Palo Alto High: High scores, healthy climate, strong attendance. We looked for a catch — we didn't find one.
Palo Alto posts 55.0% exceeding the standard — versus 15.8% statewide — with climate numbers better than most. That doesn't make it perfect. It makes it worth a visit to find what numbers can't measure.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Grad rate | College readiness | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 80 | 55% | 75% | 98.1% | 89.8% | 14.7% | 1.3% |
| CA average · High School | 44 | 16% | 36% | 87.6% | 35.4% | 30.2% | 3.6% |
Palo Alto High scores 80 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 99th 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 →
⭐ High Ceiling — Ask what happens for a kid who shows up behind — a high ceiling for the top can sit right next to thin support at the bottom, and the score alone won't show you which.
Most rating sites would stop at “75% proficient” and call it done. Palo Alto deserves a closer read. It sits at the 99th percentile of 2,160 California high schools — but the ranking is the least interesting thing on this page.
The headline number: 55.0% of students scored in the top band on the state test. The California average is 15.8%.
The seven-year arc
Has held the 99th-percentile line every tested year since 2019.
This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 75% meet the standard today, versus 81% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 85% | 88% | 75% | 72% | 76% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 77% | 84% | 72% | 70% | 74% |
The story this school is actually telling
Of 100 students here: 75 are proficient by 11th grade → 98 graduate → 90 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.
The 7 things our score weighs
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 Palo Alto High in Palo Alto, 39.2% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 51.4% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Palo Alto High trails its district average for low-income students by 12.2 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (34.0% Math proficient); Asian students (86.5% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 54.4 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 51 students tested.
5 of 14 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 follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
Feeder patterns derived from NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries are approximate and may have changed — verify with your school district for current assignments.
The people teaching here
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
What gets spent here
$99 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
On the state's science test (CAST), 67% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Palo Alto High a good high school?
What are Palo Alto High's CAASPP test scores?
How does Palo Alto High rank in California?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Palo Alto High?
How does Palo Alto High compare to other schools in Palo Alto?
How does Palo Alto High serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby High Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 62
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 89
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
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 | 417 | 55% | 21% | 12% | 12% | 76% | +29 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 415 | 55% | 18% | 13% | 13% | 74% | +50 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 485 | 31% | 35% | 29% | 4% |
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 | 51 | 39.2% | −12 | +1 |
| Asian | 170 | 86.5% | −5 | +12 |
| White | 131 | 77.9% | −7 | +16 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto High ← | — | 80 | 55.0% | 74.8% | — | 1.3% |
| Henry M. Gunn High | 3 mi | 82 | 62.9% | 82.4% | — | 0.8% |
| Menlo-Atherton High | 1.7 mi | 63 | 39.5% | 60.1% | — | 3.1% |
| KIPP Esperanza High | 2.5 mi | 41 | 16.3% | 40.0% | — | 9.0% |
| California average | — | 44 | 15.8% | 35.7% | — | 3.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 83 | 98 | #33 | 58.7% | 80.8% | 9.1% | 1.6% | — |
| 2022 | 83 | 99 | #19 | 69.5% | 85.9% | 14.3% | 1.0% | — |
| 2023 | 78 | 98 | #41 | 53.5% | 73.3% | 15.4% | 0.9% | — |
| 2024 | 77 | 98 | #42 | 51.5% | 71.2% | 11.5% | 1.0% | — |
| 2025 | 80 | 99 | #31 | 55.0% | 74.8% | 14.7% | 1.3% | — |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 8.7% | 14.6% | +5.9pp |
| Male | 7.5% | 13.4% | +5.9pp |
| Asian | 4.9% | 10.1% | +5.2pp |
| Black/African American | 29.5% | 21.1% | -8.4pp |
| White | 13.3% | 15.4% | +2.1pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 9.6% | 21.4% | +11.8pp |
| Pacific Islander | 33.3% | 32.3% | -1.0pp |
| Two or More Races | 10.6% | 15.5% | +4.9pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 25.5% | 27.8% | +2.3pp |
| English Learners | 4.5% | 15.0% | +10.5pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 13.5% | 22.8% | +9.3pp |
| All Students | 8.1% | 14.1% | +6.0pp |
| Homeless | — | 61.5% | — |
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