How does Northgate High compare to other high schools in Walnut Creek?

Northgate High has a SchoolScope composite score of 72.0/100, placing it at the 93rd percentile statewide. 38% of students exceed standard, with a total of 708 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Northgate High?

37.9% of students at Northgate High exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 62.3% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at Northgate High?

13.0% of students at Northgate High are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days). This metric reflects school culture and family engagement, and is weighted at 15% in our composite score.

Northgate High

High School

Mt. Diablo Unified Walnut CreekContra Costa County94598

📍 425 Castle Rock Road

Composite Score

out of 100

State Percentile

of high schools

State Rank

of 1,739 California high schools

💪

Strong All-Around

Strong across every dimension we measure — academics, growth, culture, and engagement.

Composite scores are SchoolScope's analysis of public data from the California Dept. of Education (CAASPP, chronic absenteeism, suspension rates). They are not official CDE ratings and should not be the sole basis for school decisions. See methodology.

School overview

Enrollment

1,535 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

24:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

10%

Teachers

65 full-time

College & career readiness

Graduation Rate

98.7%

AP Exam Prepared

73.7%

A-G Completion

66.6%

College-Going Rate

88.5%

Data source: California Department of Education — ACGR, CCI, CGR reports

Dashboard indicators

ELA Year-over-Year

Maintained

-0.9 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Declined

-13.4 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

20.0%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 25 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic16.7%

White45.0%

Asian13.9%

Black1.6%

Other22.7%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Northgate High
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	37.9%
Met Standard	24.4%
Below Standard	37.7%

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "62% proficient" for Northgate High and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

37.9% of students exceeded standard while 24.4% met it. That exceeded rate is 22.4 points above the state average of 15.5%. That's 19.3 points above the Mt. Diablo Unified district average of 18.5%. Compared to the 1 nearby schools within ~3 miles, this exceeded rate is 32.2 points higher (vs 5.7% average). The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

The graduation rate is 98.7% — above the state target. 66.6% of students complete A-G requirements for UC/CSU eligibility — a strong college readiness signal. 88.5% of graduates go on to college within a year.

Chronic absenteeism is 13.0%, better than the state average of 34.0%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

37.9%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

62.3%

Students meeting standard

Chronic Absenteeism

13.0%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

2.1%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

708

Across all grades & subjects

ELA scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
11th	353	46.5%	27.2%	13.9%	12.5%	73.7%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
11th	355	29.3%	21.7%	21.7%	27.3%	51.0%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Walnut Acres Elementary

68.893rd pctile

Valle Verde Elementary

67.993rd pctile

Highlands Elementary

51.569th pctile

Silverwood Elementary

Also serves area

Eagle Peak Montessori

50.968th pctile

▼

Middle

Also serves area

▼

High School

Northgate High

72.093rd pctile

This school

Feeder patterns derived from 2015-16 NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries may have changed. Contact your school district for current information.