School Profile · Pine Valley
Mountain Empire High: No single number tells this school's story. Here's the honest picture.
Mountain Empire posts 24% meeting the standard and 8.5% exceeding it, against 36% and 15.8% statewide. The gaps and the bright spots below are the real read.
3305 Buckman Springs Road, 91962 (opens in new tab)·Mountain Empire Unified·Pine Valley·Grades 9-12·412 students·42% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(619) 473-8601
Scope Score
37
🌱 Building Momentum · Developing
ranked #1,451 statewide · #5 of 6 in Mountain Empire Unified
Mountain Empire High scores 37 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 33rd 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 →
Most rating sites would stop at “24% proficient” and call it done. Mountain Empire deserves a closer read. The school sits in Pine Valley, where two in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
The story this school is actually telling
Proficient by 11th grade
24%
State 36%
Graduate
97%
State 88%
Pass an AP exam
15%
State 35%
Of 100 students here: 24 are proficient by 11th grade → 97 graduate → 15 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.
The 7 things our score weighs
Graduation rate
97.3%
State 87.6%
9.7pp above state avg
Exceeded standard
8.5%
State 15.8%
7.3pp below state avg
College readiness
14.8%
State 35.4%
AP exam pass rate below state avg
Met or exceeded
23.9%
State 35.7%
11.8pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
42.1%
State 30.2%
11.9pp above state avg
Suspension rate
10.0%
State 3.6%
6.4pp above state avg
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
16.1%
State 18.0%
1.8pp below state avg
Worth a school visit
Ask what the school is working on next. Strong numbers tell you where a school is, not where it's going.
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
K-12 Feeder Path
Elementary
▼
High School
Mountain Empire High
37/100
This school
Feeder patterns derived from NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries are approximate and may have changed — verify with your school district for current assignments.
Your other options
The community around it
Community Profile
Context — not part of the Scope ScoreStudent demographics
Hispanic63.4%
White30.1%
Black1.5%
Other5.1%
GenderFemale 42.0%Male 58.0%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 42.0% (22pp below CA avg)
Resources & Access
Enrollment
412
1,038 below CA avg (~1,450)
Student-Teacher Ratio
20:1
1 fewer students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$23,791
District avg: $15,429 · CA avg: $14,815 · School-level · CDE ESSA
EL Proficiency (ELPAC)
16.1% Level 4
Share of English Learners reaching full proficiency
At Mountain Empire High in Pine Valley, 21.6% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 20.6% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Mountain Empire High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 1.0 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (13.5% Math proficient); Hispanic students (23.5% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 21.8 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 37 students tested.
Equity Gaps
Absenteeism · English Learner+12.2pp
54.3% vs 42.1% overall · n=81
Suspension · Disabilities+8.7pp
18.7% vs 10.0% overall · n=91
ELA · Disabilities−21.8pp
11.1% vs 33.0% overall · n=18
2 more gaps by subject
ELA Exceeded · Disabilities−5.8pp
5.6% vs 11.4% overall · n=18
Math · Disabilities−9.2pp
5.6% vs 14.8% overall · n=18
Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.
Subgroup Proficiency
Low-Income37 tested
ELA 21.6%·Math 13.5%· +1.0pp vs district
Hispanic51 tested
ELA 23.5%·Math 9.8%· +4.0pp vs district
White28 tested
ELA 50.0%·Math 25.0%· +6.9pp vs district
Weighted average across tested grades. Subgroups with fewer than 15 students excluded. Data: CDE CAASPP 2024-25.
Funding Breakdown
Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$143K
$58K above CA median
Median Home Value
$528K
$131K below CA median
Bachelor's+
41%
6pp above CA avg
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
Whole Child
Teacher experience, college/career readiness, and more. Context only — never part of the Scope Score.
Teacher Experience
11.5 years avg experience
24 teachers · 8% first-year · 13% second-year
Teacher Credentials
79% fully credentialed
4.9% on intern/emergency permit
AP Courses Offered
1 AP courses
4 students qualified via AP exam
Sources: CDE SARC · CDE College/Career Indicator, 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 nerdsEvery number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
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%
97.3%
↑ vs CA 87.6% · 62th pctile
Exceeded standard · 22%
8.5%
↓ vs CA 15.8% · 42th pctile
College readiness · 20%
14.8%
↓ vs CA 35.4% · 38th pctile
Met or exceeded · 18%
23.9%
↓ vs CA 35.7% · 42th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
42.1%
↓ vs CA 30.2% · 40th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
10.0%
↓ vs CA 3.6% · 21th pctile
EL proficiency (ELPAC) · 5%
16.1%
↓ vs CA 18.0% · 50th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 88 | 11% | 22% | 26% | 41% | 33% | −14 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 88 | 6% | 9% | 18% | 67% | 15% | −9 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 91 | 0% | 13% | 64% | 23% |
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 | 37 | 21.6% | +1 | −17 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 51 | 23.5% | +4 | −15 |
| White | 28 | 50.0% | +7 | −12 |
03Peer comparison · nearest high schoolssorted by Scope Score
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain Empire High ← | — | 37 | 8.5% | 23.9% | — | 10.0% |
| California average | — | 44 | 15.8% | 35.7% | — | 3.6% |
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Graduation Rate
97.3%
AP Exam Prepared
14.8%
A-G Completion
52.1%
A-G are the 15 courses (across 7 subjects) required for UC/CSU eligibility
College-Going Rate
56.2%
Scope Score history
2019 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · no testing 2020–21 (COVID) · rank #1220 → #1417 → #1405 → #1327 → #1451
What we can't show
- — Low-income students here trail the state average for their group by 17 points in ELA — worth asking how the school is closing that gap.
Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=2,160 high schools · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue
A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means
Frequently asked questions
Is Mountain Empire High a good high school?
Mountain Empire High has a Scope Score of 37 out of 100, placing it in the 33rd percentile of California high schools and ranked #1,451 statewide. 8.5% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 7.3 percentage points below the California average of 15.8%. 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 Mountain Empire High's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 23.9% of students at Mountain Empire High met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 8.5% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 15.3% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 8.5% 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. 176 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Mountain Empire High rank in California?
Mountain Empire High ranks #1,451 among California high schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 33rd 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 Mountain Empire High?
42.1% of students at Mountain Empire High are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), compared to the California average of 30.2%. The suspension rate is 10.0%. 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 Mountain Empire High compare to other schools in Pine Valley?
Mountain Empire High scores 37/100 (33rd 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 412 students. Use the schools in Pine Valley page or the map view to compare all high schools nearby.
How does Mountain Empire High serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At Mountain Empire High in Pine Valley, 21.6% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 20.6% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Mountain Empire High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 1.0 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (13.5% Math proficient); Hispanic students (23.5% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 21.8 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 37 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.