Summary:
Zip code 95073 has four schools: three elementary schools and one high school serving grades 9–12. The four-school average is above the state in 2025–26 by 12 percentage points in ELA, 9 in math and 12 in science, though individual schools vary widely. The most important takeaway is the sharp contrast between Mountain Elementary, the all-grades leader, and Soquel Elementary, the lowest-scoring school in all three subjects.
Mountain Elementary scored 74% in ELA, 67% in math and 59% in science—24, 28 and 23 points above the state, respectively. Soquel Elementary scored 44%, 36% and 27%, below the state by 5, 2 and 9 points. The gap between them is especially striking in shared grades: fourth-grade ELA was 90% at Mountain and 43% at Soquel Elementary, a 47-point difference. Main Street Elementary is also strong, exceeding the state by 11 points in ELA, 12 in math and 21 in science. Soquel High is well above the state in ELA and science, but its all-grades math result is nearly level with the state.
Recent results show gains at some schools and declines at others. From 2024–25 to 2025–26, Main Street’s science proficiency rose 13 points, while Soquel Elementary’s fell 13; the four-school average rose in all three subjects, but its science advantage over the state narrowed. SchoolDigger rankings also rose for Mountain, from the 75th to the 88th percentile, and fell for Soquel Elementary, from the 62nd to the 48th; both have four stars and two stars, respectively. Mountain has the lowest student-teacher ratio at 17.8, compared with 23.2 at Main Street. In 2024–25, 15% of Mountain students and 40% of Soquel Elementary students were free/reduced lunch eligible; these are contextual differences, not explanations for achievement.
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