Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Are you a student or parent at Alta Vista Alternative High School? Want to understand how to get the most out of high school?
We've written the best guide to Alta Vista Alternative High available. Here we'll cover:
- Breakdowns of student ethnicity, gender, and family income
- How safe Alta Vista Alternative High is to attend
- SAT/ACT/AP scores earned by Alta Vista Alternative High students
- Which AP/IB classes you can take at Alta Vista Alternative High
- Every sports team you can join at Alta Vista Alternative High
Let's get started!
Basic Information
Alta Vista Alternative High School is a public school, supporting grades 9 to 12 . It's located in Santa Barbara, CA in Santa Barbara County.
Based on its location, Alta Vista Alternative High is classified as a school in a small city. Here's the location on a map:
Contact Information
Mailing address:
Alta Vista Alternative High School215 E. Ortega St. Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Phone number: 8059651916
Alta Vista Alternative High School homepage: http://www.sbunified.org/schools/high-schools/alta-vista-alternative-high-school/
Principal: Elise SimmonsEmail the principal: [email protected]
Student Demographics
Student Enrollment
The total enrollment at Alta Vista Alternative High School is 155 students, making it a somewhat small high school, in the bottom half of all California high schools by size.
As a smaller-sized high school, Alta Vista Alternative High will feel like a cozy learning environment. With fewer than 100 students in your class, you'll likely get to know most other students and your teachers well. This will give you the feeling of a small liberal arts college.
But with a smaller student body, you won't have as many activities and clubs to choose from. If you find Alta Vista Alternative High lacking for your interests, consider looking to your local community to supplement your interests.
Growth in Student Body Size
Is Alta Vista Alternative High School growing or shrinking? This will help you see trends in where the school is headed.
From our calculations, the enrollment at Alta Vista Alternative High has steadily decreased over the past few years. We calculate this by comparing enrollment in grades 9 to 12.
| Male Students | Female Students | All Students | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9th grade | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| 10th grade | 6 | 9 | 15 |
| 11th grade | 19 | 33 | 52 |
| 12th grade | 35 | 46 | 81 |
As you can see in the table above, the senior class is 74 students larger than the freshman class. This suggests that Alta Vista Alternative High is shrinking in size and taking on fewer students.
There are a few reasons this can happen. The population of Santa Barbara could be decreasing, thus sending fewer students into Alta Vista Alternative High. Alternatively, other schools (like charter or private schools) might be appearing, drawing students away.
Gender Split
Are there more boys or girls at Alta Vista Alternative High School?
From our statistics, Alta Vista Alternative High has a 41:59 split between male and female students in the high school grades.
There is a large female majority at Alta Vista Alternative High, and the imbalance is greater than you would expect from the general population in Santa Barbara County. As a result, it'll feel like there are a lot more girls than boys in your classes.
Sometimes this imbalance can result from random chance and may not suggest anything about Alta Vista Alternative High. In other cases, the school might preferentially select for females (if it has its own admissions criteria), or parents with female kids might prefer to send them to Alta Vista Alternative High. In yet other cases, other neighboring schools might attract male students, drawing them away from Alta Vista Alternative High.
If this gender imbalance is a concern for you, we suggest contacting Alta Vista Alternative High administration and asking if they have any thoughts about why there's a female majority. Their phone number is 8059651916.
Ethnicity Breakdown
What's the racial diversity at Alta Vista Alternative High School? Does one ethnicity make up most of the student body, or is it fairly balanced?
From our statistics, Alta Vista Alternative High has a diverse student body. No single ethnicity composes more than 50% of all students, which means you'll be surrounded by a diverse set of students in class. Only a third of California schools show this much diversity.
The most common ethnicity at Alta Vista Alternative High is white. In California, white students make up 26.3% of all California students, and are the second most common ethnicity after Hispanic students.
| Percentage | Number | |
|---|---|---|
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 0.6% | 1 |
| Asian | 0.0% | 0 |
| Hispanic | 45.1% | 70 |
| Black | 1.2% | 2 |
| White | 46.4% | 72 |
| Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander | 0.6% | 1 |
| Two or more races | 5.8% | 9 |
High schools usually reflect the population in the surrounding area, so the ethnicities of students likely resembles those of Santa Barbara. If you'd like to see how other nearby schools look in diversity, just google "[name of school] prepscholar" to find our guide to that specific school.
