Independence High: This school runs ahead of the state average. The bar itself is the harder conversation.
Independence posts 42% meeting the standard against 36% statewide — ahead of most, with real headroom above the bar.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Grad rate | College readiness | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 40 | 16% | 42% | 85.0% | 11.1% | 34.8% | 1.6% |
| CA average · High School | 44 | 16% | 36% | 87.6% | 35.4% | 30.2% | 3.6% |
Independence High scores 40 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 37th 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 →
🌱 Building Momentum — This label means the data doesn't clearly sort the school one way or the other — ask what the school is proud of, and what it's working on.
Most rating sites would stop at “42% proficient” and call it done. Independence deserves a closer read. The school sits in San Francisco, where more than half of students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
The seven-year arc
Slipped from the 49th to the 37th percentile since 2019.
This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 42% meet the standard today, versus 77% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.
| Grade | 2019 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 77% | 63% |
The story this school is actually telling
Of 100 students here: 42 are proficient by 11th grade → 85 graduate → 11 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.
The 6 things our score weighs
Ask how the school challenges kids who clear the standard early. The gap between meeting and exceeding is where pacing shows.
- Ask what share of students complete the full college-prep course sequence, and who gets steered into it.
- Ask whether the tour can step into a working classroom — watch how the teacher handles a student who's stuck.
- Ask to tour while school's in session, and notice how hallways and transitions feel — culture shows up between classes, not just in them.
- Ask how the school communicates with families when a child starts to struggle.
- Ask what a typical day looks like for a new student in the first few weeks.
How every group of students does here
13 of 15 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.
Showing up, and staying in class
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
Estimated path based on proximity within the same district. Contact your school district for official feeder information.
The people teaching here
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
What gets spent here
The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.
District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.
Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →
The neighborhood it serves
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
At 235 students, this school is much smaller than the typical California high school (≈1450).
On the state's science test (CAST), 42% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Independence High a good high school?
What are Independence High's CAASPP test scores?
How does Independence High rank in California?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Independence High?
How does Independence High compare to other schools in San Francisco?
Your other options
Nearby High Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 71
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 19 | 32% | 32% | 21% | 16% | 63% | +16 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 20 | 0% | 20% | 35% | 45% | 20% | −3 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 26 | 8% | 35% | 50% | 8% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independence High ← | — | 40 | 15.8% | 41.6% | — | 1.6% |
| Lowell High | 2.5 mi | 78 | 50.4% | 79.2% | — | 0.3% |
| Asawa (Ruth) SF Sch of the Arts, A Public School | 1.4 mi | 73 | 43.7% | 73.1% | — | 2.4% |
| Washington (George) High | 1.8 mi | 62 | 28.6% | 60.5% | — | 1.3% |
| California average | — | 44 | 15.8% | 35.7% | — | 3.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 46 | 49 | #1041 | 15.4% | 76.9% | 40.3% | 4.0% | — |
| 2025 | 40 | 37 | #1358 | 15.8% | 41.6% | 34.8% | 1.6% | — |
- — Subgroup results are suppressed for small student counts (fewer than 15 tested), following CDE privacy rules.
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 70.3% | 37.6% | -32.7pp |
| Male | 75.8% | 37.3% | -38.5pp |
| Asian | 60.9% | 40.0% | -20.9pp |
| Black/African American | 77.3% | 46.0% | -31.3pp |
| Filipino | 66.7% | 23.1% | -43.6pp |
| White | 92.3% | — | — |
| Hispanic/Latino | 77.8% | 42.7% | -35.1pp |
| Two or More Races | 60.0% | 42.4% | -17.6pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 83.7% | 26.4% | -57.3pp |
| Homeless | 87.5% | 40.7% | -46.8pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 78.8% | 43.3% | -35.5pp |
| All Students | 72.5% | 37.2% | -35.3pp |
| Foster Youth | — | 66.7% | — |
SchoolScope scores and verdicts are our interpretation of public California Department of Education data — independent analysis, not an official rating. How we analyze · Request a correction