Summary:
ZIP code 93023’s Ojai area has two high schools serving grades 9–12: Nordhoff High and El Camino High. In 2025–2026, both schools were well above California in English language arts (ELA), at 73% and 75%, compared with 49% statewide; both were also above the state in science, at 44% and 41% versus 36%. The clearest shared academic weakness is math: both schools were at about 29%, below the 38% state result.
El Camino High stands out for ELA and reported graduation outcomes: its ELA result was 1 percentage point above Nordhoff High (75% versus 73%), and its graduation rate was 100%, compared with Nordhoff’s 92% and the state’s 88%. Nordhoff led science by 2 points (44% versus 41%) and was narrowly ahead in math, though both rounded to 29%. Dropout rates were 0% at El Camino, 4% at Nordhoff, and 8% statewide. However, chronic absenteeism was higher at both schools than statewide: 19% at El Camino and 21% at Nordhoff, compared with 18%. SchoolDigger gives Nordhoff the slightly higher current ranking—73rd percentile and four stars, versus El Camino’s 71st percentile and four stars.
Recent results show different paths despite similar current scores: from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, Nordhoff gained 12 points in ELA and 15 in science, while El Camino declined 3 points in ELA and 8 in science; both improved in math, by 4 points at Nordhoff and 1 at El Camino. SchoolDigger’s percentile rankings also shifted: Nordhoff rose from the 61st to the 73rd percentile, while El Camino moved from the 80th to the 71st; both were higher in 2023–2024. Nordhoff enrolls 576 students and has an 18-to-1 student-teacher ratio, compared with El Camino’s 221 students and 30.4-to-1 ratio. For 2024–2025, free/reduced lunch eligible students were 51% at Nordhoff and 38% at El Camino; these are contextual differences, not explanations for results. The comparison covers two schools and two years of test results.
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