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If you could change one rule at Buhach Colony High, what would it be?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,704
High
DISTRICT 1,229 · STATE 838
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MERCED UNION HIGH·NCES 062466008741
Buhach Colony High
1800 Buhach Rd., Atwater, CA 95301 · (209) 325-1400 · Merced County
GRADES 09–12HIGH22-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,704 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 33% of California public high schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- B+Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded California public high schools
Student : Teacher
22.5:1
76 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.1:1 · STATE 18.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
78%
1,337 students
DISTRICT 83% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 487 | 29% |
| Grade 10 | 402 | 24% |
| Grade 11 | 394 | 23% |
| Grade 12 | 421 | 25% |
Student demographics
48%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 44% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
53.0%
CA avg 49.1% . -6.0pp since 2014
Math
15.3%
CA avg 37.7% . -8.7pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 53 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 15 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are down about 6 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 9 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 21.4% | 31.7% | 27.4% | 19.5% |
| Math | 4.0% | 11.4% | 21.7% | 63.0% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 53.0% | 15.3% |
| 2023-24 | 46.3% | 8.5% |
| 2022-23 | 42.3% | 8.8% |
| 2021-22 | 43.8% | 12.4% |
| 2020-21 | 46.1% | 22.4% |
| 2018-19 | 50.1% | 20.5% |
| 2017-18 | 51.7% | 18.3% |
| 2016-17 | 55.2% | 19.2% |
| 2015-16 | 63.0% | 26.0% |
| 2014-15 | 59.0% | 24.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
30.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.6%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 31% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 34% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Buhach Colony High
Buhach Colony High's state test result (30.8% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buhach Colony High this school | 1,704 | 78.5% | 30.8% |
| Grace M. Davis High Modesto | 2,083 | 80.2% | 26.3% |
| Ocean View High Huntington Beach | 1,154 | 78.2% | 31.5% |
| El Capitan High Merced | 1,793 | 76.2% | 32.8% |
| Merced High Merced | 1,943 | 79.4% | 27.6% |
| Costa Mesa High Costa Mesa | 1,730 | 73.2% | 38.9% |
Matched among California high schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Buhach Colony High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Merced County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 30.8% | #771 of 1,052 | #5 of 13 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 15.3% | #821 of 1,056 ▲ 141 | #4 of 13 ▲ 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 53.0% | #635 of 1,056 ▲ 112 | #4 of 13 ▲ 3 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +6.1pp | #297 of 1,044 | #2 of 13 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,704 | #435 of 2,093 | #6 of 24 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 22.5:1 | #933 of 1,352 | #13 of 14 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 48.0% | #715 of 1,351 | #4 of 14 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 78.5% | #654 of 1,575 | #14 of 17 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -8.1% | #526 of 802 | N/A |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
1,704
-158 (-8%) vs 2020
-10% since 2010-11, when it was 1,894
Student : Teacher
22.5:1
was 21.4:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 1,704 | 75.7 | 22.5:1 | 78% (1,337) |
| 2023-24 | 1,658 | 83.7 | 19.8:1 | 74% (1,224) |
| 2022-23 | 1,746 | 84.6 | 20.6:1 | 72% (1,250) |
| 2020-21 | 1,862 | 87 | 21.4:1 | 70% (1,303) |
| 2017-18 | 1,855 | 77.6 | 23.9:1 | 71% (1,311) |
| 2015-16 | 1,764 | 75 | 23.5:1 | 73% (1,284) |
| 2010-11 | 1,894 | N/A | N/A | 72% (1,370) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Buhach Colony High.
Since 2017-18: students down 8% (1,855 to 1,704); teachers down 2% (77.6 to 75.7).
About Buhach Colony High
As a large high school, Buhach Colony High serves students in Atwater, California. The school's 1,704 students are in grades 9 through 12. Statewide, high schools in California average about 838 students each.
Merced Union High counts 9 schools and 11,061 students, including Buhach Colony High.
By race and ethnicity, Buhach Colony High is 70% Hispanic. It is also 15% White, 10% Asian, 2% Black, and 2% multiracial. Buhach Colony High has a diversity index of 48%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Dividing enrollment by its 75.7 full-time-equivalent teachers gives a ratio of about 22.5:1. The average ratio among high schools in California is 18.2:1, lower than at this school. Buhach Colony High reports 78% of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. That is close to the 81% average for public schools in Merced County.
The allk12 Grade for Buhach Colony High is C. Compared with California public high schools, the school scored higher than 33% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Buhach Colony High would be expected to post about 33.6%. Its actual average proficiency rate on state tests is 30.8%.
County data help place the school in context: in Merced County, median household income is about $65,510, about 15% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 16%. Buhach Colony High is among the 117 public schools in Merced County.
Juniper Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.7 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Its average proficiency rate of 30.8% is below the 38.4% average for nearby schools.
Buhach Colony High has an NCES locale of Suburb: Mid-size.
A comparison of 2020-21 and 2024-25 shows enrollment down 8%, from 1,862 to 1,704. The number of students per teacher rose from 21.4 to 22.5 over 4 years.
If you have questions about science fairs, picture day, and bus routes at Buhach Colony High, you can post them here. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Merced County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
290,201
Census ACS
Median income
$65,510
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
15%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
16%
Below federal line
Schools in county
117
59,456 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Merced Union High
- Atwater HighHigh · 2,029 students
- Merced HighHigh · 1,943 students
- Golden Valley HighHigh · 1,917 students
- El Capitan HighHigh · 1,793 students
- Livingston HighHigh · 1,169 students
- Yosemite High (Continuation)High · 342 students
Other schools in Atwater
- Atwater HighHigh · 2,029 students
- Mitchell IntermediateMiddle · 744 students
- Peggy Heller ElementaryElementary · 712 students
- Bellevue ElementaryElementary · 599 students
- Mitchell ElementaryElementary · 528 students
- Elmer Wood ElementaryElementary · 514 students
Nearby schools
- Juniper Elementary0.7 mi · 495
- Bellevue Senior Elementary1.0 mi · 178
- Bellevue Elementary1.0 mi · 599
- Shaffer Elementary1.3 mi · 405
- Thomas Olaeta Elementary1.3 mi · 374
- Peggy Heller Elementary1.9 mi · 712
Frequently asked questions
About Buhach Colony HighHow many students attend Buhach Colony High?
Buhach Colony High enrolls approximately 1,704 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Buhach Colony High serve?
Buhach Colony High serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Buhach Colony High?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Buhach Colony High is approximately 22.5:1 (76 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Buhach Colony High?
Buhach Colony High reports a student body of 15% White, 70% Hispanic, 2% Black, 10% Asian, 2% Two or more.
What district is Buhach Colony High in?
Buhach Colony High is part of Merced Union High.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.