1
Best kept secret at Santa Barbara Junior High?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
512
Middle
DISTRICT 501 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SANTA BARBARA UNIFIED·NCES 060141406030
Santa Barbara Junior High
721 East Cota St., Santa Barbara, CA 93103 · (805) 963-7751 · Santa Barbara County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL512 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 31% of California public middle 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.
- 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
16.0:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.1:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
80%
408 students
DISTRICT 65% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 7 | 255 | 50% |
| Grade 8 | 257 | 50% |
Student demographics
29%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
30.8%
CA avg 49.1% . -20.2pp since 2014
Math
26.7%
CA avg 37.7% . -14.3pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 31 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 27 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 20 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 14 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 7.1% | 23.7% | 23.3% | 46.0% |
| Math | 13.2% | 13.6% | 22.3% | 50.9% |
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 | 30.8% | 26.7% |
| 2023-24 | 33.1% | 23.6% |
| 2022-23 | 26.3% | 22.1% |
| 2021-22 | 35.3% | 24.1% |
| 2018-19 | 45.4% | 39.4% |
| 2017-18 | 50.5% | 40.7% |
| 2016-17 | 48.0% | 37.0% |
| 2015-16 | 54.0% | 41.0% |
| 2014-15 | 51.0% | 41.0% |
% 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
28.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
32.9%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 29% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 33% 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 Santa Barbara Junior High
Santa Barbara Junior High's state test result (28.5% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Barbara Junior High this school | 512 | 79.7% | 28.5% |
| Charles W. Tewinkle Middle Costa Mesa | 501 | 80.8% | 36.3% |
| Cardozo Middle Riverbank | 544 | 82.5% | 21.8% |
| George T. Egling Middle Colusa | 553 | 77.4% | 28.0% |
| Coalinga Middle Coalinga | 662 | 79.2% | 14.1% |
| Sequoia Middle Porterville | 532 | 85.5% | 38.9% |
Matched among California middle 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 Santa Barbara Junior High ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Santa Barbara County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 28.5% | #784 of 1,224 | #9 of 15 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 26.7% | #678 of 1,227 ▲ 17 | #8 of 15 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 30.8% | #963 of 1,227 ▼ 123 | #10 of 15 ▼ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -0.9pp | #279 of 1,214 | #8 of 15 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 512 | #904 of 1,377 | #10 of 15 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.0:1 | #55 of 1,279 | #1 of 14 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 29.4% | #950 of 1,278 | #7 of 14 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 79.7% | #558 of 1,329 | #8 of 15 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -36.0% | #51 of 930 | #1 of 10 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
512
-200 (-28%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
16.0:1
was 19.8:1
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 | 512 | 31.9 | 16.0:1 | 80% (408) |
| 2023-24 | 502 | 33 | 15.2:1 | 78% (394) |
| 2022-23 | 560 | 32.4 | 17.3:1 | 78% (437) |
| 2020-21 | 712 | 36 | 19.8:1 | 55% (395) |
| 2017-18 | 800 | 37.8 | 21.2:1 | 53% (422) |
| 2015-16 | 745 | 35 | 21.3:1 | 48% (359) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Santa Barbara Junior High.
Since 2017-18: students down 36% (800 to 512); teachers down 16% (37.8 to 31.9).
About Santa Barbara Junior High
Santa Barbara Junior High is a small middle-grades school in California, with an address in Santa Barbara. Its 512 students are spread across grades 7 through 8. The typical figure for middle schools in California is about 659 students.
Santa Barbara Junior High is run by Santa Barbara Unified, whose 20 schools enroll 12,247 students.
Federal enrollment data show Santa Barbara Junior High is 83% Hispanic. Other groups make up 13% White and 3% multiracial. Santa Barbara County as a whole is about 48% Hispanic, so the school's share is higher. Pick two students at random and there is a 29% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Staffing totals 31.9 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 16.0:1. On average, middle schools in California have 20.7:1, compared with 16.0:1 here. The free or reduced-price lunch rate at Santa Barbara Junior High is 80%. That is higher than the 68% average for public schools in Santa Barbara County.
The allk12 Grade for Santa Barbara Junior High is C. Compared with California public middle schools, the school scored higher than 31% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Schools in California with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 32.9%. Santa Barbara Junior High scores 28.5%.
Recent Census Bureau figures for Santa Barbara County show that the median household income is $98,161, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 37%, and roughly 9% of residents are in poverty. Besides Santa Barbara Junior High, Santa Barbara County has 128 other public schools.
Santa Barbara Senior High is the public school closest to Santa Barbara Junior High, about 0.4 miles away. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Local comparison: Santa Barbara Junior High ranks 5th of 5 nearby schools, at 28.5% versus a 40.7% average.
Its location is classified as City: Small by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Enrollment is down 28% from 2020-21, when Santa Barbara Junior High had 712 students, to 2024-25, when it had 512. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio fell to 16.0:1, from 19.8:1.
The discussion area below is open to posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
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
- San Marcos Senior HighHigh · 1,926 students
- Santa Barbara Senior HighHigh · 1,924 students
- La Colina Junior HighMiddle · 832 students
- Goleta Valley Junior HighMiddle · 731 students
- Washington ElementaryElementary · 477 students
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
- Washington ElementaryElementary · 477 students
- Adams ElementaryElementary · 469 students
Nearby schools
- Santa Barbara Senior High0.4 mi · 1,924
- Alta Vista Alternative High0.6 mi · 119
- Alta Vista0.6 mi · 2
- La Cuesta Continuation High0.6 mi · 77
- Adelante Charter0.6 mi · 306
- Franklin Elementary0.6 mi · 424
Frequently asked questions
About Santa Barbara Junior HighHow large is Santa Barbara Junior High?
Santa Barbara Junior High enrolls approximately 512 students in grades 07-08.
Is Santa Barbara Junior High an elementary, middle, or high school?
Santa Barbara Junior High is a middle school covering grades 07-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Santa Barbara Junior High?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Santa Barbara Junior High is approximately 16.0:1 (32 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Santa Barbara Junior High?
Student demographics at Santa Barbara Junior High are roughly 13% White, 83% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is Santa Barbara Junior High public or private?
Santa Barbara Junior High is a public K-12 school, overseen by Santa Barbara Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.