1
Alumni: what's one memory from El Cerrito High that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,460
High
DISTRICT 879 · STATE 838
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WEST CONTRA COSTA UNIFIED·NCES 063255005022
El Cerrito High
540 Ashbury Ave., El Cerrito, CA 94530 · (510) 231-1437 · Contra Costa County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL1,460 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 20% of California public high schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- DThree-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
24.0:1
61 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 23.2:1 · STATE 18.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
39%
569 students
DISTRICT 66% · 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 | 351 | 24% |
| Grade 10 | 358 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 357 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 394 | 27% |
Student demographics
77%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · 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
44.9%
CA avg 49.1% . -10.1pp since 2014
Math
29.6%
CA avg 37.7% . -0.4pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 45 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 30 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 10 points since 2014, while math scores have held steady.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 24.0% | 20.8% | 21.8% | 33.3% |
| Math | 13.7% | 16.0% | 25.7% | 44.6% |
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 | 44.9% | 29.6% |
| 2023-24 | 52.4% | 30.6% |
| 2022-23 | 67.7% | 31.3% |
| 2021-22 | 51.0% | 32.2% |
| 2018-19 | 48.8% | 31.2% |
| 2017-18 | 40.6% | 28.9% |
| 2016-17 | 42.4% | 26.3% |
| 2015-16 | 48.0% | 24.0% |
| 2014-15 | 55.0% | 30.0% |
% 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of CA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
39.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
56.7%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-17.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 39% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 57% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 El Cerrito High
El Cerrito High's state test result (39.4% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Cerrito High this school | 1,460 | 39.0% | 39.4% |
| Vanden High Fairfield | 1,631 | 41.1% | 43.8% |
| Angelo Rodriguez High Fairfield | 2,111 | 37.9% | 53.2% |
| Freedom High Oakley | 2,460 | 39.3% | 34.0% |
| Center High Antelope | 1,312 | 52.5% | 43.8% |
| Elk Grove High Elk Grove | 1,684 | 46.9% | 41.2% |
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 El Cerrito High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Contra Costa County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 39.4% | #549 of 1,052 | #18 of 28 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 29.6% | #436 of 1,056 ▼ 69 | #15 of 28 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 44.9% | #808 of 1,056 ▼ 210 | #20 of 28 ▼ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -4.3pp | #152 of 1,044 | #7 of 28 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,460 | #585 of 2,093 | #15 of 54 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 24.0:1 | #1,112 of 1,352 | #32 of 41 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 76.5% | #11 of 1,351 | #1 of 41 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 39.0% | #1,301 of 1,575 | #30 of 45 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -1.5% | #756 of 802 | #25 of 27 |
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
1,460
-136 (-9%) vs 2020
-8% since 1990-91, when it was 1,580
Student : Teacher
24.0:1
was 25.7:1
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 | 1,460 | 60.8 | 24.0:1 | 39% (569) |
| 2023-24 | 1,476 | 66 | 22.4:1 | 40% (584) |
| 2022-23 | 1,522 | 65.7 | 23.2:1 | 42% (633) |
| 2020-21 | 1,596 | 62 | 25.7:1 | 39% (622) |
| 2017-18 | 1,482 | 59.4 | 24.9:1 | 44% (654) |
| 2015-16 | 1,429 | 52 | 27.5:1 | 51% (730) |
| 2010-11 | 957 | N/A | N/A | 67% (640) |
| 2000-01 | 1,470 | 67 | 21.9:1 | 26% (382) |
| 1990-91 | 1,580 | 76 | 20.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for El Cerrito High.
Since 2017-18: students down 1% (1,482 to 1,460); teachers up 2% (59.4 to 60.8).
About El Cerrito High
Among the schools in El Cerrito, California, is El Cerrito High, a high-enrollment high school. The school serves 1,460 students in grades 9 through 12 in 2024-25. For comparison, high schools in California average about 838 students.
El Cerrito High falls under West Contra Costa Unified, which has 52 schools enrolling 25,133 students.
At El Cerrito High, the largest share of students is Hispanic, at 32%. The school is also 28% White, 16% Asian, 14% Black, and 9% multiracial. The school's diversity index is 77%, meaning two students picked at random have a 77% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Federal records show a student-to-teacher ratio of 24.0:1 at El Cerrito High, with 60.8 full-time-equivalent teachers. This ratio sits 5.8 above the 18.2:1 average for high schools in California. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, a common measure of family income, is 39%.
The allk12 Grade for El Cerrito High is C-. Compared with California public high schools, the school scored higher than 20% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, El Cerrito High ranks in the bottom 10% of California schools. It scores 39.4%; the prediction is 56.7%.
In the county around the school, Contra Costa County, the median household income is $127,229, roughly 45% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. There are 280 public schools in Contra Costa County, enrolling about 167,423 students in all.
Of nearby public schools, Harding Elementary is the closest, at about 0.3 miles. El Cerrito High has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Among 7 nearby schools that report test results, El Cerrito High ranks 7th on proficiency.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is Suburb: Large: in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Federal data show a 9% enrollment decrease, from 1,596 in 2020-21 to 1,460 in 2024-25. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 25.7:1 to 24.0:1.
Topics for discussion here include sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Contra Costa County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,165,012
Census ACS
Median income
$127,229
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
45%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
280
167,423 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in West Contra Costa Unified
- Richmond HighHigh · 1,280 students
- Pinole Valley HighHigh · 1,245 students
- De Anza HighHigh · 1,047 students
- Hercules HighHigh · 767 students
- John F. Kennedy HighHigh · 740 students
- Fred T. Korematsu MiddleMiddle · 708 students
Other schools in El Cerrito
- Fred T. Korematsu MiddleMiddle · 708 students
- Summit Public School K2High · 554 students
- Fairmont ElementaryElementary · 537 students
- Harding ElementaryElementary · 481 students
- Madera ElementaryElementary · 457 students
- Invictus Academy of RichmondHigh · 403 students
Nearby schools
- Harding Elementary0.3 mi · 481
- Fairmont Elementary0.6 mi · 537
- Albany Middle0.6 mi · 911
- Invictus Academy of Richmond0.7 mi · 403
- Albany High0.8 mi · 1,122
- MacGregor High (Continuation)0.8 mi · 4
Frequently asked questions
About El Cerrito HighHow many students attend El Cerrito High?
El Cerrito High enrolls approximately 1,460 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does El Cerrito High serve?
El Cerrito High serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at El Cerrito High?
The student-to-teacher ratio at El Cerrito High is approximately 24.0:1 (61 FTE teachers).
How diverse is El Cerrito High?
El Cerrito High reports a student body of 28% White, 32% Hispanic, 14% Black, 16% Asian, 9% Two or more.
Who oversees El Cerrito High?
El Cerrito High is overseen by West Contra Costa Unified in Contra Costa County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.