Schools · Carlsbad
Carlsbad, CA schools
Carlsbad’s public schools score close to California’s averages: 49.5% of students are proficient in reading against 48.5% statewide, and 96% of high schoolers graduate on time against 87.6%. Kids attend one of 9 elementary schools through grade 5, then Aviara Oaks Middle or Valley Middle or Calavera Hills Middle and Carlsbad High or La Costa Canyon High or Sage Creek High.
Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.
TownTapestry School GradeNew
A−
Carlsbad’s School Grade: A-
The public schools Carlsbad’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 75% of California’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the top.
AGraduation
California school districts we grade (1,139)Better than 75%
Lower resultsHigher results
California towns with similar household incomes (344)Better than 67%
Lower confidence. Built on 0 tested students and a graduating class of 2,148. With numbers this small, one year can move the grade.
How the School Grade works
- Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on California’s state tests, each against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown below but don’t count toward the grade. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2020.
- The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids: every district that serves it, weighted by the number of students tested in each. Tests count 60% and graduation 40%.
- Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are lined up against the rest of California only. A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
- Individual schools are graded the same way on their own test results, against every public school in California with 25+ students. Private schools aren’t graded: they don’t take the state tests.
- What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income closely, so a high grade partly reflects who lives in a town. That’s why we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.
School path
Where Carlsbad kids go to school
Grades K–5
9 elementary schoolsDepends on your address · see the list Carlsbad Unified School DistrictGrades 6–8
Aviara Oaks Middle or Valley Middle or Calavera Hills Middle
Depends on your address Carlsbad Unified School DistrictGrades 9–12
Carlsbad High or La Costa Canyon High or Sage Creek High
Depends on your address Carlsbad Unified School DistrictBased on district boundaries from the U.S. Department of Education. Check with the district before you enroll.
Test scores · 2020–21
Close to the state in reading
Reading (San Dieguito Union High)49.5%
State average 48.5% · reported as a range, 40–59% (a small group)
Math (San Dieguito Union High)24.5%
State average 33.4% · reported as a range, 0–49% (a small group)
Graduation · class of 2020
96% graduate on time
Graduation rate
96%
CA: 87.6%
Graduating class
2,148
students
The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years.
Districts
Two districts serve Carlsbad
San Dieguito Union High School DistrictGrades 7–12 · 10 schools · 12,026 students
$15,720 per studentCA $21,206A-Carlsbad Unified School DistrictGrades K–12 · 16 schools · 10,678 students
$15,702 per studentCA $21,206B+Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.
Every school
All 32 schools in Carlsbad
Showing 1–30 of 32 schools
Carrillo ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 725 students
PublicLa Costa Meadows ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 725 students
PublicHope ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 659 students
PublicPacific Rim ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 642 students
PublicAviara Oaks ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 612 students
PublicLa Costa Heights ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 552 students
PublicOlivenhain Pioneer ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 520 students
PublicMagnolia ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 488 students
PublicPoinsettia ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 481 students
PublicJefferson ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 471 students
PublicKelly ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 449 students
PublicCalavera Hills ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 441 students
PublicEl Camino Creek ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 409 students
PublicMission Estancia ElementaryElementary · Grades K–6 · 355 students
PublicBuena Vista ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 281 students
PublicAviara Oaks MiddleMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 991 students
PublicValley MiddleMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 807 students
PublicCalavera Hills MiddleMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 655 students
PublicCarlsbad HighHigh · Grades 9–12 · 2,336 students
PublicLa Costa Canyon HighHigh · Grades 9–12 · 1,774 students
PublicSage Creek HighHigh · Grades 9–12 · 1,289 students
PublicCarlsbad Village AcademyHigh · Grades 10–12 · 38 students
PublicCarlsbad Seaside AcademyOther · Grades K–12 · 38 students
PublicARMY & NAVY ACADEMY
PrivateASPIRATIONS SCHOOL OF LEARNING
PrivateCARLSBAD CHRISTIAN ACADEMY
PrivateCARLSBAD COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL
PrivateCASA MONTESSORI DE CARLSBAD
PrivateLA COSTA VALLEY PRESCHOOL & KINDERGARTEN
PrivateREDEEMER BY THE SEA LUTHERAN KINDERGARTEN&PRESCHL
PrivateSchool data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES). Ratings are from neighbors on TownTapestry.