Berkeley High School

Berkeley · Alameda County · Berkeley Unified
Public Alameda County 🏛 Berkeley Unified → ~799 seniors CDS 0161143…
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Most similar nearby schools

Oakland Technical High School → Alameda High School → Oakland High School → El Cerrito High School → Galileo High → Compare all similar →

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)
3,117 (2018)3,279 (2026)
+5.2%
Grade 12 (graduating class)
746 (2018)838 (2026)
+12.3%

If this trend holds (+0.6%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~3,300 +21 $0
3 yr (2029) ~3,342 +63 $0
5 yr (2031) ~3,384 +105 $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.

Enrollment stability & demand — 2024-25

Two complementary signals: retention (do students stay once enrolled?) and demand (are families choosing the school?). Read against the Alameda 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.

Berkeley High School outperformed Alameda County on enrollment (school +12.3% vs. county +0.6%) AND maintains 92.9% stability. Replicable model — worth documenting what's working.

+12.3%  school enrollment (2018–2026)
+0.6%  Alameda County baseline
+11.7pp  gap vs. county
92.9%  retention (county median 89.9%)
Enrollment — indexed to 100 at 2018
Stability rate by year (raw %)
Stability rate
92.9%
3,069 of 3,303 students

234 of 3,303 students who enrolled at Berkeley High School this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (7.1% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

Alameda County median
89.9% · school is in the 70th percentile of 70 HS
Statewide median
87.2% · in the 79th percentile of 1,688 HS

Stability by student group

White (1,363) 94.4%
Socio. disadvantaged (978) 89.1%
Hispanic / Latino (759) 93.5%
Two or more races (494) 92.3%
Black / African Am. (387) 86.8%
Students w/ disabilities (387) 88.9%

Nearest peer high schools

Oakland Technical High School 90.4% Alameda High School 96.7% Oakland High School 89.8% El Cerrito High School 92.3% Galileo High 86.6%

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.

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
13.5%
442 of 3,266 students

Low and stable absenteeism — students are engaged and showing up. The leading indicator is healthy.

Alameda County median
25.4% · school is better than 75% of 69 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).

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 = 731
70.7%
incl. 41.2% exceeded
+15.3 pts above Alameda County median (55.4%) · CA median 54.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 79.3%
Math — met or exceeded
n = 708
57.6%
incl. 35.3% exceeded
★ Top 10% CA
+33.4 pts above Alameda County median (24.2%) · 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

White 42%
Hispanic / Latino 21%
Two or more 16%
Black / African Am. 11%
Asian 8%
Filipino 1%

Program subgroups

Students w/ disabilities 26% +2.5
Socioeconomically disadv. 11%
English learners 4%
Homeless 2% +1.1

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.

District financial profile — Berkeley Unified (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
$221.2M
+9.8% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$23,504
9,409 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 30.2%
Local: 64.0%
Federal: 5.9%
Instruction share
60.2%
of current spending · $11,894/pupil
Long-term debt
$287.1M
+4.5% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($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 Berkeley Unified 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).

University of California outcomes · Class of 2025
★ Top 10% UC Reach
UC Reach
67%
539 admits / 799 seniors
+22.0 pp above peer median (45.5%) · Ranked #1 of 9 similar schools
5-year trend
2021 · 46.8% 2025 · 67.5%
Where this sits on the California curve
CA median
18.5%
Peer median
45.5%
Top 10%
53.3%
This school
67.5%
0%50%100%
CA median 18.5% Top 10% ≥ 53.3% This school 67.5%

Higher than 95% of California high schools (1105 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

📊 What this number means

Berkeley High School's UC Reach of 67.5% clears the statewide top-10% cutoff (53.3%) — meaning roughly 67 top-6 UC admits per 100 seniors, well above what most California schools achieve.

Against similar schools, Berkeley High School stands out clearly — the peer-group median is 45.5%.

For context, the elite tier (top 1%) clears 102.7% — a gap of 35 pp from where this school sits.

Overall, Berkeley High School's UC Reach is higher than 95% of California high schools (1105 ranked).

How they did at each UC — 2019 entrants
Campus Entered Finished in 4 yrs Finished in 6 yrs
UC Santa Cruz 33 48% 82%
UC San Diego 29 76% 90%
UC Berkeley 25 56% 84%
UCLA 24 71% 96%
Only campuses with at least 20 entrants from this school shown. Source: UC Information Center.
UC Application Reach
249.4%
1993 applications
Strong UC pursuit. The typical senior is applying to about 2 top-6 UC campuses — a signal of a college-driven student body.
In context: CA median 78.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 245.8% · Alameda Co. Top 10% ≥ 354.8% · higher than 90% of CA HS.
UC Admit Rate
27.0%
539 / 1993 applications
In context: CA median 26.0% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.5% · higher than 56% of CA HS.
UC Yield Rate
22.1%
119 enrolled of 539 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
14.9%
119 enrollees / 799 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
225:1
14.6 FTE counselors · 3,279 students
In context: CA median 338:1 · 113 fewer students per counselor · ASCA target 250:1.
A-G Completion
70%
541 of 774 graduates · 2024-25 cohort
In context: CA median 55.9% · +14.0 pp above · Alameda Co. 73.7%.
UC 6-Yr Grad Rate
88%
65% finished in 4 yrs · N=153 entered 2019
In context: CA median 88.6%.
Selective UC Reach (UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD)
52.2
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 15.7 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 42.4 · higher than 95% of CA HS.
Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA)
13.3
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 3.5 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 11.1 · higher than 94% of CA HS.
Senior Class Size
799
CDE grade 12 (exact)
Total School Enrollment
3,218
All grades · CDE Census Day
Economic Connectedness
1.31
71st percentile in CA · cross‑class friendships

