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What's the most underrated thing about Santa Ynez Valley Union High that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
801
High
DISTRICT 406 · STATE 838
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SANTA YNEZ VALLEY UNION HIGH·NCES 063585006136
Santa Ynez Valley Union High
2975 Mission Dr., Solvang, CA 93463 · (805) 688-6487 · Santa Barbara County
GRADES 09–12HIGH32-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL801 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
19.3:1
41 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.2:1 · STATE 18.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
27%
217 students
DISTRICT 32% · 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 | 179 | 22% |
| Grade 10 | 193 | 24% |
| Grade 11 | 208 | 26% |
| Grade 12 | 221 | 28% |
Student demographics
55%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
61.3%
CA avg 49.1% . -8.7pp since 2014
Math
37.7%
CA avg 37.7% . -11.3pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 61 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 38 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 9 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 11 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 28.3% | 33.0% | 19.4% | 19.4% |
| Math | 11.5% | 26.2% | 22.0% | 40.3% |
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 | 61.3% | 37.7% |
| 2023-24 | 46.5% | 29.5% |
| 2022-23 | 69.2% | 40.6% |
| 2021-22 | 70.9% | 40.3% |
| 2018-19 | 65.9% | 38.6% |
| 2017-18 | 74.9% | 46.5% |
| 2016-17 | 62.3% | 49.8% |
| 2015-16 | 75.0% | 55.0% |
| 2014-15 | 70.0% | 49.0% |
% 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of CA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
43.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
63.7%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-19.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 44% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 64% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Ynez Valley Union High
Santa Ynez Valley Union High's state test result (43.7% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Ynez Valley Union High this school | 801 | 27.1% | 43.7% |
| Half Moon Bay High Half Moon Bay | 911 | 25.7% | 33.7% |
| Soquel High Soquel | 1,074 | 29.1% | 53.8% |
| Ripon High Ripon | 1,051 | 26.2% | 52.4% |
| Liberty High Madera | 748 | 34.5% | 40.2% |
| Alhambra Senior High Martinez | 1,028 | 30.7% | 40.7% |
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 Santa Ynez Valley Union High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Santa Barbara County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 43.7% | #434 of 1,052 | #2 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 37.7% | #303 of 1,056 ▲ 78 | #2 of 10 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 61.3% | #443 of 1,056 ▲ 298 | #2 of 10 ▲ 3 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -6.1pp | #96 of 1,044 | #2 of 10 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 801 | #836 of 2,093 | #9 of 19 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.3:1 | #447 of 1,352 | #3 of 11 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 54.8% | #554 of 1,351 | #3 of 11 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 27.1% | #1,425 of 1,575 | #12 of 12 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -14.1% | #323 of 802 | #3 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
801
-51 (-6%) vs 2020
-8% since 1990-91, when it was 874
Student : Teacher
19.3:1
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 | 801 | 41.4 | 19.3:1 | 27% (217) |
| 2023-24 | 850 | 43.8 | 19.4:1 | 27% (230) |
| 2022-23 | 847 | 45.5 | 18.6:1 | 24% (207) |
| 2020-21 | 852 | 43 | 19.8:1 | 21% (177) |
| 2017-18 | 933 | 47.2 | 19.8:1 | 28% (263) |
| 2015-16 | 966 | 49 | 19.7:1 | 23% (220) |
| 2010-11 | 1,031 | N/A | N/A | 19% (197) |
| 2000-01 | 1,058 | 37 | 28.6:1 | 11% (115) |
| 1990-91 | 874 | 38 | 23.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Santa Ynez Valley Union High.
Since 2017-18: students down 14% (933 to 801); teachers down 12% (47.2 to 41.4).
About Santa Ynez Valley Union High
Solvang, California, is home to Santa Ynez Valley Union High, a mid-sized high school. The school runs grades 9 through 12 and enrolls 801 students.
Santa Ynez Valley Union High operates as its own local education agency.
The largest group at Santa Ynez Valley Union High is Hispanic students, at 50%. Smaller groups are 45% White and 4% multiracial. Census estimates put Santa Barbara County at about 48% Hispanic, close to the school's figure. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Santa Ynez Valley Union High scores 55%.
Its ratio of 19.3:1 is based on 41.4 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average for high schools in California is 18.2:1, so this school has more students per teacher. In all, 27% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Across public schools in Santa Barbara County, the average is 68%.
After accounting for student poverty, Santa Ynez Valley Union High is in the bottom 10% of California schools. Its average proficiency rate across its state test results of 43.7% is 19.9 points below the 63.7% predicted for its lunch-eligibility share.
The school is in Santa Barbara County, where the median household earns about $98,161 a year, about 37% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 9%. Santa Ynez Valley Union High shares Santa Barbara County with 128 other public schools.
Refugio High is the nearest public school to Santa Ynez Valley Union High, less than a tenth of a mile away. Santa Ynez Valley Union High is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Among 5 nearby schools that report test results, Santa Ynez Valley Union High ranks 5th on proficiency.
Santa Ynez Valley Union High has an NCES locale of Town: Distant.
The school's enrollment decreased 6% from 2020-21 to 2024-25.
The allk12 page for Santa Ynez Valley Union High lets the school community talk about special education services, counseling, and support programs. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
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 Solvang
- Solvang ElementaryElementary · 602 students
- Ballard ElementaryElementary · 113 students
- Refugio HighHigh · 11 students
Nearby schools
- Refugio High0.0 mi · 11
- Santa Ynez Elementary0.9 mi · 147
- College Elementary1.2 mi · 28
- Santa Ynez Valley Charter1.2 mi · 189
- Ballard Elementary2.3 mi · 113
- Solvang Elementary2.5 mi · 602
Frequently asked questions
About Santa Ynez Valley Union HighHow many students attend Santa Ynez Valley Union High?
Santa Ynez Valley Union High enrolls approximately 801 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Santa Ynez Valley Union High serve?
Santa Ynez Valley Union High serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Santa Ynez Valley Union High?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Santa Ynez Valley Union High is approximately 19.3:1 (41 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Santa Ynez Valley Union High?
At Santa Ynez Valley Union High, the student body is approximately 45% White, 50% Hispanic, 0% Black, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Santa Ynez Valley Union High public or private?
Santa Ynez Valley Union High is a public K-12 school, overseen by Santa Ynez Valley Union High.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.