El Dorado High School

Placentia · Orange County · Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified
Public Orange County 🏛 Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified → ~433 seniors CDS 3066647…
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Compare with peers

Most similar nearby schools

Valencia High School → Fullerton Union High School → Villa Park High School → Troy High School → Katella High School → Compare all similar →

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)
1,955 (2018)2,054 (2026)
+5.1%
Grade 12 (graduating class)
464 (2018)518 (2026)
+11.6%

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) ~2,067 +13 $0
3 yr (2029) ~2,092 +38 $0
5 yr (2031) ~2,118 +64 $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 Orange County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.

Mixed signal
Outperforming on demand; some mid-year churn to look at.

El Dorado High School is recruiting families faster than Orange County is shrinking (school +11.6% vs. county -7.1%), but 134 students didn't make it to year-end. The recruitment engine works; the mid-year exits are worth understanding.

+11.6%  school enrollment (2018–2026)
-7.1%  Orange County baseline
+18.7pp  gap vs. county
93.5%  retention (county median 91.8%)
Enrollment — indexed to 100 at 2018
Stability rate by year (raw %)
Stability rate
93.5%
1,922 of 2,056 students

134 of 2,056 students who enrolled at El Dorado High School this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (6.5% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

Orange County median
91.8% · school is in the 67th percentile of 94 HS
Statewide median
87.2% · in the 82nd percentile of 1,688 HS

Stability by student group

Hispanic / Latino (831) 91.6%
Socio. disadvantaged (794) 89.9%
White (698) 95.3%
Asian (347) 95.7%
Students w/ disabilities (225) 89.3%
English learners (108) 71.3%

Nearest peer high schools

Valencia High School 92.6% Fullerton Union High School 89.0% Villa Park High School 92.3% Troy High School 96.6% Katella High School 88.8%

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
13.1%
265 of 2,026 students

Absenteeism is up 5.9 pp since 2016-17. A rising absenteeism trend often precedes formal departure — worth investigating which subgroups are driving it.

Orange County median
17.9% · school is better than 76% of 94 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 = 474
79.8%
incl. 45.4% exceeded
★ Top 10% CA
+16.0 pts above Orange County median (63.7%) · CA median 54.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 79.3%
Math — met or exceeded
n = 471
50.5%
incl. 24.8% exceeded
+13.4 pts above Orange County median (37.1%) · 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 40% +2.0
White 33% -4.7
Asian 18% +2.0
Two or more 4%
Filipino 3%
Black / African Am. 1%
American Indian 0%

Program subgroups

Students w/ disabilities 39% +2.5
Socioeconomically disadv. 11% +1.6
Homeless 11% +4.9
English learners 4% -1.8

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 — Placentia-Yorba Linda 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
$384.5M
+15.0% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$15,824
24,296 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 40.4%
Local: 49.2%
Federal: 10.4%
Instruction share
61.4%
of current spending · $7,917/pupil
Long-term debt
$380.8M
+0.1% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($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 Placentia-Yorba Linda 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
22%
97 admits / 433 seniors
-5.9 pp vs. peer median (28.3%) · Ranked #8 of 11 similar schools
5-year trend
2021 · 20.7% 2025 · 22.4%
Where this sits on the California curve
CA median
18.5%
Peer median
28.3%
Top 10%
53.3%
This school
22.4%
0%50%100%
CA median 18.5% Top 10% ≥ 53.3% This school 22.4%

Higher than 60% of California high schools (1105 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

📊 What this number means

El Dorado High School's UC Reach of 22.4% is above the California median (18.5%). The top 10% of CA schools achieve 53.3% or higher.

But in Orange County, where the local median is 25.0% and the top-10% bar is 71.2%, this score is mid-pack rather than exceptional — typical of its market rather than a standout.

For context, the elite tier (top 1%) clears 102.7% — a gap of 80 pp from where this school sits.

Overall, El Dorado High School's UC Reach is higher than 60% of California high schools (1105 ranked).

