Summary:
Poway has two high schools serving grades 9–12: Poway High (2,101 students) and Abraxas Continuation High (216 students), both in Poway Unified. In 2025–2026, Poway’s proficiency was above the state in ELA, math and science, but below the district in all three. The most important reported outcome difference is that Poway’s graduation rate was 67 percentage points higher and its chronic absenteeism 52 points lower than Abraxas’s.
Poway High stands out in the available test results: proficiency was 59% in ELA, 48% in math and 53% in science, exceeding state results by 10, 9 and 17 points, respectively. Its graduation rate was 97%, compared with 30% at Abraxas; chronic absenteeism was 15% versus 67%. Poway’s graduation rate was 9 points above the state, while Abraxas’s was 58 points below; absenteeism was 3 points below the state at Poway and 49 points above it at Abraxas. Abraxas is a continuation school, so these outcome differences compare distinct school settings, not otherwise similar schools; its test results are state-suppressed and cannot be compared with Poway’s.
Poway’s recent test-score changes were mixed: from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, ELA fell 9 points and math fell 3, while science rose 11; its lead over the state narrowed in ELA and math but widened in science. SchoolDigger gave Poway four stars in each of the last three listed years, with statewide percentiles of 86, 88 and 84. Abraxas had one star in each of its three listed years, with percentiles of 27, 18 and 11, though those years are not consecutive. Abraxas also had a lower student–teacher ratio (9.7 versus 21.5) and higher reported spending per student ($77,866 versus $21,410). In 2024–2025, free/reduced lunch eligible was 39% at Abraxas and 22% at Poway; these figures are context, not an explanation for outcomes.
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