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Alumni: what's one memory from Valhalla High that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,728
High
DISTRICT 1,093 · STATE 838
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·GROSSMONT UNION HIGH·NCES 061623002028
Valhalla High
1725 Hillsdale Rd., El Cajon, CA 92019 · (619) 593-5300 · San Diego County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,728 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
23.5:1
74 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.3:1 · STATE 18.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
69%
1,200 students
DISTRICT 63% · STATE 65%
Community
5
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 | 413 | 24% |
| Grade 10 | 426 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 425 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 464 | 27% |
Student demographics
51%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 65% · 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
66.1%
CA avg 49.1% . +3.1pp since 2014
Math
34.5%
CA avg 37.7% . -2.5pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 66 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 35 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 3 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 2 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 38.4% | 27.6% | 16.1% | 17.8% |
| Math | 15.2% | 19.3% | 19.3% | 46.1% |
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 | 66.1% | 34.5% |
| 2023-24 | 67.5% | 31.2% |
| 2022-23 | 71.6% | 32.4% |
| 2021-22 | 72.2% | 40.3% |
| 2020-21 | 75.4% | 44.6% |
| 2018-19 | 72.9% | 44.2% |
| 2017-18 | 71.0% | 41.1% |
| 2016-17 | 73.8% | 48.1% |
| 2015-16 | 69.0% | 45.0% |
| 2014-15 | 63.0% | 37.0% |
% 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
49.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
38.9%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+11.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 50% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 39% 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 →
Where Valhalla High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In California | In San Diego County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 49.8% | #327 of 1,052 | #31 of 70 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 34.5% | #351 of 1,056 | #29 of 70 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 66.1% | #334 of 1,056 | #30 of 70 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -5.9pp | #102 of 1,044 | #7 of 70 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,728 | #424 of 2,093 | #38 of 135 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 23.5:1 | #1,048 of 1,352 | #60 of 96 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 51.3% | #646 of 1,351 | #63 of 97 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -18.7% | #194 of 802 | #12 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.
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
1,728
-397 (-19%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
23.5:1
was 28.1:1
% White
66%
was 57%
% Hispanic
21%
was 26%
% Black
2%
was 4%
% Asian
7%
was 4%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free or reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 1,728 | 73.6 | 23.5:1 | 69% (1,200) |
| 2023-24 | 1,845 | 10.6 | 174.9:1 | 67% (1,229) |
| 2022-23 | 1,911 | 78.4 | 24.4:1 | 65% (1,244) |
| 2017-18 | 2,125 | 75.7 | 28.1:1 | 51% (1,075) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Valhalla High.
About Valhalla High
Students in El Cajon, California, attend Valhalla High, a large high school. Its 1,728 students are spread across grades 9 through 12. The typical figure for high schools in California is about 838 students.
Grossmont Union High oversees Valhalla High and 14 other schools, with 16,401 students in total.
White students make up a majority at Valhalla High, at 66%. Next come 21% Hispanic, 7% Asian, and 4% multiracial. That compares with about 48% White among all San Diego County residents. The school's diversity index is 51%, meaning two students picked at random have a 51% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The ratio of students to teachers is 23.5:1, with 73.6 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff. That is 5.3 students per teacher above the 18.2:1 average for high schools in California. The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 69%. The gap from the 54% average for public schools in San Diego County is 15 points.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Valhalla High falls in the middle 80% of California schools: 49.8% actual against 38.9% predicted.
Federal survey data for San Diego County show that the median household income is $106,268, about 43% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 7%. San Diego County is home to 766 public schools and about 467,437 public school students.
Vista Grande Elementary is the public school closest to Valhalla High, about 0.4 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. On average proficiency, Valhalla High is 4th of 8 nearby schools with test data.
Locale data from NCES put Valhalla High in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more (Suburb: Large).
Enrollment is down 19% from 2017-18, when Valhalla High had 2,125 students, to 2024-25, when it had 1,728. In 2017-18, 57% of students were White; in 2024-25, 66% were. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio fell to 23.5:1, from 28.1:1.
To ask about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs, start a discussion on this page. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
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 Grossmont Union High
- Granite Hills HighHigh · 2,331 students
- Grossmont HighHigh · 2,172 students
- El Capitan HighHigh · 1,810 students
- El Cajon Valley HighHigh · 1,701 students
- West Hills HighHigh · 1,624 students
- Santana HighHigh · 1,621 students
Other schools in El Cajon
- Granite Hills HighHigh · 2,331 students
- Literacy First CharterCombined · 2,160 students
- El Cajon Valley HighHigh · 1,701 students
- Hillsdale MiddleMiddle · 1,481 students
- Bostonia GlobalCombined · 1,266 students
- Naranca ElementaryElementary · 985 students
Nearby schools
- Vista Grande Elementary0.4 mi · 633
- Rancho San Diego Elementary0.9 mi · 533
- Hillsdale Middle1.0 mi · 1,481
- Fuerte Elementary1.5 mi · 686
- Cajon Valley Home1.6 mi · 117
- Jamacha Elementary1.6 mi · 415
Frequently asked questions
About Valhalla HighHow large is Valhalla High?
Valhalla High enrolls approximately 1,728 students in grades 09-12.
Is Valhalla High an elementary, middle, or high school?
Valhalla High is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many students per teacher at Valhalla High?
Approximately 23.5:1 students per teacher at Valhalla High.
What is the student diversity at Valhalla High?
Student demographics at Valhalla High are roughly 66% White, 21% Hispanic, 2% Black, 7% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Valhalla High in?
Valhalla High is part of Grossmont Union High.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.