Cabrillo High School

Lompoc · Santa Barbara County · Lompoc Unified
Public Santa Barbara County 🏛 Lompoc Unified → ~235 seniors CDS 4269229…
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Compare with peers

Most similar nearby schools

Lompoc High School → Orcutt Academy Charter High School → Nipomo High School → Ernest Righetti High School → Santa Ynez Valley Union Hs → Compare all similar →

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)
1,291 (2018)1,064 (2026)
-17.6%
Grade 12 (graduating class)
331 (2018)286 (2026)
-13.6%

If this trend holds (-2.4%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~1,039 -25 $0
3 yr (2029) ~990 -74 $0
5 yr (2031) ~943 -121 $0

Straight-line extrapolation of the recent annual rate — a what-if, not a forecast of intent. Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423/ADA). Edit the figure to match your school.

Enrollment stability & demand — 2024-25

Two complementary signals: retention (do students stay once enrolled?) and demand (are families choosing the school?). Read against the Santa Barbara County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.

Critical
Material decline in demand.

Enrollment -13.6% vs. county +3.2% — losing 4.2× the county rate. Each enrolled family matters more, but the engine of new enrollment is breaking down.

-13.6%  school enrollment (2018–2026)
+3.2%  Santa Barbara County baseline
-16.8pp  gap vs. county
88.3%  retention (county median 89.1%)
Enrollment — indexed to 100 at 2018
Stability rate by year (raw %)
Stability rate
88.3%
990 of 1,121 students

131 of 1,121 students who enrolled at Cabrillo High School this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (11.7% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

Santa Barbara County median
89.1% · school is in the 46th percentile of 13 HS
Statewide median
87.2% · in the 56th percentile of 1,688 HS

Stability by student group

Hispanic / Latino (588) 86.2%
Socio. disadvantaged (570) 84.2%
White (356) 92.7%
Students w/ disabilities (204) 83.8%
Two or more races (68) 91.2%
English learners (56) 67.9%

Nearest peer high schools

Lompoc High School 87.7% Orcutt Academy Charter High School 93.8% Nipomo High School 85.4% Ernest Righetti High School 89.4% Santa Ynez Valley Union Hs 94.0%

Source: California Department of Education, Stability Rate 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 cumulative enrollees so by-design-high-churn continuation schools don't dominate the bottom of the distribution. Cumulative enrollment counts every student on the rolls during the year, so it can exceed peak-day enrollment.

Chronic absenteeism — 2024-25

Share of students missing 10% or more of expected attendance — the leading indicator that often precedes the demand decline shown above. Families disengaging tend to raise absenteeism first, then formally leave. Basis: grades 9–12.

Chronic absent
25.7%
282 of 1,099 students

Absenteeism is up 12.5 pp since 2016-17. A rising absenteeism trend often precedes formal departure — worth investigating which subgroups are driving it.

Santa Barbara County median
22.5% · school is worse than 77% of 13 HS
Statewide median
22.9%
Chronic absenteeism by year (raw %)

Source: California Department of Education, Chronic Absenteeism 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 eligible students. CDE didn't publish a usable 2019-20 file (COVID).

SBAC academic outcomes — grade 11, 2025

Share of grade-11 students meeting or exceeding the California standard on Smarter Balanced ELA and Math. This is the academic-readiness signal that pairs with UC Reach (post-grad outcomes), stability (retention), and absenteeism (engagement). Note: statewide median Math is only ~20% — a school at 20% isn't an outlier; one at 45%+ genuinely is.

ELA — met or exceeded
n = 243
44.4%
incl. 18.1% exceeded
-5.7 pts vs. Santa Barbara County median (50.1%) · CA median 54.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 79.3%
Math — met or exceeded
n = 244
30.7%
incl. 11.5% exceeded
+4.0 pts above Santa Barbara County median (26.7%) · CA median 21.1% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 53.6%

Source: California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) Smarter Balanced research files. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥30 tested students.

Student composition — 2025-26

HS grades 9–12 racial/ethnic composition and program subgroups, from CDE Census Day Enrollment. Two-year shift shown when ≥1 pt — surfaces how the community served has changed since 2023-24.

Race / ethnicity

Hispanic / Latino 51%
White 33%
Two or more 6% +1.3
Black / African Am. 3%
Filipino 2%
Asian 2%
Not reported 1% -1.6
American Indian 1%

Program subgroups

Students w/ disabilities 48%
Socioeconomically disadv. 18%
English learners 1% -1.5

Source: California Department of Education, Census Day Enrollment 2025-26 (HS grades 9–12). Δ shown when shift is ≥1 pt since 2023-24. Categories below 0.5% omitted.

