Head to head
Alta Vista Alternative High School vs Santa Barbara High School
Public · Santa Barbara
Alta Vista Alternative High School
119 students
VS
Public · Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara High School
1,924 students
Alta Vista Alternative High School is a public high school and Santa Barbara High School is a public high school, both in Santa Barbara, CA. The table below sets them side by side on enrollment, published academic figures, AP participation, and the breadth of their sports and clubs.
| Metric | Alta Vista Alternative High School | Santa Barbara High School |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Type | Public | Public |
| District / affiliation | Santa Barbara Unified School District | Santa Barbara Unified School District |
| Grades served | 9-12 | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 119 | 1,924● |
| Founded | — | 1875 |
| Student–teacher ratio | ~16.8:1 | 21.24:1 |
| Mascot | — | Dons |
| Tuition | Free (public) | Free (public) |
| Academics | ||
| Graduation rate | 82.8% four-year cohort graduation rate (2024-25, SARC / sarconline.org; 83.1% in 2023-24, 82.4% in 2022-23) | 94.3% four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (528 of 560 cohort) (2023-24, CDE DataQuest ACGR, CDS 42767864235727; refreshes the prior 93% 2023 U.S. News figure)● |
| CAASPP ELA proficiency | 26.09% met/exceeded standard (All Students, small cohort, ~48.94% tested) (2024-25, SARC / sarconline.org, CDS 42767860120402; was 33% in 2023-24) | 44.88% met/exceeded standard (All Students; Level 4 13.17% + Level 3 31.71%) (2024-25, CAASPP/Smarter Balanced, caaspp-elpac.ets.org; up from 33% in 2023)● |
| CAASPP Math proficiency | 9.09% met/exceeded standard (All Students, ~46.81% tested) (2024-25, SARC / sarconline.org) | 18.71% met/exceeded standard (All Students; Level 4 5.76% + Level 3 12.95%) (2024-25, CAASPP/Smarter Balanced, caaspp-elpac.ets.org; down from 22% in 2023)● |
| College-going rate | Not published / suppressed for this small alternative cohort (null) | 79.6% 12-month college-going rate (406 of 510 high school completers enrolled in college within 12 months) (2022-23, CDE DataQuest College-Going Rate, dq.cde.ca.gov, CDS 42767864235727; latest published CGR year — 2023-24 not yet released). Supersedes the prior Dashboard 'Prepared' 60.4% as the actual postsecondary-enrollment figure. |
| U.S. News national rank | — | #6,843 nationally; 819th in California (2024, U.S. News) |
| AP participation rate | — | 42% (2024, U.S. News) |
| AP courses (listed) | — | 22 |
| Programs & life | ||
| Academies / signature programs | 0 | 3● |
| Sports offered | 0 | 23● |
| Clubs & activities | 0 | 26● |
| Notable facilities | — | 7● |
| Has PTA | No | Yes |
| Athletic boosters | No | Yes |
A marker (●), in the leading school's colors, flags the stronger reported figure on objective, comparable measures only. A dash (—) means the figure isn't published for that school — private schools generally don't sit the state CAASPP tests, so their academic cells are often blank.