Summary:
ZIP code 93103 has one listed high school, Santa Barbara Senior High, serving grades 9–12 with 1,924 students. Its academic results are mixed: English proficiency is above the California rate, but math and science proficiency are below it. The clearest concern is math, where 26% of students were proficient, compared with 38% statewide—a 13-point shortfall.
Because it is the only school in the ZIP code, there is no top-to-bottom comparison among local schools. The school’s strongest latest subject result relative to the state is English: 51% proficient, 2 points above California’s 49%. Science proficiency was 32%, 4 points below the state’s 36%, while math had the largest gap: 26% versus 38%, or 13 points below. Compared with Santa Barbara Unified, the school was 2 points lower in English, 18 points lower in math, and 8 points lower in science. Graduation is a relative strength at 91%, 3 points above the state’s 88%, though 2 points below the district’s 93%; chronic absenteeism is a counterpoint, at 29%, about 11 points above both the state and district rates.
Test results improved in all three subjects from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026: proficiency rose 6 points in English, 7 in math, and 8 in science. English moved from 4 points below the state to 2 points above it, and the average gap across the three subjects narrowed by 6 points. SchoolDigger gives the school 3 stars and ranks it 994 of 2,137 schools, at percentile 53; its percentile rose 10 points since 2023–2024. The school’s student-teacher ratio is 19.4:1 (2024–2025), and 62% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible that year. These figures offer context, not an explanation for the results.
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