How does El Puente compare to other high schools in Salinas?

El Puente has a Scope Score of 21.1/100, ranked #1421 among California high schools. 4% of students exceed standard, with a total of 208 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at El Puente?

4.3% of students at El Puente exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 18.3% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at El Puente?

63.5% of students at El Puente are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days). This metric reflects school culture and family engagement, and is weighted at 15% in the Scope Score.

El Puente

High School

Salinas Union High SalinasMonterey County93906

📍 20 Sherwood Place

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,649 California high schools

🌱

Building Momentum

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Scope 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

349 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

18:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

95%

Teachers

19 full-time

College & career readiness

Graduation Rate

58.4%

AP Exam Prepared

Not offered

This school may not offer AP courses

A-G Completion

0.0%

This school may not offer A-G courses

College-Going Rate

41.7%

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

Dashboard indicators

How this school's scores changed from last year to this year

ELA Year-over-Year

Declined

-4.0 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Declined Significantly

-23.9 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

26.4%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 87 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic93.4%

White4.3%

Asian0.3%

Black0.3%

Other1.7%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for El Puente
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	4.3%
Met Standard	13.9%
Below Standard	81.7%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Suspension rate: 0.6%

3.5pp below state avg (state avg 4.1%)

5% weight

Holding Back

▼Graduation rate: 58.4%

29.0pp below state avg (state avg 87.4%)

25% weight

▼Exceeded standard: 4.3%

11.4pp below state avg (state avg 15.7%)

20% weight

▼College readiness: 0.0%

AP exam pass rate below state avg (state avg 35.3%)

20% weight

▼Met or exceeded: 18.3%

16.5pp below state avg (state avg 34.8%)

15% weight

▼Chronic absenteeism: 63.5%

29.2pp above state avg (state avg 34.3%)

10% weight

▼Baseline proficiency: 18.3%

Below state baseline (state avg 34.8%)

5% weight

Unlike traditional school ratings, we show our work. Every factor, its weight, and how this school compares to the state average — so you can decide what matters most to your family. The high school Scope Score is weighted across 7 dimensions. See full methodology →

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "18% proficient" for El Puente and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

4.3% of students exceeded standard while 13.9% met it. That exceeded rate is 11.4 points below the state average of 15.7%. That's 7.1 points below the Salinas Union High district average of 11.4%. The 4 nearby schools within ~3 miles average 11.4% exceeded — 7.1 points higher. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

The graduation rate is 58.4%. 41.7% of graduates go on to college within a year.

Chronic absenteeism is 63.5%, above the state average of 34.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

4.3%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

18.3%

Students meeting standard

Chronic Absenteeism

63.5%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

0.6%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

208

Across all grades & subjects

ELA scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
7th	9	—	—	—	—	—
8th	7	—	—	—	—	—
11th	104	8.7%	26.9%	42.3%	22.1%	35.6%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
7th	9	—	—	—	—	—
8th	7	—	—	—	—	—
11th	104	0.0%	1.0%	11.5%	87.5%	1.0%

Estimated K-12 PathEstimate

Middle

Harden Middle

No score

→

High

El Puente

21.1

This school

Estimated K-12 path based on district and proximity. Actual attendance zones may differ. Contact your school district for official feeder information.