Income Level of Alta Vista Alternative High Families
What are the family incomes of students at Alta Vista Alternative High School? To determine this, we look at the number of students who qualify for free or reduced lunches, a classification by the US federal government.
To qualify for a reduced price meal, family income needs to be below 185% of the federal poverty guidelines. For a family of 4, this means an income of around $45,000 or below.
To qualify for a free meal, family income needs to be below 130% of the federal poverty guidelines. For a family of 4, this means an income of around $32,000 or below.
The lower the percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced price meals, the higher the income levels are likely to be.
At Alta Vista Alternative High, 0.6% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 10.3% qualify for free lunches.
This means Alta Vista Alternative High has a very low poverty level. Nearly no students at Alta Vista Alternative High qualify for free or reduced price lunches. Santa Barbara is thus likely to have a very affluent community, and Alta Vista Alternative High is in the top 10% of California schools in terms of family income.
| Number | Percent | |
|---|---|---|
| Reduced-price lunches | 1 | 0.6% |
| Free lunches | 16 | 10.3% |
| Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches | 138 | 89.0% |
As with ethnicity, this likely reflects the surrounding community in Santa Barbara and doesn't speak much about the school itself.
Because Alta Vista Alternative High is in the top quartile of schools by family income, it's likely to be well-funded relative to other high schools in California. This means you'll likely have access to advanced coursework like AP/IB classes and better-funded extracurriculars and sports.
It's still up to you, though, to take advantage of the resources Alta Vista Alternative High has to offer. If you work hard and spend your time effectively, you'll likely be well positioned to succeed in college and beyond.
Download our free guide on the top 5 strategies you must be using to improve your score. This guide was written by Harvard graduates and SAT perfect scorers. If you apply the strategies in this guide, you'll study smarter and make huge score improvements.
School Safety
How safe is Alta Vista Alternative High School to attend? Can you expect a lot of conflict as a student here?
To study this, we look at disciplinary data for two types of incidents at Alta Vista Alternative High: referrals to law enforcement (when incidents are reported to police), and arrests.
These are the most serious disciplinary actions available to school administration and are more severe than suspensions or expulsions. Suspensions are often discretionary and can be given just for being disruptive in class. In contrast, law enforcement referrals and arrests often indicate incidents that put the safety of other Alta Vista Alternative High students at risk.
In the school year of 2011-2012, there were 2 referrals to law enforcement (2 male, 0 female), and 4 school-related arrests (2 males, 2 females). This is out of a total enrollment of 103 students.
To put this into perspective, most California schools (59% of them) reported 0 law enforcement referrals and arrests.
This means that 5.8 Alta Vista Alternative High has minor safety issues. For every 100 students, there were just 5.8 law-enforcement related actions, but this is still higher than 75% of California schools.
With this record, is Alta Vista Alternative High School significantly different from other schools in the area? It could be that Alta Vista Alternative High has an especially bad record, or it could be that the local area shows a pattern.
Compare this school with other high schools in the same school district, using the following table:
Santa Barbara Unified School District Safety
| School Name | Total Referred | Total Arrests | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dos Pueblos Senior High | 14 | 0 | 2281 |
| La Cuesta Continuation High | 7 | 11 | 128 |
| San Marcos Senior High | 38 | 0 | 1795 |
| Santa Barbara Senior High | 8 | 4 | 2165 |
| Santa Barbara Alternative | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dos Pueblos Charger Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Academic Performance
Now we get to a major aspect of assessing a high school: academic performance. How good of an education will you get at Alta Vista Alternative High School? Will you be competitive for college? Will you have access to advanced classes?
We've compiled everything we could find about Alta Vista Alternative High's academics here.
Standardized Testing
Next, we'll look at another major piece of high school academics: standardized testing performance for Alta Vista Alternative High School students. These are tests that are administered to large populations of students for comparison purposes.
Let’s start by taking a look at the data for nationally administered standardized tests.
