Lowell High: High scores, healthy climate, strong attendance. We looked for a catch — we didn't find one.
Lowell posts 50.4% exceeding the standard — versus 19.8% statewide — with climate numbers better than most. That doesn't make it perfect. It makes it worth a visit to find what numbers can't measure.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Grad rate | College readiness | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 87 | 50% | 79% | 94.1% | 93.7% | 11.6% | 0.3% |
| CA average · High School | 54 | 20% | 43% | 92.5% | 43.0% | 23.1% | 3.3% |
Lowell High scores 87 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 99th percentile of 1,647 California high schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).
Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →
⭐ High Ceiling — Ask what happens for a kid who shows up behind — a high ceiling for the top can sit right next to thin support at the bottom, and the score alone won't show you which.
Most rating sites would stop at “79% proficient” and call it done. Lowell deserves a closer read. The school sits in San Francisco, where two in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
Lowell's low-income kids hit 84.5% 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.
The seven-year arc
Has held the 99th-percentile line every tested year since 2019.
This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 79% meet the standard today, versus 88% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 93% | 96% | 93% | 85% | 87% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 84% | 85% | 83% | 66% | 71% |
The story this school is actually telling
Of 100 students here: 79 are proficient by 11th grade → 94 graduate → 94 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.
Lowell's most underrated number
84.5% 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 7 things our score weighs
Ask what the school is working on next. Strong numbers tell you where a school is, not where it's going.
- 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 Lowell High in San Francisco, 84.5% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 38.8% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Lowell High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 45.7 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (64.6% Math proficient); Asian students (92.8% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 74.5 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 232 students tested.
● share of AP enrollment vs share of total enrollment, this school only · not part of the Scope Score
Data source: U.S. Dept. of Education Office for Civil Rights, Civil Rights Data Collection, 2020-21 (biennial; newest published)
Showing up, and staying in class
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
Feeder patterns derived from NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries are approximate and may have changed — verify with your school district for current assignments.
Where graduates go
Where they went after graduation
Of Lowell's class of 2023, 93% enrolled in college somewhere within a year — a CSU, a community college, a UC, or out of state.
Class of 2023: 654 completers, 93% enrolled somewhere within a year
Percentages are computed by SchoolScope (count ÷ completers) from CDE-reported counts, not a CDE-native rate.
Data source: California Department of Education, 2023 cohort — the newest published; National Student Clearinghouse match.
In fall 2025, 201 of Lowell's 587 graduates enrolled in the University of California system — Irvine the most common landing, with 61 enrollees.
campuses never sum to the universitywide figure — students apply to several
Peak: 304 enrolled, 2020
UC publishes this trend back to 1994 — no other destination has a comparable multi-year record
UC is one road of many — the full destination mix for the class of 2023 is below. And who applied isn't who the school taught: the ratio between the two reflects the self-selected pool of students who chose to apply, not what happened in the classroom. By the state's 2023 count, 93% of this class's predecessors enrolled in college somewhere within a year.
Data source: University of California Office of the President (UC Information Center), fall 2025 admissions cycle · college-going rate: California Department of Education, 2023 cohort.
The people teaching here
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
Lowell's teachers are authorized to teach 34 of the 40 AP subjects the College Board offers — well above the 14-subject median among California schools that offer AP at all — including Calculus BC, Calculus AB, and Physics C: Mechanics.
Data source: College Board AP Course Audit, 2025 - 2026 audit year (authorization, not enrollment) · IB World Schools directory, name-matched · structural depth: 2020-21 federal snapshot, table 09
What gets spent here
These measure different things: this figure is spending attributed to this campus, while district-wide figures also include central administration, districtwide programs, and the state's pension contributions made on the district's behalf — costs that never get assigned to a single school. The district number runs higher at nearly every school, not just this one.
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 2,571 students, this school is well above the typical California high school (≈1450).
On the state's science test (CAST), 66% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 and once in high school, and it never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Lowell High a good high school?
What are Lowell High's CAASPP test scores?
How does Lowell High rank in California?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Lowell High?
How does Lowell High compare to other schools in San Francisco?
How does Lowell High serve low-income and underrepresented students?
What AP courses are offered at Lowell High?
How many students from Lowell High go to UC?
Your other options
Nearby High Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 67
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 nearest schools.
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 567 | 55% | 32% | 9% | 4% | 87% | +38 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 583 | 46% | 26% | 14% | 15% | 71% | +48 |
We show the grade rows CDE publishes for this school. A missing grade or dash can mean the school does not serve that grade, no valid result was published, or the tested group was too small to report. It does not mean zero.
