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What's one thing Vista High gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,746
High
DISTRICT 951 · STATE 838
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·VISTA UNIFIED·NCES 064119006824
Vista High
1 Panther Way, Vista, CA 92084 · (760) 726-5611 · San Diego County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,746 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 15% of California public high schools
- C-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.
- DThree-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
16.6:1
105 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.0:1 · STATE 18.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
85%
1,478 students
DISTRICT 70% · 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 | 402 | 23% |
| Grade 10 | 463 | 27% |
| Grade 11 | 434 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 447 | 26% |
Student demographics
26%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 50% · 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
41.0%
CA avg 49.1% . -15.0pp since 2014
Math
12.4%
CA avg 37.7% . -12.6pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 41 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 12 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 15 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 13 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 11.8% | 29.2% | 24.1% | 34.9% |
| Math | 1.5% | 11.0% | 23.7% | 63.9% |
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 | 41.0% | 12.4% |
| 2023-24 | 39.9% | 16.5% |
| 2022-23 | 55.6% | 21.8% |
| 2021-22 | 50.0% | 12.8% |
| 2020-21 | 46.8% | 17.5% |
| 2018-19 | 56.9% | 17.3% |
| 2017-18 | 51.0% | 19.6% |
| 2016-17 | 61.6% | 17.8% |
| 2015-16 | 50.0% | 21.0% |
| 2014-15 | 56.0% | 25.0% |
% 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
27.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
29.9%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 27% 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 Vista High
Vista High's state test result (27.5% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vista High this school | 1,746 | 84.7% | 27.5% |
| Southwest Senior High San Diego | 1,563 | 84.4% | 31.6% |
| Madera High Madera | 1,869 | 81.8% | 36.1% |
| Rancho San Juan High Salinas | 1,600 | 84.1% | 35.5% |
| Orange High Orange | 1,728 | 86.9% | 23.4% |
| Whittier High Whittier | 1,652 | 85.5% | 53.0% |
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 Vista High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In California | In San Diego County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 27.5% | #874 of 1,052 | #66 of 70 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 12.4% | #907 of 1,056 ▼ 194 | #68 of 70 ▼ 13 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 41.0% | #881 of 1,056 ▼ 12 | #63 of 70 ▲ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -4.7pp | #142 of 1,044 | #10 of 70 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,746 | #416 of 2,093 | #37 of 135 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.6:1 | #189 of 1,352 | #9 of 96 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 25.7% | #1,032 of 1,351 | #88 of 97 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 84.7% | #476 of 1,575 | #19 of 112 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -30.6% | #63 of 802 | #1 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
1,746
-569 (-25%) vs 2020
-14% since 1990-91, when it was 2,025
Student : Teacher
16.6:1
was 20.7:1
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 | 1,746 | 105.2 | 16.6:1 | 85% (1,478) |
| 2023-24 | 1,896 | 100.4 | 18.9:1 | 73% (1,382) |
| 2022-23 | 2,030 | 105.1 | 19.3:1 | 72% (1,462) |
| 2020-21 | 2,315 | 112 | 20.7:1 | 74% (1,721) |
| 2017-18 | 2,515 | 128.7 | 19.5:1 | 68% (1,709) |
| 2015-16 | 2,524 | 127 | 19.9:1 | 62% (1,574) |
| 2010-11 | 2,755 | N/A | N/A | 50% (1,372) |
| 2000-01 | 3,472 | 145 | 23.9:1 | 30% (1,057) |
| 1990-91 | 2,025 | 86 | 23.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Vista High.
Since 2017-18: students down 31% (2,515 to 1,746); teachers down 18% (128.7 to 105.2).
About Vista High
Vista High is a large high school in California, with an address in Vista. Enrolled students number 1,746 students, in grades 9 through 12. Enrollment is 108% higher than the average for high schools in California, which is about 838.
Vista High reports to Vista Unified, which has 28 schools and 18,969 students.
Vista High's enrollment is 85% Hispanic. Next come 8% White and 3% multiracial. The county population is about 35% Hispanic. The school's diversity index is 26%, meaning two students picked at random have a 26% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Teachers at the school number 105.2 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 16.6:1. On average, high schools in California have 18.2:1, compared with 16.6:1 here. The school's lunch program data list 85% of students as eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Across public schools in San Diego County, the average is 54%.
Measured against California public high schools, Vista High receives a C-. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
The BeatsExpectations prediction for Vista High is 29.9%, and its average proficiency rate on state tests is 27.5%.
County data help place the school in context: in San Diego County, the median household income is $106,268, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 43%, and about 7% of people live in poverty. In all, San Diego County has 766 public schools and roughly 467,437 students.
The next-closest public school is Vista Adult Transition Center, about 0.1 miles away. Vista High is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles.
Its NCES locale code is Suburb: Large: the school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Vista High's enrollment dropped from 2,315 in 2020-21 to 1,746 in 2024-25. There were fewer students per teacher in 2024-25 (16.6:1) than in 2020-21 (20.7:1).
The discussion area below is open to posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
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 Vista Unified
- Rancho Buena Vista HighHigh · 1,949 students
- Mission Vista HighHigh · 1,670 students
- Madison MiddleMiddle · 1,158 students
- Roosevelt MiddleMiddle · 866 students
- Vista Magnet Middle School of Technology Science and MathMiddle · 836 students
- Vista Innovation and Design AcademyMiddle · 834 students
Other schools in Vista
- Rancho Buena Vista HighHigh · 1,949 students
- Guajome Park Academy CharterCombined · 1,355 students
- Vista Magnet Middle School of Technology Science and MathMiddle · 836 students
- Vista Innovation and Design AcademyMiddle · 834 students
- Casita Center for Science/Math/TechnologyElementary · 744 students
- Breeze Hill ElementaryElementary · 742 students
Other Vista High schools
2 other US public schools in 2 states are named Vista High. Vista High is the largest of the 3.
- Vista HighLynwood, CA · 186 students
- Vista High SchoolYUMA, AZ · 175 students
Nearby schools
- Vista Adult Transition Center0.1 mi · 107
- Vista Springs Charter0.4 mi · 251
- Guajome Park Academy Charter0.7 mi · 1,355
- Guajome Learning Centers0.7 mi · 61
- Vista Academy of Visual and Performing Arts1.1 mi · 740
- Foothill Oak Elementary1.1 mi · 556
Frequently asked questions
About Vista HighHow many students attend Vista High?
Vista High enrolls approximately 1,746 students in grades 09-12.
Is Vista High an elementary, middle, or high school?
Vista High is a high school covering grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Vista High?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Vista High is approximately 16.6:1 (105 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Vista High?
Student demographics at Vista High are roughly 8% White, 85% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
What district is Vista High in?
Vista High is part of Vista Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.