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What clubs or activities at Terra Nova High are worth joining?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
740
High
DISTRICT 730 · STATE 838
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·JEFFERSON UNION HIGH·NCES 061893002296
Terra Nova High
1450 Terra Nova Blvd., Pacifica, CA 94044 · (650) 550-7600 · San Mateo County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL740 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
20.0:1
37 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.6:1 · STATE 18.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
15%
110 students
DISTRICT 34% · 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 | 234 | 32% |
| Grade 10 | 161 | 22% |
| Grade 11 | 167 | 23% |
| Grade 12 | 178 | 24% |
Student demographics
70%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 69% · 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
64.0%
CA avg 49.1% . -0.0pp since 2014
Math
41.4%
CA avg 37.7% . -4.6pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 64 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 41 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2014, while math scores are down about 5 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 28.6% | 35.4% | 25.9% | 10.2% |
| Math | 13.8% | 27.6% | 22.1% | 36.5% |
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 | 64.0% | 41.4% |
| 2023-24 | 54.1% | 40.9% |
| 2022-23 | 59.0% | 34.6% |
| 2021-22 | 71.3% | 38.8% |
| 2020-21 | 80.6% | 78.8% |
| 2018-19 | 56.3% | 36.7% |
| 2017-18 | 58.7% | 42.0% |
| 2016-17 | 67.1% | 38.4% |
| 2015-16 | 68.0% | 44.0% |
| 2014-15 | 64.0% | 46.0% |
% 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
50.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
70.8%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-20.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 50% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 71% 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 Terra Nova High
Terra Nova High's state test result (50.1% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terra Nova High this school | 740 | 14.9% | 50.1% |
| New West Charter Los Angeles | 980 | 18.5% | N/A |
| El Segundo High El Segundo | 1,232 | 12.7% | 72.5% |
| Coronado High Coronado | 999 | 14.6% | 64.0% |
| Pacific Grove High Pacific Grove | 552 | 18.7% | 74.2% |
| Desert Junior-Senior High Edwards | 497 | 13.3% | 29.3% |
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 Terra Nova High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In California | In San Mateo County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 50.1% | #318 of 1,052 | #11 of 17 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 41.4% | #252 of 1,056 ▼ 9 | #8 of 17 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 64.0% | #381 of 1,056 ▲ 183 | #9 of 17 ▲ 4 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -2.4pp | #236 of 1,044 | #10 of 17 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 740 | #865 of 2,093 | #16 of 35 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.0:1 | #550 of 1,352 | #19 of 23 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 70.2% | #112 of 1,351 | #6 of 23 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 14.9% | #1,524 of 1,575 | #25 of 28 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -19.0% | #190 of 802 | #4 of 14 |
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
740
-6 (-1%) vs 2020
-5% since 1990-91, when it was 775
Student : Teacher
20.0:1
was 21.3:1
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 | 740 | 37 | 20.0:1 | 15% (110) |
| 2023-24 | 697 | 38.7 | 18.0:1 | 18% (125) |
| 2022-23 | 739 | 39.1 | 18.9:1 | 20% (149) |
| 2020-21 | 746 | 35 | 21.3:1 | 20% (152) |
| 2017-18 | 914 | 38.7 | 23.6:1 | 22% (201) |
| 2015-16 | 1,012 | 46 | 22.0:1 | 19% (196) |
| 2010-11 | 1,249 | N/A | N/A | 24% (295) |
| 2000-01 | 1,504 | 63 | 23.9:1 | 10% (145) |
| 1990-91 | 775 | 37 | 20.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Terra Nova High.
Since 2017-18: students down 19% (914 to 740); teachers down 4% (38.7 to 37).
About Terra Nova High
Terra Nova High, a mid-sized high school, is located in Pacifica, California. The school runs grades 9 through 12 and enrolls 740 students.
The district, Jefferson Union High, has 3,650 students enrolled across 5 schools.
White students account for 42% of enrollment at Terra Nova High, more than any other group. Other groups include 29% Hispanic, 15% multiracial, and 12% Asian. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Terra Nova High scores 70%.
Terra Nova High has 37 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of about 20.0:1. By comparison, the average for high schools in California is 18.2:1. A common income measure, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, is 15% at Terra Nova High. That rate is below the 34% average among public schools in San Mateo County.
Terra Nova High is 20.7 points below expectations on state tests, given its student poverty level, placing it in the bottom 10% in California.
In San Mateo County, the median household earns about $158,855 a year, about 54% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 4%. Across San Mateo County, 176 public schools serve about 82,403 students.
Measured in a straight line, Pacifica Independent Home Study is about 0.5 miles from Terra Nova High. The five-mile area around Terra Nova High holds at least 8 other public schools. Terra Nova High comes in 7th of 7 nearby schools on average proficiency.
NCES describes the area around Terra Nova High as Suburb: Large, meaning in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
The student count changed little between 2020-21 (746) and 2024-25 (740). The student-to-teacher ratio went down from 21.3:1 to 20.0:1.
You can use this page to share news and ask questions about open houses, carpools, and field trips. You can also rate the school on this page.
San Mateo County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
742,340
Census ACS
Median income
$158,855
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
54%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
176
82,403 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Jefferson Union High
- Westmoor HighHigh · 1,278 students
- Jefferson HighHigh · 1,072 students
- Oceana HighHigh · 471 students
- Thornton HighHigh · 89 students
Other schools in Pacifica
- Cabrillo ElementaryElementary · 524 students
- Vallemar ElementaryElementary · 500 students
- Ingrid B. Lacy MiddleMiddle · 484 students
- Oceana HighHigh · 471 students
- Ortega ElementaryElementary · 404 students
- Ocean Shore ElementaryElementary · 368 students
Nearby schools
- Pacifica Independent Home Study0.5 mi · 12
- Ortega Elementary0.5 mi · 404
- Cabrillo Elementary1.2 mi · 524
- Vallemar Elementary1.4 mi · 500
- Portola Elementary2.4 mi · 378
- John Muir Elementary2.5 mi · 486
Frequently asked questions
About Terra Nova HighHow many students attend Terra Nova High?
Terra Nova High enrolls approximately 740 students in grades 09-12.
Is Terra Nova High an elementary, middle, or high school?
Terra Nova High is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Terra Nova High have?
Terra Nova High employs 37 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 20.0:1.
What is the student diversity at Terra Nova High?
Student demographics at Terra Nova High are roughly 42% White, 29% Hispanic, 1% Black, 12% Asian, 15% Two or more.
Who oversees Terra Nova High?
Terra Nova High is overseen by Jefferson Union High in San Mateo County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.