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What's something Pioneer Valley High does better than most schools?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
3,080
High
DISTRICT 2,233 · STATE 838
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SANTA MARIA JOINT UNION HIGH·NCES 063567011438
Pioneer Valley High
675 Panther Dr., Santa Maria, CA 93454 · (805) 922-1305 · Santa Barbara County
GRADES 09–12HIGH12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL3,080 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 47% of California public high schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- A-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
22.1:1
140 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.4:1 · STATE 18.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
72%
2,214 students
DISTRICT 71% · 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 | 782 | 25% |
| Grade 10 | 751 | 24% |
| Grade 11 | 787 | 26% |
| Grade 12 | 760 | 25% |
Student demographics
11%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 18% · 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
50.1%
CA avg 49.1% . -4.9pp since 2014
Math
21.3%
CA avg 37.7% . +1.3pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 50 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 21 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 5 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 1 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 17.6% | 32.5% | 26.8% | 23.1% |
| Math | 4.5% | 16.9% | 25.5% | 53.2% |
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 | 50.1% | 21.3% |
| 2023-24 | 51.1% | 22.7% |
| 2022-23 | 45.8% | 19.2% |
| 2021-22 | 39.1% | 18.1% |
| 2018-19 | 61.1% | 28.6% |
| 2017-18 | 55.7% | 19.9% |
| 2016-17 | 59.5% | 22.0% |
| 2015-16 | 57.0% | 23.0% |
| 2014-15 | 55.0% | 20.0% |
% 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
36.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
37.4%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-1.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 36% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 37% 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 Pioneer Valley High
Pioneer Valley High's state test result (36.3% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pioneer Valley High this school | 3,080 | 71.9% | 36.3% |
| Santa Maria High Santa Maria | 3,143 | 76.1% | 29.3% |
| Central Union High El Centro | 2,006 | 72.6% | 38.2% |
| Oxnard High Oxnard | 2,452 | 76.1% | 33.5% |
| El Rancho High Pico Rivera | 1,995 | 73.9% | 46.0% |
| Southwest High El Centro | 1,846 | 72.1% | 36.9% |
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 Pioneer Valley High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Santa Barbara County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 36.3% | #631 of 1,052 | #6 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 21.3% | #630 of 1,056 ▼ 98 | #7 of 10 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 50.1% | #704 of 1,056 ▼ 73 | #5 of 10 ▼ 2 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +7.1pp | #266 of 1,044 | #2 of 10 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 3,080 | #26 of 2,093 | #2 of 19 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 22.1:1 | #871 of 1,352 | #10 of 11 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 11.4% | #1,221 of 1,351 | #9 of 11 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 71.9% | #827 of 1,575 | #5 of 12 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +13.5% | #87 of 327 | 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
3,080
+47 (+2%) vs 2020
+17% since 2010-11, when it was 2,625
Student : Teacher
22.1:1
was 24.1:1
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 | 3,080 | 139.5 | 22.1:1 | 72% (2,214) |
| 2023-24 | 3,112 | 140.4 | 22.2:1 | 78% (2,420) |
| 2022-23 | 3,220 | 132.5 | 24.3:1 | 74% (2,396) |
| 2020-21 | 3,033 | 126 | 24.1:1 | 70% (2,124) |
| 2017-18 | 2,713 | 109.2 | 24.8:1 | 73% (1,993) |
| 2015-16 | 2,694 | 112 | 24.1:1 | 74% (1,984) |
| 2010-11 | 2,625 | N/A | N/A | 65% (1,697) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Pioneer Valley High.
Since 2017-18: students up 14% (2,713 to 3,080); teachers up 28% (109.2 to 139.5).
About Pioneer Valley High
Pioneer Valley High is a large high school serving families in Santa Maria, California. In all, 3,080 students attend the school in grades 9 through 12. That puts enrollment 268% above the 838-student average for high schools in California.
Pioneer Valley High is among 4 schools run by Santa Maria Joint Union High, which serves 8,930 students.
At Pioneer Valley High, 94% of students are Hispanic. Other students are 3% Asian and 2% White. That is higher than the 48% Hispanic share among all Santa Barbara County residents. A diversity index of 11% means there is an 11% chance two randomly chosen students at Pioneer Valley High are from different groups.
For every teacher at Pioneer Valley High, there are about 22.1 students; the school has 139.5 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average for high schools in California, 18.2:1, is lower. There are 2,214 students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 72% of enrollment.
Among California public high schools, Pioneer Valley High outscored 47%, which works out to a B- on the allk12 Grade.
The model predicts 37.4% for a school in California with Pioneer Valley High's free or reduced-price lunch share. Pioneer Valley High posts 36.3%.
In the wider Santa Barbara County area, the median household earns about $98,161 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 37% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 9%. Pioneer Valley High shares Santa Barbara County with 128 other public schools.
Among nearby public schools, Tunnell (Martin Luther) Elementary is closest at about 0.8 miles. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Pioneer Valley High. Pioneer Valley High places 1st of 9 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
Pioneer Valley High is coded as City: Mid-size in federal locale data.
In 2020-21, Pioneer Valley High enrolled 3,033; in 2024-25, 3,080. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio dropped to 22.1:1, from 24.1:1.
Parents, students, and staff can share information on athletics, class schedules, and weather closures here. Members of the school community can share what they know.
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 Maria Joint Union High
- Santa Maria HighHigh · 3,143 students
- Ernest Righetti HighHigh · 2,416 students
- Delta HighHigh · 291 students
Other schools in Santa Maria
- Santa Maria HighHigh · 3,143 students
- Ernest Righetti HighHigh · 2,416 students
- JIMENEZ ROBERTO AND DR. FRANCISCO ELEMENTARYElementary · 1,177 students
- Bruce (Robert) ElementaryElementary · 1,050 students
- Alvin ElementaryElementary · 998 students
- Fesler (Isaac) Junior HighMiddle · 974 students
Nearby schools
- Tunnell (Martin Luther) Elementary0.8 mi · 917
- Fesler (Isaac) Junior High1.0 mi · 974
- Rice (William) Elementary1.6 mi · 887
- Taylor (Ida Redmond) Elementary1.6 mi · 849
- Alvin Elementary1.7 mi · 998
- Miller (Isaac) Elementary2.0 mi · 883
Frequently asked questions
About Pioneer Valley HighWhat is the total enrollment at Pioneer Valley High?
Pioneer Valley High enrolls approximately 3,080 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Pioneer Valley High serve?
Pioneer Valley High serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pioneer Valley High?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Pioneer Valley High is approximately 22.1:1 (140 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Pioneer Valley High?
At Pioneer Valley High, the student body is approximately 2% White, 94% Hispanic, 0% Black, 3% Asian, 0% Two or more.
Who oversees Pioneer Valley High?
Pioneer Valley High is overseen by Santa Maria Joint Union High in Santa Barbara County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.