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What's one thing University High gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
2,307
High
DISTRICT 1,662 · STATE 838
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·IRVINE UNIFIED·NCES 068450007067
University High
4771 Campus Dr., Irvine, CA 92612 · (949) 936-7600 · Orange County
GRADES 09–12HIGH11-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL2,307 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 67% of California public high schools
- ATest 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.
- FThree-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
26.1:1
88 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.9:1 · STATE 18.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
23%
531 students
DISTRICT 22% · 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 | 585 | 25% |
| Grade 10 | 583 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 567 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 572 | 25% |
Student demographics
68%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · 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
62.5%
CA avg 49.1% . -11.5pp since 2014
Math
62.7%
CA avg 37.7% . -5.3pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 63 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 63 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 12 points 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 | 37.9% | 24.6% | 14.3% | 23.2% |
| Math | 40.2% | 22.5% | 16.0% | 21.3% |
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 | 62.5% | 62.7% |
| 2023-24 | 71.3% | 67.4% |
| 2022-23 | 74.9% | 73.0% |
| 2021-22 | 75.5% | 70.2% |
| 2020-21 | 84.5% | 85.6% |
| 2018-19 | 77.9% | 75.1% |
| 2017-18 | 76.4% | 74.4% |
| 2016-17 | 82.8% | 74.0% |
| 2015-16 | 79.0% | 74.0% |
| 2014-15 | 74.0% | 68.0% |
% 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
66.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
66.0%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 66% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 66% 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 University High
University High's state test result (66.0% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| University High this school | 2,307 | 23.0% | 66.0% |
| Woodbridge High Irvine | 2,232 | 24.5% | 64.0% |
| South High Torrance | 1,734 | 22.4% | 69.1% |
| Scripps Ranch High San Diego | 1,890 | 19.8% | 77.8% |
| Homestead High Cupertino | 2,224 | 15.9% | 73.1% |
| OCSA Santa Ana | 2,346 | 15.8% | N/A |
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 University High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Orange County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 66.0% | #112 of 1,052 | #14 of 68 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 62.7% | #71 of 1,056 ▼ 30 | #9 of 69 ▼ 4 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 62.5% | #412 of 1,056 ▼ 197 | #47 of 69 ▼ 20 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -10.3pp | #38 of 1,044 | #3 of 68 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 2,307 | #159 of 2,093 | #20 of 105 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 26.1:1 | #1,284 of 1,352 | #79 of 85 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 68.1% | #175 of 1,351 | #14 of 85 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 23.0% | #1,459 of 1,575 | #87 of 95 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -7.4% | #545 of 802 | #57 of 71 |
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.
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
2,307
-185 (-7%) vs 2017
+14% since 1990-91, when it was 2,026
Student : Teacher
26.1:1
was 26.2:1
% White
32%
was 35%
% Hispanic
12%
was 9%
% Black
3%
was 2%
% Asian
44%
was 48%
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 | 2,307 | 88.2 | 26.1:1 | 23% (531) |
| 2023-24 | 2,226 | 83.3 | 26.7:1 | 22% (489) |
| 2022-23 | 2,164 | 81.5 | 26.6:1 | 21% (454) |
| 2017-18 | 2,492 | 95.2 | 26.2:1 | 21% (528) |
| 2010-11 | 2,402 | N/A | N/A | 12% (290) |
| 2000-01 | 2,223 | 89 | 25.0:1 | 6% (131) |
| 1990-91 | 2,026 | 81 | 25.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for University High.
Since 2017-18: students down 7% (2,492 to 2,307); teachers down 7% (95.2 to 88.2).
About University High
University High is a large high school in Irvine Unified, located in Irvine, California. It enrolled 2,307 students in grades 9 through 12 for the 2024-25 school year. Statewide, high schools in California average about 838 students each.
Irvine Unified has 44 schools; together they serve 37,948 students.
Enrollment at University High is mixed, with Asian students the largest group at 44%. The rest of enrollment is 32% White, 12% Hispanic, 9% multiracial, and 3% Black. Census estimates put the Asian share of Orange County's population at about 22%. University High has a diversity index of 68%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Teacher staffing is 88.2 full-time equivalents, or about 26.1 students per teacher. Among high schools in California, the typical ratio is 18.2:1. About 23% of students, or 531, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Orange County is 55%.
The allk12 Grade for University 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.
University High is within a point of its predicted average proficiency rate on state tests (66.0% versus 66.0%), which places it in neither the top nor the bottom 10% in California.
Across Orange County, median household income is about $116,289, about 44% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 7%. University High is among the 649 public schools in Orange County.
The nearest public school is Turtle Rock Elementary, at about 0.4 miles. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. On state test proficiency, University High ranks 7th in a group of 9 nearby schools.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as City: Large, meaning it is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
The number of students declined from 2,492 to 2,307 over 7 years.
Conversations here can range across sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Orange County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
3,165,820
Census ACS
Median income
$116,289
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
44%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
649
430,458 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Irvine Unified
- Portola HighHigh · 2,693 students
- Northwood HighHigh · 2,244 students
- Woodbridge HighHigh · 2,232 students
- Irvine HighHigh · 1,964 students
- Sierra Vista MiddleMiddle · 1,282 students
- Woodbury ElementaryElementary · 1,095 students
Other schools in Irvine
- Arnold O. Beckman HighHigh · 2,776 students
- Portola HighHigh · 2,693 students
- Northwood HighHigh · 2,244 students
- Woodbridge HighHigh · 2,232 students
- Irvine HighHigh · 1,964 students
- Orchard HillsElementary · 1,373 students
Other University High schools
14 other US public schools in 11 states are named University High. University High is the 3rd largest of the 15.
- University HighFresno, CA · 498 students
- UNIVERSITY HIGH SCHOOLORANGE CITY, FL · 2,855 students
- UNIVERSITY HIGHORLANDO, FL · 2,514 students
- University High SchoolWACO, TX · 1,752 students
- University High SchoolSpokane Valley, WA · 1,410 students
Nearby schools
- Turtle Rock Elementary0.4 mi · 881
- University Park Elementary0.7 mi · 509
- Rancho San Joaquin Middle1.2 mi · 860
- Bonita Canyon Elementary1.4 mi · 395
- South Lake Middle1.4 mi · 652
- Vista Verde1.5 mi · 837
Frequently asked questions
About University HighHow large is University High?
University High enrolls approximately 2,307 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does University High serve?
University High serves grades 09-12.
How many students per teacher at University High?
Approximately 26.1:1 students per teacher at University High.
How diverse is University High?
University High reports a student body of 32% White, 12% Hispanic, 3% Black, 44% Asian, 9% Two or more.
Who oversees University High?
University High is overseen by Irvine Unified in Orange County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.