UC Application Reach
103.0%
446 applications
Most seniors are applying to at least one of the six most selective UCs (applications counted at each campus).
In context: CA median 78.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 245.8% · Orange Co. Top 10% ≥ 294.1% · higher than 63% of CA HS.
UC Admit Rate
21.7%
97 / 446 applications
In context: CA median 26.0% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.5% · higher than 25% of CA HS.
UC Yield Rate
25.8%
25 enrolled of 97 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
5.8%
25 enrollees / 433 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
685:1
3.0 FTE counselors · 2,054 students
In context: CA median 338:1 · 347 more students per counselor · ASCA target 250:1.
A-G Completion
63%
260 of 414 graduates · 2024-25 cohort
In context: CA median 55.9% · +6.9 pp above · Orange Co. 60.5%.
UC 6-Yr Grad Rate
76%
74% finished in 4 yrs · N=34 entered 2019
In context: CA median 88.6% · -12.1 pp vs. median.
Selective UC Reach (UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD)
18.7
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 15.7 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 42.4 · higher than 59% of CA HS.
Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA)
3.7
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 3.5 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 11.1 · higher than 51% of CA HS.
Senior Class Size
433
CDE grade 12 (exact)
Total School Enrollment
1,998
All grades · CDE Census Day
Economic Connectedness
1.59
86th percentile in CA · cross‑class friendships

El Dorado High School — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · Placentia · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • On UC Reach, El Dorado High School sits in the middle of its similar-school group (ranked #8 of 11): 22% vs. a peer median of 28%.
  • Its UC Reach has risen 7 points since 2018.
  • Senior-class enrollment is up 12% (464→518 from 2018 to 2026), outpacing the peer-group median of -8%.
  • Enrollment has been growing (+0.6%/yr); projects to ~2092 by 2029.

Enrollment projection

2054 students (2026)
~2092 projected (2029)
at +0.6%/yr

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School Type Size UC Reach Enroll. trend
El Dorado High School Public 2054 22.4% +12%
Peer-group median 28.3% -8%
Valencia High School Public 2242 27.8% -6%
Fullerton Union High School Public 1921 20.9% -13%
Villa Park High School Public 2049 20.6% -14%
Troy High School Public 2422 71.6% -16%
Katella High School Public 2168 11.3% -20%
John a Rowland High School Public 2071 24.0% -2%
Canyon High School Public 2241 28.8% -1%
Brea Olinda High School Public 1664 32.7% -8%
Yorba Linda High School Public 1706 38.6% -7%
Sunny Hills High School Public 2344 53.3% +4%

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
3.88
Avg. Admitted GPA · top-6 UCs
4.24

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 3.94 7.8% 11.9% -4.1pp On target
UCLA 3.89 13.6% 9.0% +4.7pp On target
UC San Diego 3.89 26.9% 22.5% +4.4pp On target
UC Santa Barbara 3.82 26.6% 26.8% -0.2pp On target
UC Irvine 3.86 20.2% 21.7% -1.5pp On target
UC Davis 3.87 39.0% 32.2% +6.9pp Over
"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 El Dorado High School sits vs. all California schools

Overall, this school admits its UC applicants in line with what their GPAs predict (21.7% actual vs. 20.1% 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 51 4 7.8% 0.9% 3.94
UCLA → Elite 88 12 11 13.6% 2.8% 91.7% 3.89 4.28
UC San Diego → Selective 93 25 9 26.9% 5.8% 36.0% 3.89 4.23
UC Santa Barbara → Selective 79 21 26.6% 4.8% 3.82 4.27
UC Irvine → Selective 94 19 5 20.2% 4.4% 26.3% 3.86 4.26
UC Davis → 41 16 39.0% 3.7% 3.87 4.20
⚠ 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.
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.
Berkeley/UCLA admit volume is modest relative to overall UC reach. This is common and reflects the highly selective nature of those campuses, but may be a target area for the school's highest-performing students.
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 Orange County rankings →

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