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School Profile · San Diego

High Tech High Media Arts: No single number tells this school's story. Here's the honest picture.

High Tech High Media Arts posts 21% meeting the standard and 5.7% exceeding it, against 36% and 15.8% statewide. The gaps and the bright spots below are the real read.

2230 Truxtun Road Third Floor, 92106 (opens in new tab)·San Diego Unified·San Diego·Grades 9-12·355 students·43% low-income·Charter·2024–25 CAASPP·(619) 398-8620·Website
Charter school — publicly funded, independently operated, open enrollment via lottery. Learn more
Scope Score
31
🌱 Building Momentum · Developing
ranked #1,615 statewide · #37 of 43 in San Diego Unified

High Tech High Media Arts scores 31 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 25th 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 →

CDE CAASPP 2025

Most rating sites would stop at “21% proficient” and call it done. High Tech High Media Arts deserves a closer read. The school sits in San Diego, where two in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.

As a charter, High Tech High Media Arts enrolls by application, not address — the score reads the same, the enrollment path doesn't.

The 4 things our score weighs

Exceeded standard
5.7%
State 15.8%
10.1pp below state avg
Met or exceeded
20.9%
State 35.7%
14.8pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
31.7%
State 30.2%
1.5pp above state avg
Suspension rate
4.2%
State 3.6%
0.6pp above state avg
Worth a school visit

Ask what the school is working on next. Strong numbers tell you where a school is, not where it's going.

Where the path goes

The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.

K-12 Feeder Path
▼
High School
High Tech High Media Arts
31/100
This school

Estimated path based on proximity within the same district. Contact your school district for official feeder information.

Your other options

All schools in San Diego →

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

Community Profile
Context — not part of the Scope Score

Student demographics

Hispanic60.6%
White22.3%
Asian3.9%
Black6.2%
Other7.0%
GenderFemale 43.1%Male 55.5%Non-binary 1.4%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 43.1% (21pp below CA avg)
Resources & Access
Enrollment
355
1,095 below CA avg (~1,450)
Student-Teacher Ratio
17:1
4 fewer students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$15,976
CA avg: $14,815 · District avg · NCES F-33
Teacher Salary Range
$55,375 – $124,275
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
At High Tech High Media Arts in San Diego, 31.7% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 42.6% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. High Tech High Media Arts trails its district average for low-income students by 10.9 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (2.4% Math proficient); Hispanic students (31.5% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 28.6 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 41 students tested.
Equity Gaps
ELA · Disabilities−28.6pp
4.3% vs 32.9% overall · n=23
2 more gaps by subject
ELA Exceeded · Disabilities−10.1pp
0.0% vs 10.1% overall · n=23
Math · Low-Income−6.4pp
2.4% vs 8.9% overall · n=41

Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.

Subgroup Proficiency
Low-Income41 tested
ELA 31.7%·Math 2.4%· -10.9pp vs district
Hispanic54 tested
ELA 31.5%·Math 9.3%· -9.5pp vs district
Disabilities23 tested
ELA 4.3%·Math 4.3%· -19.1pp vs district

Weighted average across tested grades. Subgroups with fewer than 15 students excluded. Data: CDE CAASPP 2024-25.

Funding Breakdown
Instruction 60%Support 36%Other 4%

Source: NCES F-33 (2019–2020) · Full district breakdown →

Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$143K
$58K above CA median
Median Home Value
$1.52M
$856K above CA median
Bachelor's+
63%
28pp above CA avg
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
Whole Child
Teacher experience, college/career readiness, and more. Context only — never part of the Scope Score.
Teacher Experience
3.1 years avg experience
25 teachers · 20% first-year · 24% second-year
Teacher Credentials
65% fully credentialed
AP Exam Qualifiers
1 students qualified via AP

Sources: CDE SARC · CDE College/Career Indicator, 2024-25

Community Profile provides context about who attends this school and the resources available. These factors are never part of the Scope Score. Learn why →
For the data nerds

Every number on this page

Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.

01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Exceeded standard · 22%
5.7%
↓ vs CA 15.8% · 39th pctile
Met or exceeded · 18%
20.9%
↓ vs CA 35.7% · 39th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
31.7%
↓ vs CA 30.2% · 49th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
4.2%
↓ vs CA 3.6% · 47th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 117910%23%27%41%33%−14
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 11791%8%20%71%9%−14
Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Grade 5/8/11812%23%65%9%

CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.

Subgroup · ELATestedMET+vs districtvs CA
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged4131.7%−11−7
Hispanic/Latino5431.5%−10−7
Students with Disabilities234.3%−19−13
03Peer comparison · nearest high schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
High Tech High Media Arts ←—315.7%20.9%—4.2%
Point Loma High0.6 mi6429.2%60.3%—2.3%
High Tech High International0.2 mi6026.9%58.1%—2.2%
High Tech High0.3 mi5423.3%48.8%—1.9%
California average—4415.8%35.7%—3.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
AP Exam Prepared
Not offered
This school may not offer AP courses
Scope Score history
66%31%'19'22'23'24'25
2019 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · no testing 2020–21 (COVID) · rank #220 → #948 → #766 → #1010 → #1615
Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=2,160 high schools · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue

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

How to get into a charter school in LA →

Frequently asked questions

Is High Tech High Media Arts a good high school?
High Tech High Media Arts has a Scope Score of 31 out of 100, placing it in the 25th percentile of California high schools and ranked #1,615 statewide. 5.7% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 10.1 percentage points below the California average of 15.8%. The Scope Score weights six dimensions for high schools: exceeded standard (43%), met or exceeded (22%), grade 3-to-5 growth (15%), chronic absenteeism (10%), ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%), and suspension rate (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.
What are High Tech High Media Arts's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 20.9% of students at High Tech High Media Arts met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 5.7% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 15.2% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 5.7% pushed past it. Most rating sites report only the combined "proficient" number. SchoolScope surfaces the exceeded-vs-met split because it reveals whether a school's curriculum challenges students beyond minimum proficiency or paces toward it. 158 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does High Tech High Media Arts rank in California?
High Tech High Media Arts ranks #1,615 among California high schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 25th percentile. This ranking is based on a weighted composite of 2025 CAASPP test performance (exceeded and met rates), chronic absenteeism, and suspension rate. Unlike single-number ratings, the Scope Score shows what drives the ranking so parents can decide what matters most to their family. See full methodology.
What is the attendance and school culture like at High Tech High Media Arts?
31.7% of students at High Tech High Media Arts are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), compared to the California average of 30.2%. The suspension rate is 4.2%. SchoolScope includes these culture metrics in the Scope Score because they reflect day-to-day school experience in ways test scores alone cannot.
How does High Tech High Media Arts compare to other schools in San Diego?
High Tech High Media Arts scores 31/100 (25th percentile) among California high schools. To compare with nearby schools, SchoolScope shows the same metrics side by side: exceeded rate, proficiency, growth trajectory, and school culture indicators. The school serves 355 students. Use the schools in San Diego page or the map view to compare all high schools nearby.
How does High Tech High Media Arts serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At High Tech High Media Arts in San Diego, 31.7% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 42.6% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. High Tech High Media Arts trails its district average for low-income students by 10.9 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (2.4% Math proficient); Hispanic students (31.5% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 28.6 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 41 students tested. SchoolScope shows disaggregated test scores by demographic subgroup so you can see how a school performs for your child's specific group — not just the school-wide average. Subgroup data is context, not part of the Scope Score: we don't penalize schools for who they serve. See our equity approach.
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