Santa Cruz High

Summary:

Santa Cruz High is a public high school serving 1,092 students in grades 9-12 in Santa Cruz, California, which is part of the Santa Cruz City High District. This high-performing school consistently ranks among the top high schools in California, with impressive academic achievement, graduation rates, and strong performance across various student subgroups.

Santa Cruz High's academic performance is exceptional, with significantly higher proficiency rates in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science compared to the district and the state of California. The school's performance is particularly noteworthy for female students, Asian students, Hispanic students, white students, and low socioeconomic status students, with many of these subgroups ranking in the top 25% or higher among California high schools. Additionally, Santa Cruz High maintains high four-year graduation rates, ranging from 94.5% to 97.4% in recent years, well above the state average.

While Santa Cruz High outperforms the district and the state on most metrics, it is interesting to note the performance of some nearby schools. For example, Soquel High and Harbor High, which are also part of the Santa Cruz City High District, perform well but lag behind Santa Cruz High in academic achievement and other key metrics. On the other hand, Pacific Collegiate Charter, a public charter school in the area, outperforms Santa Cruz High on several measures, including standardized test scores and graduation rates. Additionally, Santa Cruz High has experienced an increase in chronic absenteeism rates, which is an area worth further investigation, and the school's performance for special education and disabled students is relatively lower compared to other student subgroups, presenting an opportunity for targeted support.


Detail:

Public 9-12

 415 Walnut Ave.
       Santa Cruz, CA  95060-3633


(831) 429-3960

District: Santa Cruz City High

SchoolDigger Rank:
152nd of 2,323 California High Schools


Feeder schools for Santa Cruz High:

Elementary:    Bonny Doon Elementary
    Pacific Elementary
Middle:    Mission Hill Middle

Student/teacher ratio:  21.1 Help
Number of students:  1,092

Racial breakdown:

White:
55.5%
Hispanic:
29.2%
Two or more races:
9.2%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  26.2% Help


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Performance Trends
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Compare Details Santa Cruz High ranks better than 93.5% of high schools in California. It also ranks first among 6 ranked high schools in the Santa Cruz City High School District! (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 90.5. (See more...)
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The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Santa Cruz High who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.
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The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.
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Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Student Body
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Compare Details Santa Cruz High has the largest high school student body size in the Santa Cruz City High School District. Racial makeup is: White (55.5%), Hispanic (29.2%), two or more races (9.2%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 26.2% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the lowest percentage in the Santa Cruz City High School District. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Santa Cruz High is 21.1, which is the highest among 6 high schools in the Santa Cruz City High School District! (See more...)
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Compare Santa Cruz High employs 51.6 full-time teachers.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Santa Cruz High:

SchoolDigger ranks Santa Cruz High 152nd of 2323 California public high schools. (See Santa Cruz High in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Multi-racial students:
Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
Asian students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Santa Cruz City High:

SchoolDigger ranks Santa Cruz City High 495th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Santa Cruz High

