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What's something San Marcos Senior High does better than most schools?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,926
High
DISTRICT 1,239 · STATE 838
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SANTA BARBARA UNIFIED·NCES 060141406029
San Marcos Senior High
4750 Hollister Ave., Santa Barbara, CA 93110 · (805) 967-4581 · Santa Barbara County
GRADES 09–12HIGH22-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,926 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 56% of California public high schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+Beats 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 high schools
Student : Teacher
21.2:1
91 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.9:1 · STATE 18.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
58%
1,118 students
DISTRICT 65% · 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 | 493 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 482 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 517 | 27% |
| Grade 12 | 434 | 23% |
Student demographics
53%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 55% · 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
55.9%
CA avg 49.1% . -10.1pp since 2014
Math
34.9%
CA avg 37.7% . -3.1pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 56 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 35 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 10 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 3 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 28.0% | 28.0% | 17.0% | 27.1% |
| Math | 19.3% | 15.6% | 24.2% | 40.9% |
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 | 55.9% | 34.9% |
| 2023-24 | 50.4% | 32.1% |
| 2022-23 | 55.8% | 31.9% |
| 2021-22 | 49.7% | 28.4% |
| 2018-19 | 64.8% | 42.9% |
| 2017-18 | 61.4% | 38.0% |
| 2016-17 | 61.6% | 32.8% |
| 2015-16 | 50.0% | 33.0% |
| 2014-15 | 66.0% | 38.0% |
% 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
43.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
45.5%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 43% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 46% 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 San Marcos Senior High
San Marcos Senior High's state test result (43.3% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Marcos Senior High this school | 1,926 | 58.0% | 43.3% |
| Buena High Ventura | 1,585 | 60.2% | 38.0% |
| Santa Barbara Senior High Santa Barbara | 1,924 | 61.7% | 30.1% |
| Ventura High Ventura | 1,939 | 60.4% | 40.9% |
| Turlock High Turlock | 2,479 | 58.8% | 36.5% |
| Vintage High Napa | 1,622 | 57.8% | 38.2% |
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 San Marcos Senior High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Santa Barbara County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 43.3% | #450 of 1,052 | #3 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 34.9% | #341 of 1,056 ▼ 4 | #3 of 10 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 55.9% | #555 of 1,056 ▲ 89 | #4 of 10 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +6.3pp | #287 of 1,044 | #3 of 10 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,926 | #330 of 2,093 | #5 of 19 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.2:1 | #710 of 1,352 | #8 of 11 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 52.9% | #613 of 1,351 | #4 of 11 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 58.0% | #1,067 of 1,575 | #8 of 12 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -8.3% | #517 of 802 | #5 of 6 |
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
1,926
-102 (-5%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
21.2:1
was 24.7:1
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 | 1,926 | 91 | 21.2:1 | 58% (1,118) |
| 2023-24 | 1,943 | 93.3 | 20.8:1 | 57% (1,117) |
| 2022-23 | 2,020 | 93.9 | 21.5:1 | 57% (1,154) |
| 2020-21 | 2,028 | 82 | 24.7:1 | 49% (991) |
| 2017-18 | 2,100 | 92.7 | 22.7:1 | 47% (990) |
| 2015-16 | 2,181 | 92 | 23.7:1 | 39% (856) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for San Marcos Senior High.
Since 2017-18: students down 8% (2,100 to 1,926); teachers down 2% (92.7 to 91).
About San Marcos Senior High
San Marcos Senior High is a high school in Santa Barbara, California, reachable at (805) 967-4581. In all, 1,926 students attend the school in grades 9 through 12. The school is 130% bigger than the average for high schools in California.
San Marcos Senior High is in Santa Barbara Unified, a district with 12,247 students across 20 schools.
More than half of the students at San Marcos Senior High are Hispanic (60%). Smaller groups are 32% White, 4% multiracial, and 2% Asian. For comparison, the population of Santa Barbara County is roughly 48% Hispanic. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, San Marcos Senior High scores 53%.
Classroom staffing at San Marcos Senior High totals 91 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 21.2:1. The average for high schools in California is 18.2:1, so this school has more students per teacher. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility at San Marcos Senior High is about 58%. For comparison, public schools in Santa Barbara County average 68%.
San Marcos Senior High earns a B on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 56% of California public high schools.
Test results at San Marcos Senior High are 2.2 points below what its free or reduced-price lunch share predicts (43.3% actual, 45.5% predicted).
In Santa Barbara County, the median household earns about $98,161 a year, about 37% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 9% of residents are in poverty. Santa Barbara County has 129 public schools with about 66,191 students, including San Marcos Senior High.
About 0.6 miles separate San Marcos Senior High from the closest public school, Hollister Elementary. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. Compared with its nearest neighbors, San Marcos Senior High ranks 5th of 6 on average proficiency.
Federal records code the school's setting as Suburb: Mid-size.
The school's student count fell 5% between the 2020-21 and 2024-25 school years. Students per teacher dropped from 24.7 in 2020-21 to 21.2 in 2024-25.
Anyone can start a thread about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at San Marcos Senior High. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
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 Unified
- Dos Pueblos Senior HighHigh · 2,149 students
- Santa Barbara Senior HighHigh · 1,924 students
- La Colina Junior HighMiddle · 832 students
- Goleta Valley Junior HighMiddle · 731 students
- Santa Barbara Junior HighMiddle · 512 students
- Washington ElementaryElementary · 477 students
Other schools in Santa Barbara
- 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
- Adams ElementaryElementary · 469 students
Nearby schools
- Hollister Elementary0.6 mi · 393
- El Camino Elementary0.6 mi · 350
- Vieja Valley Elementary1.0 mi · 313
- Foothill Elementary1.2 mi · 413
- Santa Barbara County Juvenile Court1.4 mi · 31
- Santa Barbara County Special Education1.4 mi · 49
Frequently asked questions
About San Marcos Senior HighHow large is San Marcos Senior High?
San Marcos Senior High enrolls approximately 1,926 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does San Marcos Senior High serve?
San Marcos Senior High serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many teachers does San Marcos Senior High have?
San Marcos Senior High employs 91 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 21.2:1.
What is the student diversity at San Marcos Senior High?
Student demographics at San Marcos Senior High are roughly 32% White, 60% Hispanic, 0% Black, 2% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is San Marcos Senior High in?
San Marcos Senior High is part of Santa Barbara Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.