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What clubs or activities at Golden Valley High are worth joining?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,917
High
DISTRICT 1,229 · STATE 838
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MERCED UNION HIGH·NCES 062466003308
Golden Valley High
2121 East Childs Ave., Merced, CA 95344 · (209) 325-1800 · Merced County
GRADES 09–12HIGH13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,917 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 32% of California public high schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- BThree-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
21.4:1
90 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.1:1 · STATE 18.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
85%
1,632 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 | 494 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 532 | 28% |
| Grade 11 | 457 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 434 | 23% |
Student demographics
45%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
40.8%
CA avg 49.1% . -7.2pp since 2014
Math
17.1%
CA avg 37.7% . -5.9pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 41 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 17 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 7 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 6 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 14.9% | 25.9% | 26.6% | 32.7% |
| Math | 3.8% | 13.3% | 19.8% | 63.1% |
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 | 40.8% | 17.1% |
| 2023-24 | 47.4% | 11.6% |
| 2022-23 | 41.5% | 10.7% |
| 2021-22 | 35.4% | 13.8% |
| 2020-21 | 46.0% | 19.2% |
| 2018-19 | 48.0% | 14.4% |
| 2017-18 | 46.0% | 19.2% |
| 2016-17 | 55.6% | 18.3% |
| 2015-16 | 55.0% | 28.0% |
| 2014-15 | 48.0% | 23.0% |
% 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
29.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
29.7%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 29% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 30% 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 Golden Valley High
Golden Valley High's state test result (29.2% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Valley High this school | 1,917 | 85.1% | 29.2% |
| Van Nuys Senior High Van Nuys | 1,969 | 85.0% | 44.4% |
| Tennyson High Hayward | 1,511 | 83.9% | 15.3% |
| Modesto High Modesto | 2,292 | 83.7% | 29.1% |
| Fresno High Fresno | 1,867 | 88.5% | 25.0% |
| Arlington High Riverside | 1,920 | 80.9% | 35.9% |
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 Golden Valley High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Merced County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 29.2% | #825 of 1,052 | #8 of 13 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 17.1% | #768 of 1,056 ▲ 102 | #3 of 13 ▲ 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 40.8% | #885 of 1,056 ▼ 169 | #11 of 13 ▼ 5 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +4.3pp | #384 of 1,044 | #4 of 13 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,917 | #337 of 2,093 | #3 of 24 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.4:1 | #738 of 1,352 | #12 of 14 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 45.1% | #764 of 1,351 | #5 of 14 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 85.1% | #466 of 1,575 | #8 of 17 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +7.0% | #173 of 327 | #6 of 9 |
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
1,917
+15 (+1%) vs 2020
-13% since 2000-01, when it was 2,206
Student : Teacher
21.4:1
was 22.9:1
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 | 1,917 | 89.7 | 21.4:1 | 85% (1,632) |
| 2023-24 | 1,955 | 95.1 | 20.6:1 | 85% (1,654) |
| 2022-23 | 1,956 | 89.1 | 21.9:1 | 81% (1,578) |
| 2020-21 | 1,902 | 83 | 22.9:1 | 80% (1,525) |
| 2017-18 | 1,792 | 74.6 | 24.0:1 | 82% (1,473) |
| 2015-16 | 1,716 | 75 | 22.9:1 | 83% (1,419) |
| 2010-11 | 2,204 | N/A | N/A | 90% (1,974) |
| 2000-01 | 2,206 | 100 | 22.1:1 | 76% (1,685) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Golden Valley High.
Since 2017-18: students up 7% (1,792 to 1,917); teachers up 20% (74.6 to 89.7).
About Golden Valley High
Federal records list Golden Valley High as a high school in Merced, California. The school has 1,917 students in 2024-25 across grades 9 through 12. High schools in California have about 838 students on average; enrollment here is 129% higher.
Golden Valley High belongs to Merced Union High, a district of 9 schools and 11,061 students.
Of every 100 students at Golden Valley High, about 73 are Hispanic. The school is also 9% Asian, 9% White, 5% Black, and 3% multiracial. The Hispanic share of the county population is lower, at 63%. The diversity index for Golden Valley High is 45%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
Classroom staffing at Golden Valley High totals 89.7 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 21.4:1. Statewide, high schools in California average 18.2:1. Federal data show 85% of students (1,632) are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
Golden Valley High holds a C allk12 Grade, placing it above 32% of California public high schools.
A school with Golden Valley High's lunch-eligibility share in California is predicted to score 29.7%. Golden Valley High scores 29.2%, within a point of that line.
In the wider Merced County area, median household income comes to about $65,510, roughly 15% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 16%. Merced County counts 117 public schools with about 59,456 students.
The closest school to Golden Valley High is Charles Wright Elementary, located about 0.9 miles away. Golden Valley High is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Golden Valley High's average proficiency of 29.2% compares with 27.6% for its nearest scored neighbors.
NCES describes the area around Golden Valley High as City: Small, meaning inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Enrollment at Golden Valley High was 1,902 in 2020-21 and 1,917 in 2024-25, a change of less than 3%. The student-to-teacher ratio went down from 22.9:1 to 21.4:1.
Use the discussion section to ask about open houses, carpools, and field trips at Golden Valley High. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
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
- El Capitan HighHigh · 1,793 students
- Buhach Colony HighHigh · 1,704 students
- Livingston HighHigh · 1,169 students
- Yosemite High (Continuation)High · 342 students
Other schools in Merced
- Merced HighHigh · 1,943 students
- El Capitan HighHigh · 1,793 students
- Weaver MiddleMiddle · 1,073 students
- Pioneer ElementaryElementary · 1,055 students
- Merced County Special EducationCombined · 942 students
- Farmdale ElementaryElementary · 919 students
Other Golden Valley High schools
2 other US public schools in 1 state are named Golden Valley High. Golden Valley High is the 3rd largest of the 3.
- Golden Valley HighBakersfield, CA · 2,228 students
- Golden Valley HighSanta Clarita, CA · 1,980 students
Nearby schools
- Charles Wright Elementary0.9 mi · 527
- Weaver Middle1.0 mi · 1,073
- Pioneer Elementary1.0 mi · 1,055
- Ada Givens Elementary1.2 mi · 579
- Herbert Hoover Middle1.4 mi · 629
- Don Stowell Elementary1.4 mi · 501
Frequently asked questions
About Golden Valley HighHow large is Golden Valley High?
Golden Valley High enrolls approximately 1,917 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Golden Valley High serve?
Golden Valley High serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Golden Valley High?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Golden Valley High is approximately 21.4:1 (90 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Golden Valley High?
At Golden Valley High, the student body is approximately 9% White, 73% Hispanic, 5% Black, 9% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Golden Valley High?
Golden Valley High is overseen by Merced Union High in Merced County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.