Head to head
Cate School vs San Marcos High School
Private · Carpinteria
Cate School
300 students
VS
Public · Santa Barbara
San Marcos High School
1,943 students
Cate School, a private high school in Carpinteria, CA, and San Marcos High School, a public high school in Santa Barbara, CA, compared side by side on enrollment, published academic figures, AP participation, and the breadth of their sports and clubs.
| Metric | Cate School | San Marcos High School |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Type | Private | Public |
| District / affiliation | — | Santa Barbara Unified School District |
| Grades served | 9-12 | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 300 | 1,943● |
| Founded | 1910● | 1958 |
| Student–teacher ratio | — | 20.82:1 |
| Mascot | Rams | Royals (Lancelot the Lion) |
| Tuition | $87,340 boarding / $70,990 day (2026-27, cate.org/admission/financial-assistance); prior year $79,980 boarding / $63,780 day (2024-25, cate.org). The source data's $74,975/$58,975 AND the alternative $77,300/$62,600 are BOTH stale/incorrect — neither matches cate.org for 2024-25 or 2026-27. | Free (public) |
| Academics | ||
| Graduation rate | — | 93.5% four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate (460 of 492 cohort) (2023-24, CDE DataQuest ACGR, CDS 42767864235230; refreshes the prior 96% 2023 U.S. News figure) |
| CAASPP ELA proficiency | — | 55.92% met/exceeded standard (All Students; Level 4 27.96% + Level 3 27.96%) (2024-25, CAASPP/Smarter Balanced, caaspp-elpac.ets.org; ~59% in 2023) |
| CAASPP Math proficiency | — | 34.84% met/exceeded standard (All Students; Level 4 19.26% + Level 3 15.58%) (2024-25, CAASPP/Smarter Balanced, caaspp-elpac.ets.org; ~36% in 2023) |
| College-going rate | — | 82.7% 12-month college-going rate (393 of 475 high school completers enrolled in college within 12 months) (2022-23, CDE DataQuest College-Going Rate, CDS 42767864235230; latest published CGR year — confirms existing value exactly) |
| U.S. News national rank | — | #4,695 nationally; 605th in California (2024, U.S. News) |
| AP participation rate | — | 37% (2024, U.S. News) |
| AP courses (listed) | — | 22 |
| Programs & life | ||
| Academies / signature programs | 0 | 3● |
| Sports offered | 13 | 20● |
| Clubs & activities | 23 | 23 |
| Notable facilities | 11● | 8 |
| Has PTA | Yes | 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.