Luther Burbank High School

Sacramento · Sacramento County · Sacramento City Unified · Public

Public Sacramento County 🏛 Sacramento City Unified → ~427 seniors CDS 3467439…
📄 Shareable scorecard →

📋 At a glance

Programs & features
  • 📚 1 AP courses offered — Strong
  • ✅ Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
  • ✅ Gifted & talented program
  • 🔢 20 calculus classes · 10 physics · 21 chemistry
Academic signals
  • 🎓 AP rigor: 56th percentile nationally
  • 🎓 4-yr grad rate: 87% (Bottom 39% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate)

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

💡

How Luther Burbank High School compares for families

Real college outcomes data available below.

  • Statewide9.6% UC Reach — 8.5 points below the California median of 18.1%.
  • vs Similar SchoolsTrails the peer median (9.6% UC Reach vs 18.8% median) across the 5 most similar nearby schools.

🎓 Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Strong — solid AP program + advanced courses

56th percentile nationally

50th 90th ↑ this school
Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor
AP courses offered
1
Subject breadth not reported
Advanced math classes
40
20 calculus · 20 advanced
Lab science classes
31
10 physics · 21 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
SAT/ACT test-takers
0
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
0.0
takers per 100 students in grades 9-12

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 39% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate

50th 90th
4-year graduation rate
87%
Single-point estimate
4-year cohort size
356
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

Title I Schoolwide eligible

≥40% FRPL — qualifies for Title I Schoolwide program

74.1%
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)

40-74% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. The district can use Title I funds across the whole school under federal Schoolwide Program rules.

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

Luther Burbank High School sent 205 applications to the six most selective University of California campuses and 20.0% were admitted, producing a UC Reach of 9.6%8.5 percentage points below the California median of 18.1%, higher than 16% of California high schools. The school produces 0.9 UCLA + UC Berkeley admits per 100 seniors.

University of California outcomes · Class of 2025
UC Reach
10%
41 admits / 427 seniors
-9.2 pp vs. peer median (18.8%) · Ranked #9 of 11 similar schools
5-year trend
2021 · 19.1% 2025 · 9.6%
Where this sits on the California curve
CA median
18.1%
Top 10%
51.2%
This school
9.6%
0%50%100%
CA median 18.1% Top 10% ≥ 51.2% This school 9.6%

Higher than 16% of California high schools (978 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

📊 What this number means

Luther Burbank High School's UC Reach of 9.6% is below the California median (18.1%). The top 10% of CA schools achieve 51.2% or higher.

Overall, Luther Burbank High School's UC Reach is higher than 16% of California high schools (978 ranked).

UC Application Reach
48.0%
205 applications
In context: CA median 74.9% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 241.0% · Sacramento Co. Top 10% ≥ 144.0% · higher than 27% of CA HS.
UC Admit Rate
20.0%
41 / 205 applications
In context: CA median 26.1% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.5% · higher than 16% of CA HS.
UC Yield Rate
17.1%
7 enrolled of 41 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
1.6%
7 enrollees / 427 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
302:1
5.0 FTE counselors · 1,512 students
In context: CA median 338:1 · 36 fewer students per counselor · ASCA target 250:1.
A-G Completion
50%
173 of 347 graduates · 2024-25 cohort
In context: CA median 55.9% · -6.0 pp vs. median · Sacramento Co. 50.9%.
UC 6-Yr Grad Rate
48%
33% finished in 4 yrs · N=21 entered 2019
In context: CA median 88.6% · -41.0 pp vs. median.
Selective UC Reach (UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD)
5.4
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 15.4 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 41.5 · higher than 4% of CA HS.
Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA)
0.9
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 3.3 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 9.7 · higher than 6% of CA HS.
Senior Class Size
427
CDE grade 12 (exact)
Total School Enrollment
1,535
All grades · CDE Census Day
Economic Connectedness
0.49
4th percentile in CA · cross‑class friendships
Avg. Applicant GPA · top-6 UCs
3.78
Avg. Admitted GPA · top-6 UCs
4.15

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 Luther Burbank 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 (2021) 3.89 4.21 +0.32 29.5% Peers +0.29 · matches
UCLA (2021) 3.97 4.29 +0.33 13.5% Peers +0.31 · matches
UC San Diego 3.74 4.15 +0.42 29.4% Peers +0.40 · matches
UC Santa Barbara 3.87 4.12 +0.26 56.2% Peers +0.33 · wider
UC Irvine (2021) 3.98 4.33 +0.35 20.0% Peers +0.28 · steeper
UC Davis 3.74 4.16 +0.42 29.0% Peers +0.34 · steeper
📊 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 Luther Burbank High School sits vs. all California schools

