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Downtown High

Public Grades 9-12

2017^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California High Schools

Better than 7% of California high schools

Summary

Downtown High is a small public high school serving grades 9-12 with about 174 students in the San Francisco Unified district, consistently ranking among the lowest-performing schools in California.

The school faces severe challenges, most critically an 88% chronic absenteeism rate, meaning the vast majority of students miss a significant amount of school; this far exceeds the district average and rates at nearby schools like O'Connell (John) High (58%) and Mission High (46.7%). Academic proficiency is extremely low, with 0% of students proficient in math and only 6% in English, and graduation rates have been highly volatile from year to year. Notably, the school spends more per student ($35,634) than any comparable school in the district, yet these resources have not translated into better outcomes.

Comparisons show that other local schools serving similar student populations achieve better results, such as KIPP San Francisco College Preparatory, a charter school with much higher graduation and proficiency rates. The extreme absenteeism and volatile outcomes suggest Downtown High may serve a specialized population with significant barriers, similar to some alternative schools. The data indicates that addressing student attendance is the most urgent priority for any potential improvement.

174

Students ?

40.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$35,634

Per pupil spending ?

71.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

693 Vermont St.
San Francisco, CA 94107-2635

(415) 695-5860

District: San Francisco Unified

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

54.0%

African American:

18.4%

Two or more races:

10.3%

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At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 20th percentile in 2010 → 7th in 2025

Worth a look

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

!In the lower quartile statewide (7th percentile)

!Graduation rate below the California average (52% vs 88%)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school3%

District avg48%

California avg41%

2,017^th of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Bottom 7%▲ up 4 pts since 2015

From bottom 2% (2015) to bottom 7% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

16^th of 17High Schools in the San Francisco Unified

679^th of 1,543San Francisco 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	10.1	2017 of 2162	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.1	2064 of 2159	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.0	2036 of 2170	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.8	1881 of 2123	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	8.8	1972 of 2039	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	8.5	1948 of 1994	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	14.9	1888 of 2426	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	13.7	1862 of 2354	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	15.4	1831 of 2367	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	15.0	1828 of 2281	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	23.6	1692 of 2238	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	17.3	1646 of 2117	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	20.8	1474 of 2063	28.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	19.5	1457 of 1968	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	23.8	1244 of 1901	34.6%	★★☆☆☆
2004	17.8	1357 of 1653	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	6.7	1890 of 1906	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.9	1892 of 1915	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.8	1658 of 1915	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	11.0	1730 of 1900	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.3	1749 of 1902	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.2	1916 of 1917	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.7	1627 of 1861	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	11.0	1828 of 2013	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.9	1955 of 2026	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.9	2023 of 2030	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	10.3	1880 of 1943	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	10.6	1754 of 1942	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.1	1785 of 1948	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.7	1929 of 1963	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.7	1864 of 1916	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Male (2025)10th percentile+3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)9th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)9th percentile~ school

Female (2025)1st percentile-6 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy6%-43 vs state

