Canyon High School

Anaheim · Orange County · Orange Unified · Public

Public Orange County 🏛 Orange Unified → ~520 seniors CDS 3066621…
📄 Shareable scorecard →

🎓29 UC Reach Score · Around the CA median 📘Top 25% ELA & Math · SBAC (CA) 📚AP rigor: 86th percentile nationally 📖25 AP courses

📋 At a glance

Programs & features
  • 📚 25 AP courses offered — Elite
  • ✅ Gifted & talented program
  • 🔢 4 calculus classes · 6 physics · 14 chemistry
Academic signals
  • 🎓 AP rigor: 86th percentile nationally
  • 📝 SAT/ACT participation: 68th percentile by test-taker volume
  • 🎓 4-yr grad rate: 93% (67th percentile nationally)

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

🎓 Where grads go

UC Reach Score
29
Around the CA median near the state median
Top-6 UC admits per 100 seniors in the Class of 2025 — counts each campus admit, so a student admitted to several UCs counts more than once (which is why a strong school can score over 100).

UC admits by campus · Class of 2025

UCB
10 admitted
5 enrolled
UCLA
15 admitted
10 enrolled
UCSD
26 admitted
5 enrolled
UCSB
34 admitted
5 enrolled
UCI
45 admitted
22 enrolled
UCD
20 admitted
4 enrolled

Source: University of California Office of the President, Admissions by Source School. Full campus-by-campus breakdown below.

💡

How Canyon High School compares for families

Above-average college outcomes statewide.

  • Statewide28.8% UC Reach10.7 points above the California median of 18.1%. Ahead of 72% of California high schools.
  • Locally📘 Top 10% in California on ELA proficiency.
  • vs Similar SchoolsBeats the peer median (28.8% UC Reach vs 23.5% median) across the 5 most similar nearby schools.

For Parents

📬

Follow Canyon High School

Get an email when Canyon High School's numbers change — new admissions results, enrollment shifts, test scores. A few updates a year, no spam.

🎓 Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth

86th percentile nationally

50th 90th ↑ this school
Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor
AP courses offered
25
Math ✓ · Science ✓
Students taking AP courses
906
≈42 per 100 students · uptake, not just offerings
Advanced math classes
21
4 calculus · 17 advanced
Lab science classes
20
6 physics · 14 chemistry
Other rigor signals
✅ 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

68th percentile by test-taker volume

50th 90th
SAT/ACT test-takers
142
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
6.5
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?

67th percentile nationally

50th 90th
4-year graduation rate
93%
Single-point estimate
4-year cohort size
512
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

Mixed-income school

Below Title I eligibility threshold (FRPL < 35%)

31.5%
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)

25-34% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. Below the federal Title I threshold but a meaningful share of the population is income-eligible for free lunch.

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.

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 = 546
77.8%
incl. 48.9% exceeded
+14.1 pts above Orange County median (63.7%) · CA median 54.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 79.3%
Math — met or exceeded
n = 544
46.0%
incl. 22.6% exceeded
+8.9 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

White 40% -3.5
Hispanic / Latino 26%
Asian 21%
Two or more 5% +1.7
Filipino 4%
Not reported 2%
Black / African Am. 1%

Program subgroups

Students w/ disabilities 32% +1.6
Socioeconomically disadv. 10%
English learners 2%

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
17.2%
383 of 2,225 students

Absenteeism is up 7.5 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 53% 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).

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)
2,250 (2018)2,241 (2026)
-0.4%
Grade 12 (graduating class)
572 (2018)566 (2026)
-1.0%

If this trend holds (-0.1%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~2,239 -2 $0
3 yr (2029) ~2,235 -6 $0
5 yr (2031) ~2,232 -9 $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.

