Carlsbad's four school districts on the 2025 Dashboard
Carlsbad is not served by one district. Carlsbad Unified covers most of the city. In the south, around La Costa, elementary students attend Encinitas Union schools and grades 7 to 12 attend San Dieguito Union High schools. In the southeast, some addresses belong to San Marcos Unified. The table gives each district's results for all students on the California School Dashboard released in 2025, covering the 2024-25 school year.
| District | English (points vs standard) | Math (points vs standard) | Graduation rate | Chronic absenteeism |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlsbad Unified | +48.2 (Blue) | +20.6 (Green) | 97.7% (Blue) | 12.0% (Orange) |
| Encinitas Union Elementary | +46.9 (Blue) | +31.9 (Green) | n/a | 8.5% (Green) |
| San Dieguito Union High | +80.1 (Blue) | +56.8 (Blue) | 97.7% (Blue) | 8.2% (Green) |
| San Marcos Unified | +14.0 (Green) | -18.1 (Yellow) | 93.2% (Yellow) | 12.9% (Yellow) |
| California | -8.1 | -42.4 | 87.8% | 17.1% |
The Dashboard has no letter grades. It rates each measure with one of five colors, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green and Blue from lowest to highest, combining the current result with the change from the year before. English and math are shown as the average distance, in scale-score points, above or below the grade-level standard on state tests. Chronic absenteeism counts students who missed at least 10% of school days, so a lower number is better. All figures here come from the CDE's 2025 Dashboard data files.
High schools serving Carlsbad
Carlsbad High School (Carlsbad Unified)
Carlsbad High, at 3557 Lancer Way, serves grades 9 to 12. On the 2025 Dashboard its graduation rate was 98.3%, up 3.4 points and rated Blue. English scores were 74.9 points above standard, up 26.6 points (Blue). Math was 9.7 points below standard but up 18.9 points, rated Green.
Sage Creek High School (Carlsbad Unified)
Sage Creek High, at 3900 Bobcat Boulevard, is Carlsbad Unified's other traditional high school. Its graduation rate was 99.1% (Blue). English was 76.3 points above standard, down 18.5 points, which is why it shows Green rather than Blue. Math was 28.6 points above standard and up 5.4, rated Blue.
La Costa Canyon High School (San Dieguito Union High)
La Costa Canyon High, at 1 Maverick Way in Carlsbad, is run by San Dieguito Union High. Its graduation rate was 93.7% (Green). English was 62.3 points above standard, up 14.7 (Green). Math was 9.8 points below standard but up 25.2 points, also Green. San Dieguito runs a high school selection process each year, so a student living near La Costa Canyon is not automatically placed there; check the district's enrollment page.
Carlsbad Unified middle schools
| Middle school | Address | English | Math | Chronic absenteeism |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aviara Oaks Middle | 6880 Ambrosia Lane | +49.7 (Blue) | +31.2 (Green) | 10.0% (Green) |
| Calavera Hills Middle | 4104 Tamarack Avenue | +23.7 (Green) | -16.0 (Yellow) | 13.5% (Orange) |
| Valley Middle | 1645 Magnolia Avenue | +5.7 (Yellow) | -15.0 (Yellow) | 17.8% (Orange) |
Aviara Oaks Middle School
Aviara Oaks Middle had the highest middle-school results in Carlsbad Unified in 2025, with math up 6.8 points on the year. It is also the largest, with 923 students in the 2025 English count, and sits on Ambrosia Lane next to Aviara Oaks Elementary.
Calavera Hills and Valley middle schools
Calavera Hills Middle is on Tamarack Avenue, the same street as Calavera Hills Elementary. Valley Middle, on Magnolia Avenue, had 769 students in the 2025 English count. Both were below standard in math and both had chronic absenteeism rated Orange. Ask each school what it is doing about attendance and math, and look at the student-group results on the Dashboard, not just the totals.