Science3%-30 vs state

Mathematics0%-37 vs state

★

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Schools Near Downtown 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
Downtown High	Public	9-12	693 Vermont St.	San Francisco	94107	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 695-5860	174	4	40.2	71.3%	7 (4.0%)	32 (18.4%)	94 (54.0%)	8 (4.6%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (8.0%)	18 (10.3%)	10.1	2017^th of 2162 public high schools	6.7%		10.1	2064^th of 2159 public high schools	4.4%	47		3.3	3.1	6.0	6.0	0.0	0.0	$35,634	$2,137	$33,497
S.F. International High	Public	8-12	655 DeHaro St.	San Francisco	94107	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 695-5781	382	27	14.2	73.0%	24 (6.3%)	2 (0.5%)	321 (84.0%)	33 (8.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	9.7	2032^nd of 2162 public high schools	6.0%		15.3	1810^th of 2159 public high schools	16.2%	222	1.5		1.5	7.0	6.9	4.4	4.2	$26,715	$1,894	$24,821
O'Connell (John) High	Public	9-12	2355 Folsom St.	San Francisco	94110	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 695-5370	460	29	15.8	70.4%	16 (3.5%)	33 (7.2%)	360 (78.3%)	23 (5.0%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.7%)	24 (5.2%)	31.5	1454^th of 2162 public high schools	32.7%		15.4	1807^th of 2159 public high schools	16.3%	353	21.1		21.1	41.3	41.3	6.1	6.1	$27,701	$1,709	$25,992
S.F. County Opportunity (Hilltop)	Public	6-12	1325 Florida St.	San Francisco	94110	San Francisco County	San Francisco County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 695-5606	67	8	8.0	76.1%	0 (0.0%)	2 (3.0%)	65 (97.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)								$62,148	$6,827	$55,321
Five Keys Charter (SF Sheriff's)	Public, Charter	9-12	70 Oak Grove St.	San Francisco	94107	San Francisco County	Five Keys Charter (SF Sheriff's) District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 734-3310	201	8	24.3	25.4%	14 (7.0%)	18 (9.0%)	154 (76.6%)	3 (1.5%)	1 (0.5%)	2 (1.0%)	7 (3.5%)								(n/a)								$19,369	$433	$18,936
Five Keys Independence High School (SF Sheriff's)	Public, Charter	9-12	70 Oak Grove	San Francisco	94107	San Francisco County	Five Keys Independence High School (SF Sheriff's) District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 734-3310	3,447	103	33.3	44.0%	301 (8.7%)	691 (20.0%)	2,122 (61.6%)	48 (1.4%)	42 (1.2%)	30 (0.9%)	201 (5.8%)	35.9	1361^st of 2162 public high schools	37.0%		30	1492^nd of 2159 public high schools	30.9%	131	18.2		18.2	36.4	36.4	20.0	20.0	$11,701	$561	$11,140
Mission High	Public	9-12	3750 18th St.	San Francisco	94114	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 241-6240	993	59	16.7	62.5%	65 (6.5%)	102 (10.3%)	702 (70.7%)	69 (6.9%)	3 (0.3%)	3 (0.3%)	48 (4.8%)	14.9	1813^th of 2162 public high schools	16.1%		19.9	1707^th of 2159 public high schools	20.9%	106	8.3	7.1	8.2	17.0	17.0	6.1	6.1	$25,857	$1,958	$23,899
S.F. County Civic Center Secondary	Public	6-12	727 Golden Gate Ave.	San Francisco	94102	San Francisco County	San Francisco County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 241-3000	65	6	11.5	69.2%	4 (6.2%)	22 (33.8%)	24 (36.9%)	2 (3.1%)	3 (4.6%)	2 (3.1%)	8 (12.3%)								(n/a)								$84,191	$16,852	$67,339
Marshall (Thurgood) High	Public	8-12	45 Conkling St.	San Francisco	94124	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 695-5612	475	33	14.3	78.9%	0 (0.0%)	38 (8.0%)	366 (77.1%)	41 (8.6%)	3 (0.6%)	4 (0.8%)	21 (4.4%)	11.7	1930^th of 2162 public high schools	10.7%		13.3	1879^th of 2159 public high schools	13.0%	51	4.7		4.2	9.3	9.3	5.8	5.8	$27,339	$1,484	$25,855
Wells (Ida B.) High	Public	9-12	1099 Hayes St.	San Francisco	94117	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 241-6315	198	12	16.3	77.3%	14 (7.1%)	34 (17.2%)	120 (60.6%)	17 (8.6%)	2 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (5.6%)	14.3	1832^nd of 2162 public high schools	15.3%		13.4	1874^th of 2159 public high schools	13.2%	42	0.0	6.1	4.4	0.0	0.0	6.9	6.9	$32,629	$3,615	$29,014

Frequently Asked Questions about Downtown High

How many students attend Downtown High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 174 students attended Downtown High.

What district is Downtown High in?

San Francisco Unified

Is Downtown High a good school?

Downtown High ranks in the bottom 6.7% of California high schools.

What is the racial makeup of Downtown High?

Students at Downtown High are 54% Hispanic, 18% African American, 10% Two or more races, 8% Pacific Islander, 5% Asian, 4% White.

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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.