Arvin High School

Arvin · Kern County · Kern High · Public

Public Kern County 🏛 Kern High → ~627 seniors CDS 1563529…
📄 Shareable scorecard →

🎓Top 9 UC Reach in Kern

📋 At a glance

Programs & features
  • 📚 6 AP courses offered — Elite
  • ✅ Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
  • ✅ Gifted & talented program
  • 🔢 2 calculus classes · 3 physics · 11 chemistry
Academic signals
  • 🎓 AP rigor: 73th percentile nationally
  • 📝 SAT/ACT participation: Bottom 12% by test-taker volume
  • 🎓 4-yr grad rate: 90% (Bottom 49% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate)

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

💡

How Arvin High School compares for families

Real college outcomes data available below.

  • Statewide11.6% UC Reach — 6.5 points below the California median of 18.1%.
  • Locally🎓 Top 9 in Kern County on UC Reach.
  • vs Similar SchoolsBeats the peer median (11.6% UC Reach vs 8.2% median) across the 5 most similar nearby schools.

🎓 Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth

73th percentile nationally

50th 90th ↑ this school
Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor
AP courses offered
6
Math ✓ · Science ✓
Advanced math classes
9
2 calculus · 7 advanced
Lab science classes
14
3 physics · 11 chemistry
Other rigor signals
✅ Dual-enrollment program
✅ Gifted/talented program

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).

SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21

Bottom 12% by test-taker volume

50th 90th
SAT/ACT test-takers
8
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
0.3
takers per 100 students in grades 9-12
Compared against
18,426
US high schools reporting SAT/ACT participation

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

🎓 4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts

What % of students graduate on time?

Bottom 49% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate

50th 90th
4-year graduation rate
90%
Single-point estimate
4-year cohort size
640
Students in the 9th-grade entry class tracked over 4 years
Compared against
17,988
US high schools reporting 4-year ACGR

Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.

🏛️ Federal Title I context

High-poverty school

Title I Schoolwide eligible

96.5%
FRPL rate — % of students who qualify for the federal Free or Reduced-Price Lunch program. This is the underlying federal income-eligibility signal Title I designations are computed from (ESEA Sec. 1113).
0% (no FRPL) 35% TA · 40% Schoolwide 100% (universal FRPL)

≥75% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. These schools qualify for the highest tier of federal Title I funding and typically receive extra wraparound services. Academic outcomes vary widely — check the state assessment + grad-rate tiles.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. The actual Title I designation is a district decision and may differ from eligibility — but the federal eligibility math is what we show here. We don't claim to assert whether the district formally chose to enroll this school in Title I.

📊 Key takeaway · Class of 2025

Arvin High School sent 243 applications to the six most selective University of California campuses and 30.0% were admitted, producing a UC Reach of 11.6%6.5 percentage points below the California median of 18.1%, higher than 25% of California high schools. The school produces 1.6 UCLA + UC Berkeley admits per 100 seniors.

University of California outcomes · Class of 2025
UC Reach
12%
73 admits / 627 seniors
+3.4 pp above peer median (8.2%) · Ranked #3 of 11 similar schools
5-year trend
2021 · 8.7% 2025 · 11.6%
Where this sits on the California curve
CA median
18.1%
Peer median
8.2%
Top 10%
51.2%
This school
11.6%
0%50%100%
CA median 18.1% Top 10% ≥ 51.2% This school 11.6%

Higher than 25% of California high schools (978 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

📊 What this number means

Arvin High School's UC Reach of 11.6% is below the California median (18.1%). The top 10% of CA schools achieve 51.2% or higher.

In Kern County, where the local median is just 9.9%, this score is unusually strong for its immediate market.

Overall, Arvin High School's UC Reach is higher than 25% of California high schools (978 ranked).

