How does John F. Kennedy High compare to other high schools in Richmond?

John F. Kennedy High has a Scope Score of 28.6/100, ranked #1306 among California high schools. 2% of students exceed standard, with a total of 204 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at John F. Kennedy High?

2.5% of students at John F. Kennedy High exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 12.3% 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 John F. Kennedy High?

49.8% of students at John F. Kennedy 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.

John F. Kennedy High

High School

West Contra Costa Unified RichmondContra Costa County94804

📍 4300 Cutting Boulevard

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

825 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

20:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

74%

Teachers

41 full-time

College & career readiness

Graduation Rate

73.2%

AP Exam Prepared

58.5%

A-G Completion

22.6%

College-Going Rate

42.1%

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

Increased Significantly

+26.4 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Increased

+4.8 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

3.8%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 347 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic74.7%

White1.3%

Asian4.4%

Black15.9%

Other3.8%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for John F. Kennedy High
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	2.5%
Met Standard	9.8%
Below Standard	87.7%

Score Factors

Helping

✓College readiness: 58.5%

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

20% weight

Holding Back

▼Graduation rate: 73.2%

14.2pp below state avg (state avg 87.4%)

25% weight

▼Exceeded standard: 2.5%

13.3pp below state avg (state avg 15.7%)

20% weight

▼Met or exceeded: 12.3%

22.5pp below state avg (state avg 34.8%)

15% weight

▼Chronic absenteeism: 49.8%

15.5pp above state avg (state avg 34.3%)

10% weight

▼Baseline proficiency: 12.3%

Below state baseline (state avg 34.8%)

5% weight

▼Suspension rate: 11.3%

7.2pp above state avg (state avg 4.1%)

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 "12% proficient" for John F. Kennedy High and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

2.5% of students exceeded standard while 9.8% met it. That exceeded rate is 13.3 points below the state average of 15.7%. That's 10.8 points below the West Contra Costa Unified district average of 13.2%. The 4 nearby schools within ~3 miles average 20.4% exceeded — 18.0 points higher. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

The graduation rate is 73.2%. 22.6% of students complete A-G requirements for UC/CSU eligibility. 42.1% of graduates go on to college within a year.

Chronic absenteeism is 49.8%, 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

2.5%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

12.3%

Students meeting standard

Chronic Absenteeism

49.8%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

11.3%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

204

Across all grades & subjects

ELA scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
11th	102	1.0%	14.7%	25.5%	58.8%	15.7%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
11th	102	3.9%	4.9%	6.9%	84.3%	8.8%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Madera Elementary

89.5# in state

Kensington Elementary

Mira Vista Elementary

42.0# in state

Michelle Obama Elementary

28.4# in state

Washington Elementary

Martin Luther King, Jr. Elemen…

6.8# in state

Also serves area

Madera Elementary

89.5# in state

Kensington Elementary

83.6# in state

Harding Elementary

73.5# in state

▼

Middle

Lovonya DeJean Middle

No score# in state

Also serves area

Mira Vista Elementary

42.0# in state

Fred T. Korematsu Middle

No score# in state

▼

High School

John F. Kennedy High

28.6# in state

This school

Feeder patterns derived from 2015-16 NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries may have changed. Contact your school district for current information.