Head to head
Laguna Blanca School vs San Marcos High School
Private · Santa Barbara
Laguna Blanca School
449 students
VS
Public · Santa Barbara
San Marcos High School
1,943 students
Laguna Blanca School is a private 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 | Laguna Blanca School | San Marcos High School |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Type | Private | Public |
| District / affiliation | — | Santa Barbara Unified School District |
| Grades served | EK-12 (Upper School grades 9-12) | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 449 | 1,943● |
| Founded | 1933● | 1958 |
| Student–teacher ratio | ~8:1 | 20.82:1 |
| Mascot | Owls | Royals (Lancelot the Lion) |
| Tuition | Grades 7-12 ~$42,914; Grades EK-6 ~$36,982 (2025-26, school site) | 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 | 15 | 20● |
| Clubs & activities | 30● | 23 |
| Notable facilities | 5 | 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.