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What do you wish you knew before starting at Ponderosa High?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,675
High
DISTRICT 1,068 · STATE 838
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·EL DORADO UNION HIGH·NCES 061207001344
Ponderosa High
3661 Ponderosa Rd., Shingle Springs, CA 95682 · (530) 677-2281 · El Dorado County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL1,675 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 67% of California public high schools
- A-Test 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.
- AThree-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
23.1:1
73 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 22.0:1 · STATE 18.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
18%
298 students
DISTRICT 31% · 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 | 425 | 25% |
| Grade 10 | 440 | 26% |
| Grade 11 | 382 | 23% |
| Grade 12 | 428 | 26% |
Student demographics
49%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 53% · 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
70.9%
CA avg 49.1% . -3.1pp since 2014
Math
49.4%
CA avg 37.7% . -9.6pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 71 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 49 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 3 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 10 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 39.0% | 32.0% | 14.5% | 14.5% |
| Math | 20.8% | 28.6% | 21.9% | 28.6% |
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 | 70.9% | 49.4% |
| 2023-24 | 72.5% | 48.2% |
| 2022-23 | 76.0% | 42.3% |
| 2021-22 | 53.9% | 41.2% |
| 2020-21 | 82.3% | 66.0% |
| 2018-19 | 69.9% | 59.0% |
| 2017-18 | 72.9% | 58.1% |
| 2016-17 | 81.2% | 62.7% |
| 2015-16 | 80.0% | 61.0% |
| 2014-15 | 74.0% | 59.0% |
% 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
60.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
69.1%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-8.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 60% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 69% 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 Ponderosa High
Ponderosa High's state test result (60.3% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ponderosa High this school | 1,675 | 17.8% | 60.3% |
| La Costa Canyon High Carlsbad | 1,774 | 18.3% | 58.5% |
| Classical Academy High Escondido | 1,336 | 22.0% | N/A |
| Del Oro High Loomis | 1,634 | 12.9% | 66.4% |
| Tamalpais High Mill Valley | 1,470 | 11.8% | 64.3% |
| San Dieguito HS Academy Encinitas | 1,843 | 24.9% | 61.3% |
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 Ponderosa High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In California | In El Dorado County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 60.3% | #174 of 1,052 | #2 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 49.4% | #178 of 1,056 ▼ 14 | #2 of 6 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 70.9% | #226 of 1,056 ▼ 34 | #2 of 6 ▼ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +12.6pp | #71 of 1,044 | #1 of 6 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,675 | #463 of 2,093 | #2 of 9 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 23.1:1 | #1,003 of 1,352 | #5 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 49.3% | #696 of 1,351 | #5 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 17.8% | #1,502 of 1,575 | #6 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -8.3% | #518 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
1,675
-160 (-9%) vs 2020
+27% since 1990-91, when it was 1,319
Student : Teacher
23.1:1
was 24.8:1
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 | 1,675 | 72.6 | 23.1:1 | 18% (298) |
| 2023-24 | 1,689 | 72 | 23.5:1 | 18% (300) |
| 2022-23 | 1,648 | 72.3 | 22.8:1 | 16% (265) |
| 2020-21 | 1,835 | 74 | 24.8:1 | 19% (356) |
| 2017-18 | 1,827 | 73.5 | 24.9:1 | 21% (379) |
| 2015-16 | 1,778 | 72 | 24.7:1 | 14% (254) |
| 2010-11 | 1,894 | N/A | N/A | 12% (232) |
| 2000-01 | 1,776 | 82 | 21.7:1 | 4% (75) |
| 1990-91 | 1,319 | 58 | 22.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Ponderosa High.
Since 2017-18: students down 8% (1,827 to 1,675); teachers down 1% (73.5 to 72.6).
About Ponderosa High
Ponderosa High is a large high school based in Shingle Springs, California. Its 1,675 students are spread across grades 9 through 12. The school's enrollment is 100% bigger than the 838 average for high schools in California.
The El Dorado Union High system has 6 schools and 6,410 students.
White students make up a majority at Ponderosa High, at 68%. The next largest groups are 20% Hispanic, 5% Asian, and 4% multiracial. In El Dorado County overall, about 78% of residents are White. Pick two students at random and there is a 49% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Teacher staffing is 72.6 full-time equivalents, or about 23.1 students per teacher. On average, high schools in California have 18.2:1, compared with 23.1:1 here. About 18% of students, or 298, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. That is 14 points below the 32% average for public schools in El Dorado County.
The allk12 Grade for Ponderosa High is B+. Compared with California public high schools, the school scored higher than 67% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Ponderosa High posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 60.3%, compared with a predicted 69.1%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of California schools on BeatsExpectations.
County data help place the school in context: in El Dorado County, the median household income is $108,845, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 40% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 5%. El Dorado County is home to 69 public schools and about 34,706 public school students.
The closest other public school is Buckeye Elementary, about 1.5 miles away. Within five miles are 7 other public schools. In a group of 8 nearby schools with scores, Ponderosa High ranks 2nd on average proficiency.
The school's federal locale classification is Suburb: Large.
Over 4 years, Ponderosa High's enrollment declined 9%, to 1,675. Students per teacher fell from 24.8 in 2020-21 to 23.1 in 2024-25.
If you have questions about school safety, transportation, and start times at Ponderosa High, you can post them here. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
El Dorado County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
192,662
Census ACS
Median income
$108,845
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
40%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
69
34,706 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in El Dorado Union High
- Oak Ridge HighHigh · 2,346 students
- El Dorado HighHigh · 1,135 students
- Union Mine HighHigh · 1,033 students
- Pacific Crest AcademyHigh · 117 students
- Independence ContinuationHigh · 104 students
Other schools in Shingle Springs
- California Montessori Project-Shingle Springs CampusElementary · 543 students
- Buckeye ElementaryElementary · 320 students
- Miller's HillMiddle · 77 students
- Latrobe ElementaryElementary · 55 students
Other Ponderosa High schools
2 other US public schools in 3 states are named Ponderosa High. Ponderosa High is the largest of the 3.
- Ponderosa High SchoolPARKER, CO · 1,406 students
- Ponderosa High SchoolFlagstaff, AZ · 85 students
Nearby schools
- Buckeye Elementary1.5 mi · 320
- California Montessori Project-Shingle Springs Campus1.7 mi · 543
- Rescue Elementary2.6 mi · 519
- Camerado Springs Middle3.6 mi · 536
- Blue Oak Elementary3.7 mi · 445
- Green Valley Elementary4.0 mi · 334
Frequently asked questions
About Ponderosa HighHow large is Ponderosa High?
Ponderosa High enrolls approximately 1,675 students in grades 09-12.
Is Ponderosa High an elementary, middle, or high school?
Ponderosa High is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Ponderosa High have?
Ponderosa High employs 73 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 23.1:1.
What is the student diversity at Ponderosa High?
Student demographics at Ponderosa High are roughly 68% White, 20% Hispanic, 1% Black, 5% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Ponderosa High public or private?
Ponderosa High is a public K-12 school, overseen by El Dorado Union High.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.