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North Salinas High · SalinasPublic

North Salinas High: No single number tells this school's story. Here's the honest picture.

North Salinas posts 33% meeting the standard and 10.9% exceeding it, against 36% and 15.8% statewide. The gaps and the bright spots below are the real read.

55 Kip Drive, 93906 (opens in new tab)·Salinas Union High·Salinas·Grades 9-12·2,106 students·93% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(831) 796-7500
2019–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
This schoolCA avg
Scope5147
% Exceeded11%16%
% Met+33%36%
Grad rate91.2%86.6%
College readiness57.0%33.9%
Absence15.5%30.2%
Suspension2.0%3.6%
Scope Score
51
🌱 Building Momentum · Solid
ranked #915 statewide · #4 of 7 in Salinas Union High

North Salinas High scores 51 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 58th 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 “33% proficient” and call it done. North Salinas deserves a closer read. The school sits in Salinas, where four in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.

The headline number: 15.5% chronic absenteeism — versus 30.2% statewide. Attendance is the quietest strong signal a school can post.

The seven-year arc

Percentile among 2,160 high schools statewide

Has stayed near the 58th percentile since 2019.

ELAOrange(Maintained)MathYellow(Increased Significantly)

This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 33% meet the standard today, versus 38% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.

ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 1151%50%46%50%48%
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 1126%14%14%12%17%

The story this school is actually telling

Proficient by 11th grade
33%
State 36%
Graduate
91%
State 87%
Pass an AP exam
57%
State 34%

Of 100 students here: 33 are proficient by 11th grade → 91 graduate → 57 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.

The 7 things our score weighs

Graduation rate
91.2%
State 86.6%
4.6pp above state avg
Exceeded standard
10.9%
State 15.8%
4.9pp below state avg
College readiness
57.0%
State 33.9%
AP course or exam readiness above state avg
Met or exceeded
32.6%
State 35.7%
3.1pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
15.5%
State 30.2%
14.7pp below state avg
Suspension rate
2.0%
State 3.6%
1.6pp below state avg
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
16.5%
State 18.0%
1.5pp 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.

  • 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 North Salinas High in Salinas, 47.1% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 40.5% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. North Salinas High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 6.6 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (17.2% Math proficient); Hispanic students (46.9% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 44.6 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 497 students tested.

All students at this school: 33% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 33%, district —, state 36%33%
Socioeconomically DisadvantagedSocioeconomically Disadvantaged: this school 32%, district 30%, state 32%32% · −0 vs school
Hispanic/LatinoHispanic/Latino: this school 32%, district 30%, state 32%32% · −1 vs school
MaleMale: this school 32%, district 30%, state 42%32% · −1 vs school
FemaleFemale: this school 33%, district 33%, state 44%33% · +1 vs school
English LearnersEnglish Learners: this school 4%, district 3%, state 11%4% · −29 vs school
HomelessHomeless: this school 20%, district 23%, state 22%20% · −12 vs school
Students with DisabilitiesStudents with Disabilities: this school 5%, district 8%, state 15%5% · −28 vs school
WhiteWhite: this school 50%, district 55%, state 56%50% · +17 vs school
Two or More RacesTwo or More Races: this school 27%, district 43%, state 56%27% · −5 vs school
FilipinoFilipino: too few students to report‹11
AsianAsian: too few students to report‹11
Black/African AmericanBlack/African American: too few students to report‹11
this school district, same group California, same group
AP access · 2020-21 federal civil rights snapshot (structural, dated — newest published; biennial)
Shown, never scored

In the 2020-21 federal collection — the newest there is — English learners students were 17% of North Salinas's enrollment but 1% of its AP seats; ask the school what's changed since.

Hispanic78.5% AP · 88.2% enroll.
American Indian/Alaska Native0.0% AP · 0.0% enroll.
Asian10.8% AP · 5.1% enroll.
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander0.5% AP · 0.2% enroll.
Black1.2% AP · 1.2% enroll.
White8.6% AP · 4.5% enroll.
Two or more races0.5% AP · 0.7% enroll.
English learners1.2% AP · 16.5% enroll.
Students with disabilities1.0% AP · 10.6% enroll.

● 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

Chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeism: this school 15.5%, district 26.0%, state 30.2%15.5% · −14.7pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 2.0%, district —, state 3.6%2.0% · −1.6pp vs state
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 9–1215.0%

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
North Salinas High
51/100
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.