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Rank History for all students at Santa Cruz High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2004 64.79 270th 1653 83.7%
2005 61.25 389th 1901 79.5%
2006 62.55 415th 1968 78.9%
2007 59.70 465th 2063 77.5%
2008 59.99 473rd 2117 77.7%
2009 68.61 276th 2238 87.7%
2010 66.36 365th 2281 84.0%
2011 60.41 500th 2367 78.9%
2012 62.21 482nd 2354 79.5%
2013 64.46 436th 2426 82.0%
2015 89.92 181st 1994 90.9%
2016 82.03 347th 2039 83.0%
2017 71.37 573rd 2021 71.6%
2018 83.71 334th 2017 83.4%
2019 89.85 176th 2133 91.7%
2021 91.51 109th 1290 91.6%
2022 77.75 419th 2123 80.3%
2023 81.07 309th 2348 86.8%
2024 90.50 152nd 2323 93.5%
See the entire list of California High School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Santa Cruz High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 30.03 274th 366 25.1%
2019 57.31 192nd 422 54.5%
2022 70.89 139th 515 73.0%
2023 51.51 321st 786 59.2%
2024 59.57 259th 804 67.8%
See the entire list of Best California High Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Santa Cruz High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 28.34 1058th 1547 31.6%
2024 34.02 861st 1534 43.9%
See the entire list of Best California High Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Santa Cruz High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 60.84 699th 1862 62.5%
2019 74.12 398th 1937 79.5%
2021 66.24 316th 1126 71.9%
2022 54.40 758th 1943 61.0%
2023 83.60 241st 2247 89.3%
2024 84.46 215th 2235 90.4%
See the entire list of Best California High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Santa Cruz High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 79.94 355th 1760 79.8%
2019 84.88 246th 1833 86.6%
2021 89.59 105th 1054 90.0%
2022 82.08 290th 1858 84.4%
2023 83.51 245th 2118 88.4%
2024 92.63 104th 2098 95.0%
See the entire list of Best California High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Santa Cruz High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 82.36 124th 1052 88.2%
2019 66.50 227th 1117 79.7%
2022 45.91 472nd 1161 59.3%
See the entire list of Best California High Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Santa Cruz High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 83.53 300th 1834 83.6%
2019 89.84 159th 1880 91.5%
2021 91.39 97th 1122 91.4%
2022 70.25 489th 1916 74.5%
2023 74.23 399th 2207 81.9%
2024 84.57 230th 2172 89.4%
See the entire list of Best California High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Santa Cruz High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 82.27 84th 712 88.2%
See the entire list of Best California High Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Santa Cruz High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 59.30 704th 1742 59.6%
2019 70.00 436th 1814 76.0%
2022 62.17 573rd 1861 69.2%
2023 78.39 273rd 2142 87.3%
2024 81.84 215th 2125 89.9%
See the entire list of Best California High Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Santa Cruz High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools CA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 80.77 211th 1173 82.0%
2019 85.72 117th 1222 90.4%
2022 66.97 362nd 1204 69.9%
2023 69.68 310th 1434 78.4%
2024 82.60 134th 1406 90.5%
See the entire list of Best California High Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Santa Cruz High Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: California Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Santa Cruz High

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 1016 52 34 219 0 n/a n/a 0 1321
1989 937 50 31 235 0 n/a n/a 0 1253
1990 865 61 24 289 2 n/a n/a 0 1241
1991 922 54 28 279 2 n/a n/a 0 1285
1992 934 44 38 310 7 n/a n/a 0 1333
1993 892 55 43 345 3 n/a n/a 0 1338
1994 783 58 51 332 3 n/a n/a 0 1227
1995 727 57 42 276 1 n/a n/a 0 1103
1996 727 57 42 276 1 n/a n/a 0 1103
1997 753 60 46 260 4 n/a n/a 0 1123
1998 823 65 58 273 6 n/a n/a 0 1225
1999 885 67 57 287 5 n/a n/a 0 1301
2000 889 66 62 265 6 n/a n/a 0 1288
2001 829 55 67 278 9 n/a n/a 28 1266
2002 806 46 66 257 9 n/a n/a 42 1226
2003 806 46 66 257 9 n/a n/a 42 1226
2004 772 47 57 238 9 n/a n/a 56 1179
2005 782 47 81 261 10 n/a n/a 26 1207
2006 712 37 80 269 5 n/a n/a 45 1148
2007 634 31 66 277 2 n/a n/a 54 1064
2008 644 31 62 258 6 n/a n/a 0 1001
2009 647 34 52 243 5 6 76 0 1063
2010 757 45 50 252 4 6 16 0 1130
2011 775 33 48 249 2 7 19 0 1133
2012 755 30 41 277 7 6 31 0 1147
2013 682 26 38 281 11 4 43 0 1085
2014 611 21 34 276 10 3 52 0 1007
2015 618 19 30 306 9 3 46 0 1031
2016 605 21 23 299 11 2 49 0 1010
2017 626 18 32 290 7 4 50 0 1027
2018 642 26 33 287 7 2 65 0 1062
2019 646 26 49 326 5 3 87 0 1142
2020 618 27 59 327 3 4 68 0 1106
2021 604 33 56 340 3 4 47 1 1088
2022 637 28 50 331 3 3 79 0 1131
2023 606 25 38 319 1 2 100 1 1092