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schoolwide | 604 | 26% | 40% | 32% | 2% |
CAST is tested in grades 5 and 8, then once in grade 10, 11, or 12. This row is the school's all-student aggregate. Not part of the Scope Score.
| Subgroup · ELA | Tested | MET+ | vs district | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 232 | 84.5% | +46 | +46 |
| Asian | 291 | 92.8% | +22 | +18 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 108 | 67.6% | +42 | +29 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Grade gap | Cohort growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowell High ← | — | 87 | 50.4% | 79.2% | — | — | 0.3% |
| Asawa (Ruth) SF Sch of the Arts, A Public School | 2.1 mi | 81 | 43.7% | 73.1% | — | — | 2.4% |
| Lincoln (Abraham) High | 1.1 mi | 66 | 29.8% | 55.6% | — | — | 0.8% |
| Academy (The)- SF @McAteer | 2.1 mi | 54 | 20.4% | 47.7% | — | — | 2.4% |
| California average | — | 54 | 19.8% | 43.2% | — | — | 3.3% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Grade gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 92 | 99 | #13 | 65.2% | 88.4% | 4.0% | 0.4% | — |
| 2022 | 92 | 99 | #10 | 71.7% | 90.9% | 9.0% | 0.4% | — |
| 2023 | 92 | 99 | #16 | 67.3% | 88.3% | 10.8% | 0.4% | — |
| 2024 | 85 | 98 | #46 | 48.7% | 75.4% | 12.0% | 0.6% | — |
| 2025 | 87 | 99 | #31 | 50.4% | 79.2% | 11.6% | 0.3% | — |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 3.8% | 12.0% | +8.2pp |
| Male | 3.1% | 10.1% | +7.0pp |
| Asian | 1.7% | 6.3% | +4.6pp |
| Black/African American | 20.0% | 25.4% | +5.4pp |
| Filipino | 1.1% | 10.8% | +9.7pp |
| White | 5.2% | 17.6% | +12.4pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 6.6% | 19.0% | +12.4pp |
| Two or More Races | 2.8% | 12.9% | +10.1pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 15.3% | 23.8% | +8.5pp |
| English Learners | 7.9% | 16.2% | +8.3pp |
| Homeless | 16.9% | 15.9% | -1.0pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 3.8% | 15.1% | +11.3pp |
| All Students | 3.5% | 11.1% | +7.6pp |
| Year | Applied | Admitted | Enrolled | GPA (applied) | GPA (admitted) | GPA (enrolled) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 443 | 373 | 201 | 3.87 | 3.96 | 4.05 |
| 2024 | 537 | 442 | 263 | 4.02 | 4.08 | 4.14 |
| 2023 | 598 | 471 | 276 | 4.04 | 4.09 | 4.12 |
| 2022 | 603 | 446 | 292 | 4.16 | 4.25 | 4.28 |
| 2021 | 598 | 445 | 278 | 3.98 | 4.07 | 4.13 |
| 2020 | 573 | 473 | 304 | 3.97 | 4.05 | 4.08 |
| 2019 | 515 | 376 | 215 | 3.92 | 4.02 | 4.09 |
| 2018 | 562 | 407 | 242 | 3.90 | 4.01 | 4.06 |
| 2017 | 555 | 413 | 250 | 3.81 | 3.94 | 3.97 |
| 2016 | 515 | 419 | 259 | 3.75 | 3.85 | 3.88 |
| 2015 | 539 | 416 | 277 | 3.80 | 3.92 | 3.94 |
| 2014 | 545 | 416 | 263 | 3.75 | 3.86 | 3.87 |
‹n = UC masks counts below n · a missing year means zero or masked — never assume zero · GPA cells blank for years with more than one contributing CEEB code (a summed GPA would be fabricated math) · GPAs live here and nowhere else on this page · Applied/Admitted/Enrolled reflect who applied, not what the school taught — no admit rate is computed or implied by this table. Series shown from 2014; full record to 1994 at the UC Infocenter.
