1
What's the one class at Merced High every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,943
High
DISTRICT 1,229 · STATE 838
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MERCED UNION HIGH·NCES 062466003702
Merced High
205 West Olive Ave., Merced, CA 95348 · (209) 325-1000 · Merced County
GRADES 09–12HIGH13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,943 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
22.6:1
86 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.1:1 · STATE 18.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
79%
1,543 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 | 491 | 25% |
| Grade 10 | 521 | 27% |
| Grade 11 | 490 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 441 | 23% |
Student demographics
50%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
41.6%
CA avg 49.1% . -17.4pp since 2014
Math
14.5%
CA avg 37.7% . -16.5pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 42 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 17 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 16 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 13.9% | 27.7% | 23.9% | 34.5% |
| Math | 5.8% | 8.7% | 21.5% | 64.0% |
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 | 41.6% | 14.5% |
| 2023-24 | 42.9% | 11.4% |
| 2022-23 | 47.4% | 14.2% |
| 2021-22 | 42.6% | 13.0% |
| 2020-21 | 48.1% | 20.9% |
| 2018-19 | 45.9% | 19.0% |
| 2017-18 | 45.1% | 22.2% |
| 2016-17 | 45.2% | 25.4% |
| 2015-16 | 58.0% | 30.0% |
| 2014-15 | 59.0% | 31.0% |
% 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
27.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.0%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 28% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 33% 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 Merced High
Merced High's state test result (27.6% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merced High this school | 1,943 | 79.4% | 27.6% |
| Hillcrest High Riverside | 1,780 | 75.6% | 42.3% |
| Arlington High Riverside | 1,920 | 80.9% | 35.9% |
| Grace M. Davis High Modesto | 2,083 | 80.2% | 26.3% |
| Heritage High Menifee | 2,330 | 80.9% | 28.3% |
| Elsinore High Wildomar | 1,927 | 77.7% | 34.9% |
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 Merced High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Merced County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 27.6% | #869 of 1,052 | #10 of 13 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 14.5% | #849 of 1,056 ▲ 32 | #6 of 13 ▲ 4 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 41.6% | #869 of 1,056 ▼ 52 | #9 of 13 ▲ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +0.3pp | #639 of 1,044 | #7 of 13 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,943 | #320 of 2,093 | #2 of 24 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 22.6:1 | #944 of 1,352 | #14 of 14 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 50.4% | #669 of 1,351 | #3 of 14 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 79.4% | #628 of 1,575 | #12 of 17 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +12.4% | #95 of 327 | #1 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
1,943
+135 (+7%) vs 2020
-30% since 1990-91, when it was 2,782
Student : Teacher
22.6:1
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 | 1,943 | 86 | 22.6:1 | 79% (1,543) |
| 2023-24 | 1,951 | 84.9 | 23.0:1 | 77% (1,500) |
| 2022-23 | 1,894 | 84.9 | 22.3:1 | 76% (1,433) |
| 2020-21 | 1,808 | 79 | 22.9:1 | 76% (1,376) |
| 2017-18 | 1,729 | 74.6 | 23.2:1 | 77% (1,334) |
| 2015-16 | 1,706 | 80 | 21.3:1 | 75% (1,278) |
| 2010-11 | 2,649 | N/A | N/A | 77% (2,046) |
| 2000-01 | 2,737 | 119 | 23.0:1 | 77% (2,118) |
| 1990-91 | 2,782 | 123 | 22.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Merced High.
Since 2017-18: students up 12% (1,729 to 1,943); teachers up 15% (74.6 to 86).
About Merced High
Located in Merced, California, Merced High is a large high school. Federal data show 1,943 students enrolled in grades 9 through 12 in 2024-25. Across high schools in California, the average enrollment is about 838.
Merced Union High counts 9 schools and 11,061 students, including Merced High.
More than half of enrollment at Merced High is Hispanic: 68%. The remaining shares are 13% White, 7% Asian, 6% Black, and 4% multiracial. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Merced High scores 50%.
There are about 22.6 students for every full-time-equivalent teacher at Merced High, which has 86. High schools in California have an average ratio of 18.2:1. Eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch stands at 79%. That is in line with the 81% average for public schools in Merced County.
Merced High's average proficiency rate across its state test results of 27.6% is 5.4 points below the 33.0% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
Looking at the county, Merced County, the median household earns about $65,510 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 15%, and roughly 16% of residents are in poverty. Merced County has 117 public schools with about 59,456 students, including Merced High.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, Luther Burbank Elementary, is about 0.7 miles. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Among the 8 closest schools with test data, this one included, Merced High ranks 3rd on average proficiency.
Locale: City: Small. In NCES terms, the school is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Federal enrollment counts increased from 1,808 (2020-21) to 1,943 (2024-25).
Use the discussion section to ask about special education services, counseling, and support programs at Merced High. You can also rate the school on this page.
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
- Golden Valley HighHigh · 1,917 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
- Golden Valley HighHigh · 1,917 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
Nearby schools
- Luther Burbank Elementary0.7 mi · 716
- Rudolph Rivera Elementary0.7 mi · 917
- Rudolph Rivera Middle0.7 mi · 608
- Come Back Charter0.8 mi · 128
- John Muir Elementary0.8 mi · 613
- Allan Peterson Elementary0.9 mi · 690
Frequently asked questions
About Merced HighHow large is Merced High?
Merced High enrolls approximately 1,943 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Merced High serve?
Merced High serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at Merced High?
Approximately 22.6:1 students per teacher at Merced High.
What is the student diversity at Merced High?
Student demographics at Merced High are roughly 13% White, 68% Hispanic, 6% Black, 7% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Merced High in?
Merced High is part of Merced Union High.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.