Menlo-Atherton High: High scores, healthy climate, strong attendance. We looked for a catch — we didn't find one.
Menlo-Atherton posts 39.5% exceeding the standard — versus 15.8% 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 | 63 | 39% | 60% | 90.7% | 80.5% | 18.0% | 3.1% |
| CA average · High School | 44 | 16% | 36% | 87.6% | 35.4% | 30.2% | 3.6% |
Menlo-Atherton High scores 63 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 89th 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 →
💪 Strong All-Around — Ask about what we don't score — class size, electives, the feel of a classroom — strong numbers everywhere on paper don't mean every classroom feels the same.
Most rating sites would stop at “60% proficient” and call it done. Menlo-Atherton deserves a closer read. The school sits in Atherton, where one in four students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
The headline number: 39.5% of students scored in the top band on the state test. The California average is 15.8%.
The seven-year arc
Has held the 89th-percentile line every tested year since 2019.
This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 60% meet the standard today, versus 65% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 74% | 71% | 67% | 72% | 69% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 55% | 52% | 49% | 54% | 51% |
The story this school is actually telling
Of 100 students here: 60 are proficient by 11th grade → 91 graduate → 81 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.
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 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 Menlo-Atherton High in Atherton, 40.7% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 37.0% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Menlo-Atherton High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 3.7 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (15.9% Math proficient); White students (92.5% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 67.7 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 167 students tested.
Showing up, and staying in class
The people teaching here
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
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.
$769 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.
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
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 Menlo-Atherton High a good high school?
What are Menlo-Atherton High's CAASPP test scores?
How does Menlo-Atherton High rank in California?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Menlo-Atherton High?
How does Menlo-Atherton High compare to other schools in Atherton?
How does Menlo-Atherton High serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby High Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 56
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 | 453 | 44% | 25% | 14% | 17% | 69% | +22 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 460 | 35% | 16% | 17% | 32% | 51% | +28 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 465 | 25% | 26% | 41% | 8% |
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 | 167 | 40.7% | +4 | +2 |
| White | 187 | 92.5% | +7 | +31 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 167 | 45.5% | +3 | +7 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Menlo-Atherton High ← | — | 63 | 39.5% | 60.1% | — | 3.1% |
| Palo Alto High | 1.7 mi | 80 | 55.0% | 74.8% | — | 1.3% |
| Tide Academy | 1.6 mi | 48 | 17.9% | 41.4% | — | 2.3% |
| Summit Preparatory Charter High | 2.8 mi | 39 | 13.0% | 30.7% | — | 4.0% |
| California average | — | 44 | 15.8% | 35.7% | — | 3.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 69 | 91 | #183 | 41.1% | 64.6% | 15.2% | 4.8% | — |
| 2022 | 65 | 91 | #179 | 39.7% | 61.6% | 23.8% | 4.6% | — |
| 2023 | 64 | 91 | #203 | 37.7% | 57.8% | 22.3% | 3.6% | — |
| 2024 | 67 | 94 | #136 | 43.9% | 63.1% | 17.1% | 3.1% | — |
| 2025 | 63 | 89 | #235 | 39.5% | 60.1% | 18.0% | 3.1% | — |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 13.8% | 19.0% | +5.2pp |
| Male | 16.0% | 16.3% | +0.3pp |
| Asian | 3.8% | 4.1% | +0.3pp |
| Black/African American | 19.7% | 37.5% | +17.8pp |
| White | 0.0% | 18.2% | +18.2pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 21.7% | 24.4% | +2.7pp |
| Pacific Islander | 31.7% | 42.4% | +10.7pp |
| Two or More Races | 8.4% | 10.6% | +2.2pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 28.8% | 35.0% | +6.2pp |
| English Learners | 29.3% | 31.7% | +2.4pp |
| Homeless | 69.6% | 57.1% | -12.5pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 24.8% | 30.0% | +5.2pp |
| All Students | 14.9% | 17.6% | +2.7pp |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | — | 16.2% | — |
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