Overall, this school admits its UC applicants in line with what their GPAs predict (27.2% actual vs. 24.5% 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 37 3.84
UCLA → Elite 39 4 10.3% 0.9% 3.82
UC San Diego → Selective 34 10 29.4% 2.3% 3.74 4.15
UC Santa Barbara → Selective 16 9 56.2% 2.1% 3.87 4.12
UC Irvine → Selective 17 3.73
UC Davis → 62 18 7 29.0% 4.2% 38.9% 3.74 4.16
= 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 = 297
26.9%
incl. 3.4% exceeded
-19.2 pts vs. Sacramento County median (46.1%) · CA median 54.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 79.3%
Math — met or exceeded
n = 291
8.6%
incl. 2.8% exceeded
-9.1 pts vs. Sacramento County median (17.7%) · 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 45% -1.8
Asian 25% +1.4
Black / African Am. 16% -1.0
Two or more 4%
Pacific Islander 4%
White 4% +1.1
Filipino 2%

Program subgroups

Students w/ disabilities 85%
English learners 28% -1.9
Socioeconomically disadv. 20% -1.4
Homeless 9% +7.1

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.

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
30.4%
500 of 1,643 students

Absenteeism is in the typical CA HS range. Worth monitoring alongside the demand and retention signals above.

Sacramento County median
25.8% · school is worse than 57% of 75 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)
1,735 (2018)1,512 (2026)
-12.9%
Grade 12 (graduating class)
406 (2018)393 (2026)
-3.2%

If this trend holds (-1.7%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~1,486 -26 $0
3 yr (2029) ~1,436 -76 $0
5 yr (2031) ~1,387 -125 $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.

Luther Burbank High School — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · Sacramento · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • On UC Reach, Luther Burbank High School sits near the bottom of its similar-school group (ranked #9 of 11): 10% vs. a peer median of 19%.
  • Luther Burbank High School's UC Reach has stepped down from a peak of 19% in 2021 to 10% in 2025 — a 10-point decline worth tracking.
  • Senior-class enrollment is down 3% (406→393 from 2018 to 2026), trailing the peer-group median of +10%.
  • At its recent rate (-1.7%/yr), enrollment projects to ~1436 by 2029 — about 76 fewer students than today.

Enrollment projection

1512 students (2026)
~1436 projected (2029)
at -1.7%/yr

That's about 76 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
Luther Burbank High School Public 1512 9.6% -3%
Peer-group median 18.8% +10%
Valley High School Public 1539 18.6% +22%
Hiram W Johnson High School Public 1637 8.3% +18%
John F. Kennedy High Public 1663 12.2% -13%
Florin High School Public 1616 19.0% +15%
Rosemont High School Public 1426 10.0% +13%
Elk Grove High School Public 1781 6.8% -8%
River City High School Public 2099 19.6% +7%
Westlake Charter Public 1492 38.1% -17%
Mira Loma High School Public 1679 45.4% -5%
Rio Americano High School Public 1930 22.8% +25%

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 Sacramento County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.

Action needed
Demand declining faster than county; retention only average.

Enrollment is shrinking faster than Sacramento County (school -3.2% vs. county +3.0%) with stability (80.5%) near the county median. Two problems compounding — the recruitment side is the higher-leverage starting point. Chronic absenteeism is also at 30.4% (up -0.1 pts from 2016-17) — engagement and demand are both signaling decline.

-3.2%  school enrollment (2018–2026)
+3.0%  Sacramento County baseline
-6.2pp  gap vs. county
80.5%  retention (county median 80.8%)
Enrollment — indexed to 100 at 2018
Stability rate by year (raw %)
Stability rate
80.5%
1,398 of 1,737 students

339 of 1,737 students who enrolled at Luther Burbank High School this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (19.5% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

Sacramento County median
80.8% · school is in the 48th percentile of 77 HS
Statewide median
87.2% · in the 30th percentile of 1,688 HS

Stability by student group

Socio. disadvantaged (1,415) 81.2%
Hispanic / Latino (774) 82.0%
English learners (514) 79.2%
Asian (403) 92.1%
Students w/ disabilities (357) 80.7%
Black / African Am. (316) 68.4%

Nearest peer high schools

Valley High School 80.3% Hiram W Johnson High School 74.6% John F. Kennedy High 81.8% Florin High School 81.9% Rosemont High School 80.5%

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 — Sacramento City 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
$772.7M
+16.1% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$18,978
40,711 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 56.4%
Local: 24.8%
Federal: 18.8%
Instruction share
60.3%
of current spending · $9,721/pupil
Long-term debt
$495.5M
-10.4% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($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 Sacramento City 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).

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.
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 Sacramento County rankings →

Researching colleges for your kid at Luther Burbank High School?

Get a personalized College Plan Audit — find Reach, Target, and Safety colleges matched to your kid's GPA, test scores, intended major, and your family's budget. Free.

Start the College Plan Audit →

For school leaders looking at enrollment trends: request an Enrollment Trend Audit →