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School Profile · Salinas

Mount Toro High: The scores are below where anyone wants them. Here's what they don't tell you.

Mount Toro 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.

10 Sherwood Place, 93906·Salinas Union High·Salinas·Grades 9-12·204 students·96% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(831) 796-7700·Website
Continuation school — a small alternative high school designed for students at risk of not graduating. Focuses on credit recovery and flexible scheduling. Test scores and college-readiness rates are not directly comparable to comprehensive high schools.
Scope Score
23
🌱 Building Momentum · Needs Support
ranked #1,521 statewide · #6 of 7 in Salinas Union High

Mount Toro High scores 23 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 13th percentile of 1,739 California high schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).

Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →

Most rating sites would stop at “3% proficient” and call it done. Mount Toro deserves a closer read. The school sits in Salinas, where nearly all 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 story this school is actually telling

Proficient by 11th grade
3%
State 35%
Graduate
78%
State 88%
Pass an AP exam
0%
State 36%

Of 100 students here: 3 are proficient by 11th grade → 78 graduate → 0 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.

The 7 things our score weighs

Graduation rate
78.0%
State 87.6%
9.6pp below state avg
Exceeded standard
1.0%
State 15.5%
14.5pp below state avg
College readiness
0.0%
State 35.5%
AP exam pass rate below state avg
Met or exceeded
3.4%
State 34.6%
31.2pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
46.8%
State 32.1%
14.7pp above state avg
Suspension rate
8.9%
State 4.0%
4.9pp above state avg
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
12.0%
State 17.7%
5.7pp below state avg
Worth a school visit

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.

Where the path goes

The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.

K-12 Feeder Path
Elementary
No feeder data available for this level
High School
Mount Toro High
23/100
This school

Estimated path based on proximity within the same district. Contact your school district for official feeder information.

Your other options

Private alternatives nearby

Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.

The community around it

Community Profile
Context — not part of the Scope Score

Student demographics

Hispanic97.5%
White1.5%
Other1.0%
GenderFemale 41.2%Male 58.8%
Resources & Access
Enrollment
204
1,246 below CA avg (~1,450)
Free/Reduced Lunch
96%
32pp above CA avg (64%)
Student-Teacher Ratio
16:1
5 fewer students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$46,077
District avg: $13,447 · CA avg: $14,815 · School-level · CDE ESSA
EL Proficiency (ELPAC)
12.0% Level 4
Share of English Learners reaching full proficiency
Teacher Salary Range
$61,054 – $143,305
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
At Mount Toro High in Salinas, 6.5% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 40.5% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Mount Toro High trails its district average for low-income students by 34.0 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (0.0% Math proficient); Hispanic students (6.1% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 6.9 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 93 students tested.
Equity Gaps
Absenteeism · Homeless+16.4pp
63.2% vs 46.8% overall · n=19
ELA · English Learner−6.9pp
0.0% vs 6.9% overall · n=42

Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.

Subgroup Proficiency
Low-Income94 tested
ELA 6.5%·Math 0.0%· -34.0pp vs district
Hispanic100 tested
ELA 6.1%·Math 0.0%· -34.6pp vs district
English Learner42 tested
ELA 0.0%·Math 0.0%· -3.5pp vs district

Weighted average across tested grades. Subgroups with fewer than 15 students excluded. Data: CDE CAASPP 2024-25.

Funding Breakdown
Instruction 60%Support 38%Other 2%

Source: NCES F-33 (2019–2020) · Full district breakdown →

Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$94K
$9K above CA median
Median Home Value
$569K
$91K below CA median
Bachelor's+
17%
18pp below CA avg
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2022) · ZIP-level
Whole Child
Teacher experience, college/career readiness, and more. Context only — never part of the Scope Score.
Teacher Experience
13.1 years avg experience
22 teachers
Teacher Credentials
49% fully credentialed

Source: CDE SARC, 2024-25

Community Profile provides context about who attends this school and the resources available. These factors are never part of the Scope Score. Learn why →
For the data nerds

Every number on this page

Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.

