How does Poway to Palomar Middle College High compare to other high schools in San Diego?

Poway to Palomar Middle College High has a Scope Score of 73.2/100, ranked #320 among California high schools. 22% of students exceed standard, with a total of 90 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Poway to Palomar Middle College High?

22.2% of students at Poway to Palomar Middle College High exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 61.1% 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 Poway to Palomar Middle College High?

14.0% of students at Poway to Palomar Middle College 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 the Scope Score.

Poway to Palomar Middle College High

High School

Poway Unified San DiegoSan Diego County92127Magnet Program

📍 11111 Rancho Bernardo Road

Magnet program — a specialized public school with a focused theme (STEM, arts, language immersion, etc.). Admission is typically through a district lottery, not based on neighborhood attendance boundaries. Students from across the district may apply.

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,649 California high schools

🤝

Culture First

Strong school culture with high family engagement, even if test scores are still developing.

Scope 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

81 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

16:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

30%

Teachers

5 full-time

College & career readiness

Graduation Rate

97.7%

AP Exam Prepared

20.7%

A-G Completion

27.9%

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

Dashboard indicators

How this school's scores changed from last year to this year

ELA Year-over-Year

Maintained

+1.0 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Declined

-4.6 pts DFS change

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic27.2%

White39.5%

Asian16.1%

Black3.7%

Other13.6%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Poway to Palomar Middle College High
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	22.2%
Met Standard	38.9%
Below Standard	38.9%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Graduation rate: 97.7%

10.3pp above state avg (state avg 87.4%)

25% weight

✓Exceeded standard: 22.2%

6.5pp above state avg (state avg 15.7%)

20% weight

✓Met or exceeded: 61.1%

26.4pp above state avg (state avg 34.8%)

15% weight

✓Chronic absenteeism: 14.0%

20.3pp below state avg (state avg 34.3%)

10% weight

✓Baseline proficiency: 61.1%

Above state baseline (state avg 34.8%)

5% weight

✓Suspension rate: 1.1%

3.0pp below state avg (state avg 4.1%)

5% weight

Holding Back

▼College readiness: 20.7%

AP exam pass rate below state avg (state avg 35.3%)

20% weight

Unlike traditional school ratings, we show our work. Every factor, its weight, and how this school compares to the state average — so you can decide what matters most to your family. The high school Scope Score is weighted across 7 dimensions. See full methodology →

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "61% proficient" for Poway to Palomar Middle College High and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

22.2% of students exceeded standard while 38.9% met it. That exceeded rate is 6.5 points above the state average of 15.7%. That's 21.5 points below the Poway Unified district average of 43.7%. The 2 nearby schools within ~3 miles average 43.2% exceeded — 21.0 points higher. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

The graduation rate is 97.7% — above the state target. 27.9% of students complete A-G requirements for UC/CSU eligibility.

Chronic absenteeism is 14.0%, better than the state average of 34.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

22.2%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

61.1%

Students meeting standard

Chronic Absenteeism

14.0%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

1.1%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

Across all grades & subjects

ELA scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
11th	45	37.8%	40.0%	20.0%	2.2%	77.8%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
11th	45	6.7%	37.8%	20.0%	35.6%	44.4%

Estimated K-12 PathEstimate

Elementary

Westwood Elementary

79.5

→

Middle

Oak Valley Middle

87.3

→

High

Poway to Palomar Middle C…

73.2

This school

Estimated K-12 path based on district and proximity. Actual attendance zones may differ. Contact your school district for official feeder information.