Altus Schools East County: The scores are below where anyone wants them. Here's what they don't tell you.
Altus Schools East County posts low test scores — and suspensions run below the state rate (1.1% vs 3.6%). If this is your zoned school, the numbers below are where to start a conversation, not where to end one.
Altus Schools East County scores 26 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 17th percentile of 2,160 California high schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).
Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →
Most rating sites would stop at “30% proficient” and call it done. Altus Schools East County deserves a closer read. The school sits in El Cajon, where two-thirds of students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
Test scores are one lens, and at this school they're a rough one right now. The sections below show the fuller picture — including the parts that are working.
As a charter, Altus Schools East County enrolls by application, not address — the score reads the same, the enrollment path doesn't.
The story this school is actually telling
Of 100 students here: 30 are proficient by 11th grade → 64 graduate → 4 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.
The 6 things our score weighs
Ask what changed in the last two years, and what the school is asking families for. Growth shows up in these numbers a year or two after it shows up in classrooms.
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
Your other options
Nearby High Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 33
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
The community around it
Student demographics
Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.
Weighted average across tested grades. Subgroups with fewer than 15 students excluded. Data: CDE CAASPP 2024-25.
Neighborhood Context
Whole Child
Sources: CDE SARC · CDE College/Career Indicator, 2024-25
For the data nerdsEvery number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 7 | 13 | 0% | 15% | 38% | 46% | 15% | −32 |
| Grade 8 | 24 | 17% | 13% | 33% | 38% | 29% | −17 |
| Grade 11 | 37 | 16% | 38% | 30% | 16% | 54% | +7 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 7 | 13 | 0% | 15% | 23% | 62% | 15% | −19 |
| Grade 8 | 24 | 4% | 21% | 4% | 71% | 25% | −7 |
| Grade 11 | 37 | 3% | 3% | 22% | 73% | 5% | −18 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 86 | 1% | 16% | 70% | 13% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| Subgroup · ELA | Tested | MET+ | vs district | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 49 | 28.6% | +0 | −10 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 44 | 40.9% | +0 | +2 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altus Schools East County ← | — | 26 | 9.5% | 29.7% | — | 1.1% |
| Grossmont High | 2.2 mi | 47 | 20.5% | 40.6% | — | 3.6% |
| El Cajon Valley High | 1 mi | 31 | 5.8% | 19.5% | — | 7.4% |
| IDEA Center | 1.2 mi | 19 | 4.3% | 20.5% | — | 4.8% |
| California average | — | 44 | 15.8% | 35.7% | — | 3.6% |
A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means