ExploreMapCompareBlogSign in

Del Norte High

High School
📍 16601 Nighthawk Lane
Composite Score
out of 100
State Percentile
of high schools
State Rank
of 1,739 California high schools
High Ceiling

A high-ceiling school — students here are pushed to exceed, not just meet, the standard.

Composite scores are SchoolScope's analysis of public data from the California Dept. of Education (CAASPP, chronic absenteeism, suspension rates). They are not official CDE ratings and should not be the sole basis for school decisions. See methodology.

School overview

Enrollment
2,564 students
Student-Teacher Ratio
25:1
Free/Reduced Lunch
10%
Teachers
102 full-time

College & career readiness

Graduation Rate
98.0%
AP Exam Prepared
84.6%
A-G Completion
88.7%
College-Going Rate
92.9%

Data source: California Department of Education — ACGR, CCI, CGR reports

Dashboard indicators

ELA Year-over-Year
Increased
+10.1 pts DFS change
Math Year-over-Year
Declined
-6.5 pts DFS change
EL Proficiency (ELPAC)
21.9%
English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 32 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic9.8%
White35.2%
Asian37.7%
Black1.3%
Other15.9%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Del Norte High
CategoryPercentage
Exceeded Standard51.8%
Met Standard27.6%
Below Standard20.6%

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "79% proficient" for Del Norte High and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

51.8% of students exceeded standard while 27.6% met it. That exceeded rate is 36.3 points above the state average of 15.5%. That's 8.0 points above the Poway Unified district average of 43.7%. Compared to the 1 nearby schools within ~3 miles, this exceeded rate is 29.5 points higher (vs 22.2% average). The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

The graduation rate is 98.0% — above the state target. 88.7% of students complete A-G requirements for UC/CSU eligibility — a strong college readiness signal. 92.9% of graduates go on to college within a year.

Chronic absenteeism is 9.3%, better than the state average of 34.0%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard
51.8%
Students scoring above proficient
% Met or Above
79.4%
Students meeting standard
Chronic Absenteeism
9.3%
Students missing 10%+ of days
Suspension Rate
0.8%
Students suspended at least once
Total Tested
1,165
Across all grades & subjects

ELA scores by grade

GradeTestedExceededMetNearly MetNot MetMet+Above
11th58555.0%29.4%10.4%5.1%84.4%

Math scores by grade

GradeTestedExceededMetNearly MetNot MetMet+Above
11th58048.5%25.9%14.7%11.0%74.3%

Private alternatives nearby

Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.

Maranatha Christian Schools
Brethren · Grades PK-12 · 855 students
13:1Private1.1 mi
The Cambridge School
Brethren · Grades PK-12 · 366 students
7:1Private4.4 mi
Horizon Prep
Brethren · Grades PK-12 · 287 students
7:1Private4.7 mi
Balboa School
Nonsectarian · Grades PK-12 · 46 students
7:1Private6 mi
High Bluff Academy
Nonsectarian · Grades 9-12 · 36 students
3:1Private5.5 mi

Data source: California Department of Education (2025 test year) · How we score · Explore all schools · Blog