Colton High School

Colton · San Bernardino County · Colton Joint Unified
Public San Bernardino County 🏛 Colton Joint Unified → ~448 seniors CDS 3667686…
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Compare with peers

Most similar nearby schools

Grand Terrace High School At The Ray Abril Jr. Educational Complex → Bloomington High School → Indian Springs High School → Jurupa Hills High School → Eisenhower High School → Compare all similar →

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)
1,956 (2018)1,692 (2026)
-13.5%
Grade 12 (graduating class)
467 (2018)399 (2026)
-14.6%

If this trend holds (-1.8%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~1,662 -30 $0
3 yr (2029) ~1,602 -90 $0
5 yr (2031) ~1,545 -147 $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 San Bernardino County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.

Critical
Material decline in demand.

Enrollment -14.6% vs. county +0.0% — losing far faster than the county. Each enrolled family matters more, but the engine of new enrollment is breaking down.

-14.6%  school enrollment (2018–2026)
+0.0%  San Bernardino County baseline
-14.6pp  gap vs. county
80.7%  retention (county median 80.5%)
Enrollment — indexed to 100 at 2018
Stability rate by year (raw %)
Stability rate
80.7%
1,605 of 1,990 students

385 of 1,990 students who enrolled at Colton High School this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (19.3% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

San Bernardino County median
80.5% · school is in the 52nd percentile of 99 HS
Statewide median
87.2% · in the 31st percentile of 1,688 HS

Stability by student group

Hispanic / Latino (1,877) 81.7%
Socio. disadvantaged (1,865) 80.9%
Students w/ disabilities (298) 76.8%
English learners (295) 73.6%
Black / African Am. (54) 57.4%
White (33) 75.8%

Nearest peer high schools

Grand Terrace High School At The Ray Abril Jr. Educational Complex 79.7% Bloomington High School 80.1% Indian Springs High School 77.8% Jurupa Hills High School 84.9% Eisenhower High School 82.4%

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
24.6%
446 of 1,813 students

Absenteeism is up 11.1 pp since 2016-17. A rising absenteeism trend often precedes formal departure — worth investigating which subgroups are driving it.

San Bernardino County median
26.7% · school is better than 59% of 97 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 = 371
49.6%
incl. 18.3% exceeded
+3.3 pts above San Bernardino County median (46.3%) · CA median 54.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 79.3%
Math — met or exceeded
n = 372
18.6%
incl. 4.0% exceeded
+2.8 pts above San Bernardino County median (15.8%) · 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 95%
White 2%
Black / African Am. 2%
Asian 0%
Two or more 0%

Program subgroups

Students w/ disabilities 96% +5.9
Socioeconomically disadv. 14%
English learners 14%
Homeless 7%

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 — Colton Joint 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
$360.6M
+16.6% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$17,547
20,550 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 66.3%
Local: 18.6%
Federal: 15.1%
Instruction share
55.1%
of current spending · $8,160/pupil
Long-term debt
$248.6M
+4.0% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($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 Colton Joint 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
UC Reach
11%
50 admits / 448 seniors
-2.3 pp vs. peer median (13.5%) · Ranked #7 of 10 similar schools
5-year trend
2021 · 14.4% 2025 · 11.2%
Where this sits on the California curve
CA median
18.5%
Peer median
13.5%
Top 10%
53.3%
This school
11.2%
0%50%100%
CA median 18.5% Top 10% ≥ 53.3% This school 11.2%

Higher than 24% of California high schools (1105 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

📊 What this number means

Colton High School's UC Reach of 11.2% is below the California median (18.5%). The top 10% of CA schools achieve 53.3% or higher.

Overall, Colton High School's UC Reach is higher than 24% of California high schools (1105 ranked).

UC Application Reach
54.9%
246 applications
In context: CA median 78.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 245.8% · San Bernardino Co. Top 10% ≥ 128.9% · higher than 33% of CA HS.
UC Admit Rate
20.3%
50 / 246 applications
In context: CA median 26.0% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.5% · higher than 18% of CA HS.
UC Yield Rate
16.0%
8 enrolled of 50 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
1.8%
8 enrollees / 448 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
338:1
5.0 FTE counselors · 1,692 students
In context: CA median 338:1 · ASCA target 250:1.
A-G Completion
33%
125 of 379 graduates · 2024-25 cohort
In context: CA median 55.9% · -22.9 pp vs. median · San Bernardino Co. 52.6%.
UC 6-Yr Grad Rate
87%
65% finished in 4 yrs · N=23 entered 2016
In context: CA median 87.8%.
Selective UC Reach (UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD)
9.4
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 15.7 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 42.4 · higher than 21% of CA HS.
Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA)
1.1
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 3.5 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 11.1 · higher than 8% of CA HS.
Senior Class Size
448
CDE grade 12 (exact)
Total School Enrollment
1,729
All grades · CDE Census Day
Economic Connectedness
0.71
19th percentile in CA · cross‑class friendships

Colton High School — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · Colton · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • On UC Reach, Colton High School sits in the middle of its similar-school group (ranked #7 of 10): 11% vs. a peer median of 14%.
  • Its UC Reach has risen 8 points since 2018.
  • Senior-class enrollment is down 15% (467→399 from 2018 to 2026), outpacing the peer-group median of -17%.
  • At its recent rate (-1.8%/yr), enrollment projects to ~1602 by 2029 — about 90 fewer students than today.

Enrollment projection

1692 students (2026)
~1602 projected (2029)
at -1.8%/yr

That's about 90 fewer students. At per-student funding of $ per student, that's roughly $0 in annual state funding at risk.

Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423 per ADA) — adjust to your district's actual per-pupil figure. Projection extrapolates the recent annual rate — not a forecast of intent.

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School Type Size UC Reach Enroll. trend
Colton High School Public 1692 11.2% -15%
Peer-group median 13.5% -17%
Grand Terrace High School At The Ray Abril Jr. Educational Complex Public 1578 -33%
Bloomington High School Public 1776 7.7% -18%
Indian Springs High School Public 1779 15.9% +8%
Jurupa Hills High School Public 1701 13.5% -19%
Eisenhower High School Public 2044 12.8% -15%
San Gorgonio High School Public 1517 17.6% -20%
Wilmer Amina Carter Hs Public 1916 18.5% -18%
John W North High School Public 1989 17.8% -8%
San Bernardino High School Public 1360 8.5% -7%
Options for Youth - Acton Public 2085 4.5% +1077%

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
3.53
Avg. Admitted GPA · top-6 UCs
4.07

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
UCLA 3.59 8.8% 10.0% -1.3pp On target
UC San Diego 3.52 33.3% 34.7% -1.4pp On target
UC Santa Barbara 3.46 32.1% 37.1% -4.9pp On target
UC Irvine 3.56 18.3% 15.9% +2.4pp On target
UC Davis 3.46 30.8% 33.9% -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 Colton High School sits vs. all California schools

Overall, this school admits its UC applicants in line with what their GPAs predict (22.5% actual vs. 23.5% 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 24 3.47
UCLA → Elite 57 5 3 8.8% 1.1% 60.0% 3.59 4.30
UC San Diego → Selective 51 17 5 33.3% 3.8% 29.4% 3.52 4.07
UC Santa Barbara → Selective 28 9 32.1% 2.0% 3.46 3.98
UC Irvine → Selective 60 11 18.3% 2.5% 3.56 4.11
UC Davis → 26 8 30.8% 1.8% 3.46 3.98
⚠ 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.
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.
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 San Bernardino County rankings →

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