Summary:
ZIP code 95076 has seven high schools: five conventional grades 9–12 schools, Ceiba College Preparatory Academy (grades 6–12), and Santa Cruz County Career Advancement Charter (grade 12). In 2025–26, the schools’ unweighted averages were 37% proficient in ELA, 11% in math, and 17% in science, compared with state rates of 49%, 38%, and 36%. The area’s most important overall finding is that school results fell below state rates in all three subjects, with the widest shortfall in math.
Diamond Technology Institute led the reporting schools in all three subjects: 77% in ELA, 23% in math, and 36.4% in science. Its ELA score was 28 percentage points above the state rate, while its math score was still 16 points below; its science score was just above the state’s 36.0%. Pajaro Valley High was next in ELA at 51% and had the strongest reported graduation rate among schools with a rate, 96%. At the other end, New School Community Day had the lowest reported ELA and math scores, 8% and 0%; Renaissance High Continuation also had low scores and 70% chronic absenteeism. Ceiba’s 11th graders were a notable exception to its lower all-grade results: they were above state 11th-grade rates in ELA, math, and science.
Recent results show gains in ELA and math, but not across the board: among five schools with comparable scores, average ELA rose 5 percentage points and math rose 4, while science fell 2; Diamond’s science result dropped 30 points. SchoolDigger’s percentile rank rose from 40 to 48 for Pajaro Valley between 2023–24 and 2025–26, while Diamond’s fell from 80 to 66. School context also varies: Pajaro Valley had a lower student–teacher ratio than Watsonville High (21.6 versus 23.5) and a lower free/reduced lunch eligible share (84% versus 91%, sy 2024–25). New School had the highest reported share, 95%, while Diamond had 77%. These figures offer context, not an explanation for school results.
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