How the California School Dashboard rates Santa Rosa schools
California gives schools colors, not letter grades. The California School Dashboard, published by the California Department of Education (CDE), rates each indicator Red, Orange, Yellow, Green or Blue, lowest to highest. Each color blends the current result with the change from the prior year, so a school can rate Green with a modest score if it improved sharply.
- English and math are reported as distance from standard: how many points, on average, students scored above (+) or below (-) the grade-level standard on state tests in grades 3 to 8 and 11.
- Graduation rate is the four-year cohort rate for high schools.
- Chronic absenteeism is the share of K-8 students who missed 10% or more of the school year. Lower is better.
Every figure on this page comes from the CDE's 2025 Dashboard data files, which cover the 2024-25 school year, downloaded on October 30, 2026. The Dashboard is usually refreshed each December, so check the live site for newer results.
Santa Rosa school districts compared
Santa Rosa City Schools (SRCS) runs the city's comprehensive high schools, but younger students may attend one of seven separate elementary districts depending on the address. Those elementary districts also carry their own school bond rates on the property tax bill, covered in our Sonoma County property tax guide.
| District | English | Math | Chronic absenteeism |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Rosa City Schools | -46.9 (Orange) | -89.9 (Orange) | 25.0% |
| Rincon Valley Union | +17.6 (Green) | +9.1 (Green) | 10.2% |
| Bennett Valley Union | +29.4 (Green) | -1.4 (Yellow) | 10.9% |
| Mark West Union | -9.3 (Orange) | -23.7 (Yellow) | 13.6% |
| Wright | +7.2 (Green) | -29.3 (Orange) | 15.7% |
| Roseland | -41.0 (Orange) | -50.0 (Orange) | 15.9% |
| Piner-Olivet Union | -49.4 (Orange) | -69.0 (Yellow) | 20.4% |
| Bellevue Union | -61.2 (Orange) | -80.4 (Orange) | 20.0% |
| State of California | -8.1 | -42.4 | 17.1% |
Source: CDE 2025 Dashboard data files, all students. SRCS's graduation rate was 89.9% (Green), above the state's 87.8%. District averages hide wide gaps between schools, shown below.
Santa Rosa high schools
SRCS lists six high schools, including Ridgway, which the CDE reports as a continuation school. Results below are for all students on the 2025 Dashboard.
Maria Carrillo High School (SRCS)
Maria Carrillo High, at 6975 Montecito Boulevard in 95409, had the strongest results of the district's high schools: 34.6 points above standard in English (Green) and 20.2 below in math (Yellow). Its graduation rate was 95.0%, rated Blue.
Montgomery High School (SRCS)
Montgomery High, at 1250 Hahman Drive in 95405, scored 30.2 points below standard in English and 110.2 below in math, both Yellow. Its 90.5% graduation rate was rated Blue. Since fall 2025 the campus also houses junior high grades (see below).
Santa Rosa High School (SRCS)
Santa Rosa High, at 1235 Mendocino Avenue in 95401, scored 24.6 below standard in English (Yellow) and 130.3 below in math (Red), with a 92.4% graduation rate (Green). It is the district's other junior/senior high campus.
Piner and Elsie Allen High Schools (SRCS)
Piner High, at 1700 Fulton Road in 95403, scored 38.0 below standard in English and 124.9 below in math (both Orange), with a 91.9% graduation rate (Green). Elsie Allen High, at 599 Bellevue Avenue in 95407, scored 52.2 below in English and 170.8 below in math (both Orange), with an 81.1% graduation rate (Green). Ridgway High, the continuation school, graduated 88.8% (Orange).
Charter high school options in Santa Rosa
Two charters outside SRCS report graduation rates. Roseland Charter, run under the Roseland district, scored 31.2 below standard in English (Yellow) and graduated 89.9% (Orange). Northwest Prep Charter, under Piner-Olivet Union, scored 18.0 below in English (Yellow) with a 96.3% graduation rate.
Santa Rosa middle and junior high schools
SRCS campus reconfiguration and junior highs
SRCS reconfigured several campuses for the 2025-26 school year. Its campus reconfiguration page says junior high students at Montgomery and Santa Rosa junior/senior high schools have separate bell schedules, entrances and lunch areas, with the De Soto building at Santa Rosa High set aside for them. The district's current middle school list names Rincon Valley Middle and CCLA. The 2025 Dashboard covers 2024-25, before the change, so it still reports Santa Rosa Middle (73.8 below standard in English, Red), Herbert Slater Middle (80.5 below, Red) and Hilliard Comstock Middle (107.8 below, Orange) as separate schools. Ask the district which campus serves your address now.