Where graduates go

Context — never part of the Scope Score
73%
College-going rate, class of 2023

Where they went after graduation

Of North Salinas's class of 2023, 73% enrolled in college somewhere within a year — a CSU, a community college, a UC, or out of state.

College destination mix, class of 2023

Class of 2023: 379 completers, 73% enrolled somewhere within a year

University of California 15 (4%)California State University 28 (7%)California community college 231 (61%)In-state private 2 (1%)Out-of-state, 4-year 1 (0%)Out-of-state, 2-year 0 (0%)Not enrolled 102 (27%)

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.

UC application funnel — one destination of six, tracked in detail because UC is the only source with 30 years of history

In fall 2025, 17 of North Salinas's 464 graduates enrolled in the University of California system — Davis the most common landing, with 5 enrollees.

Applied82fall 2025, universitywide
Admitted54
Enrolled17
Where they landed (fall 2025)

7 of 9 campuses are masked below UC's privacy floor — a protection, not a verdict.

campuses never sum to the universitywide figure — students apply to several

UC enrollees, universitywide, 2014–2025

Peak: 27 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, 73% of this class's predecessors enrolled in college somewhere within a year. More of the class of 2023 enrolled at community colleges (231) than at UC (15).

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

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Student : teacherStudent to teacher ratio: this school 20:1, district 21:120:1
Teaching staff116 teachers
Avg. experience10.8 years
Fully credentialed77%
First-year teachers2%
Intern / emergency permit1.9%
Salary Schedule
Teacher salary schedule$61,054 – $143,305
Principal salaryUp to $178,447
Superintendent salary$308,000

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

Course Breadth
AP exam qualifiers158 studentsCCI, participation not authorization
CTE pathway completers105 students
Advanced Coursework

North Salinas's teachers are authorized to teach 14 of the 40 AP subjects the College Board offers — including Calculus BC, Calculus AB, and Statistics.

AP subjects taught14
Math & Computer Science (3)Calculus AB · Calculus BC · Statistics
Sciences (1)Biology
English (2)English Language and Composition · English Literature and Composition
History & Social Science (5)Macroeconomics · Psychology · U.S. Government and Politics · United States History · World History: Modern
World Languages & Cultures (3)French Language and Culture · Spanish Language and Culture · Spanish Literature and Culture

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

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $17,719, CA average $14,491$17,719 · spent at this school

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.

Federal share$1,462 per student

$1,462 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.

District current expense · FY 2024–25$21,171 per student

The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.

Where the district's dollars go · FY 2024–25 · CDE SACS
Instruction55%
Instruction support16%
Student services14%
Administration4%
Buildings & maintenance10%
Other1%

District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.

district detail, 2016–2020 — the newest published
2020$13,447 per pupil
2019$12,621 per pupil
2018$12,953 per pupil
2017$12,363 per pupil
2016$11,928 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood it serves

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Hispanic92.0%
District 91.7% · CA 56.1%
Other4.1%
District 2.8% · CA 9.0%
White2.5%
District 4.3% · CA 19.9%
Asian0.8%
District 0.7% · CA 10.2%
Black0.6%
District 0.5% · CA 4.8%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 93.5% (30pp above CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Median income$98K · CA $85K
Median home value$639K · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+18% · CA 35%
ZIP population64,199
Median age34 years

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level

Worth Knowing

On the state's science test (CAST), 17% 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 North Salinas High a good high school?

North Salinas High has a Scope Score of 51 out of 100, placing it in the 58th percentile of California high schools and ranked #915 statewide. 10.9% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 4.9 percentage points below the California average of 15.8%. The Scope Score weights 7 dimensions for high schools: graduation rate (25%), exceeded standard (22%), college/career readiness (20%), met or exceeded (proficient) (18%), chronic absenteeism (5%), suspension rate (5%), and ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.

What are North Salinas High's CAASPP test scores?

On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 32.6% of students at North Salinas High met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 10.9% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 21.7% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 10.9% 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. 1,036 student-subject combinations were assessed.

How does North Salinas High rank in California?

North Salinas High ranks #915 among California high schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 58th 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 North Salinas High?

15.5% of students at North Salinas High are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), which is better than the California average of 30.2%. The suspension rate is 2.0%. 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 North Salinas High compare to other schools in Salinas?