UC Application Reach
38.8%
243 applications
In context: CA median 74.9% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 241.0% · Kern Co. Top 10% ≥ 100.6% · higher than 17% of CA HS.
UC Admit Rate
30.0%
73 / 243 applications
In context: CA median 26.1% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.5% · higher than 68% of CA HS.
UC Yield Rate
16.4%
12 enrolled of 73 admitted
Yield vs. Enrollment Reach: Yield answers "of UC admits, what % chose UC?" — denominator is just the admits. A small admitted cohort can post a low yield even when the school sends a healthy share of its class to UC.
UC Enrollment Reach
1.9%
12 enrollees / 627 seniors
Enrollment Reach vs. Yield: Reach answers "of the whole senior class, what % ended up at UC?" — denominator is everyone. High Yield with low Enrollment Reach is common at elite privates: most admits matriculate, but the school sends most of its class to non-UC selective colleges.
Student-Counselor Ratio
342:1
7.8 FTE counselors · 2,668 students
In context: CA median 338:1 · ASCA target 250:1.
A-G Completion
40%
220 of 552 graduates · 2024-25 cohort
In context: CA median 55.9% · -16.0 pp vs. median · Kern Co. 39.4%.
UC 6-Yr Grad Rate
84%
60% finished in 4 yrs · N=25 entered 2019
In context: CA median 88.6% · -4.6 pp vs. median.
Selective UC Reach (UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD)
8.5
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 15.4 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 41.5 · higher than 15% of CA HS.
Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA)
1.6
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 3.3 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 9.7 · higher than 17% of CA HS.
Senior Class Size
627
CDE grade 12 (exact)
Total School Enrollment
2,653
All grades · CDE Census Day
Economic Connectedness
0.49
4th percentile in CA · cross‑class friendships
Avg. Applicant GPA · top-6 UCs
3.76
Avg. Admitted GPA · top-6 UCs
4.06

UC funnel — which kids are getting in at what GPA

Combining the school's applicant pool GPA, admit pool GPA, actual admit rate, and statewide CA admit rates by individual GPA band, we can read which GPA tiers tend to get in — and which don't.

🎯 Who's actually getting into UC from Arvin High School
Campus 4.00+ GPA 3.70–3.99 GPA 3.30–3.69 GPA < 3.30 GPA
UC Berkeley Real shot Long odds Filtered out Filtered out
UCLA Real shot Long odds Filtered out Filtered out
UC San Diego Strong shot Moderate Long odds Filtered out
UC Santa Barbara Strong shot Real shot Long odds Filtered out
UC Irvine Strong shot Real shot Long odds Filtered out
UC Davis Strong shot Strong shot Real shot Filtered out
Strong shot = ≥30% statewide admit rate at this band · Real shot = 10–29% · Moderate = 5–9% · Long odds = 1–4% · Filtered out = under 1%. Tiers map this school's likely outcomes by GPA tier using statewide CA admit rates from UCOP 2025.

The numbers behind it

Campus Applicant GPA Admit GPA Lift Admit rate vs peer schools @ same GPA
UC Berkeley 3.81 4.06 +0.25 17.9% Peers +0.34 · wider
UCLA (2024) 3.77 4.22 +0.46 9.2% Peers +0.42 · steeper
UC San Diego 3.74 4.10 +0.37 38.5% Peers +0.40 · matches
UC Santa Barbara 3.72 4.09 +0.37 41.9% Peers +0.38 · matches
UC Irvine 3.76 4.03 +0.27 25.6% Peers +0.36 · wider
UC Davis 3.73 4.03 +0.30 46.5% Peers +0.34 · wider
📊 Statewide CA admit rates by individual GPA band, 2025 (for reference)
GPA band UCB UCLA UCSD UCSB UCI UCD
4.00+ 17.0% 15.1% 45.2% 62.3% 46.3% 65.9%
3.70–3.99 3.1% 1.6% 9.3% 17.6% 17.0% 31.1%
3.30–3.69 0.8% 0.5% 1.5% 2.8% 2.4% 10.3%
3.00–3.29 0.4% 0.3% 0.2% 0.4% 0.3% 1.9%
< 3.00 0.7% 0.4% 0.3% 0.2% 0.1% 0.7%
How we infer the tier labels: Each tier comes from the statewide CA admit rate at that GPA band at that UC. The "vs peers" column compares this school's lift (admit GPA − applicant GPA) to the average lift at ~100–300 other CA schools with similar applicant pool GPA. What this isn't: a guarantee. UC comprehensive review weighs essays, course rigor, demographics, and context-of-opportunity beyond GPA. A 3.9 with strong context can land an admit; a 4.0 with weak essays can be denied. Use as a baseline expectation, not a verdict. Per-campus year is shown when it differs from the headline year (UCOP doesn't always publish admit-GPA for every campus every year).

Where Arvin High School sits vs. all California schools

Overall, this school admits its UC applicants 8.9 points above what their GPAs predict (30.0% actual vs. 21.1% expected).

UC Outcomes Trend — 2018–2025

UC Admit Rate %
UC Reach % (where available)
UC Admits (count, right axis)

Class size from CDE grade 12 enrollment. Campus-level data — applicant/admit totals may count a student at multiple campuses more than once.