Rincon Valley Middle School (SRCS)
Rincon Valley Middle, at 4650 Badger Road in 95409, scored 3.0 points above standard in English (Yellow) and 31.4 below in math (Orange), with chronic absenteeism of 18.0%. It shares its Badger Road address with Santa Rosa Accelerated Charter.
Santa Rosa elementary schools by district
Rincon Valley Union elementary schools
Rincon Valley Union posted the city's top elementary result: Austin Creek Elementary scored 71.1 above standard in English (Green) and 67.1 above in math (Blue), with chronic absenteeism of just 4.5%. Sequoia Elementary scored 12.8 above in English and 4.8 above in math (both Green). The CDE flags Binkley, Village, Spring Lake, Manzanita and Whited as charter schools within the district; Village Elementary Charter scored 14.5 above in English (Blue) and Binkley 13.1 above (Blue).
Bennett Valley Union elementary schools
Bennett Valley's two schools both rated Green in English: Yulupa Elementary at 39.3 above standard (and 24.1 above in math, Green) and Strawberry Elementary at 25.9 above (10.5 below in math, Green). Chronic absenteeism was about 10% at each.
Mark West Union and Wright elementary schools
In Mark West Union, San Miguel Elementary scored 27.1 above standard in English (Blue) and 4.8 above in math (Green); John B. Riebli Elementary scored 2.1 above in English (Green). The CDE flags both as charter schools. In Wright Elementary district, Robert L. Stevens Elementary scored 24.2 above in English and 8.5 below in math (both Green), while J. X. Wilson Elementary scored 11.5 below in English (Yellow).
SRCS elementary schools
SRCS's current elementary list names Abraham Lincoln, Helen Lehman, Hidden Valley, James Monroe, Luther Burbank and Proctor Terrace, plus Santa Rosa Early Learning Academy. Hidden Valley Elementary, at 3435 Bonita Vista Lane in 95404, scored 23.6 above standard in English (Green) and 4.7 below in math (Yellow). Proctor Terrace scored 17.3 below in English (Orange). Lincoln, Monroe and Lehman were between 88 and 107 points below in English (Red), with chronic absenteeism above 20%.
Bellevue Union, Roseland and Piner-Olivet elementary schools
Roseland's Sheppard Elementary scored 27.3 below standard in English (Yellow) and Roseland Elementary 34.1 below (Orange). Bellevue Union's four schools ranged from 47.0 below (Bellevue Elementary) to 74.4 below (Kawana Springs), all Orange in English. In Piner-Olivet Union, Piner-Olivet Charter scored 21.5 below in English and Jack London Elementary 35.5 below (both Yellow).
School choice in Santa Rosa: charters, lotteries and transfers
SRCS charter schools and the lottery
SRCS runs four charter schools that admit by lottery: Santa Rosa Accelerated Charter (4650 Badger Road, applications for grades 5 and 6), Santa Rosa French-American Charter (500 E Street, TK-8), Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts (756 Humboldt Street, TK-8) and CCLA (2480 Sebastopol Road, TK-8). For 2027-28, the district's charter page lists an application window from October 1 to 5:00 p.m. on November 13, 2026, with a public draw on December 17, 2026. Applicants living in the district must first register at their school of residence. On the 2025 Dashboard, Accelerated Charter scored 87.1 above standard in English and 84.5 above in math (both Blue), and French-American Charter 31.3 above in English (Green).
SRCS open enrollment transfers
Families living in SRCS who want a school other than their school of residence apply for an intradistrict open enrollment transfer between October 1 and November 15. The district says applications are weighed by capacity and reason, not first come, first served, and parents provide transportation. Other elementary districts set their own transfer rules; ask each one directly.
How to check which schools serve a Santa Rosa address
We never state that a home is zoned for a school. School lines follow district boundaries, not ZIP codes or city limits. Listing descriptions are often wrong. Before you buy:
- Enter the address in the SRCS School Locator. SRCS says that if the address is inside its high school district but outside its elementary district, the tool returns the name of the elementary district instead.
- Call that elementary district to confirm the assigned school and any planned changes.
- Read each school's full report on the California School Dashboard, including results by student group and grade span.
- Check the property tax bill: the bond lines name the school districts that serve the parcel.
For the wider picture of the city, see our Santa Rosa homes guide and the Santa Rosa ZIP code guide.