Berkeley High School — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · Berkeley · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • On UC Reach, Berkeley High School sits near the top of its similar-school group (ranked #1 of 9): 68% vs. a peer median of 46%.
  • Its UC Reach has risen 24 points since 2018.
  • Across the top-6 UC campuses, Berkeley High School is admitting at roughly +5 percentage points above what its average applicant GPA (4.004) alone would predict (27% actual vs. 22% 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 12% (746→838 from 2018 to 2026), outpacing the peer-group median of -5%.
  • Enrollment has been growing (+0.6%/yr); projects to ~3342 by 2029.

Enrollment projection

3279 students (2026)
~3342 projected (2029)
at +0.6%/yr

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School Type Size UC Reach Enroll. trend
Berkeley High School Public 3279 67.5% +12%
Peer-group median 45.5% -5%
Oakland Technical High School Public 1815 45.4% -4%
Alameda High School Public 1843 51.2% +5%
Oakland High School Public 1624 33.5% +10%
El Cerrito High School Public 1361 39.3% -6%
Galileo High Public 1806 -15%
Albany High School Public 1123 48.3% +15%
Encinal Junior/Senior High Public 1342 -16%
Campolindo High School Public 1369 57.1% +11%
Richmond High School Public 1233 14.2% -12%
Skyline High School Public 1216 45.5% -24%

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 →

Avg. Applicant GPA · top-6 UCs
4.00
Avg. Admitted GPA · top-6 UCs
4.23

Admit rate vs. CA peer average, by campus

How does this school's admit rate at each UC compare to other CA schools whose applicant pool averages the same GPA?

Campus Applicant GPA (avg) Actual admit rate CA peer avg Δ Verdict
UC Berkeley 4.01 22.9% 12.7% +10.1pp Over
UCLA 4.04 9.3% 9.5% -0.1pp On target
UC San Diego 4.00 23.9% 20.0% +4.0pp On target
UC Santa Barbara 4.00 26.7% 32.8% -6.1pp Under
UC Irvine 3.98 49.4% 25.7% +23.8pp Over
UC Davis 3.99 35.9% 32.8% +3.1pp On target
"Applicant GPA" is the average GPA of this school's UC applicant pool — not an individual student GPA. "CA peer avg" is the application-weighted statewide admit rate at this school-pool GPA, fit separately per campus. At any given pool GPA, real admit rates span widely (UCSD ranges 8% → 65% across CA schools) because UCs use comprehensive review — context-of-opportunity, geography, demographics, and applicant essays all weigh in beyond GPA. A large negative residual flags this school is admitted at a meaningfully lower rate than other CA schools at the same pool GPA — not that students here were "rejected at expected rate X." "Over" / "Under" use a ±5-point band. Campuses with fewer than 5 applicants are omitted.

Where Berkeley High School sits vs. all California schools

Overall, this school admits its UC applicants 5.0 points above what their GPAs predict (27.0% actual vs. 22.1% 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 319 73 37 22.9% 9.1% 50.7% 4.01 4.24
UCLA → Elite 354 33 18 9.3% 4.1% 54.5% 4.04 4.22
UC San Diego → Selective 380 91 19 23.9% 11.4% 20.9% 4.00 4.27
UC Santa Barbara → Selective 337 90 16 26.7% 11.3% 17.8% 4.00 4.27
UC Irvine → Selective 263 130 18 49.4% 16.3% 13.8% 3.98 4.17
UC Davis → 340 122 11 35.9% 15.3% 9.0% 3.99 4.23
⚠ 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 →

What This Means

A large share of the senior class applies to UC, indicating strong college-going culture and UC pipeline development.
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.
UC Reach is very strong — more than 67% of seniors are earning UC admission. This places the school among California's highest-performing high schools on this metric.
Strong UC Reach paired with low yield: students are earning UC admission at high rates and then enrolling elsewhere. The pattern is characteristic of competitive college-preparatory schools where many students choose more selective private colleges or out-of-state flagships over UC — UC functions as a strong backup option rather than a first choice.
UC Reach has declined meaningfully year-over-year. This should be reviewed in context of applicant volume, GPA trends, course rigor changes, and peer-school performance before drawing conclusions.
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 Alameda County rankings →

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