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Imperial High

Q: Is Imperial High a good school?

Imperial High ranks 702 nd of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

702^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California High Schools

Better than 68% of California high schools

Summary

Imperial High is a public high school serving grades 9-12 to about 1,440 students in the Imperial Unified district, maintaining a solid 3-star rating with a key strength in getting students to graduation day.

The school truly excels in two major areas: English Language Arts and graduation rates. With 60% of students proficient in English, it beats the state average and outperforms many nearby schools like Southwest High and Central Union High. Its 98% graduation rate is exceptional, far exceeding the state average and on par with other high performers like Brawley Union High. However, math proficiency, at 24%, is a significant challenge and an area the school is focused on improving.

Compared to local alternative schools like Desert Valley High (Continuation) and Desert Oasis High (Continuation), Imperial High shows much stronger outcomes in keeping students in school and on track to graduate. The school operates with moderate per-student spending but achieves these strong results efficiently compared to some neighboring districts.

1,439

Students ?

23.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,094

Per pupil spending ?

47%

Free/discounted lunch ?

517 West Barioni Blvd.
Imperial, CA 92251-1452

(760) 355-3220

District: Imperial Unified

Feeder schools for Imperial High:

Elementary:	Ben Hulse Elementary
	T. L. Waggoner Elementary
Middle:	Frank M. Wright Middle

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

88.8%

White:

8.1%

Asian:

1.5%

See top rated California high schools

Compare Imperial High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 80th percentile in 2015 → 68th in 2025

Strengths

✓98% graduate in 4 years — above the California average (88%)

✓Above the California median (68th percentile)

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 12 percentile points since 2015

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

!Mathematics scores 13 pts below the California average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school41%

District avg43%

California avg41%

702^nd of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Top 32%▼ down 13 pts since 2015

From top 20% (2015) to top 32% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 2High Schools in the Imperial Unified

572^nd of 1,543Imperial Unified 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	64.3	702 of 2162	67.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	65.2	646 of 2159	70.1%	★★★★☆
2023	65.3	661 of 2170	69.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	62.2	666 of 2123	68.6%	★★★☆☆
2021	51.6	583 of 1290	54.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	80.2	359 of 2133	83.2%	★★★★☆
2018	75.2	491 of 2017	75.7%	★★★★☆
2017	76.2	477 of 2021	76.4%	★★★★☆
2016	72.1	513 of 2039	74.8%	★★★★☆
2015	78.4	391 of 1994	80.4%	★★★★☆
2013	72.9	254 of 2426	89.5%	★★★★☆
2012	77.8	177 of 2354	92.5%	★★★★★
2011	71.6	277 of 2367	88.3%	★★★★☆
2010	76.0	185 of 2281	91.9%	★★★★★
2009	71.6	232 of 2238	89.6%	★★★★☆
2008	74.2	204 of 2117	90.4%	★★★★★
2007	71.7	233 of 2063	88.7%	★★★★☆
2006	69.2	301 of 1968	84.7%	★★★★☆
2005	58.1	447 of 1901	76.5%	★★★★☆
2004	55.3	415 of 1653	74.9%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	23.5	1020 of 1161	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	48.8	210 of 555	62.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	60.9	278 of 1117	75.1%	★★★★☆
2018	17.7	970 of 1052	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	47.8	388 of 1085	64.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	42.2	499 of 1064	53.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	43.3	441 of 1044	57.8%	★★★☆☆
2021	31.9	321 of 467	31.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	90.8	33 of 941	96.5%	★★★★★
2018	25.4	739 of 938	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	57.1	776 of 1906	59.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	60.7	654 of 1915	65.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	57.8	720 of 1915	62.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	58.6	647 of 1858	65.2%	★★★☆☆
2021	42.9	591 of 1054	43.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	74.1	405 of 1833	77.9%	★★★★☆
2018	69.5	540 of 1760	69.3%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	70.5	481 of 1900	74.7%	★★★★☆
2024	72.7	427 of 1902	77.5%	★★★★☆
2023	72.7	433 of 1917	77.4%	★★★★☆
2022	72.4	387 of 1861	79.2%	★★★★☆
2019	84.6	191 of 1814	89.5%	★★★★☆
2018	82.8	265 of 1742	84.8%	★★★★☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	81.5	52 of 410	87.3%	★★★★☆
2024	59.8	114 of 328	65.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	75.8	51 of 299	82.9%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	67.0	593 of 2013	70.5%	★★★★☆
2024	63.9	621 of 2026	69.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	66.5	550 of 2030	72.9%	★★★★☆
2022	54.1	768 of 1943	60.5%	★★★☆☆
2021	37.9	726 of 1126	35.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	81.4	266 of 1937	86.3%	★★★★☆
2018	69.8	521 of 1862	72.0%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	66.3	580 of 1942	70.1%	★★★★☆
2024	65.2	591 of 1948	69.7%	★★★☆☆
2023	68.5	539 of 1963	72.5%	★★★★☆
2022	61.6	615 of 1916	67.9%	★★★☆☆
2021	52.4	481 of 1122	57.1%	★★★☆☆
2019	81.4	295 of 1880	84.3%	★★★★☆
2018	76.1	433 of 1834	76.4%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	48.3	509 of 1252	59.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	33.3	753 of 1216	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	30.9	816 of 1197	31.8%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	70.4	339 of 1155	70.6%	★★★★☆
2024	74.5	291 of 1173	75.2%	★★★★☆
2023	64.4	419 of 1193	64.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	61.3	446 of 1204	63.0%	★★★☆☆
2019	85.3	123 of 1222	89.9%	★★★★★
2018	70.7	367 of 1173	68.7%	★★★☆☆

