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What's the most underrated thing about Southwest Senior High that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,563
High
DISTRICT 1,402 · STATE 838
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SWEETWATER UNION HIGH·NCES 063864006492
Southwest Senior High
1685 Hollister St., San Diego, CA 92154 · (619) 628-3023 · San Diego County
GRADES 09–12HIGH11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,563 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 37% 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.
- BBeats 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
21.7:1
72 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 19.0:1 · STATE 18.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
84%
1,319 students
DISTRICT 61% · 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 | 387 | 25% |
| Grade 10 | 391 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 381 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 404 | 26% |
Student demographics
23%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 47% · 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
42.0%
CA avg 49.1% . +9.0pp since 2014
Math
23.6%
CA avg 37.7% . +13.6pp 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 24 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 9 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 14 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 12.8% | 29.1% | 27.0% | 31.0% |
| Math | 6.3% | 17.3% | 20.0% | 56.4% |
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 | 42.0% | 23.6% |
| 2023-24 | 48.3% | 12.4% |
| 2022-23 | 38.0% | 8.5% |
| 2021-22 | 47.3% | 13.4% |
| 2020-21 | 56.2% | 28.0% |
| 2018-19 | 44.5% | 19.1% |
| 2017-18 | 38.9% | 12.0% |
| 2016-17 | 36.3% | 16.1% |
| 2015-16 | 43.0% | 14.0% |
| 2014-15 | 33.0% | 10.0% |
% 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
31.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
30.1%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 32% 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 Southwest Senior High
Southwest Senior High's state test result (31.6% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Senior High this school | 1,563 | 84.4% | 31.6% |
| Vista High Vista | 1,746 | 84.7% | 27.5% |
| Rancho San Juan High Salinas | 1,600 | 84.1% | 35.5% |
| Whittier High Whittier | 1,652 | 85.5% | 53.0% |
| Castle Park Senior High Chula Vista | 1,363 | 82.3% | 33.0% |
| Jurupa Valley High Jurupa Valley | 1,693 | 81.6% | 28.9% |
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 Southwest Senior High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In California | In San Diego County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 31.6% | #753 of 1,052 | #56 of 70 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 23.6% | #573 of 1,056 ▲ 274 | #44 of 70 ▲ 18 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 42.0% | #861 of 1,056 ▼ 167 | #62 of 70 ▼ 12 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +2.4pp | #504 of 1,044 | #38 of 70 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,563 | #538 of 2,093 | #48 of 135 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.7:1 | #804 of 1,352 | #38 of 96 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 22.5% | #1,065 of 1,351 | #91 of 97 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 84.4% | #484 of 1,575 | #20 of 112 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -17.7% | #227 of 802 | #14 of 57 |
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
1,563
-27 (-2%) vs 2020
-28% since 1990-91, when it was 2,170
Student : Teacher
21.7:1
was 21.8:1
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 | 1,563 | 72 | 21.7:1 | 84% (1,319) |
| 2023-24 | 1,586 | 71.1 | 22.3:1 | 86% (1,368) |
| 2022-23 | 1,645 | 74.8 | 22.0:1 | 88% (1,451) |
| 2020-21 | 1,590 | 73 | 21.8:1 | 76% (1,206) |
| 2017-18 | 1,898 | 81.1 | 23.4:1 | 78% (1,471) |
| 2015-16 | 1,814 | 70 | 25.9:1 | 76% (1,375) |
| 2010-11 | 1,718 | N/A | N/A | 76% (1,306) |
| 2000-01 | 2,472 | 99 | 25.0:1 | 64% (1,587) |
| 1990-91 | 2,170 | 79 | 27.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southwest Senior High.
Since 2017-18: students down 18% (1,898 to 1,563); teachers down 11% (81.1 to 72).
About Southwest Senior High
Southwest Senior High, a high-enrollment high school, is located in San Diego, California. The school covers grades 9 through 12 and reported 1,563 students in 2024-25. That puts enrollment 87% bigger than the 838-student average for high schools in California.
A total of 28 schools make up Sweetwater Union High, with 33,517 students enrolled.
By race and ethnicity, Southwest Senior High is 88% Hispanic. Other groups make up 7% White and 2% Asian. San Diego County as a whole is about 35% Hispanic, so the school's share is higher. A diversity index of 23% means there is a 23% chance two randomly chosen students at Southwest Senior High are from different groups.
The student-to-teacher ratio at Southwest Senior High is 21.7:1, based on 72 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average for high schools in California, 18.2:1, is lower. Southwest Senior High counts 84% of students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. It compares with 54% for public schools in San Diego County.
Southwest Senior High holds a C+ allk12 Grade, placing it above 37% of California public high schools.
On BeatsExpectations, Southwest Senior High is 1.5 points above its prediction, a result in the middle 80% of California schools.
The school's county is San Diego County. According to Census Bureau estimates, the median household earns about $106,268 a year, roughly 43% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Public schools in San Diego County number 766, with about 467,437 students.
A public school about 0.2 miles away, Nestor Language Academy Charter, is the closest to Southwest Senior High. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Southwest Senior High. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Southwest Senior High is 3rd of 8 on proficiency.
For locale, NCES codes Southwest Senior High as City: Large.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, enrollment moved from 1,590 to 1,563, a small change.
People who know Southwest Senior High can post here about open houses, carpools, and field trips. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
San Diego County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
3,288,774
Census ACS
Median income
$106,268
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
43%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
766
467,437 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Sweetwater Union High
- Eastlake HighHigh · 2,557 students
- Otay Ranch Senior HighHigh · 2,440 students
- Sweetwater HighHigh · 2,290 students
- Olympian HighHigh · 2,289 students
- Bonita Vista Senior HighHigh · 1,960 students
- San Ysidro HighHigh · 1,941 students
Other schools in San Diego
- Del Norte HighHigh · 2,557 students
- Torrey Pines HighHigh · 2,536 students
- Henry HighHigh · 2,485 students
- Rancho Bernardo HighHigh · 2,210 students
- Mira Mesa HighHigh · 2,187 students
- Canyon Crest AcademyHigh · 2,147 students
Nearby schools
- Nestor Language Academy Charter0.2 mi · 1,079
- Godfrey G. Berry Elementary0.5 mi · 273
- Launch Virtual Academy0.5 mi · 578
- Southwest Middle0.6 mi · 515
- Emory Elementary0.8 mi · 399
- Teofilo Mendoza0.8 mi · 468
Frequently asked questions
About Southwest Senior HighHow large is Southwest Senior High?
Southwest Senior High enrolls approximately 1,563 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Southwest Senior High serve?
Southwest Senior High serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at Southwest Senior High?
Approximately 21.7:1 students per teacher at Southwest Senior High.
What is the student diversity at Southwest Senior High?
Student demographics at Southwest Senior High are roughly 7% White, 88% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Who oversees Southwest Senior High?
Southwest Senior High is overseen by Sweetwater Union High in San Diego County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.