Kathleen MacDonald High: This school runs ahead of the state average. The bar itself is the harder conversation.
Kathleen MacDonald posts 50% 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 | 57 | 26% | 50% | — | — | 13.5% | 5.5% |
| CA average · High School | 44 | 16% | 36% | 87.6% | 35.4% | 30.2% | 3.6% |
Kathleen MacDonald High scores 57 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 79th 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 “50% proficient” and call it done. Kathleen MacDonald deserves a closer read. The school sits in San Jose, where one in four students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
Kathleen MacDonald's low-income kids hit 56.5% proficiency in ELA — a number the same group reaches at 38.2% statewide. If you're trying to read past zip-code-driven test scores, that's the signal worth weighing.
Kathleen MacDonald's most underrated number
56.5% of low-income students met the ELA standard — versus 38.2% for the same group statewide. That's the strongest kind of signal a school can post: it holds across income lines.
The 5 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 whether extra support — tutoring, counseling, small groups — reaches kids across income lines, not just the students already ahead.
- 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
At Kathleen MacDonald High in San Jose, 56.5% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 37.0% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Kathleen MacDonald High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 19.4 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (22.6% Math proficient); Hispanic students (47.1% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 39.1 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 62 students tested.
7 of 16 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 683 students, this school is much smaller than the typical California high school (≈1450).
On the state's science test (CAST), 51% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Kathleen MacDonald High a good high school?
What are Kathleen MacDonald High's CAASPP test scores?
How does Kathleen MacDonald High rank in California?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Kathleen MacDonald High?
How does Kathleen MacDonald High compare to other schools in San Jose?
How does Kathleen MacDonald High serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby High Schools
2 within ~3 mi · avg 15
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 74
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
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 | 193 | 32% | 33% | 20% | 16% | 65% | +18 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 191 | 19% | 16% | 23% | 42% | 35% | +12 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 195 | 16% | 35% | 45% | 4% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| Subgroup · ELA | Tested | MET+ | vs district | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 62 | 56.5% | +19 | +18 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 85 | 47.1% | +10 | +8 |
| Asian | 45 | 88.9% | +10 | +15 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kathleen MacDonald High ← | — | 57 | 25.7% | 49.9% | — | 5.5% |
| Opportunity Youth Academy | 2.5 mi | 18 | 2.0% | 9.9% | — | 0.5% |
| Santa Clara County Court | 2.4 mi | 12 | 0.0% | 2.9% | — | 1.7% |
| California average | — | 44 | 15.8% | 35.7% | — | 3.6% |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | — | 14.4% | — |
| Male | — | 9.9% | — |
| Asian | — | 7.1% | — |
| Black/African American | — | 23.8% | — |
| White | — | 8.3% | — |
| Hispanic/Latino | — | 13.9% | — |
| Two or More Races | — | 20.0% | — |
| Students with Disabilities | — | 16.0% | — |
| English Learners | — | 16.7% | — |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | — | 12.7% | — |
| All Students | — | 12.1% | — |
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