Santa Monica Alternative (k-8), Santa Monica CA

Original Research by School Decision on Santa Monica Alternative (k-8)

Santa Monica Alternative is a K-8 public alternative school located in an upscale beach-town setting where housing is in the mid-to-high range and the economy spans tech, entertainment, professional services, and tourism. The school serves a small, economically advantaged student body in a community organized into distinct neighborhoods, each with different residential character.

The school's enrollment is distributed across all nine grades from kindergarten through eighth, with consistent cohort sizes across each year. Roughly one in seven students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, well below typical California levels. The student population is majority white, with substantial representation of Asian students and multiracial students, smaller shares of Hispanic and Black students, and a minimal presence of other groups. Data on students with individualized education plans and English learners was not available.

In state testing, the school shows uneven performance across subjects and grade levels. In mathematics, proficiency rates vary considerably: strong performance in fourth grade and solid results in seventh and eighth grades, but marked weakness in fifth grade. English language arts are similarly mixed, with notably low proficiency in third grade but strong showings in sixth and seventh grades. Science testing is available only for fifth and eighth grades, with modest proficiency in fifth grade and below-average proficiency in eighth. Overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places the school in the top quartile among school-serving districts within Los Angeles County.

This pattern suggests students gain competency at different paces in different subjects, with some grades executing clearly better than others. A parent may want to look into further with the school how it addresses these grade-level variations and what instructional approach it takes to strengthen weaker areas, particularly in early elementary writing and upper-middle math.

The school is designated as an alternative school, meaning it operates with a different instructional philosophy, governance structure, or student selection process than a traditional neighborhood school. The specific pedagogy and mission were not available in the data provided. Because this is an alternative setting, families often select it deliberately for its approach rather than attending by enrollment assignment.

Santa Monica itself is a high-cost coastal community with significant home values and rents well above state and national medians. The city has experienced development pressure and is now approving higher-density housing projects downtown and near transit as state housing mandates take effect. The community's civic anchors include a strong public library system, abundant parks and beach access, and the Metro E Line light rail connecting to Downtown Los Angeles. Walking works well in downtown and major commercial corridors, though other inland neighborhoods require more driving.

The school's parent district, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified, is undergoing a structural change: Malibu schools are separating to form an independent district, with completion expected by fall 2026. This separation affects governance and funding arrangements. The district passed two major school bonds in November 2024 funded by increased property taxes, supporting facilities repairs and improvements across both Santa Monica and Malibu schools. Additionally, the district has integrated American Cultures and Ethnic Studies into high school offerings as a graduation expectation, reflecting its curricular priorities around ethnic studies and social justice.

The school itself is small and selective by design. Whether it fits depends on whether a family values an alternative pedagogy and can access the specific instructional model it offers, which the available data does not detail. Performance is strong enough overall to suggest capable instruction but varied enough that prospective families should understand what the school does differently and how it adapts to students who develop at different rates.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 362%

School 62% · District 69% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 475%

School 75% · District 69% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 64% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 650%

School 50% · District 58% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 781%

School 81% · District 58% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▲ 51 pts above state median · ▲ 51 pts above county median

Grade 871%

School 71% · District 53% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 343%

School 43% · District 68% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 458%

School 58% · District 68% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 565%

School 65% · District 76% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 675%

School 75% · District 72% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 786%

School 86% · District 74% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 41 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

Grade 865%

School 65% · District 67% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Science

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 60% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 41 pts above state median · ▲ 42 pts above county median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 50% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 71% · ▼ 32 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

This schoolSanta Monica-Malibu Unified, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.