How does Foothills High compare to other high schools in San Marcos?

Foothills High has a Scope Score of 44.6/100, ranked #1068 among California high schools. 9% of students exceed standard, with a total of 68 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Foothills High?

8.8% of students at Foothills High exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 27.9% 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 Foothills High?

1.6% of students at Foothills High 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.

Foothills High

K-12 School

San Marcos Unified San MarcosSan Diego County92069

📍 158 Cassou Road

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,649 California high schools

🤝

Culture First

Strong school culture with high family engagement, even if test scores are still developing.

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

110 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

22:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

50%

Teachers

5 full-time

College & career readiness

Graduation Rate

81.7%

AP Exam Prepared

33.3%

A-G Completion

0.0%

This school may not offer A-G courses

College-Going Rate

50.0%

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

-12.3 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Maintained

-2.1 pts DFS change

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic50.9%

White31.8%

Asian6.4%

Black1.8%

Other9.1%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Foothills High
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	8.8%
Met Standard	19.1%
Below Standard	72.1%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Chronic absenteeism: 1.6%

32.7pp below state avg (state avg 34.3%)

10% weight

✓Suspension rate: 0.0%

4.1pp below state avg (state avg 4.1%)

5% weight

Holding Back

▼Graduation rate: 81.7%

5.7pp below state avg (state avg 87.4%)

25% weight

▼Exceeded standard: 8.8%

6.9pp below state avg (state avg 15.7%)

20% weight

▼College readiness: 33.3%

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

20% weight

▼Met or exceeded: 27.9%

6.8pp below state avg (state avg 34.8%)

15% weight

▼Baseline proficiency: 27.9%

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 "28% proficient" for Foothills High and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

8.8% of students exceeded standard while 19.1% met it. That exceeded rate is 6.9 points below the state average of 15.7%. That's 19.3 points below the San Marcos Unified district average of 28.1%. Nearby schools (within ~3 miles) average 9.4% exceeded — about the same. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

The graduation rate is 81.7%. 50.0% of graduates go on to college within a year.

Chronic absenteeism is 1.6%, better than 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

8.8%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

27.9%

Students meeting standard

Chronic Absenteeism

1.6%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

0.0%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

Across all grades & subjects

ELA scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
5th	0	—	—	—	—	—
6th	4	—	—	—	—	—
7th	4	—	—	—	—	—
8th	5	—	—	—	—	—
11th	34	11.8%	32.4%	38.2%	17.6%	44.1%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
5th	0	—	—	—	—	—
6th	—	—	—	—	—	—
7th	4	—	—	—	—	—
8th	5	—	—	—	—	—
11th	34	5.9%	5.9%	8.8%	79.4%	11.8%

Estimated K-12 PathEstimate

Elementary

Twin Oaks Elementary

65.3

→

Middle

San Marcos Middle

49.2

→

High

Foothills High

44.6

This school

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