Best High Schools in Zip Code 92314

This analysis covers two public high schools in zip code 92314, which serves Big Bear City, California, both operating under the Bear Valley Unified district and serving grades 9-12, with one also serving grade 8.

The area features a clear contrast between a traditional comprehensive high school and an alternative continuation school. Big Bear High is the larger, mainstream school with over 600 students, showing academic strengths particularly in English Language Arts where it outperforms state averages, and it boasts a solid 90.3% graduation rate. In comparison, Chautauqua High (Continuation) is a much smaller school of about 33 students designed for at-risk youth, achieving an 87.5% graduation rate despite significant challenges like extreme chronic absenteeism and very low standardized test scores.

Key takeaways for parents include understanding the different missions of these schools. Big Bear High represents the district's primary academic pathway with improving rankings. Chautauqua High serves a critical, specialized role in helping struggling students graduate. Both schools serve a predominantly economically disadvantaged population. A notable area for district-wide attention is math proficiency, which lags behind state averages at both schools. The disparity in per-student spending and student-teacher ratios between the two schools is also a point of consideration given the higher needs of the continuation school's population.