Needles High School

Needles · San Bernardino County · Needles Unified · Public

Public San Bernardino County Needles Unified → ~70 seniors CDS 3667801…

Data Year

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Most similar nearby schools

High Desert Premier Academy → Desert Learning Academy → Valley Academy → Mt San Jacinto High School → La Familia Continuation High → Compare all similar →

95% 4-yr grad rate

At a glance

Programs & features

3 AP courses offered — Strong
1 calculus classes · 2 chemistry

Academic signals

AP rigor: 54th percentile nationally
4-yr grad rate: 95% in 2019 (75th percentile nationally)

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

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California College-Going Rate

50% of the 2022-23 graduating class enrolled in college within a year.

The share of 2022-23 graduates who enrolled at a college anywhere in the U.S. within 12 months, per the National Student Clearinghouse match the California Department of Education publishes.

Within 12 months

50%

of 64 graduates

Give the same class four more months and 50% had enrolled — CDE publishes a 16-month window alongside the 12-month one, 32 students.

Up 1.5 points from the 2021-22 class (48.5%).

Where the 2022-23 class enrolled

In California — 15 students (23.4%)

University of California 0.0% 0

California State University 3.1% 2

California Community College 20.3% 13

California private college 0.0% 0

Out of state — 17 students (26.6%)

Out-of-state 4-year 14.1% 9

Out-of-state 2-year 12.5% 8

CDE puts each graduate in one bucket only — whichever kind of college they were enrolled in longest — so these add up to the rate above. That is a different count from the UC Reach Score on this page, which counts a student at every UC campus that admitted them.

Source: California Department of Education, College-Going Rate (DataQuest) ↗, cohort 2022-23, posted 17-Sep-2025. Data file: cgr12mo23.txt ↗ (and the 16-month file ↗). CDE builds the rate by matching California high school completers to National Student Clearinghouse enrollment records; we publish CDE’s aggregates and hold no student-level data.

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How Needles High School compares for families

Solid mid-tier academic profile.

▸ StatewideAP rigor at the 54th percentile nationally with 3 AP courses.
▸ vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: High Desert Premier Academy, Desert Learning Academy, Valley Academy and 2 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

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Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Strong — solid AP program + advanced courses

54th percentile nationally

Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor

AP courses offered

Math ✓ · Science ✓

Students taking AP courses

≈26 per 100 students · uptake, not just offerings

Advanced math classes

1 calculus · 1 advanced

Lab science classes

0 physics · 2 chemistry

Other rigor signals

No dual-enrollment or gifted program reported

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

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?

75th percentile nationally

4-year graduation rate

95%

Range: 90–100%

4-year cohort size

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

High-poverty school

Title I Schoolwide eligible

77.3%

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)

≥75% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. These schools qualify for the highest tier of federal Title I funding and typically receive extra wraparound services. Academic outcomes vary widely — check the state assessment + grad-rate tiles.

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.

About 4 in 10 students read and write at grade level — below the state norm — worth asking what extra support looks like.

About 1 in 10 students do math at grade level — about the state norm.

ELA — met or exceeded

n = 60

41.7%

incl. 16.7% exceeded

-4.6 pts vs. San Bernardino County median (46.3%) · CA median 54.5% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 79.4%

Math — met or exceeded

n = 60

16.7%

incl. 5.0% exceeded

On the San Bernardino County median (15.8%) · CA median 21.4% · 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 36% -5.0

Hispanic / Latino 36% +2.5

American Indian 13% -3.7

Two or more 10% +4.5

Asian 2% +1.2

Black / African Am. 2% -1.0

Filipino 1%

Program subgroups

Socioeconomically disadv. 83% +5.4

Students w/ disabilities 10% -4.9

Homeless 4%

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.

26% of students are chronically absent — near the state norm of about 23%.

Chronic absent

26.4%

76 of 288 students

Absenteeism is up 8.4 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 52% of 97 HS

Statewide median

22.8%

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)

238 (2018) → 257 (2026)

+8.0%

Grade 12 (graduating class)

53 (2018) → 59 (2026)

+11.3%

If this trend holds (+0.5%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon	Projected Total enrollment	Change	Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027)	~258	+1	$0
3 yr (2029)	~261	+4	$0
5 yr (2031)	~263	+6	$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.

How does Needles High School really compare on getting kids to college?

Unlock a head-to-head snapshot of Needles High School against its 10 most similar nearby schools — matched on size, location, type. See exactly where it stands on the college pipeline.

The full head-to-head table — every peer school's UC Reach, side by side.

Enrollment trend + 3-year projection — is this school growing or quietly shrinking?

The plain-English read on what it all means for your family.

Your similar-school group includes

High Desert Premier Academy · Desert Learning Academy · Valley Academy · Mt San Jacinto High School · La Familia Continuation High · Nova Academy-Coachella · +4 more

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.

