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Chaparral High

Public Grades 9-12

2120^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California High Schools

Better than 2% of California high schools

Summary

Chaparral High is a very small public high school serving 45 students in grades 9-12 within the Grossmont Union High district in El Cajon, California, characterized by exceptionally small class sizes and a high percentage of students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

The school faces significant challenges, with academic proficiency rates far below district and state averages, including 0% proficiency in both math and science for the 2024-2025 school year. It also struggles with alarmingly high dropout and chronic absenteeism rates, at 71.4% and 69.2% respectively, which are dramatically higher than nearby comprehensive high schools like West Hills High and Santana High. Despite these outcomes, per-student spending at Chaparral is remarkably high, over $53,000 per student, which is more than double the spending at other schools in the district.

Chaparral High appears to function as an alternative education program, similar to other small schools at its location like MERIT Academy and the IDEA Center, which share profiles of high need and high spending with low academic results. This contrasts sharply with the highly successful model of Grossmont Middle College High, another small alternative school in the district that achieves excellent outcomes, indicating that school size alone does not determine performance.

Students ?

7.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$53,089

Per pupil spending ?

77.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1600 North Cuyamaca St.
El Cajon, CA 92020-1187

(619) 956-4600

District: Grossmont Union High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

48.9%

White:

31.1%

African American:

15.6%

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At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 32nd percentile in 2013 → 2nd in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 7 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (3% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (2nd percentile)

!Graduation rate below the California average (29% vs 88%)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school3%

District avg35%

California avg41%

2,120^th of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Bottom 2%▼ down 7 pts since 2015

From bottom 8% (2015) to bottom 2% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

13^th of 13High Schools in the Grossmont Union High

750^th of 1,543Grossmont Union High among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	8.0	2120 of 2162	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.7	2022 of 2159	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.0	2094 of 2170	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.4	2085 of 2123	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.5	2014 of 2133	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.9	1965 of 2017	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	8.5	1987 of 2021	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	11.5	1765 of 2039	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	10.3	1825 of 1994	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	19.7	1661 of 2426	31.5%	★★☆☆☆
2012	22.7	1519 of 2354	35.5%	★★☆☆☆
2011	19.6	1648 of 2367	30.4%	★★☆☆☆
2010	23.3	1491 of 2281	34.6%	★★☆☆☆
2009	32.4	1287 of 2238	42.5%	★★☆☆☆
2008	26.6	1270 of 2117	40.0%	★★☆☆☆
2007	27.5	1209 of 2063	41.4%	★★☆☆☆
2006	19.7	1442 of 1968	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	22.7	1297 of 1901	31.8%	★★☆☆☆
2004	17.9	1354 of 1653	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	8.0	1850 of 1900	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	12.0	1844 of 2026	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	9.6	1987 of 2030	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.4	1913 of 1943	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	12.9	1706 of 1948	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	9.4	1907 of 1963	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.1	1884 of 1916	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	11.1	1721 of 1880	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Male (2024)12th percentile+6 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2024)9th percentile+3 vs school

Hispanic (2025)3rd percentile~ school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy8%-40 vs state