| Campus | Year | Applied | Admitted | Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley | 2025 | 363 | 42 | 29 |
| Berkeley | 2024 | 462 | 93 | 64 |
| Berkeley | 2023 | 499 | 69 | 46 |
| Berkeley | 2022 | 522 | 79 | 40 |
| Berkeley | 2021 | 481 | 90 | 53 |
| Davis | 2025 | 365 | 118 | 26 |
| Davis | 2024 | 470 | 191 | 62 |
| Davis | 2023 | 465 | 195 | 54 |
| Davis | 2022 | 508 | 247 | 76 |
| Davis | 2021 | 467 | 208 | 76 |
| Irvine | 2025 | 327 | 140 | 61 |
| Irvine | 2024 | 417 | 79 | 18 |
| Irvine | 2023 | 441 | 74 | 28 |
| Irvine | 2022 | 469 | 67 | 19 |
| Irvine | 2021 | 420 | 52 | 11 |
| Los Angeles | 2025 | 335 | 24 | 15 |
| Los Angeles | 2024 | 444 | 33 | 22 |
| Los Angeles | 2023 | 493 | 36 | 17 |
| Los Angeles | 2022 | 511 | 58 | 33 |
| Los Angeles | 2021 | 475 | 43 | 20 |
| Merced | 2025 | 190 | 180 | 5 |
| Merced | 2024 | 122 | 114 | 9 |
| Merced | 2023 | 97 | 95 | 12 |
| Merced | 2022 | 99 | 93 | 10 |
| Merced | 2021 | 114 | 107 | 13 |
| Riverside | 2025 | 196 | 178 | 13 |
| Riverside | 2024 | 159 | 140 | 15 |
| Riverside | 2023 | 163 | 139 | 10 |
| Riverside | 2022 | 151 | 136 | 11 |
| Riverside | 2021 | 157 | 122 | 14 |
| San Diego | 2025 | 353 | 46 | 13 |
| San Diego | 2024 | 456 | 82 | 12 |
| San Diego | 2023 | 486 | 82 | 25 |
| San Diego | 2022 | 477 | 119 | 36 |
| San Diego | 2021 | 464 | 111 | 21 |
| Santa Barbara | 2025 | 315 | 83 | 9 |
| Santa Barbara | 2024 | 411 | 159 | 26 |
| Santa Barbara | 2023 | 434 | 162 | 37 |
| Santa Barbara | 2022 | 430 | 164 | 41 |
| Santa Barbara | 2021 | 421 | 158 | 34 |
| Santa Cruz | 2025 | 297 | 231 | 30 |
| Santa Cruz | 2024 | 394 | 288 | 35 |
| Santa Cruz | 2023 | 365 | 260 | 47 |
| Santa Cruz | 2022 | 405 | 215 | 26 |
| Santa Cruz | 2021 | 376 | 227 | 36 |
| Universitywide | 2025 | 443 | 373 | 201 |
| Universitywide | 2024 | 537 | 442 | 263 |
| Universitywide | 2023 | 598 | 471 | 276 |
| Universitywide | 2022 | 603 | 446 | 292 |
| Universitywide | 2021 | 598 | 445 | 278 |
Σ campuses ≠ universitywide — students apply to several campuses; the Universitywide row (muted) is its own independent count, never a sum of the rows above it.
| Subject | Taught by |
|---|---|
| 2-D Art and Design | this school |
| 3-D Art and Design | this school |
| African American Studies | this school |
| Art History | this school |
| Biology | this school |
| Calculus AB | this school |
| Calculus BC | this school |
| Chemistry | this school |
| Chinese Language and Culture | this school |
| Comparative Government and Politics | this school |
| Computer Science Principles | this school |
| Drawing | this school |
| English Language and Composition | this school |
| English Literature and Composition | this school |
| Environmental Science | this school |
| European History | this school |
| French Language and Culture | this school |
| Human Geography | this school |
| Italian Language and Culture | this school |
| Japanese Language and Culture | this school |
| Macroeconomics | this school |
| Microeconomics | this school |
| Music Theory | this school |
| Physics 1 | this school |
| Physics 2 | this school |
| Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism | this school |
| Physics C: Mechanics | this school |
| Psychology | this school |
| Spanish Language and Culture | this school |
| Spanish Literature and Culture | this school |
| Statistics | this school |
| U.S. Government and Politics | this school |
| United States History | this school |
| World History: Modern | this school |
Authorization ≠ a section running this year — the Ledger records what the school may teach, not seat counts.
| Measure | This school |
|---|---|
| AP offered | offered |
| AP course count | 26 |
| AP enrollment | 620 |
| IB participation | not offered |
| Dual enrollment | offered · 121 enrolled |
| Algebra I in grade 8 | not reported |
| Calculus sections | 30 |
| Physics sections | 20 |
| Chemistry sections | 21 |
| Total enrollment (CRDC) | 1,218 |
Shown, never scored — no entry to any composite. NULL/reserve codes render "not reported," never a fabricated zero. The equity block above this table (§4) is the per-subgroup view of this same collection.
| Destination | Completers | % (derived) |
|---|---|---|
| University of California | 260 | 39.8% |
| California State University | 111 | 17.0% |
| California community college | 97 | 14.8% |
| In-state private | 30 | 4.6% |
| Out-of-state, 4-year | 107 | 16.4% |
| Out-of-state, 2-year | 0 | 0.0% |
| Not enrolled | 49 | 7.5% |
654 completers, class of 2023 · state-reported college-going rate 93% · % column is computed by SchoolScope (count ÷ completers), not a CDE-native rate · a missing cell is CDE suppression, never a fabricated zero · source: CDE 12-mo CGR, 2023 cohort (the newest published), National Student Clearinghouse match — a different, older vintage than the fall 2025 UC admissions rows in tables 06-07 above.
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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