North Salinas High scores 51/100 (58th 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 2,106 students. Use the schools in Salinas page or the map view to compare all high schools nearby.

How does North Salinas High serve low-income and underrepresented students?

At North Salinas High in Salinas, 47.1% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 40.5% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. North Salinas High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 6.6 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (17.2% Math proficient); Hispanic students (46.9% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 44.6 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 497 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.

What AP courses are offered at North Salinas High?

North Salinas High's teachers are authorized to teach 14 of the 40 AP subjects the College Board offers, per the 2025 - 2026 AP Course Audit: Biology, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, English Language and Composition, English Literature and Composition, French Language and Culture, Macroeconomics, Psychology, Spanish Language and Culture, Spanish Literature and Culture, Statistics, U.S. Government and Politics, United States History, World History: Modern. Authorization means the school may teach a course, not that a section is running this year, and it's separate from AP exam pass rates. Data source: College Board AP Course Audit, analyzed by SchoolScope.

How many students from North Salinas High go to UC?

In fall 2025, 17 North Salinas High graduates enrolled at University of California campuses, universitywide. That figure can't be split into a per-campus sum — students apply to several UC campuses at once, so campus-level counts don't add up to the universitywide total. UC is one destination among many: this says nothing about graduates who chose a CSU, a private college, a community college, or work, and it is a count, not a rate or a ranking. Data source: University of California Office of the President (UC Information Center), fall 2025 admissions cycle.

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.


For the data nerds

Every number on this page

Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and nearest schools.

01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Graduation rate · 25%
91.2%
↑ vs CA 86.6% · 55th pctile
Exceeded standard · 22%
10.9%
↓ vs CA 15.8% · 44th pctile
College readiness · 20%
57.0%
↑ vs CA 33.9% · 63th pctile
Met or exceeded · 18%
32.6%
↓ vs CA 35.7% · 47th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
15.5%
↑ vs CA 30.2% · 62th pctile
▲ 2.4pp higher vs 2024
Suspension rate · 5%
2.0%
↑ vs CA 3.6% · 57th pctile
▼ 1.2pp lower vs 2024
EL proficiency (ELPAC) · 5%
16.5%
↓ vs CA 18.0% · 50th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 1151917%31%27%25%48%−1
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 115175%12%21%61%17%−6

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)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Schoolwide4831%16%76%8%

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 · ELATestedMET+vs districtvs CA
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged49747.1%+7+9
Hispanic/Latino47646.9%+6+8
English Learners643.1%−0−7
03Nearest high schoolssorted by Scope Score · Grade gap = grade 3 vs grade 5, this year, different students; Cohort growth = the same students tracked across grades, in scale-score points — that's the measurement the Scope Score weights
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+Grade gapCohort growthSusp
North Salinas High ←5110.9%32.6%2.0%
Salinas High2.8 mi6023.7%51.6%2.8%
Rancho San Juan High1.8 mi5414.5%38.4%1.7%
Everett Alvarez High1.5 mi499.9%31.3%4.7%
California average4715.8%35.7%3.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Graduation Rate
91.2%
AP Exam Prepared
57.0%
A-G Completion
46.6%
A-G are the 15 courses (across 7 subjects) required for UC/CSU eligibility
College-Going Rate
73.1%
YearScopePctileRankExcMet+AbsentSuspGrade gap
20195360#81014.1%38.0%15.2%5.4%
20224854#9678.3%31.8%30.2%7.0%
20235158#8978.7%29.8%16.6%2.1%
20245057#9218.2%30.9%13.1%3.2%
20255158#91510.9%32.6%15.5%2.0%
Grade gap = this year's grade 3 vs grade 5 result, two different sets of students, not a trend for any one child — it is not the measurement the Scope Score's growth dimension uses. See §01 above and /methodology#verdicts for the school's actual scored (cohort) growth.
NO STATEWIDE TESTING 2020–21 (COVID) · SCORE AND PERCENTILE ARE RELATIVE TO EACH YEAR'S FIELD
05Climate by student groupchronic absenteeism · 2019 vs 2025 — the two years CDE publishes at subgroup level
Group20192025Δ
Female15.1%15.5%+0.4pp
Male14.7%14.3%-0.4pp
Asian4.1%5.6%+1.5pp
Black/African American26.9%6.7%-20.2pp
White7.8%14.3%+6.5pp
Hispanic/Latino15.0%15.0%+0.0pp
Two or More Races33.3%16.0%-17.3pp
Students with Disabilities22.1%23.4%+1.3pp
English Learners21.4%18.9%-2.5pp
Foster Youth11.1%
Homeless29.7%26.8%-2.9pp
Military-Connected17.5%16.1%-1.4pp
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged16.2%14.9%-1.3pp
All Students14.9%15.0%+0.1pp
06UC admissions, universitywide2014–2025 · summed across CEEB codes at query time
YearAppliedAdmittedEnrolledGPA (applied)GPA (admitted)GPA (enrolled)
20258254173.723.934.04
20247454173.873.994.06
20236146153.833.964.10
20226039193.924.084.16
20215539163.874.004.06
20207957273.844.014.11
20196040153.813.994.16
20186435193.824.034.13
20176439263.874.074.13
20163932143.743.904.05
20154425153.774.024.10
20143322143.673.873.89