Canyon High School — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Public · Anaheim · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

  • On UC Reach Score, Canyon High School sits in the middle of its similar-school group (ranked #4 of 11): 29 vs. a peer median of 24.
  • Canyon High School's UC Reach Score has declined meaningfully from a peak of 40 in 2023 to 29 in 2025 — a 12-point drop that warrants attention. Multi-year UC Reach declines of this size often signal something specific (leadership change, comp-program shift, demographic move) rather than year-to-year noise. This is the kind of trajectory an Enrollment Trend Audit unpacks.
  • Across the top-6 UC campuses, Canyon High School is admitting at roughly -5 percentage points below what its average applicant GPA (3.988) alone would predict (16% actual vs. 21% expected). That's worth understanding — it can reflect grade inflation that UC sees through, weaker holistic-review materials at the margin, or applicants concentrating at more selective campuses than typical. Not a verdict; a signal.
  • Senior-class enrollment is down 1% (572→566 from 2018 to 2026), outpacing the peer-group median of -8%.
  • In business terms, this is market-share growth during a market contraction. Orange County's senior population shrank 7% over the same window — Canyon High School only shrank 1%. So Canyon High School picked up about 6 percentage points of relative share — families chose it over the alternatives even as the overall pool got smaller. That's overperforming the market in a shrinking market.
  • At its recent rate (-0.1%/yr), enrollment projects to ~2238 by 2029 — about 3 fewer students than today.

Enrollment projection

2241 students (2026)
~2238 projected (2029)
at -0.1%/yr

That's about 3 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 Score Enroll. trend
Canyon High School Public 2241 29 -1%
Peer-group median 24 -8%
Villa Park High School Public 2049 21 -14%
Valencia High School Public 2242 28 -6%
Katella High School Public 2168 11 -20%
El Dorado High School Public 2054 22 +12%
Foothill High Public 2050 25 +3%
Troy High School Public 2422 72 -16%
Northwood High School Public 2255 71 -11%
Santa Ana High School Public 2196 14 -4%
El Modena High School Public 1756 12 -9%
Yorba Linda High School Public 1706 39 -7%

UC Reach Score = 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 Orange County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.

Healthy
Outperforming the market — gaining relative share even as Orange County contracts.

Canyon High School is shrinking (-1.0%) but Orange County is shrinking faster (-7.1%), so Canyon High School is winning roughly 6.1 pp of relative market share. Combined with 94.2% stability (county median 91.8%), this reflects a school that families actively chose during a market contraction. Replicable model — worth documenting what's working.

-1.0%  school enrollment (2018–2026)
-7.1%  Orange County baseline
+6.1pp  gap vs. county
94.2%  retention (county median 91.8%)
Enrollment — indexed to 100 at 2018
Stability rate by year (raw %)
Stability rate
94.2%
2,126 of 2,257 students

131 of 2,257 students who enrolled at Canyon High School this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (5.8% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

Orange County median
91.8% · school is in the 76th percentile of 94 HS
Statewide median
87.2% · in the 86th percentile of 1,688 HS

Stability by student group

White (906) 95.7%
Socio. disadvantaged (749) 90.4%
Hispanic / Latino (616) 90.3%
Asian (468) 97.2%
Students w/ disabilities (224) 87.9%
Two or more races (102) 94.1%

Nearest peer high schools

Villa Park High School 92.3% Valencia High School 92.6% Katella High School 88.8% El Dorado High School 93.5% Foothill High 94.0%

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 — Orange 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
$400.1M
+17.8% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$15,739
25,420 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 35.2%
Local: 54.3%
Federal: 10.5%
Instruction share
54.5%
of current spending · $7,774/pupil
Long-term debt
$199.1M
-9.3% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($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 Orange 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).

📊 Key takeaway · Class of 2025

Canyon High School sent 931 applications to the six most selective University of California campuses and 16.1% were admitted, producing a UC Reach Score of 2911 points above the California median of 18, higher than 72% of California high schools. The school produces 4.8 UCLA + UC Berkeley admits per 100 seniors.

University of California outcomes · Class of 2025
UC Reach Score
29
Around the CA median Top 28% of CA high schools
150 admits / 520 seniors
+5 pts above peer median (24) · Ranked #4 of 11 similar schools
5-year trend
2021 · 37 2025 · 29
Where this sits on the California curve
CA median
18
Peer median
24
Top 10%
51
This school
29
050100
CA median 18 Top 10% ≥ 51 This school 29

Higher than 72% of California high schools (978 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

📊 What this number means

Canyon High School's UC Reach Score of 29 is above the California median (18). The top 10% of CA schools achieve 51 or higher.

For context, the elite tier (top 1%) clears 97 — a gap of 68 pp from where this school sits.

Overall, Canyon High School's UC Reach is higher than 72% of California high schools (978 ranked).

