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Foothills High

Q: Is Foothills High a good school?

Foothills High ranks 1516 th of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

1516^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California High Schools

Better than 30% of California high schools

Summary

Foothills High is a small public high school serving about 101 students in grades 9-12 within the San Marcos Unified district, sharing its campus with Twin Oaks High and serving a student population with significant economic need.

Academic performance at Foothills High is significantly below both the district and state averages, particularly in mathematics and science, and its graduation rate is lower while its dropout rate is higher than these benchmarks. The school's statewide ranking has shown considerable volatility in recent years, and it spends notably less per student than other high schools in the area, including San Marcos High and Mission Hills High. When compared to other alternative or continuation schools in neighboring districts like Vista Unified, Foothills performs better than some, such as Alta Vista High (Continuation), but lags behind others like Escondido High.

This context suggests Foothills High likely serves as an alternative education program for at-risk students within the district. Parents should note the recent declines in performance metrics and the anomalous, highly fluctuating chronic absenteeism rates reported. Understanding the school's specialized role is key when evaluating its outcomes against the district's traditional comprehensive high schools.

101

Students ?

20.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,838

Per pupil spending ?

57.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

158 Cassou Rd.
San Marcos, CA 92069-9702

(760) 290-2544

District: San Marcos Unified

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

60.4%

White:

31.7%

Two or more races:

4.0%

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At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 55th percentile in 2013 → 30th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (21% vs 41% meeting standards)

!Graduation rate below the California average (82% vs 88%)

!Dropout rate above the California average (18% vs 8%)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school21%

District avg50%

California avg41%

1,516^th of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Bottom 30%▼ down 13 pts since 2015

From bottom 43% (2015) to bottom 30% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 4High Schools in the San Marcos Unified

488^th of 1,543San Marcos 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	28.3	1516 of 2162	29.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	30.9	1468 of 2159	32.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	39.3	1235 of 2170	43.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	68.9	552 of 2123	74.0%	★★★★☆
2019	37.3	1283 of 2133	39.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	22.0	1475 of 2017	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	20.8	1495 of 2021	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	43.5	1133 of 2039	44.4%	★★☆☆☆
2015	41.7	1143 of 1994	42.7%	★★☆☆☆
2013	38.7	1087 of 2426	55.2%	★★★☆☆
2012	40.3	1044 of 2354	55.6%	★★★☆☆
2011	66.2	371 of 2367	84.3%	★★★★☆
2010	45.2	890 of 2281	61.0%	★★★☆☆
2009	43.9	911 of 2238	59.3%	★★★☆☆
2008	29.6	1179 of 2117	44.3%	★★☆☆☆
2007	35.1	1014 of 2063	50.8%	★★★☆☆
2006	31.4	1053 of 1968	46.5%	★★☆☆☆
2005	47.8	635 of 1901	66.6%	★★★☆☆
2004	35.1	805 of 1653	51.3%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	20.2	1514 of 1906	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	34.8	1233 of 1915	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	34.5	1215 of 1915	36.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	61.6	591 of 1858	68.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	34.9	1174 of 1833	36.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	20.1	1378 of 1760	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	22.4	1471 of 1900	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	52.8	840 of 1902	55.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	39.9	1139 of 1917	40.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	50.8	851 of 1814	53.1%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	25.5	1500 of 2013	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	53.1	877 of 2026	56.7%	★★★☆☆
2023	30.1	1410 of 2030	30.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	47.9	990 of 1937	48.9%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	19.7	1537 of 1948	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	42.6	1032 of 1963	47.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	44.3	993 of 1880	47.2%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	8.4	1077 of 1173	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	24.3	948 of 1222	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆

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 (2025)25th percentile-4 vs school

Hispanic (2025)23rd percentile-7 vs school

Male (2024)21st percentile-11 vs school

Female (2025)21st percentile-9 vs school

White (2024)8th percentile-24 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy43%-6 vs state

