Best High Schools in Zip Code 92311

This analysis covers three public high schools in zip code 92311, serving grades 9-12 in Barstow, California, all operated by the Barstow Unified district, which ranks in the bottom 5% of California districts.

Barstow High is the district's main comprehensive high school, enrolling the vast majority of students. It stands out for achieving a graduation rate above the state average and a relatively low dropout rate, despite serving a high-need population and having the largest class sizes of the three schools. The two alternative schools, Central High (Continuation) and the BUSD School of Opportunity, are much smaller and face significant challenges, with very low graduation rates and extremely high chronic absenteeism.

A key finding is the severe chronic absenteeism affecting all schools, with rates far exceeding the state average. While academic proficiency is below state averages across all subjects, Barstow High shows the strongest performance. There is also a notable resource paradox: the smaller alternative schools receive significantly higher per-student funding than Barstow High, which likely reflects the higher costs of serving their specific student populations rather than the effectiveness of spending.