Elementary schools in Carlsbad
All Carlsbad Unified elementary schools run to grade 5. Encinitas Union schools run to grade 6.
| Elementary school | District | English | Math |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Rim Elementary | Carlsbad Unified | +91.6 (Blue) | +74.1 (Blue) |
| El Camino Creek Elementary | Encinitas Union | +76.3 (Blue) | +65.6 (Blue) |
| Poinsettia Elementary | Carlsbad Unified | +76.1 (Blue) | +55.7 (Blue) |
| Aviara Oaks Elementary | Carlsbad Unified | +75.8 (Green) | +61.9 (Green) |
| Olivenhain Pioneer Elementary | Encinitas Union | +70.1 (Blue) | +56.5 (Blue) |
| Kelly Elementary | Carlsbad Unified | +64.0 (Blue) | +55.8 (Blue) |
| Magnolia Elementary | Carlsbad Unified | +60.3 (Green) | +54.2 (Green) |
| La Costa Heights Elementary | Encinitas Union | +59.3 (Blue) | +56.1 (Blue) |
| Buena Vista Elementary | Carlsbad Unified | +52.3 (Blue) | +30.5 (Green) |
| Mission Estancia Elementary | Encinitas Union | +49.7 (Blue) | +22.0 (Green) |
| La Costa Meadows Elementary | San Marcos Unified | +49.2 (Blue) | +40.4 (Blue) |
| Carrillo Elementary | San Marcos Unified | +46.3 (Blue) | +38.3 (Blue) |
| Hope Elementary | Carlsbad Unified | +42.7 (Green) | +28.4 (Green) |
| Calavera Hills Elementary | Carlsbad Unified | +38.1 (Green) | +23.0 (Green) |
| Jefferson Elementary | Carlsbad Unified | +5.7 (Green) | -11.6 (Yellow) |
Every school in the table has a Carlsbad address in the CDE school directory. Results are for all students tested in grades 3 to 5 or 3 to 6.
Pacific Rim and Poinsettia elementary schools
Pacific Rim, at 1100 Camino De Las Ondas, posted the highest English and math results of any Carlsbad school. Poinsettia, at 2445 Mica Road, was also Blue in both. Poinsettia's chronic absenteeism, 11.7% and up 3.9 points, was rated Red, the only Red result among Carlsbad elementary schools.
Encinitas Union schools in La Costa
Four Encinitas Union elementary schools have Carlsbad addresses: El Camino Creek on Paseo Aliso, Olivenhain Pioneer on Calle Acervo, La Costa Heights on Levante Street and Mission Estancia on Calle Barcelona. All four were rated Blue in English in 2025.
San Marcos Unified schools in southeast Carlsbad
Carrillo Elementary on Poinsettia Lane and La Costa Meadows Elementary on El Fuerte Street are San Marcos Unified schools inside Carlsbad. Both were Blue in English and math. Middle and high schools for these addresses are run by San Marcos Unified; use its locator to see which ones apply.
Jefferson and Buena Vista elementary schools in Carlsbad Unified
Buena Vista, on Buena Vista Way, rose 16.0 points in English in 2025. Jefferson, on Jefferson Street, was 5.7 points above standard in English and had chronic absenteeism of 21.1%, the highest of any Carlsbad elementary school, though that was down 5.3 points from the year before.
School choice in Carlsbad: transfers, academies and alternatives
Carlsbad Unified transfers
Carlsbad Unified handles intradistrict transfers (to another school inside the district) and interdistrict transfers (from another district) through its online enrollment system. Space decides most requests, so apply early and do not assume a transfer when you choose a home.
Carlsbad Seaside Academy and Carlsbad Village Academy
Carlsbad Seaside Academy is a K-12 alternative school of choice, and Carlsbad Village Academy is the district's continuation high school for grades 10 to 12. Both share the Lancer Way address with Carlsbad High in the CDE directory. Carlsbad Village Academy's graduation rate was 82.9% in 2025. Seaside's groups were too small for a Dashboard color.
San Dieguito high school selection
San Dieguito Union High enrolls students in grades 7 to 12 by home address and also runs an annual high school selection process. Families in its part of Carlsbad should read the district's enrollment page and Board Policy 5111.1 for the residency rules.
How to check which schools serve a Carlsbad address
School boundaries in Carlsbad do not follow ZIP codes or neighborhood names, and they can change. Never rely on a listing that says a home is in a school's area. Instead:
- Find the district. Enter the address in each district's lookup: Carlsbad Unified's School Residency Locator, Encinitas Union's school site locator, San Marcos Unified's MySchool Locator, and San Dieguito's School Locator and Boundaries page.
- Confirm with the school or district office. Carlsbad Unified's locator page says results are not guaranteed and asks you to verify with the school or by calling (760) 331-5000.
- Read the school's own Dashboard page, including student-group results and the trend over several years.
- Ask about capacity, start times and transport, which vary by school.
The school district also affects your tax bill. Carlsbad's 2025-26 tax rate areas range from 1.06834% to 1.14247%, partly because each district's voter-approved bonds differ. See our Carlsbad homes guide for prices by ZIP and the Carlsbad cost of living page for the full tax picture.