Enrollment
353
Elementary
STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MONTECITO UNION ELEMENTARY·NCES 062550003815
Montecito Union
385 San Ysidro Rd., Santa Barbara, CA 93108 · (805) 969-3249 · Santa Barbara County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY22-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL353 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 97% of California public elementary schools
- A+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- B-Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded California public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
12.1:1
29 FTE teachers
STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
5%
18 students
STATE 65%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 60 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 40 | 11% |
| Grade 2 | 63 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 40 | 11% |
| Grade 4 | 53 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 54 | 15% |
| Grade 6 | 43 | 12% |
This year's kindergarten class (60) is 40% larger than its 6th grade class (43).
Student demographics
41%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
90.8%
CA avg 49.1% . +1.8pp since 2014
Math
91.6%
CA avg 37.7% . +11.6pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 91 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 92 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 2 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 12 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 68.0% | 22.8% | 7.8% | 1.5% |
| Math | 71.4% | 20.2% | 5.9% | 2.5% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 90.8% | 91.6% |
| 2023-24 | 90.7% | 89.5% |
| 2022-23 | 87.4% | 90.0% |
| 2021-22 | 89.8% | 89.7% |
| 2020-21 | 83.3% | 87.4% |
| 2018-19 | 87.8% | 85.2% |
| 2017-18 | 91.4% | 84.9% |
| 2016-17 | 89.8% | 81.5% |
| 2015-16 | 91.0% | 85.0% |
| 2014-15 | 89.0% | 80.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
90.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
76.5%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+14.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 91% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 77% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Montecito Union
Montecito Union's state test result (90.7% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montecito Union this school | 353 | 5.1% | 90.7% |
| Tamalpais Valley Elementary Mill Valley | 368 | 5.4% | 86.1% |
| El Camino Creek Elementary Carlsbad | 409 | 5.1% | 84.7% |
| Ross Elementary Ross | 339 | 0.9% | 87.5% |
| Wade Thomas Elementary San Anselmo | 292 | 7.2% | 82.2% |
| Reed Elementary Tiburon | 362 | 2.8% | N/A |
Matched among California elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Montecito Union ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Santa Barbara County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 90.7% | #14 of 5,151 | #2 of 66 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 91.6% | #14 of 5,172 ▲ 21 | #2 of 66 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 90.8% | #14 of 5,172 no change | #2 of 66 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +1.5pp | #2,836 of 5,116 | #33 of 66 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 353 | #4,246 of 5,915 | #48 of 75 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.1:1 | #3 of 5,352 | #1 of 63 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 41.3% | #3,359 of 5,354 | #33 of 63 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 5.1% | #5,581 of 5,625 | #70 of 70 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -13.9% | #2,162 of 3,837 | #18 of 47 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
353
-21 (-6%) vs 2020
-3% since 1990-91, when it was 363
Student : Teacher
12.1:1
was 11.7:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 353 | 29.2 | 12.1:1 | 5% (18) |
| 2023-24 | 344 | 27.3 | 12.6:1 | 4% (15) |
| 2022-23 | 353 | 29.1 | 12.1:1 | 5% (19) |
| 2020-21 | 374 | 32 | 11.7:1 | 9% (34) |
| 2017-18 | 410 | 36 | 11.4:1 | 11% (44) |
| 2015-16 | 438 | 27 | 16.2:1 | 8% (35) |
| 2010-11 | 412 | N/A | N/A | 8% (31) |
| 2000-01 | 504 | 30 | 16.8:1 | 4% (18) |
| 1990-91 | 363 | 22 | 16.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Montecito Union.
Since 2017-18: students down 14% (410 to 353); teachers down 19% (36 to 29.2).
About Montecito Union
Montecito Union is listed by the National Center for Education Statistics as an elementary school in Santa Barbara, California. Students in kindergarten through 6 attend, and enrollment is 353 students. The typical figure for elementary schools in California is about 465 students.
Montecito Union reports to Montecito Union Elementary.
White students make up a majority at Montecito Union, at 75%. The remaining shares are 13% multiracial and 12% Hispanic. Census estimates put the White share of Santa Barbara County's population at about 48%. Montecito Union's diversity index is 41%, against a US figure of 70%.
Teacher staffing is 29.2 full-time equivalents, or about 12.1 students per teacher. On average, elementary schools in California have 22.3:1, compared with 12.1:1 here. About 5% of students, or 18, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Public schools in Santa Barbara County average 68%.
The allk12 Grade for Montecito Union is A+. Compared with California public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 97% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Montecito Union posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 90.7%, compared with a predicted 76.5%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of California schools on BeatsExpectations.
Census estimates describe Santa Barbara County this way: the median household income is $98,161, about 37% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 9%. In all, Santa Barbara County has 129 public schools and roughly 66,191 students.
The nearest other public school, Cold Spring Elementary, is about 1.8 miles away. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. Montecito Union places 2nd of 7 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
By NCES locale, the school is Suburb: Mid-size, or in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Over 4 years, Montecito Union's enrollment dropped 6%, to 353.
The Montecito Union community page is open for posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Santa Barbara County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
443,701
Census ACS
Median income
$98,161
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
37%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
129
66,191 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Santa Barbara
- San Marcos Senior HighHigh · 1,926 students
- Santa Barbara Senior HighHigh · 1,924 students
- La Colina Junior HighMiddle · 832 students
- Peabody CharterElementary · 780 students
- Santa Barbara Junior HighMiddle · 512 students
- Washington ElementaryElementary · 477 students
Nearby schools
- Cold Spring Elementary1.8 mi · 188
- Summerland Elementary2.1 mi · 51
- Cleveland Elementary2.3 mi · 254
- Franklin Elementary2.7 mi · 424
- Adelante Charter2.7 mi · 306
- Santa Barbara Junior High3.2 mi · 512
Frequently asked questions
About Montecito UnionWhat is the total enrollment at Montecito Union?
Montecito Union enrolls approximately 353 students in grades KG-06.
What age range does Montecito Union serve?
Montecito Union serves students from grade KG through grade 06.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Montecito Union?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Montecito Union is approximately 12.1:1 (29 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Montecito Union?
Montecito Union reports a student body of 75% White, 12% Hispanic, 0% Black, 13% Two or more.
What district is Montecito Union in?
Montecito Union is part of Montecito Union Elementary.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.