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Santa Monica High

Public Grades 9-12

112^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California High Schools

Better than 95% of California high schools

Summary

Santa Monica High (Samohi) is a large, top-performing public high school serving approximately 2,588 students in grades 9-12 within the highly-rated Santa Monica-Malibu Unified district.

The school consistently ranks among the best in the state, with a near-perfect 99% graduation rate and exceptional English Language Arts scores that outshine nearby comprehensive schools like Palisades Charter High and Venice Senior High. Its success is remarkably consistent across all student groups, and it maintains this high performance while serving a more socioeconomically diverse population than some close competitors, such as New West Charter.

While Samohi excels overall, its math proficiency, though solid, is an area where Palisades Charter High slightly outperforms it. The school also manages its resources efficiently compared to some neighboring schools with higher per-student spending but lower results. A point of attention is the chronic absenteeism rate, which, while better than some area schools, is slightly above the state average, indicating a shared challenge that the school is navigating alongside its academic achievements.

2,588

Students ?

19.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

35.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

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%

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At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 87th percentile in 2013 → 95th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (66% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 5% of California high schools

✓99% graduate in 4 years — above the California average (88%)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school66%

District avg64%

California avg41%

112^th of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Top 5%▲ up 10 pts since 2015

From top 15% (2015) to top 5% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 3High Schools in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified

187^th of 1,543Santa 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 (2025)98th percentile+3 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)96th percentile~ school

Female (2025)96th percentile~ school

English Language Learner (2024)95th percentile~ school

Male (2025)92nd percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)91st percentile-3 vs school

Special Education (2025)91st percentile-4 vs school

Disabled (2022)91st percentile-3 vs school

African American (2025)89th percentile-6 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)83rd percentile-12 vs school

Asian (2025)80th percentile-15 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy83%+34 vs state

Science59%+26 vs state

Mathematics57%+19 vs state

★

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Schools Near Santa Monica High

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 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%)	94.4	112^th of 2162 public high schools	94.8%		95.7	96^th of 2159 public high schools	95.6%	16		59.9	41.0	58.7				83.3	83.3				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%)	28.2	1522^nd of 2162 public high schools	29.6%		8.4	2141^st of 2159 public high schools	0.8%	619				33.3				8.3	8.3				23.1	23.1
Animo Venice Charter High	Public, Charter	9-12	820 Broadway St.	Venice	90291	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%)	58.2	873^rd of 2162 public high schools	59.6%		44.7	1132^nd of 2159 public high schools	47.6%	259		36.4		35.4				61.3	61.3				16.9	16.9	$30,497	$2,544	$27,953
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%)	90.4	191^st of 2162 public high schools	91.2%		92.4	174^th of 2159 public high schools	91.9%	17	57.1	50.8		54.1	72.1	66.2	72.7	84.4	73.7	58.4	36.2	33.6	47.9	44.2	$15,216	$699	$14,517
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%)	80.1	409^th of 2162 public high schools	81.1%		72.8	524^th of 2159 public high schools	75.7%	115		52.9	10.7	50.7				69.0	69.0				35.0	35.0	$17,943	$2,745	$15,198
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	98.4%	6 (9.8%)	5 (8.2%)	47 (77.0%)	2 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.6%)	11.2	1957^th of 2162 public high schools	9.5%		16.1	1785^th of 2159 public high schools	17.3%	172		5.6		4.8				16.7	16.7				0.0	0.0	$37,398	$5,631	$31,767
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%)	55.5	925^th of 2162 public high schools	57.2%		59.8	768^th of 2159 public high schools	64.4%	157		27.2		26.5				52.2	52.2				28.9	28.9	$21,271	$3,403	$17,868
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%)	55.6	922^nd of 2162 public high schools	57.4%		47.9	1059^th of 2159 public high schools	50.9%	137	0.0	29.6		21.1		64.7	36.4	63.0	56.9		17.7	18.2	18.5	18.5	$24,887	$1,244	$23,643
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)															$76,616	$9,556	$67,060
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%)	81.6	388^th of 2162 public high schools	82.1%		86.6	290^th of 2159 public high schools	86.6%	98		40.5		40.0				63.4	63.4				61.5	61.5

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

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.

How many students attend Santa Monica High?

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

Is Santa Monica High a good school?

Yes. Santa Monica High ranks in the top 5.2% of California high schools.

What district is Santa Monica High in?

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified

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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.