How they did at each UC — 2019 entrants
Campus Entered Finished in 4 yrs Finished in 6 yrs
UC Irvine 35 89% 97%
UC Riverside 28 86% 93%
Only campuses with at least 20 entrants from this school shown. Source: UC Information Center.
UC Application Reach Score
179
931 applications
Most seniors are applying to at least one of the six most selective UCs (applications counted at each campus).
In context: CA median 75 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 241 · Orange Co. Top 10% ≥ 295 · higher than 84% of CA HS.
UC Admit Rate
16.1%
150 / 931 applications
In context: CA median 26.1% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.5% · higher than 3% of CA HS.
UC Yield Rate
34.0%
51 enrolled of 150 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 Score
10
51 enrollees / 520 seniors
Enrollment Reach vs. Yield: Reach answers "of the whole senior class, what share 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
448:1
5.0 FTE counselors · 2,241 students
In context: CA median 338:1 · 110 more students per counselor · ASCA target 250:1.
A-G Completion
74%
380 of 513 graduates · 2024-25 cohort
In context: CA median 55.9% · +18.2 pp above · Orange Co. 60.5%.
UC 6-Yr Grad Rate
95%
88% finished in 4 yrs · N=97 entered 2019
In context: CA median 88.6% · +6.2 pp above.
Selective UC Reach (UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD)
25.0
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 15.4 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 41.5 · higher than 74% of CA HS.
Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA)
4.8
per 100 seniors · campus-level total
In context: CA median 3.3 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 9.7 · higher than 66% of CA HS.
Senior Class Size
520
CDE grade 12 (exact)
Total School Enrollment
2,183
All grades · CDE Census Day
Economic Connectedness
1.69
91st percentile in CA · cross‑class friendships
Avg. Applicant GPA · top-6 UCs
3.99
Avg. Admitted GPA · top-6 UCs
4.26

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 Canyon 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 4.06 4.22 +0.16 8.3% Peers +0.20 · wider
UCLA 4.00 4.30 +0.30 8.2% Peers +0.26 · steeper
UC San Diego 3.99 4.26 +0.27 14.1% Peers +0.27 · matches
UC Santa Barbara 3.98 4.30 +0.32 23.1% Peers +0.28 · steeper
UC Irvine 3.95 4.24 +0.28 21.6% Peers +0.25 · matches
UC Davis 3.94 4.21 +0.26 23.3% Peers +0.23 · matches
📊 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 Canyon High School sits vs. all California schools

Overall, this school admits its UC applicants 5.1 points below what their GPAs predict (16.1% actual vs. 21.2% expected).

UC Outcomes Trend — 2018–2025

UC Admit Rate %
UC Reach Score (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 Score Yield Avg GPA (App) Avg GPA (Adm)
UC Berkeley → Elite 121 10 5 8.3% 2 50.0% 4.06 4.22
UCLA → Elite 184 15 10 8.2% 3 66.7% 4.00 4.30
UC San Diego → Selective 185 26 5 14.1% 5 19.2% 3.99 4.26
UC Santa Barbara → Selective 147 34 5 23.1% 7 14.7% 3.98 4.30
UC Irvine → Selective 208 45 22 21.6% 9 48.9% 3.95 4.24
UC Davis → 86 20 4 23.3% 4 20.0% 3.94 4.21
= 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 →

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.
The school generates broad UC access, but fewer students are reaching the most selective UC campuses (UCLA, Berkeley, UCSD, UCSB, UCI). Targeted academic enrichment and campus-fit advising may help.
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: the UC Reach Score sums campus-level admits across the top-six UC campuses, so a student admitted to both UCLA and UCSD is counted at each. It reflects competitive admit volume relative to class size — admit-events, not distinct students — which is why a Score can exceed 100.
Compare with other schools → See Orange County rankings →

For School Admins

The full Reach Report for Canyon High School

A board- and LCAP-ready intelligence brief: your enrollment retention and college outcomes, benchmarked against your closest competitors, with a 5-year forecast, concrete steps to act on, and the rigor + outcomes story you can share with your families. Built from primary public data — prepared for you, not auto-generated.

  • Your UC Reach Score (29) ranked head-to-head against your closest competitor schools
  • Your 5-year enrollment forecast (currently -0.1%/yr) with the revenue at stake
  • Student-retention benchmarking vs your county median — and the LCAP evidence to back your goals
See a sample report →

For Parents

Researching colleges for your kid at Canyon 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 Admins looking at enrollment trends: request an Enrollment Trend Audit →