Head to head
La Cuesta Continuation High School vs San Marcos High School

Continuation · Santa Barbara
La Cuesta Continuation High School
77 students
VS

Public · Santa Barbara
San Marcos High School
1,943 students
La Cuesta Continuation High School is a continuation high school and San Marcos 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 | La Cuesta Continuation High School | San Marcos High School |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Type | Continuation | Public |
| District / affiliation | Santa Barbara Unified School District | Santa Barbara Unified School District |
| Grades served | 9-12 | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 77 | 1,943● |
| Founded | — | 1958 |
| Student–teacher ratio | — | 20.82:1 |
| Mascot | — | Royals (Lancelot the Lion) |
| Tuition | Free (public) | Free (public) |
| Academics | ||
| Graduation rate | 57.1% four-year cohort graduation rate (24 of 42 cohort) (2024-25, SARC / sarconline.org; up sharply from 23.7% in 2023-24 and 34.0% in 2022-23 — small, transient continuation cohort) | 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 | 4.00% met/exceeded standard (All Students, very small tested cohort, n=27 tested) (2024-25, SARC / sarconline.org, CDS 42767864232690; was 9% in 2023-24) | 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 | 0.00% met/exceeded standard (All Students, n=25 tested) (2024-25, SARC / sarconline.org) | 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 | Not published / suppressed for this small continuation cohort (null) | 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 | 0 | 20● |
| Clubs & activities | 0 | 23● |
| Notable facilities | — | 8● |
| 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.