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Buena Vista High

Public Grades 9-12

1872^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,137 California High Schools

Better than 12% of California high schools

Summary

Buena Vista High is a small, 9–12 school in Lakewood, California, serving 180 students in Paramount Unified. Its results show substantial challenges in both learning and attendance: in 2025–26, proficiency was 17% in English Language Arts, 2% in mathematics and 7% in science, while chronic absenteeism reached 90%. The most important finding is that results are far below district and state levels across all three tested subjects, alongside very high absenteeism.

Mathematics is the clearest academic weakness: Buena Vista’s 2% proficiency rate was 25 percentage points below its district and 37 points below the state; its ELA rate was 25 points below the district and 32 below the state, and science was 18 and 29 points lower, respectively. Among nearby schools with reported 11th-grade results, Buena Vista’s ELA rate was higher only than Somerset High and Cesar Chavez Continuation High; its mathematics rate was below all nine nearby schools with scores. Completion and attendance also stand out as concerns: the 2025–26 graduation rate was 76%, compared with 91% in the district and 88% statewide, while the dropout rate was 15%.

Scores have improved since 2022–23, but the state gaps have narrowed only in ELA: the school’s ELA rate rose from 11% to 17%, while its state gap narrowed from 36 to 32 percentage points. Mathematics and science scores also rose, but their state gaps widened. SchoolDigger placed Buena Vista in the 12th percentile with one star in 2025–26, the third-lowest standing among the 10 nearby schools. Its student–teacher ratio was 11:1 in 2024–25, the second-lowest among nearby schools with data, and 96% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible that year. A notable subgroup change: SchoolDigger’s special-education percentile was 52 in 2023–24, compared with the school’s overall 9th percentile, then fell to 5 in 2024–25 and was 7 in 2025–26. The small enrollment means results may be sensitive to changes in the tested group.

180

Students ?

11.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$36,905

Per pupil spending ?

95.6%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in California receive free school meals.

3717 Michelson St.
Lakewood, CA 90712-1402

(562) 602-8090

District: Paramount Unified

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

82.2%

African American:

11.7%

White:

2.2%

See top rated California high schools

Compare Buena Vista High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 7th percentile in 2016 → 12th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 5 percentile points since 2016

✓Small classes — about 11 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (9% vs 42% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (12th percentile)

!Graduation rate below the California average (76% vs 88%)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school9%

District avg32%

California avg42%

1,872^nd of 2,137

California public high schools ?

Bottom 12%▲ up 6 pts since 2016

From bottom 7% (2016) to bottom 12% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 3High Schools in the Paramount Unified

621^st of 968Paramount 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
2026	11.4	1872 of 2137	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	10.5	1995 of 2162	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.6	1968 of 2159	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.0	1879 of 2170	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	13.9	1839 of 2123	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	9.7	1184 of 1290	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	13.3	1838 of 2133	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	9.3	1948 of 2017	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	9.3	1914 of 2021	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	9.6	1900 of 2039	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	13.2	1651 of 1994	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	19.3	1679 of 2426	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2012	12.1	1934 of 2354	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	10.7	2019 of 2367	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	13.2	1903 of 2281	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	18.4	1855 of 2238	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	13.3	1813 of 2117	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	12.8	1803 of 2063	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	14.5	1664 of 1968	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	9.8	1707 of 1901	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	10.3	1627 of 1653	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	8.3	468 of 491	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	19.5	436 of 523	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	13.2	545 of 592	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	26.0	1001 of 1085	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	29.6	841 of 1064	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	24.9	1002 of 1044	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	31.0	725 of 941	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.4	739 of 938	21.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	10.3	1679 of 1865	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	10.2	1730 of 1906	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.4	1728 of 1915	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	12.4	1705 of 1915	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	13.3	1640 of 1858	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	7.6	996 of 1054	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.9	1579 of 1833	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	10.8	1687 of 1880	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	10.1	1762 of 1900	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.3	1707 of 1902	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	15.4	1637 of 1917	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.4	1613 of 1861	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	13.9	1555 of 1814	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	9.2	1657 of 1742	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	12.6	1728 of 1999	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	10.5	1849 of 2013	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.3	1886 of 2026	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.8	1719 of 2030	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.9	1648 of 1943	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	10.9	1011 of 1126	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	13.9	1675 of 1937	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	9.7	1783 of 1862	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	8.2	1818 of 1932	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	9.5	1806 of 1942	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.5	1824 of 1948	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.3	1686 of 1963	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	12.0	1750 of 1916	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	6.5	1106 of 1122	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.1	1669 of 1880	11.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	9.4	1751 of 1834	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	16.8	1154 of 1235	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	15.1	1191 of 1252	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	42.4	582 of 1216	52.1%	★★★☆☆

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)

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)14th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2026)10th percentile~ school

Female (2026)10th percentile~ school

English Language Learner (2024)8th percentile~ school

Special Education (2026)7th percentile-6 vs school

Male (2026)6th percentile-6 vs school

African American (2026)5th percentile-8 vs school

By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy17%-32 vs state

Science7%-29 vs state

Mathematics2%-37 vs state

★

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Schools Near Buena Vista High

