Schools · Pacific Grove

Pacific Grove, CA schools

Pacific Grove’s public schools score well below California’s averages: 24.5% of students are proficient in reading against 48.5% statewide, and 97% of high schoolers graduate on time against 87.6%. Kids attend Robert Down Elementary or Forest Grove Elementary through grade 5, then Pacific Grove Middle and Pacific Grove High.

Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.

TownTapestry School GradeNew

Pacific Grove’s School Grade: A-

The public schools Pacific Grove’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 79% 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 79%
Lower resultsHigher results
California towns with similar household incomes (542)Better than 85%
Lower confidence. Built on 0 tested students and a graduating class of 149. 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 Pacific Grove kids go to school

Grades 6–8
D-Pacific Grove Middle 439 students · Pacific Grove Pacific Grove Unified School District
Grades 9–12
Pacific Grove High 552 students · Pacific Grove Pacific Grove Unified School District

Based on district boundaries from the U.S. Department of Education. Check with the district before you enroll.

Test scores · 2020–21

Well below the state in reading

Reading (grades K–12, Pacific Grove Unified)24.5%
State average 48.5% · reported as a range, 0–49% (a small group)
Graduation · class of 2020

97% graduate on time

Graduation rate
97%
CA: 87.6%
Graduating class
149
students

The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years. #12 of 720 CA towns →

Districts

The district serving Pacific Grove

Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.

Within reach

Colleges near Pacific Grove

There’s no college in Pacific Grove, but 9 colleges are within 30 miles. The closest is Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey in Monterey, 2.3 miles away.

Straight-line distance from the center of Pacific Grove. Degree-granting colleges with students on campus. Colleges marked › have their own page; the others are too small or don’t report enough to the Department of Education for one.

Every school

All 6 schools in Pacific Grove

Showing 1–6 of 6 schools

School data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES). Ratings are from neighbors on TownTapestry.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01