Mathematics0%-37 vs state

Science0%-33 vs state

★

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Schools Near Chaparral High

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)					Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science 10th Grade	CAST Science 11th Grade	CAST Science 12th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Chaparral High	Public	9-12	1600 North Cuyamaca St.	El Cajon	92020	San Diego County	Grossmont Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 956-4600	45	6	7.2	77.8%	14 (31.1%)	7 (15.6%)	22 (48.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (4.4%)	8	2120^th of 2162 public high schools	1.9%		10.7	2022^nd of 2159 public high schools	6.3%	98			0.0		0.0			8.3	8.3			0.0	0.0	$53,089	$4,934	$48,155
MERIT Academy	Public	9-12	1600 North Cuyamaca St.	El Cajon	92020	San Diego County	Grossmont Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 956-0600	68	7	9.6	73.5%	28 (41.2%)	7 (10.3%)	28 (41.2%)	2 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.9%)	15.9	1771^st of 2162 public high schools	18.1%		11.4	1979^th of 2159 public high schools	8.3%	208			8.3		8.3			16.7	16.7			9.1	9.1	$42,491	$3,516	$38,975
IDEA Center	Public	9-12	1600 North Cuyamaca St.	El Cajon	92020	San Diego County	Grossmont Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 956-4332	127	16	7.7	65.4%	60 (47.2%)	3 (2.4%)	51 (40.2%)	2 (1.6%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (6.3%)	21.4	1665^th of 2162 public high schools	23.0%		34.9	1373^rd of 2159 public high schools	36.4%	292			8.9		8.7			34.8	34.8			6.3	6.3	$34,714	$2,939	$31,775
Altus Schools East County	Public, Charter	7-12	111 Fletcher Pkwy.	El Cajon	92020	San Diego County	Altus Schools East County District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 678-2020	287	8	35.3	73.2%	68 (23.7%)	21 (7.3%)	167 (58.2%)	8 (2.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (6.6%)	36.1	1355^th of 2162 public high schools	37.3%		47.7	1061^st of 2159 public high schools	50.9%	294	20.8	14.7	18.2	17.7	17.4	15.4	29.2	54.1	39.2	15.4	25.0	5.4	13.5	$16,740	$2,819	$13,921
Grossmont Middle College High	Public	11-12	8800 Grossmont College Dr.	El Cajon	92020	San Diego County	Grossmont Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 644-7524	37	3	14.5	27.0%	27 (73.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (13.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (13.5%)	98.7	23^rd of 2162 public high schools	98.9%		97.2	64^th of 2159 public high schools	97.0%	41			75.0		75.0			93.3	93.3			86.7	86.7	$18,256	$1,080	$17,176
El Cajon Valley High	Public	9-12	1035 East Madison Ave.	El Cajon	92021	San Diego County	Grossmont Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 407-4711	1,701	82	20.7	88.8%	633 (37.2%)	157 (9.2%)	692 (40.7%)	120 (7.1%)	1 (0.1%)	7 (0.4%)	90 (5.3%)	23.2	1629^th of 2162 public high schools	24.7%		25.9	1573^rd of 2159 public high schools	27.1%	56			13.9	4.6	13.0			28.3	28.3			10.8	10.8	$22,383	$3,791	$18,592
Grossmont High	Public	9-12	1100 Murray Dr.	La Mesa	91944	San Diego County	Grossmont Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 668-6000	2,172	89	24.3	64.0%	710 (32.7%)	171 (7.9%)	995 (45.8%)	111 (5.1%)	7 (0.3%)	14 (0.6%)	163 (7.5%)	59.7	829^th of 2162 public high schools	61.7%		68.3	595^th of 2159 public high schools	72.4%	234			34.1	23.1	33.8			56.2	56.2			24.9	24.9	$19,695	$2,644	$17,051
Santana High	Public	9-12	9915 North Magnolia Ave.	Santee	92071	San Diego County	Grossmont Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 956-0211	1,621	69	23.5	46.0%	868 (53.5%)	23 (1.4%)	529 (32.6%)	68 (4.2%)	7 (0.4%)	3 (0.2%)	123 (7.6%)	76.4	472^nd of 2162 public high schools	78.2%		74	505^th of 2159 public high schools	76.6%	33			39.5	18.2	38.4			65.1	65.1			41.6	41.6	$19,410	$2,512	$16,898
West Hills High	Public	9-12	8756 Mast Blvd.	Santee	92071	San Diego County	Grossmont Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 956-0400	1,624	69	23.3	42.7%	782 (48.2%)	16 (1.0%)	572 (35.2%)	99 (6.1%)	3 (0.2%)	6 (0.4%)	146 (9.0%)	85.4	303^rd of 2162 public high schools	86.0%		71.1	550^th of 2159 public high schools	74.5%	247			46.1		45.6			70.9	70.9			49.4	49.4	$19,964	$2,619	$17,345
Elite Academy	Public	9-12	230 Jamacha Blvd.	El Cajon	92019	San Diego County	Grossmont Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 588-3545	34	3	10.7	64.7%	16 (47.1%)	4 (11.8%)	12 (35.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.9%)								(n/a)														$68,379	$5,598	$62,781

Frequently Asked Questions about Chaparral High

What district is Chaparral High in?

Grossmont Union High

Is Chaparral High a good school?

Chaparral High ranks in the bottom 1.9% of California high schools.

What is the racial makeup of Chaparral High?

Students at Chaparral High are 49% Hispanic, 31% White, 16% African American, 4% Two or more races.

How many students attend Chaparral High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 45 students attended Chaparral High.

Rate Chaparral High!

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Schools in El Cajon, CA

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.