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Santa Monica Alternative (K-8)

Q: Is Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) a good school?

Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) ranks 1176 th of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-8

1176^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 80% of California elementary schools

Summary

Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) is a small, 4-star public school serving 216 students from kindergarten through 8th grade in the high-performing Santa Monica-Malibu Unified district, offering a unique K-8 continuum in a smaller community setting compared to most local elementary schools.

The school has notable strengths in mathematics and science, where it outperforms the district average, and it boasts an exceptionally low chronic absenteeism rate of 6.5%, which is the best in the area and indicates a strong culture of student engagement. However, its performance in English Language Arts slightly trails the district average, and test scores can vary significantly from grade to grade. While the school is smaller than nearby options like Roosevelt Elementary or Grant Elementary, this size doesn't automatically translate to higher overall academic rankings compared to some consistent top performers in the region, such as Broadway Elementary in the Los Angeles Unified district.

Overall, Santa Monica Alternative represents a distinctive choice with a proven track record of excellent attendance and solid academic results within a competitive district. Families may value the close-knit, K-8 environment and the school's focus on student engagement, which is reflected in its standout attendance numbers, while being aware of the variability in year-to-year rankings and subject-specific performance compared to other local schools.

216

Students ?

18.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

14.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2525 Fifth St.
Santa Monica, CA 90405-3703

(310) 396-2640

District: Santa Monica-Malibu Unified

Racial breakdown:

White:

56.5%

Hispanic:

15.7%

Two or more races:

14.8%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 48th percentile in 2013 → 80th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (64% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 20% of California elementary schools

✓Ranking is trending up — up 32 percentile points since 2013

Worth a look

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

!Near the bottom of Santa Monica-Malibu Unified's ranking

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school64%

District avg64%

California avg41%

Elementary school

1,176^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Top 20%▼ down 6 pts since 2015

From top 14% (2015) to top 20% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

238^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Top 9%▼ down 3 pts since 2015

From top 5% (2015) to top 9% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

8^th of 9Elementary 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)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	79.5	1176 of 5857	79.9%	★★★★☆
2024	89.8	713 of 5869	87.9%	★★★★☆
2023	91.7	589 of 5859	89.9%	★★★★☆
2022	85.7	914 of 5883	84.5%	★★★★☆
2019	82.1	1067 of 5789	81.6%	★★★★☆
2018	40.5	3123 of 5662	44.8%	★★☆☆☆
2017	68.8	1623 of 5692	71.5%	★★★★☆
2016	88.3	718 of 5614	87.2%	★★★★☆
2015	86.6	798 of 5611	85.8%	★★★★☆
2013	46.8	2874 of 5530	48.0%	★★☆☆☆
2012	54.8	2337 of 5390	56.6%	★★★☆☆
2011	63.9	1806 of 5377	66.4%	★★★☆☆
2010	39.3	3213 of 5314	39.5%	★★☆☆☆
2009	42.5	2906 of 5193	44.0%	★★☆☆☆
2008	44.1	2714 of 5113	46.9%	★★☆☆☆
2007	40.9	2856 of 5113	44.1%	★★☆☆☆
2006	26.7	3543 of 4818	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	27.7	3428 of 4822	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	40.7	2609 of 4809	45.7%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	79.0	1113 of 5597	80.1%	★★★★☆
2024	95.5	247 of 5612	95.6%	★★★★★
2022	86.8	787 of 5635	86.0%	★★★★☆
2019	78.1	1165 of 5492	78.8%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	81.9	979 of 5628	82.6%	★★★★☆
2024	85.8	835 of 5643	85.2%	★★★★☆
2023	91.0	550 of 5638	90.2%	★★★★★
2022	83.4	947 of 5663	83.3%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	57.4	1175 of 2598	54.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	64.5	980 of 2651	63.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	83.8	285 of 2661	89.3%	★★★★☆
2022	72.5	714 of 2726	73.8%	★★★★☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	91.5	238 of 2761	91.4%	★★★★★
2024	93.3	204 of 2783	92.7%	★★★★★
2023	94.9	156 of 2781	94.4%	★★★★★
2022	90.9	254 of 2740	90.7%	★★★★★
2019	97.2	63 of 2715	97.7%	★★★★★
2018	95.1	121 of 2480	95.1%	★★★★★
2017	97.1	58 of 2508	97.7%	★★★★★
2016	90.0	227 of 2497	90.9%	★★★★★
2015	93.8	133 of 2477	94.6%	★★★★★
2013	58.6	922 of 2379	61.2%	★★★☆☆
2012	54.9	950 of 2259	57.9%	★★★☆☆
2011	55.8	937 of 2236	58.1%	★★★☆☆
2010	38.9	1337 of 2179	38.6%	★★☆☆☆
2009	52.6	915 of 2063	55.6%	★★★☆☆
2008	42.0	1109 of 2005	44.7%	★★☆☆☆
2007	34.5	1269 of 1999	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2006	39.2	1029 of 1804	43.0%	★★☆☆☆
2005	40.4	990 of 1777	44.3%	★★☆☆☆
2004	52.2	737 of 1769	58.3%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	89.2	248 of 2509	90.1%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	86.6	318 of 2552	87.5%	★★★★☆
2022	93.2	174 of 2527	93.1%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	74.8	334 of 1537	78.3%	★★★★☆
2018	83.0	192 of 1496	87.2%	★★★★☆

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)

Elementary school

Male (2025)83rd percentile+3 vs school

Female (2025)80th percentile~ school

White (2025)55th percentile-25 vs school

Middle school

Female (2022)90th percentile~ school

Male (2024)88th percentile-5 vs school

White (2024)78th percentile-14 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy65%+16 vs state

