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What's the most underrated thing about Pajaro Valley High that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,293
High
DISTRICT 837 · STATE 838
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PAJARO VALLEY UNIFIED·NCES 062949011462
Pajaro Valley High
500 Harkins Slough Rd., Watsonville, CA 95076 · (831) 728-8102 · Santa Cruz County
GRADES 09–12HIGH41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,293 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 14% of California public high schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C+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 high schools
Student : Teacher
21.6:1
60 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.0:1 · STATE 18.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
84%
1,090 students
DISTRICT 81% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 338 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 315 | 24% |
| Grade 11 | 309 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 331 | 26% |
Student demographics
6%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 27% · 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
40.0%
CA avg 49.1% . -19.0pp since 2014
Math
8.9%
CA avg 37.7% . -0.1pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 40 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 9 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are down about 19 points since 2014, while math scores have held steady.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 10.0% | 30.0% | 25.4% | 34.6% |
| Math | 1.6% | 7.3% | 23.0% | 68.2% |
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 | 40.0% | 8.9% |
| 2023-24 | 36.7% | 15.0% |
| 2022-23 | 33.3% | 7.9% |
| 2021-22 | 36.2% | 11.4% |
| 2018-19 | 37.8% | 13.4% |
| 2017-18 | 46.6% | 12.8% |
| 2016-17 | 48.3% | 10.9% |
| 2015-16 | 59.0% | 10.0% |
| 2014-15 | 59.0% | 9.0% |
% 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
25.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
30.1%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 25% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 30% 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 Pajaro Valley High
Pajaro Valley High's state test result (25.1% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pajaro Valley High this school | 1,293 | 84.3% | 25.1% |
| Santa Paula High Santa Paula | 1,494 | 83.5% | 33.3% |
| Lindsay Senior High Lindsay | 1,132 | 86.1% | 43.8% |
| Soledad High Soledad | 1,546 | 85.1% | 27.6% |
| Sylmar Charter High Sylmar | 1,463 | 87.1% | 32.8% |
| McFarland High School Early College McFarland | 1,027 | 82.2% | 42.0% |
Matched among California high 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 Pajaro Valley High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Santa Cruz County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 25.1% | #923 of 1,052 | #8 of 9 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 8.9% | #992 of 1,056 ▼ 225 | #8 of 9 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 40.0% | #900 of 1,056 ▲ 21 | #7 of 9 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +0.6pp | #617 of 1,044 | #4 of 9 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,293 | #640 of 2,093 | #2 of 19 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.6:1 | #786 of 1,352 | #7 of 12 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 6.0% | #1,289 of 1,351 | #12 of 12 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 84.3% | #488 of 1,575 | #3 of 14 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -8.0% | #529 of 802 | N/A |
Ranked against other public high 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
1,293
-260 (-17%) vs 2020
-10% since 2010-11, when it was 1,438
Student : Teacher
21.6:1
was 25.1:1
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 | 1,293 | 59.8 | 21.6:1 | 84% (1,090) |
| 2023-24 | 1,428 | 65.8 | 21.7:1 | 79% (1,126) |
| 2022-23 | 1,489 | 65.3 | 22.8:1 | 93% (1,384) |
| 2020-21 | 1,553 | 62 | 25.1:1 | 90% (1,392) |
| 2017-18 | 1,406 | 71.3 | 19.7:1 | 86% (1,212) |
| 2015-16 | 1,455 | 54 | 26.9:1 | 87% (1,273) |
| 2010-11 | 1,438 | N/A | N/A | 78% (1,125) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Pajaro Valley High.
Since 2017-18: students down 8% (1,406 to 1,293); teachers down 16% (71.3 to 59.8).
About Pajaro Valley High
Pajaro Valley High is a large high school in Watsonville, California, administered by Pajaro Valley Unified. The school offers grades 9 through 12 and enrolls 1,293 students. The school is 54% larger than the average for high schools in California.
Pajaro Valley Unified counts 16,482 students in its 33 schools, and Pajaro Valley High is one of them.
A large majority of enrollment at Pajaro Valley High is Hispanic, at 97%. Santa Cruz County's residents are about 35% Hispanic, 62 points below the school's share. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 6%.
The student-to-teacher ratio is 21.6:1. The school has 59.8 full-time-equivalent teachers. By comparison, the average for high schools in California is 18.2:1. In all, 84% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. That is 32 points above the 52% average for public schools in Santa Cruz County.
On the allk12 Grade, Pajaro Valley High lands at D, ahead of 14% of California public high schools.
On BeatsExpectations, Pajaro Valley High is 5.0 points below its prediction, a result in the middle 80% of California schools.
The school's county is Santa Cruz County. According to Census Bureau estimates, median household income comes to about $111,093, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 44%, and roughly 6% of residents are in poverty. There are 83 public schools in the county, enrolling about 36,316, Pajaro Valley High among them.
Pajaro Valley High's closest public school neighbor is Rolling Hills Middle, about 0.8 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. On proficiency, Pajaro Valley High is ahead of the 18.4% nearby average, ranking 2nd of 8.
Pajaro Valley High falls in the Rural: Fringe locale category, used for schools in rural territory close to an urban area.
The school's enrollment fell 17% from 2020-21 to 2024-25. In 2020-21, the student-to-teacher ratio was 25.1:1; by 2024-25 it was 21.6:1.
This page collects posts and questions about Pajaro Valley High, such as fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Santa Cruz County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
264,926
Census ACS
Median income
$111,093
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
44%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
83
36,316 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Pajaro Valley Unified
- Watsonville HighHigh · 2,215 students
- Aptos HighHigh · 1,274 students
- Alianza CharterElementary · 626 students
- Rolling Hills MiddleMiddle · 588 students
- Aptos Junior HighMiddle · 587 students
- Cesar E. Chavez MiddleMiddle · 548 students
Other schools in Watsonville
- Watsonville HighHigh · 2,215 students
- Alianza CharterElementary · 626 students
- Rolling Hills MiddleMiddle · 588 students
- Cesar E. Chavez MiddleMiddle · 548 students
- Bradley ElementaryElementary · 520 students
- Calabasas ElementaryElementary · 512 students
Nearby schools
- Rolling Hills Middle0.8 mi · 588
- New School Community Day0.8 mi · 42
- Landmark Elementary0.9 mi · 419
- Starlight Elementary1.2 mi · 383
- Diamond Technology Institute1.2 mi · 87
- Freedom Elementary1.3 mi · 479
Frequently asked questions
About Pajaro Valley HighHow many students attend Pajaro Valley High?
Pajaro Valley High enrolls approximately 1,293 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Pajaro Valley High serve?
Pajaro Valley High serves grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Pajaro Valley High have?
Pajaro Valley High employs 60 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 21.6:1.
How diverse is Pajaro Valley High?
Pajaro Valley High reports a student body of 2% White, 97% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 0% Two or more.
Who oversees Pajaro Valley High?
Pajaro Valley High is overseen by Pajaro Valley Unified in Santa Cruz County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.