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IDEA Center

Public Grades 9-12

1665^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California High Schools

Better than 23% of California high schools

Summary

IDEA Center is a small public high school serving grades 9-12 with about 127 students in El Cajon, California, operating within the Grossmont Union High district.

The school faces significant academic challenges, ranking in the bottom quarter of all California high schools with notably low test scores, a 62% graduation rate, and a high 36% dropout rate. These outcomes are considerably lower than nearby comprehensive high schools like West Hills High and Santana High. Furthermore, half of IDEA Center's students are chronically absent, which is more than double the district average.

What makes IDEA Center particularly noteworthy is its high level of resources—it spends over $34,000 per student and has a very low student-teacher ratio of about 8-to-1—which has not led to stronger student outcomes. This pattern is also seen at two other small schools sharing its address, Chaparral High and MERIT Academy. For comparison, Altus Schools East County, a charter school with similar students, achieves better results with less funding, and El Cajon Valley High also outperforms it on key metrics despite serving a more economically disadvantaged population.

127

Students ?

7.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$34,714

Per pupil spending ?

65.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

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

(619) 956-4332

District: Grossmont Union High

Racial breakdown:

White:

47.2%

Hispanic:

40.2%

Two or more races:

6.3%

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Compare IDEA Center to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 33rd percentile in 2017 → 23rd in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 8 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (16% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (23rd percentile)

!Graduation rate below the California average (62% vs 88%)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school16%

District avg35%

California avg41%

1,665^th of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Bottom 23%▼ down 10 pts since 2017

From bottom 33% (2017) to bottom 23% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

11^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	21.4	1665 of 2162	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	34.9	1373 of 2159	36.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	26.5	1570 of 2170	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	34.9	1309 of 2123	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	29.4	909 of 1290	29.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.8	1414 of 2133	33.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	27.4	1410 of 2017	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2017	31.6	1354 of 2021	33.0%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	12.6	1657 of 1906	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	33.6	1261 of 1915	34.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	37.5	1168 of 1915	39.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	31.8	1231 of 1858	33.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	21.2	865 of 1054	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.1	1346 of 1833	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.4	1386 of 1760	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	14.2	1626 of 1900	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.0	1369 of 1902	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	12.4	1733 of 1917	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	29.8	1316 of 1861	29.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	29.2	1278 of 1814	29.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	34.9	1170 of 1742	32.8%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	13.7	1736 of 2013	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	41.9	1154 of 2026	43.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	26.7	1483 of 2030	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.9	1486 of 1943	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	26.0	856 of 1126	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.0	1468 of 1937	24.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.1	1360 of 1862	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	27.9	1384 of 1942	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	33.2	1260 of 1948	35.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	13.8	1708 of 1963	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	33.7	1205 of 1916	37.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	32.0	771 of 1122	31.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	31.8	1245 of 1880	33.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	32.3	1216 of 1834	33.7%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	10.6	1034 of 1155	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.0	942 of 1173	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	14.1	1033 of 1193	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.4	868 of 1204	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.7	966 of 1222	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	11.1	1021 of 1173	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆

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 (2025)29th percentile+6 vs school

Hispanic (2025)14th percentile-9 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)14th percentile-9 vs school

Female (2025)13th percentile-10 vs school

White (2025)10th percentile-13 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy35%-14 vs state

Science9%-24 vs state

Mathematics6%-31 vs state

1.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a student
Thursday, February 15, 2018

This school is horrible. It's filled with people who don't care about their education and their grading system is horrible. They grade with 1,2,3 and 4s and they mostly give you a 2 even though you try as hard as you can on presentations. If you want an easy year at this school, go here. If you want to have drugs and be disrespected, go here. If you want a bright future ahead of you and you want to be academically challenged, don't waste your time looking at their site. Find a school with real kids. Close Quote

Schools Near IDEA Center

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 IDEA Center

How many students attend IDEA Center?

In the 2024-25 school year, 127 students attended IDEA Center.

What district is IDEA Center in?

Grossmont Union High

Is IDEA Center a good school?

IDEA Center ranks in the bottom 23.0% of California high schools.

What is the racial makeup of IDEA Center?

Students at IDEA Center are 47% White, 40% Hispanic, 6% Two or more races, 2% African American, 2% Asian, 2% Not Specified.

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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.