Summary:
ZIP code 95062 has 12 schools—six elementary, two middle, three high and one alternative—serving students from elementary through high-school grades in a mix of traditional and alternative settings. Across the schools, the average all-grades proficiency was 44% in ELA and 33% in math, below state rates of 49% and 38%; science averaged 39%, above the state’s 36%. The main takeaway is that results vary sharply by school, rather than pointing to one consistent experience across the area.
Branciforte Middle led all-grades ELA and math in 2025–2026, with 61% and 47% proficient—12 and 9 points above the state. Santa Cruz City Elementary Alternative Education-Monarch led science at 58%, 22 points above the state. At the lower end, Costanoa Career Prep Continuation High had 6% ELA and 5% science proficiency, 43 and 31 points below the state; Ark Independent Studies had the lowest math result, 6%, 32 points below the state. Grade-level results can show a different picture: Live Oak Elementary had 58% ELA and 68% math proficiency in third grade, though its all-grades results were below the state in all three subjects.
Recent movement was mixed: the 12-school ELA average fell 4 points from 2024–2025, math rose 1 point and science was essentially flat; meanwhile, the group’s position relative to the state weakened in ELA, math and science. SchoolDigger’s statewide percentile for Branciforte Middle rose from 67 to 79 between 2023–2024 and 2025–2026, while Ark Independent Studies fell from 72 to 19. As context, 2024–2025 free/reduced lunch eligibility was 54% at Green Acres Elementary, 27% at Monarch and 62% at Del Mar Elementary; these figures do not neatly track results. Because schools differ in grade span and program type, all-grades comparisons are not like-for-like.
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