How does James Lick High compare to other high schools in San Jose?

James Lick High has a Scope Score of 43.0/100, ranked #1106 among California high schools. 8% of students exceed standard, with a total of 383 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at James Lick High?

7.8% of students at James Lick High exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 23.2% 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 James Lick High?

32.6% of students at James Lick 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.

James Lick High

High School

East Side Union High San JoseSanta Clara County95127

📍 57 North White Road

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,649 California high schools

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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

878 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

19:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

61%

Teachers

47 full-time

College & career readiness

Graduation Rate

80.6%

AP Exam Prepared

84.0%

A-G Completion

35.5%

College-Going Rate

73.3%

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

Maintained

-0.4 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Declined

-4.4 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

5.3%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 225 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic85.8%

White2.5%

Asian6.4%

Black1.1%

Other4.2%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for James Lick High
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	7.8%
Met Standard	15.4%
Below Standard	76.8%

Score Factors

Helping

✓College readiness: 84.0%

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

20% weight

✓Chronic absenteeism: 32.6%

1.7pp below state avg (state avg 34.3%)

10% weight

✓Suspension rate: 3.6%

0.5pp below state avg (state avg 4.1%)

5% weight

Holding Back

▼Graduation rate: 80.6%

6.8pp below state avg (state avg 87.4%)

25% weight

▼Exceeded standard: 7.8%

7.9pp below state avg (state avg 15.7%)

20% weight

▼Met or exceeded: 23.2%

11.6pp below state avg (state avg 34.8%)

15% weight

▼Baseline proficiency: 23.2%

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 "23% proficient" for James Lick High and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

7.8% of students exceeded standard while 15.4% met it. That exceeded rate is 7.9 points below the state average of 15.7%. That's 8.4 points below the East Side Union High district average of 16.2%. The 7 nearby schools within ~3 miles average 14.4% exceeded — 6.6 points higher. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

The graduation rate is 80.6%. 35.5% of students complete A-G requirements for UC/CSU eligibility. 73.3% of graduates go on to college within a year.

Chronic absenteeism is 32.6%, 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