MERIT Academy: The scores are below where anyone wants them. Here's what they don't tell you.
MERIT Academy posts low test scores — and test scores are one lens among several. If this is your zoned school, the numbers below are where to start a conversation, not where to end one.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Grad rate | College readiness | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 10 | 4% | 13% | 20.0% | 0.0% | 37.5% | 10.6% |
| CA average · High School | 44 | 16% | 36% | 87.6% | 35.4% | 30.2% | 3.6% |
MERIT Academy scores 10 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 2nd 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 “13% proficient” and call it done. MERIT Academy deserves a closer read. The school sits in El Cajon, where two-thirds of students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
Test scores are one lens, and at this school they're a rough one right now. The sections below show the fuller picture — including the parts that are working.
The seven-year arc
Has stayed near the 2nd percentile since 2019.
Proficiency here is back to its pre-pandemic level — 13% meet the standard, about where the school stood in 2019.
| Grade | 2019 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 27% | 17% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 0% | 0% | 9% |
The story this school is actually telling
Of 100 students here: 13 are proficient by 11th grade → 20 graduate → 0 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.
The 6 things our score weighs
Ask what changed in the last two years, and what the school is asking families for. Growth shows up in these numbers a year or two after it shows up in classrooms.
- Ask how the school follows up when a student starts missing days — chronic absence often starts outside the classroom, not inside it.
- Ask what typically leads to a suspension, and what happens before it gets there.
- 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
10 of 12 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 is estimated from nearby schools in the same district — scores shown for each next step.
Estimated K-12 path based on district and proximity. Actual attendance zones may differ. 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
$1,135 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
At 68 students, this school is much smaller than the typical California high school (≈1450).
On the state's science test (CAST), 8% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is MERIT Academy a good high school?
What are MERIT Academy's CAASPP test scores?
How does MERIT Academy rank in California?
What is the attendance and school culture like at MERIT Academy?
How does MERIT Academy compare to other schools in El Cajon?
Your other options
Nearby High Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 72
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 58
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means
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 | 12 | 8% | 8% | 25% | 58% | 17% | −31 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 11 | 0% | 9% | 18% | 73% | 9% | −14 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 12 | 8% | 0% | 83% | 8% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MERIT Academy ← | — | 10 | 4.2% | 12.9% | — | 10.6% |
| River Valley Charter | 3.4 mi | 81 | 48.6% | 75.7% | — | 1.1% |
| Grossmont Middle College High | 1.7 mi | 71 | 53.3% | 90.0% | — | 1.8% |
| West Hills High | 3 mi | 63 | 31.2% | 60.1% | — | 2.5% |
| California average | — | 44 | 15.8% | 35.7% | — | 3.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 8 | 2 | #2011 | 0.0% | 13.6% | 33.8% | 13.7% | — |
| 2024 | 7 | 1 | #2129 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 40.4% | 7.4% | — |
| 2025 | 10 | 2 | #2126 | 4.2% | 12.9% | 37.5% | 10.6% | — |
- — Subgroup results are suppressed for small student counts (fewer than 15 tested), following CDE privacy rules.
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 52.9% | 50.0% | -2.9pp |
| Male | 37.0% | 40.4% | +3.4pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 40.7% | 40.5% | -0.2pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 44.2% | 45.2% | +1.0pp |
| Foster Youth | 45.5% | — | — |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 43.3% | 44.8% | +1.5pp |
| All Students | 43.2% | 45.2% | +2.0pp |
| English Learners | — | 45.5% | — |
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