‹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.

07UC admissions by campuslatest falls on file
CampusYearAppliedAdmittedEnrolled
Berkeley20255184
Berkeley2024435‹3
Berkeley20234273
Berkeley20223065
Berkeley202135104
Davis202559205
Davis202441204
Davis202333106
Davis202237138
Davis202132134
Irvine2025409‹3
Irvine2024318‹3
Irvine202326‹3‹3
Irvine2022246‹3
Irvine2021263‹3
Los Angeles2025373‹3
Los Angeles202433‹3‹3
Los Angeles202330‹3‹3
Los Angeles202233‹3‹3
Los Angeles2021245‹3
Merced20252521‹3
Merced20241111‹3
Merced20231917‹3
Merced20221413‹3
Merced20211613‹3
Riverside20251613‹3
Riverside202475‹3
Riverside202265‹3
Riverside2021116‹3
San Diego2025299‹3
San Diego20242513‹3
San Diego20232613‹3
San Diego20222012‹3
San Diego2021229‹3
Santa Barbara20253812‹3
Santa Barbara20243314‹3
Santa Barbara20232714‹3
Santa Barbara20221612‹3
Santa Barbara20212411‹3
Santa Cruz20253417‹3
Santa Cruz202442324
Santa Cruz20233316‹3
Santa Cruz20223719‹3
Santa Cruz202119134
Universitywide2025825417
Universitywide2024745417
Universitywide2023614615
Universitywide2022603919
Universitywide2021553916

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.

08AP course catalog2025 - 2026
SubjectTaught by
Biologythis school
Calculus ABthis school
Calculus BCthis school
English Language and Compositionthis school
English Literature and Compositionthis school
French Language and Culturethis school
Macroeconomicsthis school
Psychologythis school
Spanish Language and Culturethis school
Spanish Literature and Culturethis school
Statisticsthis school
U.S. Government and Politicsthis school
United States Historythis school
World History: Modernthis school

Authorization ≠ a section running this year — the Ledger records what the school may teach, not seat counts.

09Advanced coursework — 2020-21 federal civil-rights snapshotstructural, dated — newest published; biennial
MeasureThis school
AP offeredoffered
AP course count15
AP enrollment418
IB participationnot offered
Dual enrollmentoffered · 135 enrolled
Algebra I in grade 8not reported
Calculus sections5
Physics sections9
Chemistry sections58
Total enrollment (CRDC)2,268

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.

10College destinationsclass of 2023 · CDE 12-mo College-Going Rate
DestinationCompleters% (derived)
University of California154.0%
California State University287.4%
California community college23161.0%
In-state private20.5%
Out-of-state, 4-year10.3%
Out-of-state, 2-year00.0%
Not enrolled10226.9%

379 completers, class of 2023 · state-reported college-going rate 73% · % 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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EXC = exceeded standard · MET+ = met or exceeded ("proficient") · Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=2,160 high schools · Vintages: climate subgroups 2019+2025 · district finance per its label · ACS 2022 · UC Infocenter (annual refresh, summer) — ‹5/‹3 = masked, never summed across campuses · AP Course Ledger 2025 - 2026 (November refresh; authorization not enrollment) · CRDC 2020-21 (biennial; next expected 2021-22) · CDE 12-mo CGR 2023 cohort, National Student Clearinghouse match · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue

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