Head to head
Cate Schoolvs
Santa Barbara High School
Cate School, a private high school in Carpinteria, CA, and Santa Barbara 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 | Santa Barbara High School |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Type | Private | Public |
| District / affiliation | — | Santa Barbara Unified School District |
| Grades served | 9-12 | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 300 | 1,924● |
| Founded | 1910 | 1875● |
| Student–teacher ratio | — | 21.24:1 |
| Mascot | Rams | Dons |
| 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% (2023, U.S. News/PublicSchoolReview; CA avg 87%) |
| CAASPP ELA proficiency | — | 33% met/exceeded (2023, PublicSchoolReview via CDE; CA avg 47%) |
| CAASPP Math proficiency | — | 22% met/exceeded (2023, PublicSchoolReview via CDE; CA avg 34%) |
| College-going rate | — | CA Dashboard College/Career Indicator 'Prepared' 60.4% (2024, caschooldashboard.org, Green, +8.3%); a true post-secondary enrollment rate was not separately verifiable this session |
| 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 | 13 | 23● |
| Clubs & activities | 23 | 26● |
| Notable facilities | 11● | 7 |
| Has PTA | Yes | Yes |
| Athletic boosters | No | Yes |
A clay marker (●) 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.