0.1%)	51 (3.7%)	52.3	987^th of 2137 public high schools	53.8%		55.5	925^th of 2162 public high schools	57.2%	62		33.0		33.4				48.7	48.7				27.2	27.2	$35,864	$33,592	$2,272
Magnolia Science Academy 4	Public, Charter	6-12	11330 West Graham Pl. B-9	Los Angeles	90064	Los Angeles County	Magnolia Science Academy 4 District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 473-2464	132	8	17.4	89.4%	7 (5.3%)	8 (6.1%)	113 (85.6%)	4 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
James J. McBride Special Education Center	Public	6-12	3960 Centinela Ave.	Los Angeles	90066	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 391-0568	124	15	8.5	68.5%	17 (13.7%)	36 (29.0%)	63 (50.8%)	6 (4.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.6%)								(n/a)
Palisades Charter High	Public, Charter	9-12	15777 Bowdoin St.	Pacific Palisades	90272	Los Angeles County	Palisades Charter High District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 230-6623	2,920	119	24.5	21.5%	1,480 (50.7%)	253 (8.7%)	691 (23.7%)	209 (7.2%)	3 (0.1%)	2 (0.1%)	282 (9.7%)								(n/a)

Frequently Asked Questions about Santa Monica High

What schools feed into Santa Monica High?

Santa Monica High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Edison Elementary
Elementary : Franklin Elementary
Elementary : Grant Elementary
Elementary : John Muir Elementary
Elementary : McKinley Elementary
Elementary : Roosevelt Elementary
Elementary : Will Rogers Elementary
Middle : John Adams Middle
Middle : Lincoln Middle

Is Santa Monica High a good school?

Yes. Santa Monica High ranks in the top 6.4% of California high schools.

What is the racial makeup of Santa Monica High?

Students at Santa Monica High are 40% White, 34% Hispanic, 10% Two or more races, 7% Asian, 7% African American.

What district is Santa Monica High in?

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified

How many students attend Santa Monica High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 2,588 students attended Santa Monica High.

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Latest California data All new data »

2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNewOct 15, 2026

2025–26 CAST, CSA Spanish & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresNewOct 15, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026

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.