Mathematics64%+27 vs state

Science62%+30 vs state

★

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Schools Near Santa Monica Alternative (K-8)

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations 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)							% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	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 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	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 All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Santa Monica Alternative (K-8)	Public	K-8	2525 Fifth St.	Santa Monica	90405	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 396-2640	216	12	18.4	14.8%	122 (56.5%)	9 (4.2%)	34 (15.7%)	19 (8.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (14.8%)	79.5	1176^th of 5857 public elementary schools	79.9%		89.8	713^th of 5869 public elementary schools	87.9%	463	69.6	52.9	62.5	42.9	57.9	65.2	75.0	86.4	64.7	65.3	61.9	75.0	47.8	50.0	81.0	70.6	64.4	79.2	91.7	91.7	83.3	87.5	83.3
John Muir Elementary	Public	K-5	2526 Sixth St.	Santa Monica	90405	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 399-7721	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)																		86.1	94.4	94.4	88.9	91.7	86.1
Will Rogers Elementary	Public	K-5	2401 14th St.	Santa Monica	90405	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 452-2364	522	27	19.3	44.4%	175 (33.5%)	61 (11.7%)	217 (41.6%)	25 (4.8%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.6%)	39 (7.5%)	60.9	2018^th of 5857 public elementary schools	65.5%		67.7	1696^th of 5869 public elementary schools	71.1%	322	42.1		42.1	47.2	52.1	61.8				53.7	36.1	45.8	43.4				42.2
Westminster Avenue Elementary	Public	K-5	1010 Abbott Kinney Blvd.	Venice	90291	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 392-3041	367	18	20.3	77.7%	82 (22.3%)	49 (13.4%)	194 (52.9%)	5 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (10.1%)	66.6	1759^th of 5857 public elementary schools	70.0%		59.6	2086^th of 5869 public elementary schools	64.5%	327	34.7		34.7	52.7	64.6	58.7				58.4	52.7	58.3	38.7				48.3	96.2				96.2		$30,613	$4,687	$25,926
Broadway Elementary	Public	K-5	1015 Lincoln Blvd.	Venice	90291	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 392-4944	546	25	22.2	25.8%	70 (12.8%)	20 (3.7%)	131 (24.0%)	149 (27.3%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	174 (31.9%)	96.9	158^th of 5857 public elementary schools	97.3%		97.2	148^th of 5869 public elementary schools	97.5%	10	73.2		73.2	90.1	77.0	88.6				85.3	84.2	80.0	73.2				79.4							$17,409	$2,770	$14,639
Grant Elementary	Public	K-5	2368 Pearl St.	Santa Monica	90405	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 450-7651	562	28	20.3	24.9%	261 (46.4%)	38 (6.8%)	160 (28.5%)	57 (10.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (7.8%)	90.1	650^th of 5857 public elementary schools	88.9%		93.6	458^th of 5869 public elementary schools	92.2%	192	56.2		56.2	72.9	72.4	76.4				74.0	72.1	64.4	62.9				66.4	96.6
Edison Elementary	Public	K-5	2402 Virginia Ave.	Santa Monica	90404	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 828-0335	404	21	19.3	39.9%	110 (27.2%)	3 (0.7%)	279 (69.1%)	7 (1.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.0%)	95	331^st of 5857 public elementary schools	94.3%		91.2	625^th of 5869 public elementary schools	89.4%	294	57.4		57.4	90.6	87.5	76.5				84.2	81.1	78.6	73.5				77.4
Walgrove Avenue Elementary	Public	K-5	1630 Walgrove Ave.	Los Angeles	90066	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 391-7104	271	13	20.8	38.7%	78 (28.8%)	20 (7.4%)	86 (31.7%)	11 (4.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	75 (27.7%)	60.8	2025^th of 5857 public elementary schools	65.4%		64.5	1848^th of 5869 public elementary schools	68.5%	177	38.7		38.7	38.2	56.8	58.1				51.4	44.1	50.0	41.9				45.9	92.3			92.3			$27,770	$3,517	$24,253
McKinley Elementary	Public	K-5	2401 Santa Monica Blvd.	Santa Monica	90404	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 828-5011	362	22	16.7	42.3%	119 (32.9%)	38 (10.5%)	120 (33.1%)	47 (13.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (10.2%)	82.3	1058^th of 5857 public elementary schools	81.9%		83.9	1004^th of 5869 public elementary schools	82.9%	54	52.0		52.0	60.7	54.9	65.3				61.0	71.0	65.4	56.0				63.5	94.6	97.3	97.3		96.0
Coeur D'Alene Avenue Elementary	Public	K-5	810 Coeur D'Alene Ave.	Venice	90291	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 821-7813	295	13	22.6	31.5%	123 (41.7%)	9 (3.1%)	54 (18.3%)	20 (6.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	89 (30.2%)	93.7	426^th of 5857 public elementary schools	92.7%		88.1	808^th of 5869 public elementary schools	86.2%	382	67.2		67.2	79.2	88.6	73.8				79.7	77.1	77.3	60.7				70.6	93.4		96.7	96.7			$17,104	$2,260	$14,844

Frequently Asked Questions about Santa Monica Alternative (K-8)

Is Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) a good school?

Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) ranks 1176^th of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Santa Monica Alternative (K-8)?

In the 2024-25 school year, 216 students attended Santa Monica Alternative (K-8).

What district is Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) in?

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified

What is the racial makeup of Santa Monica Alternative (K-8)?

Students at Santa Monica Alternative (K-8) are 56% White, 16% Hispanic, 15% Two or more races, 9% Asian, 4% African American.

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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.