83% of students who start the year here finish it here.

Healthy

Best in class — winning on demand and retention.

Needles High School outperformed San Bernardino County on enrollment (school +11.3% vs. county +0.0%) AND maintains 83.4% stability. Replicable model — worth documenting what's working. Chronic absenteeism is rising (26.4%, +8.4 pts since 2016-17) — a watch signal worth monitoring as a leading indicator.

+11.3% senior class, grade 12 (2018–2026)

+0.0% San Bernardino County baseline

+11.3pp gap vs. county

83.4% retention (county median 80.5%)

Senior class (grade 12) — indexed to 100 at 2018

Stability rate by year (raw %)

Stability rate

83.4%

247 of 296 students

49 of 296 students who enrolled at Needles High School this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (16.6% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

San Bernardino County median

80.5% · school is in the 62nd percentile of 99 HS

Statewide median

87.3% · in the 36th percentile of 1,734 HS

Stability by student group

Socio. disadvantaged (237) 81.0%

White (115) 81.7%

Hispanic / Latino (100) 86.0%

American Indian / AN (48) 85.4%

Students w/ disabilities (48) 72.9%

Nearest peer high schools

High Desert Premier Academy 28.4% Desert Learning Academy 46.7% Valley Academy 41.2% Mt San Jacinto High School 25.0% La Familia Continuation High 46.6%

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.

District financial profile — Needles 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

$23.7M

+44.4% since FY2017

Per-pupil revenue

$24,551

967 students enrolled

Revenue mix

State: 56.2%
Local: 22.7%
Federal: 21.1%

Instruction share

59.3%

of current spending · $10,362/pupil

Long-term debt

$8.6M

-21.2% 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 Needles 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).

UC Reach Score ⓘ methodology

UC Application Reach Score ⓘ

5 applications

In context: CA median 76 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 223 · San Bernardino Co. Top 10% ≥ 118 · higher than 1% of CA HS.

UC Admit Rate ⓘ

N/A

— / 5 applications

UC Yield Rate ⓘ

N/A

— enrolled of — 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 ⓘ

N/A

— enrollees / 70 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 ⓘ

Counseling here is unusually well-staffed — about 257 students per counselor, near what experts recommend.

257:1

1.0 FTE counselors · 257 students

In context: CA median 337:1 · 80 fewer students per counselor · ASCA target 250:1.

A-G Completion ⓘ

Fewer than 1 in 10 graduates finish the courses UC and CSU require — below the state norm. Worth asking how course access and planning work here.

2 of 85 graduates · 2024-25 cohort

In context: CA median 55.9% · -53.5 pp vs. median · San Bernardino Co. 52.6%.

Selective UC Reach (UCB, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, UCI — incl. the Elite two) ⓘ

N/A

Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA) ⓘ

N/A

Senior Class Size ⓘ

CDE grade 12 (exact)

Total School Enrollment ⓘ

294

All grades · CDE Census Day

Economic Connectedness ⓘ

0.76

25th percentile in CA · cross‑class friendships

Avg. Applicant GPA · top-6 UCs ⓘ

4.19

Campus Breakdown — 2022

Campus	Applicants	Admits	Enrollees	Admit Rate	UC Reach Score	Yield	Avg GPA (App)	Avg GPA (Adm)
UC Irvine → Selective	5	—^†	—^†	—^†	—^†	—	4.19	—^†

† = 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 is measured against the whole senior class. See methodology →

What This Means

A relatively small share of the senior class is entering the UC application pipeline. This may signal limited A-G completion, UC awareness gaps, or counseling capacity constraints. Broadening access is the highest-leverage opportunity for this school.

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 San Bernardino County rankings →

For School Admins

The full Reach Report for Needles 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 5-year enrollment forecast (currently 0.5%/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 →

At a glance

JSON · Using this page with an AI assistant

Needles High School is a public high school in Needles, San Bernardino County, California with 70 seniors in the Class of 2022.

2% of its graduates completed the A-G courses required for UC and CSU eligibility (California median 56%).

50% of its 2022-23 graduates enrolled in college within 12 months (California Department of Education College-Going Rate).

It has about 257 students per school counselor.

Enrollment was 257 students in 2026, up 8% since 2018.

Sources: University of California Office of the President (admissions), California Department of Education (enrollment, A-G, college-going), and the school's own published documents where named.

Questions families ask

What percentage of Needles High School graduates complete the A-G requirements? 2% of its graduates completed the A-G courses required for UC and CSU eligibility (California median 56%).

What percentage of Needles High School graduates go to college? 50% of its 2022-23 graduates enrolled in college within 12 months (California Department of Education College-Going Rate).

How many students attend Needles High School? Enrollment was 257 students in 2026, up 8% since 2018.

Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com). These figures may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.