Summary:
ZIP code 95003 has six schools—three elementary, one middle and two high schools—with 3,124 students, spanning elementary through high school. In 2025–2026, the schools’ average proficiency was 54% in ELA, 36% in math and 36% in science; statewide averages were 49%, 38% and 36%. The main takeaway is that school results vary much more in math and science, where the strongest-to-weakest spreads were 43 and 40 points, than in ELA, with a 20-point spread.
Rio del Mar Elementary had the highest math result at 53%, while Valencia Elementary led science at 58%, 22 points above the state. Delta Charter led ELA at 62%, narrowly ahead of Valencia by 0.3 points, but had the lowest math and science results: 10% and 18%. Rio del Mar’s math result was 15 points above the state. At the lower end in ELA, Aptos Junior High scored 42% and Mar Vista Elementary 43%. Overall, four schools exceeded the state in ELA, two in math and three in science.
Recent trends are mixed: the six-school average rose 8 points in ELA and 1 point in math from 2024–2025, while science improved by less than a point, compared with a 3-point statewide gain. Delta’s ELA rose 38 points and Aptos High’s rose 10, while Delta’s latest math and science results remain low. SchoolDigger gives Valencia and Rio del Mar four stars and Mar Vista two; its statewide percentile rankings also rose for Rio del Mar and Delta over the three reported years. Student–teacher ratios range from 13.2 at Delta to 22.0 at Aptos Junior High, so a lower ratio does not by itself identify the strongest results. The schools’ reported free/reduced lunch eligible shares for 2024–2025 ranged from 22% at Rio del Mar to 54% at Mar Vista; these figures are context, not an explanation for achievement.
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