01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Graduation rate · 25%
78.0%
↓ vs CA 87.6% · 39th pctile
Exceeded standard · 22%
1.0%
↓ vs CA 15.5% · 35th pctile
College readiness · 20%
0.0%
↓ vs CA 35.5% · 29th pctile
Met or exceeded · 18%
3.4%
↓ vs CA 34.6% · 28th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
46.8%
↓ vs CA 32.1% · 38th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
8.9%
↓ vs CA 4.0% · 29th pctile
EL proficiency (ELPAC) · 5%
12.0%
↓ vs CA 17.7% · 45th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 111022%5%27%66%7%−40
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 111030%0%1%99%0%−23
Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Grade 5/8/111060%2%71%27%

CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.

Subgroup · ELATestedMET+vs districtvs CA
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged936.5%−34−32
Hispanic/Latino996.1%−35−33
English Learners420.0%−3−10
03Peer comparison · nearest high schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Mount Toro High ←231.0%3.4%8.9%
Salinas High1.5 mi6123.7%51.6%2.8%
North Salinas High1.3 mi5210.9%32.6%2.1%
Everett Alvarez High2.2 mi509.9%31.3%4.7%
California average4715.5%34.6%4.0%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Graduation Rate
78.0%
AP Exam Prepared
Not offered
This school may not offer AP courses
A-G Completion
0.0%
This school may not offer A-G courses
College-Going Rate
26.3%
Scope Score history
15%23%'19'22'23'24'25
2019 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · no testing 2020–21 (COVID) · rank #1529 → #1576 → #1545 → #1562 → #1521
What we can't show
  • — Low-income students here trail the state average for their group by 32 points in ELA — worth asking how the school is closing that gap.
Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=1,739 high schools · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue

Frequently asked questions

Is Mount Toro High a good high school?
Mount Toro High has a Scope Score of 23 out of 100, placing it in the 13th percentile of California high schools and ranked #1,521 statewide. 1.0% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 14.5 percentage points below the California average of 15.5%. The Scope Score weights six dimensions for high schools: exceeded standard (43%), met or exceeded (22%), grade 3-to-5 growth (15%), chronic absenteeism (10%), ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%), and suspension rate (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.
What are Mount Toro High's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 3.4% of students at Mount Toro High met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 1.0% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 2.5% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 1.0% pushed past it. Most rating sites report only the combined "proficient" number. SchoolScope surfaces the exceeded-vs-met split because it reveals whether a school's curriculum challenges students beyond minimum proficiency or paces toward it. 205 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Mount Toro High rank in California?
Mount Toro High ranks #1,521 among California high schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 13th percentile. This ranking is based on a weighted composite of 2025 CAASPP test performance (exceeded and met rates), chronic absenteeism, and suspension rate. Unlike single-number ratings, the Scope Score shows what drives the ranking so parents can decide what matters most to their family. See full methodology.
What is the attendance and school culture like at Mount Toro High?
46.8% of students at Mount Toro High are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), compared to the California average of 32.1%. The suspension rate is 8.9%. SchoolScope includes these culture metrics in the Scope Score because they reflect day-to-day school experience in ways test scores alone cannot.
How does Mount Toro High compare to other schools in Salinas?
Mount Toro High scores 23/100 (13th percentile) among California high schools. To compare with nearby schools, SchoolScope shows the same metrics side by side: exceeded rate, proficiency, growth trajectory, and school culture indicators. The school serves 204 students. Use the schools in Salinas page or the map view to compare all high schools nearby.
How does Mount Toro High serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At Mount Toro High in Salinas, 6.5% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 40.5% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Mount Toro High trails its district average for low-income students by 34.0 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (0.0% Math proficient); Hispanic students (6.1% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 6.9 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 93 students tested. SchoolScope shows disaggregated test scores by demographic subgroup so you can see how a school performs for your child's specific group — not just the school-wide average. Subgroup data is context, not part of the Scope Score: we don't penalize schools for who they serve. See our equity approach.