Science10%-23 vs state

Mathematics9%-29 vs state

★

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Schools Near Foothills 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 10th Grade	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
Foothills High	Public	9-12	158 Cassou Rd.	San Marcos	92069	San Diego County	San Marcos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 290-2544	101	5	20.2	57.4%	32 (31.7%)	2 (2.0%)	61 (60.4%)	2 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (4.0%)	28.3	1516^th of 2162 public high schools	29.9%		30.9	1468^th of 2159 public high schools	32.0%	48		6.3		9.8	44.1	42.6	11.8	8.7	$12,838	$793	$12,045
Twin Oaks High	Public	9-12	158 Cassou Rd.	San Marcos	92069	San Diego County	San Marcos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 290-2555	192	19	10.0	56.3%	45 (23.4%)	6 (3.1%)	120 (62.5%)	11 (5.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	9 (4.7%)	11.2	1956^th of 2162 public high schools	9.5%		11.2	1990^th of 2159 public high schools	7.8%	34		8.3	0.0	6.9	9.7	9.7	1.4	1.4	$21,433	$1,691	$19,742
Mission Hills High	Public	9-12	1 Mission Hills Ct.	San Marcos	92069	San Diego County	San Marcos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 290-2700	2,751	111	24.7	44.6%	776 (28.2%)	23 (0.8%)	1,533 (55.7%)	216 (7.9%)	5 (0.2%)	6 (0.2%)	191 (6.9%)	65.4	680^th of 2162 public high schools	68.5%		71	551^st of 2159 public high schools	74.5%	129		40.2	6.7	39.4	58.1	58.1	27.0	27.0	$14,971	$1,119	$13,852
High Technical High North County	Public, Charter	9-12	1420 San Marcos Blvd.	San Marcos	92078	San Diego County	High Technical High North County District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 759-2700	409	21	19.4	41.6%	126 (30.8%)	10 (2.4%)	210 (51.3%)	41 (10.0%)	6 (1.5%)	4 (1.0%)	10 (2.4%)	84	332^nd of 2162 public high schools	84.6%		85.2	324^th of 2159 public high schools	85.0%	8			37.5	37.5	81.3	81.3	36.5	36.5	$15,435	$839	$14,596
San Marcos High	Public	9-12	1615 San Marcos Blvd.	San Marcos	92078	San Diego County	San Marcos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 290-2200	3,067	121	25.3	32.0%	1,281 (41.8%)	40 (1.3%)	1,288 (42.0%)	231 (7.5%)	3 (0.1%)	10 (0.3%)	214 (7.0%)	62.8	745^th of 2162 public high schools	65.5%		70.3	564^th of 2159 public high schools	73.9%	181		39.2	26.3	38.9	49.0	49.0	30.7	30.7	$14,780	$882	$13,898
Alta Vista High (Continuation)	Public	9-12	1575 Bonair Dr.	Vista	92084	San Diego County	Vista Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 724-3775	90	9	9.6	94.4%	4 (4.4%)	1 (1.1%)	80 (88.9%)	2 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.2%)	22.6	1636^th of 2162 public high schools	24.3%		17.9	1738^th of 2159 public high schools	19.5%	102			14.3	8.7	0.0	0.0			$31,321	$5,159	$26,162
Escondido High	Public	9-12	1535 North Broadway	Escondido	92026	San Diego County	Escondido Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 291-4000	1,656	90	18.3	82.7%	192 (11.6%)	27 (1.6%)	1,334 (80.6%)	79 (4.8%)	10 (0.6%)	3 (0.2%)	11 (0.7%)	52.9	971^st of 2162 public high schools	55.1%		53.2	928^th of 2159 public high schools	57.0%	43	24.9		9.3	23.1	61.0	61.0	19.7	19.7	$19,610	$1,813	$17,797
Rancho Buena Vista High	Public	9-12	1601 Longhorn Dr.	Vista	92081	San Diego County	Vista Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 727-7284	1,949	103	18.9	70.1%	414 (21.2%)	32 (1.6%)	1,300 (66.7%)	79 (4.1%)	8 (0.4%)	10 (0.5%)	101 (5.2%)	68.2	632^nd of 2162 public high schools	70.8%		73.6	513^th of 2159 public high schools	76.2%	119		31.5	3.5	29.6	62.3	62.3	39.1	39.1	$18,573	$2,843	$15,730
Vista Adult Transition Center	Public	12	325 East Bobier Dr.	Vista	92084	San Diego County	Vista Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 758-3400	107	9	12.5	69.2%	29 (27.1%)	3 (2.8%)	71 (66.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.8%)								(n/a)									$39,689	$11,109	$28,580
Vista High	Public	9-12	1 Panther Way	Vista	92084	San Diego County	Vista Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 726-5611	1,746	105	16.5	84.7%	148 (8.5%)	21 (1.2%)	1,491 (85.4%)	24 (1.4%)	2 (0.1%)	7 (0.4%)	47 (2.7%)	39.1	1287^th of 2162 public high schools	40.5%		47.7	1060^th of 2159 public high schools	50.9%	227		16.0	24.6	20.3	41.0	41.0	12.4	12.4	$19,101	$3,290	$15,811

Frequently Asked Questions about Foothills High

How many students attend Foothills High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 101 students attended Foothills High.

Is Foothills High a good school?

Foothills High ranks 1516^th of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

What district is Foothills High in?

San Marcos Unified

What is the racial makeup of Foothills High?

Students at Foothills High are 60% Hispanic, 32% White, 4% Two or more races, 2% African American, 2% Asian.

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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.