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				CAST Science (2026)					Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2026)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2026)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	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
Buena Vista High	Public	9-12	3717 Michelson St.	Lakewood	90712	Los Angeles County	Paramount Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 602-8090	180	16	11.0	95.6%	4 (2.2%)	21 (11.7%)	148 (82.2%)	2 (1.1%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.7%)	11.4	1872^nd of 2137 public high schools	12.4%		10.5	1995^th of 2162 public high schools	7.7%	123			7.1	7.1	7.1			16.9	16.9			1.6	1.6	$36,905	$35,208	$1,697
Odyssey STEM Academy	Public	9-12	3701 Michelson St.	Lakewood	90712	Los Angeles County	Paramount Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 602-6025	336	19	17.6	95.2%	10 (3.0%)	32 (9.5%)	287 (85.4%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	4 (1.2%)	88	242^nd of 2137 public high schools	88.7%		62.1	760^th of 2162 public high schools	64.8%	518			63.6		63.6			81.5	81.5			40.7	40.7	$23,391	$22,242	$1,149
Somerset High	Public	7-12	9242 East Laurel St.	Bellflower	90706	Los Angeles County	Bellflower Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 804-6548	104	12	8.6	87.5%	7 (6.7%)	15 (14.4%)	76 (73.1%)	4 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.9%)	8.1	2047^th of 2137 public high schools	4.2%		11.9	1919^th of 2162 public high schools	11.2%	128			2.8		2.3			5.4	5.4			2.8	2.8	$57,961	$55,874	$2,087
CA Advancing Pathways for Students in Los Angeles County	Public	9-12	16703 South Clark Ave.	Bellflower	90706	Los Angeles County	California Advancing Pathways Students in LA County Regiona	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(562) 866-9011	0			—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Mayfair High	Public	7-12	6000 North Woodruff Ave.	Lakewood	90706	Los Angeles County	Bellflower Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 925-9981	2,422	109	22.1	70.4%	226 (9.3%)	371 (15.3%)	1,429 (59.0%)	271 (11.2%)	7 (0.3%)	26 (1.1%)	89 (3.7%)	58.8	840^th of 2137 public high schools	60.7%		64	714^th of 2162 public high schools	67.0%	126	29.4		36.4		32.4	47.6	46.1	66.6	52.4	24.9	24.3	20.2	23.3	$21,063	$19,304	$1,759
Lakewood High	Public	9-12	4400 Briercrest Ave.	Lakewood	90713	Los Angeles County	Long Beach Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 425-1281	2,305	107	21.4	58.4%	186 (8.1%)	442 (19.2%)	1,281 (55.6%)	246 (10.7%)	2 (0.1%)	53 (2.3%)	94 (4.1%)	39.6	1285^th of 2137 public high schools	39.9%		44	1170^th of 2162 public high schools	45.9%	115				17.2	17.2			49.2	49.2			14.2	14.2	$27,540	$25,330	$2,210
Jordan High	Public	9-12	6500 Atlantic Ave.	Long Beach	90805	Los Angeles County	Long Beach Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 423-1471	2,272	104	21.7	74.0%	23 (1.0%)	331 (14.6%)	1,740 (76.6%)	104 (4.6%)	1 (0.0%)	43 (1.9%)	30 (1.3%)	26.7	1554^th of 2137 public high schools	27.3%		27.4	1541^st of 2162 public high schools	28.7%	13				10.7	10.7			36.4	36.4			10.2	10.2	$26,453	$23,782	$2,671
Paramount High	Public	9-12	14429 South Downey Ave.	Paramount	90723	Los Angeles County	Paramount Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 602-6067	3,400	176	19.2	96.7%	28 (0.8%)	192 (5.6%)	3,087 (90.8%)	45 (1.3%)	3 (0.1%)	9 (0.3%)	30 (0.9%)	44	1169^th of 2137 public high schools	45.3%		45.7	1125^th of 2162 public high schools	48.0%	44			23.7	18.2	23.6			54.3	54.3			19.2	19.2	$17,420	$16,354	$1,066
Cesar Chavez Continuation High	Public	9-12	15301 San Jose Ave.	Compton	90221	Los Angeles County	Compton Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 898-6340	263	15	17.3	91.3%	0 (0.0%)	48 (18.3%)	211 (80.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.1%)	8.2	2046^th of 2137 public high schools	4.3%		11.9	1922^nd of 2162 public high schools	11.1%	124			1.0	0.0	0.9			7.0	7.0			3.2	3.2	$23,376	$19,602	$3,774
Manuel Dominguez High	Public	9-12	15301 South San Jose Ave.	Compton	90221	Los Angeles County	Compton Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 630-0142	1,582	72	21.9	91.5%	3 (0.2%)	170 (10.7%)	1,393 (88.1%)	3 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (0.4%)	7 (0.4%)	54.9	922^nd of 2137 public high schools	56.9%		46.4	1106^th of 2162 public high schools	48.8%	184			29.7	8.3	28.9			59.4	59.4			26.8	26.8	$20,680	$16,680	$4,000

Frequently Asked Questions about Buena Vista High

Is Buena Vista High a good school?

Buena Vista High ranks in the bottom 12.4% of California high schools.

What is the racial makeup of Buena Vista High?

Students at Buena Vista High are 82% Hispanic, 12% African American, 2% White, 2% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

How many students attend Buena Vista High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 180 students attended Buena Vista High.

What district is Buena Vista High in?

Paramount Unified

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Latest California data All new data »

2013–14 through 2024–25 immunization rates (updated)NewOct 19, 2026

2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNewOct 15, 2026

2025–26 CAST, CSA Spanish & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresNewOct 15, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026

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.