Summary
Gunderson High is a public high school in San Jose serving 744 students in grades 9–12, in an area with several nearby high schools for comparison. The main concern is academic performance: in 2025–26, Gunderson was below the state and San Jose Unified in English language arts (ELA), math, and science, with the largest gap in math.
ELA is Gunderson’s strongest subject, while math is its weakest against both nearby peers and broader benchmarks. Its 2025–26 proficiency rates were 42% in ELA, 13% in math, and 20% in science, compared with 49%, 38%, and 36% statewide and 51%, 42%, and 41% in the district. Among four nearby grades 9–12 schools with results—Pioneer High, Broadway High, Oak Grove High, and Santa Teresa High—Gunderson ranked second-lowest in all three subjects. Its rates were also below those schools’ averages by 4 points in ELA, 16 in math, and 15 in science. Attendance and completion are additional concerns: chronic absenteeism was 36%, compared with 22% in the district and 18% statewide; graduation was 85%, versus 93% and 88%.
Results have declined since 2022–23: ELA fell 5 points, math 9, and science 8, though ELA rebounded 5 points in the latest year. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking dropped from the 59th percentile (3 stars) to the 32nd percentile (2 stars). The 2024–25 student–teacher ratio was 16.5, below the nearby-school average of 19.4; 55% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible that year, close to the nearby median of 55%. SchoolDigger’s rankings of how well schools serve groups statewide also fell sharply: the White Students ranking went from the 75th percentile in 2023–24 to the 27th in 2025–26, and the Special Education Students ranking from the 71st to the 26th.
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