SAT Scores
As you probably know, the SAT is a critical test used for college admissions. The higher the score you get, the better your academic performance compared to students nationwide, and the easier it is to get into top colleges.
We did in-depth research and found the average Alta Vista Alternative High School SAT scores.
The average composite SAT score is a 1750 out of 2400, compared to a national average of 1500. Each year, roughly 12 at Alta Vista Alternative High take the SAT.
This is a very high average SAT score, putting Alta Vista Alternative High School in the top 10% of all California high schools. The average student at Alta Vista Alternative High is already scoring in the 75th percentile nationwide or higher - in fact, 83% of students score above the national average. The top students will likely be competing in the top tier nationwide.
Because the SAT measures academic ability, this is a good sign that you're surrounded by high-achieving peers. If you can keep up with your classmates at Alta Vista Alternative High - or even exceed them - you'll have a great shot at getting into very competitive colleges.
Keep in mind, however, that only 7% of all students at Alta Vista Alternative High took the SAT, so the results could be skewed by the small sample size.
Here's a breakdown of SAT scores by section:
Average SAT Scores (2013-2014)
| Source | Critical Reading | Math | Writing | Composite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alta Vista Alternative High | 584 | 588 | 579 | 1750 |
| California | 498 | 510 | 496 | 1504 |
| United States | 495 | 511 | 484 | 1490 |
Note that the SAT has since changed to a 1600 scale, but the trends above for your high school are likely to continue. Just use this guide to convert between the old 2400 scale and the new 1600 scale.
To learn more about SAT percentile rankings, read our guide on what SAT percentiles really mean.
How good is 1750 as an SAT score? Find out with our complete 1750 SAT score guide, including which colleges you can get into with a 1750 or any other SAT score!
Download our free guide on the top 5 strategies you must be using to improve your score. This guide was written by Harvard graduates and SAT perfect scorers. If you apply the strategies in this guide, you'll study smarter and make huge score improvements.
State Tests
As of 2014, eleventh graders attending Alta Vista Alternative High School must take standardized tests in English/Language Arts and Math as part of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP). These align with the new Common Core standards and are called the "Smarter Balanced" tests.
If Alta Vista Alternative High students meet or exceed state standards, they're academically prepared to graduate high school and go to college. Specifically, we care about the percentage of students who meet or exceed state standards. The larger this number, the higher the preparation of students at Alta Vista Alternative High.
English/Language Arts
At Alta Vista Alternative High School, 37% of students meet or exceed state standards in English/Language Arts.
This is considered below average and puts Alta Vista Alternative High in the bottom 50% of all high schools in California for English/Language Arts. The majority of Alta Vista Alternative High students do not pass state standards, and only a small percentage pass.
This specific percentage isn't much cause for concern - because the Common Core is new, the pass rate at Alta Vista Alternative High will likely rise over time. But it still reflects Alta Vista Alternative High's below average standing among California high schools.
English/Language Arts Test Results (2015)
Read more about what’s measured in each ELA area score here.
Math
The other major test taken for state assessments is Math. Across the state, Math performance is generally lower than English/Language Arts performance, so it's natural for this number to be lower.
At Alta Vista Alternative High School, 7% of students meet or exceed state standards in Math. This is considered well below average and puts Alta Vista Alternative High in the bottom 25% of all high schools in California. The vast majority of Alta Vista Alternative High students don't meet state standards, and only a small percentage pass.
Math Test Results (2015)
Read more about what’s measured in each Math area score, go here.
Sports Teams
What’s Next?
Want to get more useful information about high school classes and preparing for colleges? Our blog has a ton of articles and advice on topics ranging from coursework and GPA to letters of recommendation, extracurriculars, and much more!
Ready to bulk up your schedule and maximize your college preparedness? Read all about the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs.
Not quite in high school yet, but eager to get started? We've also got information for younger students interested in advanced learning opportunities, both in and out of school.
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Sources
The data on this page is drawn from a variety of sources, including (but not limited to):
- National Center for Educational Statistics CCD 2013-2014
- "Free or reduced price lunch: A proxy for poverty?", NCES Blog
- CRDC 2011-2012 school year data
- California Department of Education SAT, ACT, and AP Test Results
- California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System Results
- IBO.org