District financial profile — Lompoc Unified (FY2020)

From 4 years of NCES F-33 filings (the federally-mandated district finance survey). Public schools don't have their own books — the district does. These figures show the financial scale, revenue dependence, instruction-vs-overhead mix, and long-term debt that shape what a school can sustain.

Total revenue
$137.8M
+10.8% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$14,930
9,231 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 62.9%
Local: 23.8%
Federal: 13.2%
Instruction share
60.8%
of current spending · $8,637/pupil
Long-term debt
$12.8M
-41.6% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($M)
Total expenditure by year ($M)

Source: NCES F-33 Annual Survey of School System Finances (Urban Institute Education Data API). Latest year currently published: FY2020. F-33 is a district-level federal filing — it reflects the Lompoc Unified as a whole, not this individual school's books. Revenue mix shows where the district's dollars come from (state aid dominates in CA via LCFF). Instruction share is current expenditure on instruction ÷ total current expenditure (national benchmark ~60%). Long-term debt is end-of-year outstanding (mostly facilities bonds).

University of California outcomes · Class of 2025
UC Reach
12%
29 admits / 235 seniors
On the peer median (11.5%) · Ranked #5 of 10 similar schools
5-year trend
2021 · 6.0% 2025 · 12.3%
Where this sits on the California curve
CA median
18.5%
Peer median
11.5%
Top 10%
53.3%
This school
12.3%
0%50%100%
CA median 18.5% Top 10% ≥ 53.3% This school 12.3%

Higher than 29% of California high schools (1105 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

📊 What this number means

Cabrillo High School's UC Reach of 12.3% is below the California median (18.5%). The top 10% of CA schools achieve 53.3% or higher.

Overall, Cabrillo High School's UC Reach is higher than 29% of California high schools (1105 ranked).

UC Application Reach
43.4%
102 applications
In context: CA median 78.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 245.8% · higher than 22% of CA HS.
UC Admit Rate
28.4%
29 / 102 applications
In context: CA median 26.0% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.5% · higher than 63% of CA HS.
UC Yield Rate
17.2%
5 enrolled of 29 admitted
Yield vs. Enrollment Reach: Yield answers "of UC admits, what % chose UC?" — denominator is just the admits. A small admitted cohort can post a low yield even when the school sends a healthy share of its class to UC.
UC Enrollment Reach
2.1%
5 enrollees / 235 seniors
Enrollment Reach vs. Yield: Reach answers "of the whole senior class, what % ended up at UC?" — denominator is everyone. High Yield with low Enrollment Reach is common at elite privates: most admits matriculate, but the school sends most of its class to non-UC selective colleges.
Student-Counselor Ratio
266:1
4.0 FTE counselors · 1,064 students
In context: CA median 338:1 · 72 fewer students per counselor · ASCA target 250:1.
A-G Completion
46%
92 of 202 graduates · 2024-25 cohort
In context: CA median 55.9% · -10.4 pp vs. median · Santa Barbara Co. 47.0%.
UC 6-Yr Grad Rate
90%
71% finished in 4 yrs · N=21 entered 2008
In context: CA median 86.2% · +4.3 pp above.
Selective UC Reach (UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD)
8.1
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 15.7 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 42.4 · higher than 14% of CA HS.
Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA)
N/A
Senior Class Size
235
CDE grade 12 (exact)
Total School Enrollment
1,060
All grades · CDE Census Day
Economic Connectedness
1.41
77th percentile in CA · cross‑class friendships

Cabrillo High School — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · Lompoc · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • On UC Reach, Cabrillo High School sits in the middle of its similar-school group (ranked #5 of 10): 12% vs. a peer median of 12%.
  • Its UC Reach has risen 4 points since 2018.
  • Across the top-6 UC campuses, Cabrillo High School is admitting at roughly +15 percentage points above what its average applicant GPA (3.989) alone would predict (43% actual vs. 28% expected). That's a meaningful signal — it can reflect UC's track record with this school's graduates, students presenting strongly in UC's holistic review (essays, EC's, context), or institutional familiarity helping at the margin. The data can't distinguish which, but the pattern itself is real and worth understanding.
  • Senior-class enrollment is down 14% (331→286 from 2018 to 2026), trailing the peer-group median of +7%.
  • At its recent rate (-2.4%/yr), enrollment projects to ~990 by 2029 — about 74 fewer students than today.

Enrollment projection

1064 students (2026)
~990 projected (2029)
at -2.4%/yr

That's about 74 fewer students. At per-student funding of $ per student, that's roughly $0 in annual state funding at risk.

Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423 per ADA) — adjust to your district's actual per-pupil figure. Projection extrapolates the recent annual rate — not a forecast of intent.

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School Type Size UC Reach Enroll. trend
Cabrillo High School Public 1064 12.3% -14%
Peer-group median 11.5% +7%
Lompoc High School Public 1520 11.5% +13%
Orcutt Academy Charter High School Public 796 32.5% +22%
Nipomo High School Public 833 8.9% +3%
Ernest Righetti High School Public 2472 13.7% +24%
Santa Ynez Valley Union Hs Public 729 19.5% -15%
Vista Real Charter High School Public 1050 -57%
Delta High School Public 310 3.5% -27%
Taft Union High School Public 1100 5.3% +12%
Atascadero High School Public 1146 8.5% -4%
Santa Maria High School Public 3094 15.0% +21%

UC Reach = top-6 UC admits ÷ senior class (can exceed 100% when students are admitted to multiple campuses). Enrollment trend = first-to-latest grade-12 change on file. Similar schools matched on proximity, size, type. Methodology →

Avg. Applicant GPA · top-6 UCs
4.00
Avg. Admitted GPA · top-6 UCs
4.15

Admit rate vs. CA peer average, by campus

How does this school's admit rate at each UC compare to other CA schools whose applicant pool averages the same GPA?

Campus Applicant GPA (avg) Actual admit rate CA peer avg Δ Verdict
UC San Diego 3.94 25.0% 21.2% +3.8pp On target
UC Santa Barbara 3.97 50.0% 31.1% +18.9pp Over
UC Irvine 4.05 27.3% 28.6% -1.3pp On target
UC Davis 4.04 71.4% 33.2% +38.3pp Over
"Applicant GPA" is the average GPA of this school's UC applicant pool — not an individual student GPA. "CA peer avg" is the application-weighted statewide admit rate at this school-pool GPA, fit separately per campus. At any given pool GPA, real admit rates span widely (UCSD ranges 8% → 65% across CA schools) because UCs use comprehensive review — context-of-opportunity, geography, demographics, and applicant essays all weigh in beyond GPA. A large negative residual flags this school is admitted at a meaningfully lower rate than other CA schools at the same pool GPA — not that students here were "rejected at expected rate X." "Over" / "Under" use a ±5-point band. Campuses with fewer than 5 applicants are omitted.

Where Cabrillo High School sits vs. all California schools

Overall, this school admits its UC applicants 15.1 points above what their GPAs predict (43.3% actual vs. 28.2% expected).

UC Outcomes Trend — 2018–2025

UC Admit Rate %
UC Reach % (where available)
UC Admits (count, right axis)

Class size from CDE grade 12 enrollment. Campus-level data — applicant/admit totals may count a student at multiple campuses more than once.

Campus Breakdown — 2025

Campus Applicants Admits Enrollees Admit Rate UC Reach Yield Avg GPA (App) Avg GPA (Adm)
UC Berkeley → Elite 16 4.03
UCLA → Elite 19 3.99
UC San Diego → Selective 20 5 25.0% 2.1% 3.94 4.27
UC Santa Barbara → Selective 22 11 5 50.0% 4.7% 45.5% 3.97 4.17
UC Irvine → Selective 11 3 27.3% 1.3% 4.05
UC Davis → 14 10 71.4% 4.3% 4.04 4.07
⚠ Campus-level totals may count one student admitted to multiple UC campuses more than once. Admit Volume metrics are not the same as UC Reach, which requires unique-student counts. See methodology →

What This Means

A large share of the class applies to UC, so the admit rate runs lower than the application volume alone might suggest — expected when many students apply broadly, including to reach campuses. UC Reach (which credits every admit relative to the class) is the truer read of how the class fares: a strong Reach alongside a moderate admit rate is healthy, not a contradiction.
Fewer than 15% of seniors are earning UC admission. This may reflect a high non-UC college-going rate, significant A-G completion gaps, or an early-stage UC pipeline. A deeper review of A-G readiness and counseling capacity is warranted.
Students are earning UC admission but enrolling elsewhere at a notable rate. This may reflect competition from private colleges, out-of-state flagships, cost considerations, or UC campus fit. Student outcome surveys can clarify.
UC Reach has declined meaningfully year-over-year. This should be reviewed in context of applicant volume, GPA trends, course rigor changes, and peer-school performance before drawing conclusions.
Note: admit counts used here are campus-level totals. A student admitted to both UCLA and UCSD is counted twice. When UCOP unique-student data becomes available it will be loaded automatically and the labels will update.
Compare with other schools → See Santa Barbara County rankings →

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