Best Public Schools in Santa Monica, CA

Summary:

The city of Santa Monica, California is home to 12 schools that serve students from elementary through high school, all part of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. This district is ranked 188 out of 1,568 districts in California and is rated 4 out of 5 stars by SchoolDigger.

Among the standout schools in Santa Monica are Santa Monica High School, which is ranked 96th out of 2,323 California high schools and has a 5-star rating. It boasts a 96.4% four-year graduation rate and exceptional test scores, with 83.77% of 11th-grade students proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy and 56.88% proficient or better in Mathematics. Another top performer is Franklin Elementary, ranked 116th out of 5,862 California elementary schools with a 5-star rating and 84.59% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy and 83.44% in Mathematics.

However, the data also reveals stark contrasts in performance, with schools like Olympic High (Continuation) struggling with lower graduation rates, higher dropout rates, and lower test scores compared to the district's top-performing institutions. This highlights the need to address equity and provide targeted support to ensure all students in Santa Monica have access to a quality education, regardless of their socioeconomic background.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2024)				Ranking (2023)				CAST Science (2024)					Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2024)								Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2024)								% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2018)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Statewide Rank (2023)	State Percentile (2023)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science 11th Grade	CAST Science 12th Grade	CAST Science End of Course	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy End of Course	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics End of Course	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Total
Canyon Charter Elementary	Public, Charter	K-5	421 Entrada Dr.	Santa Monica	90402	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 454-7510	387	17	22.7	12.7%	206 (53.2%)	4 (1.0%)	36 (9.3%)	16 (4.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	125 (32.3%)	96.1	257^th of 5862 public elementary schools	95.6%		97.8	115^th of 5874 public elementary schools	98.0%	142	61.8				61.8	91.4	85.5	74.6					84.5	90.0	82.3	65.5					80.2	91.3	93.5			93.5		$9,418
John Adams Middle	Public	6-8	2425 16th St.	Santa Monica	90405	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 452-2326	808	45	17.8	41.3%	262 (32.4%)	85 (10.5%)	397 (49.1%)	39 (4.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	23 (2.8%)	76.6	554^th of 2777 public middle schools	80.1%		81	468^th of 2802 public middle schools	83.3%	86		38.8			38.8				59.3	65.0	60.7		61.8				42.5	45.7	41.4		43.3							$6,792
Edison Elementary	Public	K-5	2402 Virginia Ave.	Santa Monica	90404	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 828-0335	395	21	19.1	39.5%	108 (27.3%)	4 (1.0%)	272 (68.9%)	8 (2.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	91.2	624^th of 5862 public elementary schools	89.4%		90.3	693^rd of 5874 public elementary schools	88.2%	69	59.1				59.1	77.2	67.7	77.3					73.8	82.1	58.0	71.2					69.6							$8,103
Franklin Elementary	Public	K-5	2400 Montana Ave.	Santa Monica	90403	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 828-2814	612	29	21.1	8.8%	384 (62.7%)	25 (4.1%)	55 (9.0%)	101 (16.5%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (7.4%)	97.6	116^th of 5862 public elementary schools	98.0%		97.9	105^th of 5874 public elementary schools	98.2%	11	79.3				79.3	72.8	84.5	94.0					84.6	81.1	86.6	82.8					83.4	97.5						$6,847