Campus Breakdown — 2025

Campus Applicants Admits Enrollees Admit Rate UC Reach Yield Avg GPA (App) Avg GPA (Adm)
UC Berkeley → Elite 39 7 5 17.9% 1.1% 71.4% 3.81 4.06
UCLA → Elite 40 3 7.5% 0.5% 3.80
UC San Diego → Selective 39 15 38.5% 2.4% 3.74 4.10
UC Santa Barbara → Selective 43 18 41.9% 2.9% 3.72 4.09
UC Irvine → Selective 39 10 25.6% 1.6% 3.76 4.03
UC Davis → 43 20 7 46.5% 3.2% 35.0% 3.73 4.03
= UCOP-suppressed (count below 3 students, hidden for privacy — actual value is 0, 1, or 2, not necessarily zero). Campus-level totals may count one student admitted to multiple UC campuses more than once; Admit Volume metrics are not the same as UC Reach, which requires unique-student counts. See methodology →

SBAC academic outcomes — grade 11, 2025

Share of grade-11 students meeting or exceeding the California standard on Smarter Balanced ELA and Math. This is the academic-readiness signal that pairs with UC Reach (post-grad outcomes), stability (retention), and absenteeism (engagement). Note: statewide median Math is only ~20% — a school at 20% isn't an outlier; one at 45%+ genuinely is.

ELA — met or exceeded
n = 578
55.2%
incl. 17.3% exceeded
+3.5 pts above Kern County median (51.7%) · CA median 54.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 79.3%
Math — met or exceeded
n = 591
11.0%
incl. 1.4% exceeded
-1.9 pts vs. Kern County median (12.9%) · CA median 21.1% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 53.6%

Source: California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) Smarter Balanced research files. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥30 tested students.

Student composition — 2025-26

HS grades 9–12 racial/ethnic composition and program subgroups, from CDE Census Day Enrollment. Two-year shift shown when ≥1 pt — surfaces how the community served has changed since 2023-24.

Race / ethnicity

Hispanic / Latino 97%
Not reported 1% +1.0
White 1%

Program subgroups

Students w/ disabilities 98% +2.2
English learners 22% -2.8
Socioeconomically disadv. 8%
Homeless 0%

Source: California Department of Education, Census Day Enrollment 2025-26 (HS grades 9–12). Δ shown when shift is ≥1 pt since 2023-24. Categories below 0.5% omitted.

Chronic absenteeism — 2024-25

Share of students missing 10% or more of expected attendance — the leading indicator that often precedes the demand decline shown above. Families disengaging tend to raise absenteeism first, then formally leave. Basis: grades 9–12.

Chronic absent
22.6%
621 of 2,751 students

Absenteeism is up 9.1 pp since 2016-17. A rising absenteeism trend often precedes formal departure — worth investigating which subgroups are driving it.

Kern County median
19.6% · school is worse than 57% of 47 HS
Statewide median
22.9%
Chronic absenteeism by year (raw %)

Source: California Department of Education, Chronic Absenteeism 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 eligible students. CDE didn't publish a usable 2019-20 file (COVID).

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)
2,627 (2018)2,668 (2026)
+1.6%
Grade 12 (graduating class)
571 (2018)674 (2026)
+18.0%

If this trend holds (+0.2%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~2,673 +5 $0
3 yr (2029) ~2,684 +16 $0
5 yr (2031) ~2,694 +26 $0

Straight-line extrapolation of the recent annual rate — a what-if, not a forecast of intent. Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423/ADA). Edit the figure to match your school.

Arvin High School — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · Arvin · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • On UC Reach, Arvin High School sits in the middle of its similar-school group (ranked #3 of 11): 12% vs. a peer median of 8%.
  • Its UC Reach has risen 5 points since 2018.
  • Across the top-6 UC campuses, Arvin High School is admitting at roughly +9 percentage points above what its average applicant GPA (3.758) alone would predict (30% actual vs. 21% expected). That's a meaningful signal — it can reflect UC's track record with this school's graduates, students presenting strongly in UC's holistic review (essays, EC's, context), or institutional familiarity helping at the margin. The data can't distinguish which, but the pattern itself is real and worth understanding.
  • Senior-class enrollment is up 18% (571→674 from 2018 to 2026), outpacing the peer-group median of +8%.
  • Enrollment has been growing (+0.2%/yr); projects to ~2684 by 2029.