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Santa Cruz High

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Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 1321 57.9 22.8 n/a
1989 1253 53.9 23.2 n/a
1990 1241 54.4 22.8 n/a
1991 1285 54.0 23.7 n/a
1992 1333 54.9 24.2 14.7
1993 1338 57.0 23.5 15.8
1994 1227 52.9 23.2 19.5
1995 1103 48.6 22.7 13.2
1996 1103 48.6 22.7 13.2
1997 1123 44.1 25.5 13.9
1998 1225 50.5 24.3 14
1999 1301 51.5 25.3 10.8
2000 1288 56.5 22.8 13.2
2001 1266 51.6 24.5 12.2
2002 1226 48.9 25.1 14.4
2003 1226 48.9 25.1 14.4
2004 1179 45.1 26.1 14.7
2005 1207 45.2 26.7 18
2006 1148 46.1 24.9 22.8
2007 1064 45.2 23.5 25.9
2008 1001 56.8 17.6 24.6
2009 1063 45.3 19.1 8.8
2010 1130 44.8 25.2 20.4
2011 1133 n/a n/a 24.3
2012 1147 46.0 24.9 n/a
2013 1085 45.5 23.8 22.7
2014 1007 43.1 23.3 22.4
2015 1031 42.0 24.5 29.8
2016 1010 39.0 25.8 28.5
2017 1027 40.0 25.6 29.8
2018 1062 41.7 25.4 31
2019 1142 46.2 24.6 31.7
2020 1106 n/a n/a 26.3
2021 1088 47.0 23.1 32.3
2022 1131 53.5 21.1 25.2
2023 1092 51.6 21.1 26.2

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Santa Cruz High

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Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 1321 57.9 22.8 n/a
1989 1253 53.9 23.2 n/a
1990 1241 54.4 22.8 n/a
1991 1285 54.0 23.7 n/a
1992 1333 54.9 24.2 14.7
1993 1338 57.0 23.5 15.8
1994 1227 52.9 23.2 19.5
1995 1103 48.6 22.7 13.2
1996 1103 48.6 22.7 13.2
1997 1123 44.1 25.5 13.9
1998 1225 50.5 24.3 14
1999 1301 51.5 25.3 10.8
2000 1288 56.5 22.8 13.2
2001 1266 51.6 24.5 12.2
2002 1226 48.9 25.1 14.4
2003 1226 48.9 25.1 14.4
2004 1179 45.1 26.1 14.7
2005 1207 45.2 26.7 18
2006 1148 46.1 24.9 22.8
2007 1064 45.2 23.5 25.9
2008 1001 56.8 17.6 24.6
2009 1063 45.3 19.1 8.8
2010 1130 44.8 25.2 20.4
2011 1133 n/a n/a 24.3
2012 1147 46.0 24.9 n/a
2013 1085 45.5 23.8 22.7
2014 1007 43.1 23.3 22.4
2015 1031 42.0 24.5 29.8
2016 1010 39.0 25.8 28.5
2017 1027 40.0 25.6 29.8
2018 1062 41.7 25.4 31
2019 1142 46.2 24.6 31.7
2020 1106 n/a n/a 26.3
2021 1088 47.0 23.1 32.3
2022 1131 53.5 21.1 25.2
2023 1092 51.6 21.1 26.2

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Santa Cruz High

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 176th of 2133 High schoolsRanks 309th of 2348 High schools
 4.9%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
11th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Santa Cruz High)71.361.5
 9.8%
   11th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Santa Cruz City High)65.662.6
 3%
   11th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (California)57.355.4
 1.9%
11th Grade Mathematics (Santa Cruz High)63.546
 17.5%
   11th Grade Mathematics (Santa Cruz City High)46.432.8
 13.6%
   11th Grade Mathematics (California)32.227.4
 4.9%
12th Grade Science (Santa Cruz High)39.243.6
 4.4%
   12th Grade Science (Santa Cruz City High)34.233.8
 0.4%
   12th Grade Science (California)25.626.9
 1.3%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students11421092
 4.4%
African American2625
 3.8%
American Indian51
 80%
Asian4938
 22.4%
Hispanic326319
 2.1%
Pacific Islander32
 33.3%
White646606
 6.2%
Two or More Races87100
 14.9%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients31.7%26.2%
 5.5%


Schools Near Santa Cruz High









Frequently Asked Questions about Santa Cruz High

Santa Cruz High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Bonny Doon Elementary
Elementary : Pacific Elementary
Middle : Mission Hill Middle

Yes. Santa Cruz High ranks in the top 6.5% of California high schools.

Students at Santa Cruz High are 55% White, 29% Hispanic, 9% Two or more races, 3% Asian, 2% African American.

In the 2022-23 school year, 1,092 students attended Santa Cruz High.


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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.





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