Grant Elementary	Public	K-5	2368 Pearl St.	Santa Monica	90405	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 450-7651	570	26	21.7	27.7%	267 (46.8%)	57 (10.0%)	151 (26.5%)	63 (11.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (5.3%)	93.6	458^th of 5862 public elementary schools	92.2%		91.4	608^th of 5874 public elementary schools	89.6%	150	65.7				65.7	74.7	76.9	77.5					76.4	73.9	71.4	65.7					70.1	96.6						$7,056
Lincoln Middle	Public	6-8	1501 California Ave.	Santa Monica	90403	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 393-9227	884	44	19.8	24.7%	480 (54.3%)	49 (5.5%)	175 (19.8%)	91 (10.3%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	82 (9.3%)	96	127^th of 2777 public middle schools	95.4%		95.1	147^th of 2802 public middle schools	94.8%	20		66.3			66.3				82.4	77.5	77.7		79.2				63.0	67.8	64.1		64.9							$6,711
McKinley Elementary	Public	K-5	2401 Santa Monica Blvd.	Santa Monica	90404	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 828-5011	393	20	19.6	38.9%	138 (35.1%)	35 (8.9%)	137 (34.9%)	54 (13.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (7.1%)	83.9	1001^st of 5862 public elementary schools	82.9%		87.1	868^th of 5874 public elementary schools	85.2%	133	50.7				50.7	64.0	61.5	63.4					62.8	72.0	64.6	53.5					62.5	94.6	97.3	97.3		96.0		$6,965
John Muir Elementary	Public	K-5	2526 Sixth St.	Santa Monica	90405	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 399-7721	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)																						86.1	94.4	94.4	88.9	91.7	86.1	$7,295
Olympic High (Continuation)	Public	9-12	721 Ocean Park Blvd.	Santa Monica	90405	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 392-2494	32	3	12.8	59.4%	5 (15.6%)	4 (12.5%)	20 (62.5%)	1 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (6.3%)	6.3	2282^nd of 2323 public high schools	1.8%					(n/a)					0.0							0.0	0.0							0.0	0.0							$22,353
Will Rogers Elementary	Public	K-5	2401 14th St.	Santa Monica	90405	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 452-2364	523	24	21.7	40.7%	185 (35.4%)	63 (12.0%)	215 (41.1%)	30 (5.7%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	27 (5.2%)	67.7	1693^rd of 5862 public elementary schools	71.1%		71.1	1534^th of 5874 public elementary schools	73.9%	159	42.9				42.9	62.0	50.0	52.9					55.3	51.1	48.1	41.7					47.1							$7,141
Roosevelt Elementary	Public	K-5	801 Montana Ave.	Santa Monica	90403	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 395-0941	588	28	20.9	20.4%	335 (57.0%)	33 (5.6%)	99 (16.8%)	75 (12.8%)	3 (0.5%)	2 (0.3%)	41 (7.0%)	93.8	444^th of 5862 public elementary schools	92.4%		89.3	754^th of 5874 public elementary schools	87.2%	310	69.2				69.2	76.3	77.4	79.6					78.0	81.8	71.4	58.3					69.1	97.0				98.0		$6,942
Santa Monica High	Public	9-12	601 Pico Blvd.	Santa Monica	90405	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 395-3204	2,573	135	19.0	30.8%	1,043 (40.5%)	174 (6.8%)	900 (35.0%)	168 (6.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.1%)	272 (10.6%)	94	96^th of 2323 public high schools	95.9%		92.6	130^th of 2348 public high schools	94.5%	34			58.9	40.9	58.4							83.8	83.8							56.9	56.9							$7,059
Santa Monica Alternative (K-8)	Public	K-8	2525 Fifth St.	Santa Monica	90405	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 396-2640	219	10	21.9	12.8%	118 (53.9%)	11 (5.0%)	41 (18.7%)	21 (9.6%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (12.3%)	89.8	712^th of 5862 public elementary schools	87.9%		91.7	590^th of 5874 public elementary schools	90.0%	122	79.0	64.3			72.7	57.9	70.8	84.2	73.7	79.0	68.8		72.4	66.7	62.5	88.9	50.0	73.7	73.3		68.8	79.2	91.7	91.7	83.3	87.5	83.3	$7,658

Cities Near Santa Monica

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Venice	2.17 mi	5	168^th
Los Angeles	2.6 mi	747	526^th
Pacific Palisades	2.71 mi	4	45^th
Marina Del Rey	3.13 mi	1	420^th
Culver City	4.88 mi	12	192^nd

See the top CA California cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.