Enrollment projection

2668 students (2026)
~2684 projected (2029)
at +0.2%/yr

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School Type Size UC Reach Enroll. trend
Arvin High School Public 2668 11.6% +18%
Peer-group median 8.2% +8%
Ridgeview High School Public 2530 12.3% +9%
Highland High School Public 2505 7.9% +31%
Golden Valley High School Public 2153 12.5% -3%
Del Oro High Public 2062 2.9% +23%
Mira Monte High School Public 2025 9.6% +3%
Bakersfield High School Public 2990 5.6% +21%
East Bakersfield High School Public 2215 8.4% +5%
Foothill High School Public 1990 5.0% +8%
South High School Public 2092 11.5% +6%
Independence High Public 2415 7.8% +18%

UC Reach = top-6 UC admits ÷ senior class (can exceed 100% when students are admitted to multiple campuses). Enrollment trend = first-to-latest grade-12 change on file. Similar schools matched on proximity, size, type. Methodology →

Enrollment stability & demand — 2024-25

Two complementary signals: retention (do students stay once enrolled?) and demand (are families choosing the school?). Read against the Kern County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.

Healthy
Best in class — winning on demand and retention.

Arvin High School outperformed Kern County on enrollment (school +18.0% vs. county +12.7%) AND maintains 88.0% stability. Replicable model — worth documenting what's working. Chronic absenteeism is rising (22.6%, +9.1 pts since 2016-17) — a watch signal worth monitoring as a leading indicator.

+18.0%  school enrollment (2018–2026)
+12.7%  Kern County baseline
+5.3pp  gap vs. county
88.0%  retention (county median 84.4%)
Enrollment — indexed to 100 at 2018
Stability rate by year (raw %)
Stability rate
88.0%
2,475 of 2,812 students

337 of 2,812 students who enrolled at Arvin High School this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (12.0% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

Kern County median
84.4% · school is in the 77th percentile of 47 HS
Statewide median
87.2% · in the 55th percentile of 1,688 HS

Stability by student group

Hispanic / Latino (2,720) 88.3%
Socio. disadvantaged (2,720) 88.2%
English learners (698) 80.5%
Students w/ disabilities (219) 87.7%
White (35) 74.3%

Nearest peer high schools

Ridgeview High School 87.7% Highland High School 87.7% Golden Valley High School 87.7% Del Oro High 84.4% Mira Monte High School 83.1%

Source: California Department of Education, Stability Rate 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 cumulative enrollees so by-design-high-churn continuation schools don't dominate the bottom of the distribution. Cumulative enrollment counts every student on the rolls during the year, so it can exceed peak-day enrollment.

District financial profile — Kern High (FY2020)

From 4 years of NCES F-33 filings (the federally-mandated district finance survey). Public schools don't have their own books — the district does. These figures show the financial scale, revenue dependence, instruction-vs-overhead mix, and long-term debt that shape what a school can sustain.

Total revenue
$740.6M
+25.7% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$17,478
42,370 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 62.0%
Local: 25.3%
Federal: 12.7%
Instruction share
45.5%
of current spending · $6,660/pupil
Long-term debt
$376.0M
-11.0% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($M)
Total expenditure by year ($M)

Source: NCES F-33 Annual Survey of School System Finances (Urban Institute Education Data API). Latest year currently published: FY2020. F-33 is a district-level federal filing — it reflects the Kern High as a whole, not this individual school's books. Revenue mix shows where the district's dollars come from (state aid dominates in CA via LCFF). Instruction share is current expenditure on instruction ÷ total current expenditure (national benchmark ~60%). Long-term debt is end-of-year outstanding (mostly facilities bonds).

What This Means

A large share of the class applies to UC, so the admit rate runs lower than the application volume alone might suggest — expected when many students apply broadly, including to reach campuses. UC Reach (which credits every admit relative to the class) is the truer read of how the class fares: a strong Reach alongside a moderate admit rate is healthy, not a contradiction.
Fewer than 15% of seniors are earning UC admission. This may reflect a high non-UC college-going rate, significant A-G completion gaps, or an early-stage UC pipeline. A deeper review of A-G readiness and counseling capacity is warranted.
Students are earning UC admission but enrolling elsewhere at a notable rate. This may reflect competition from private colleges, out-of-state flagships, cost considerations, or UC campus fit. Student outcome surveys can clarify.
Note: admit counts used here are campus-level totals. A student admitted to both UCLA and UCSD is counted twice. When UCOP unique-student data becomes available it will be loaded automatically and the labels will update.
Compare with other schools → See Kern County rankings →

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