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)

Homeless (2025)87th percentile+20 vs school

Hispanic (2025)75th percentile+7 vs school

White (2025)71st percentile+3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)71st percentile+3 vs school

Male (2025)70th percentile+3 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)64th percentile-6 vs school

Special Education (2025)59th percentile-8 vs school

Female (2025)59th percentile-8 vs school

Disabled (2022)12th percentile-56 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy60%+12 vs state

Science39%+6 vs state

Mathematics24%-13 vs state

1.5

2 ratings · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a student
Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Their education does not live up to all the things people say about it. I was disappointed. Close Quote

Schools Near Imperial 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 11th Grade	CAST Science 12th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	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
Imperial High	Public	9-12	517 West Barioni Blvd.	Imperial	92251	Imperial County	Imperial Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 355-3220	1,439	62	23.0	47.0%	117 (8.1%)	12 (0.8%)	1,278 (88.8%)	22 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (0.7%)	64.3	702^nd of 2162 public high schools	67.5%		65.2	646^th of 2159 public high schools	70.1%	56	39.0		38.8	60.4	60.4	24.3	24.3	$15,094	$1,744	$13,350
Imperial Ave. Holbrook High	Public	9-12	322 North Imperial Ave.	Imperial	92251	Imperial County	Imperial Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 355-3207	28	3	11.1	60.7%	3 (10.7%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (89.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	34.1	1400^th of 2162 public high schools	35.2%		14.2	1844^th of 2159 public high schools	14.6%	444	27.3		27.3	27.3	27.3			$8,006	$1,789	$6,217
Imperial Valley Regional Occupational Program	Public	9-12	687 State St.	El Centro	92243	Imperial County	Imperial Valley Regional Occupational Program	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(760) 482-2600	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Mt. Signal Virtual Academy	Public, Virtual	9-12	1001 Brighton Avenue Tr. 25	El Centro	92243	Imperial County	Central Union High	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(760) 312-7050	60	2	25.2	83.3%	2 (3.3%)	1 (1.7%)	56 (93.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26.8	1558^th of 2162 public high schools	27.9%		39	1265^th of 2159 public high schools	41.4%	293	10.0	0.0	7.1	50.0	50.0	3.3	3.3
Central Union High	Public	9-12	1001 Brighton Ave.	El Centro	92243	Imperial County	Central Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 336-4300	2,006	96	20.9	72.6%	41 (2.0%)	19 (0.9%)	1,931 (96.3%)	10 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.2%)	51	1018^th of 2162 public high schools	52.9%		61.1	740^th of 2159 public high schools	65.7%	278		23.7	23.7	48.5	48.5	19.2	19.2
Desert Oasis High (Continuation)	Public	9-12	1302 South Third St.	El Centro	92243	Imperial County	Central Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 336-4555	138	10	13.9	94.2%	3 (2.2%)	3 (2.2%)	131 (94.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14.4	1821^st of 2162 public high schools	15.8%		14.8	1824^th of 2159 public high schools	15.5%	3		4.1	4.1	22.1	22.1	0.0	0.0
Southwest High	Public	9-12	2001 Ocotillo Dr.	El Centro	92243	Imperial County	Central Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 336-4100	1,846	94	19.5	72.1%	54 (2.9%)	6 (0.3%)	1,760 (95.3%)	19 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.1%)	55.8	911^th of 2162 public high schools	57.9%		61.3	735^th of 2159 public high schools	66.0%	176		25.5	25.5	53.4	53.4	20.6	20.6
Imperial Pathways Charter	Public, Virtual, Charter	9-12	1398 Sperber Rd.	El Centro	92243	Imperial County	Imperial County Office of Education	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(760) 312-5566	246	11	22.9	92.7%	6 (2.4%)	2 (0.8%)	237 (96.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)		8.3	8.3					$13,015	$797	$12,218
Brawley Union High	Public	9-12	480 North Imperial Ave.	Brawley	92227	Imperial County	Brawley Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 312-6073	1,863	80	23.1	70.7%	61 (3.3%)	14 (0.8%)	1,741 (93.5%)	17 (0.9%)	2 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	26 (1.4%)	64.5	699^th of 2162 public high schools	67.7%		58.2	810^th of 2159 public high schools	62.5%	111	33.1		32.9	65.2	65.2	26.8	26.8	$18,412	$1,790	$16,622
Desert Valley High (Continuation)	Public	9-12	104 West Magnolia St.	Brawley	92227	Imperial County	Brawley Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 312-5100	162	9	18.7	80.9%	1 (0.6%)	1 (0.6%)	160 (98.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17.8	1727^th of 2162 public high schools	20.1%		16.1	1784^th of 2159 public high schools	17.4%	57	4.8		4.5	17.2	17.2	13.8	13.8	$21,883	$2,207	$19,676

Frequently Asked Questions about Imperial High

What schools feed into Imperial High?

Imperial High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Ben Hulse Elementary
Elementary : T. L. Waggoner Elementary
Middle : Frank M. Wright Middle

How many students attend Imperial High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,439 students attended Imperial High.

Is Imperial High a good school?

Imperial High ranks 702^nd of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Imperial High?

Students at Imperial High are 89% Hispanic, 8% White, 2% Asian.

What district is Imperial High in?

Imperial Unified

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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.