Susan H. Nelson High School

Temecula · Riverside County · Temecula Valley Unified · Public

Public Riverside County Temecula Valley Unified → ~113 seniors CDS 3375192…
Shareable scorecard →

14 AP courses

At a glance

Programs & features
  • 14 AP courses offered — Elite
Academic signals
  • AP rigor: 68th percentile nationally
  • 4-yr grad rate: 72% in 2019 (Bottom 16% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate)

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

California College-Going Rate

41.7% 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
41.7%
of 127 graduates

Give the same class four more months and 42.5% had enrolled — CDE publishes a 16-month window alongside the 12-month one, 54 students.

Up 8.7 points from the 2021-22 class (33%).

Where the 2022-23 class enrolled

In California — 50 students (39.4%)

University of California 2.4% 3
California State University 3.9% 5
California Community College 32.3% 41
California private college 0.8% 1

Out of state — 3 students (2.4%)

Out-of-state 4-year 2.4% 3
Out-of-state 2-year 0.0% 0

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 Susan H. Nelson High School compares for families

Stronger-than-average college-prep profile.

  • StatewideAP rigor at the 68th percentile nationally with 14 AP courses.
  • vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Empire Springs Charter School, Bonsall High School, Murrieta Canyon Academy and 2 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

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Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth

68th percentile nationally

50th 90th ↑ this school
Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor
AP courses offered
14
Science ✓
Students taking AP courses
6
≈2 per 100 students · uptake, not just offerings
Advanced math classes
3
0 calculus · 3 advanced
Lab science classes
4
1 physics · 3 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
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 16% of US high schools by 4-yr grad rate

50th 90th
4-year graduation rate
72%
Range: 70–74%
4-year cohort size
120
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 Targeted Assistance eligible

35-39% FRPL — qualifies for Title I Targeted Assistance

35.9%
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)

35-39% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. The school can receive Title I funds targeted to identified students (not schoolwide).

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 6 in 10 students read and write at grade level — about the state norm.
About 1 in 10 students do math at grade level — about the state norm.
ELA — met or exceeded
n = 118
55.9%
incl. 17.8% exceeded
+6.2 pts above Riverside County median (49.7%) · CA median 54.5% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 79.4%
Math — met or exceeded
n = 120
13.3%
incl. 2.5% exceeded
-2.4 pts vs. Riverside County median (15.7%) · 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 45% -5.3
Hispanic / Latino 40% +7.0
Two or more 8%
Black / African Am. 3%
Filipino 2%
Asian 1% -1.0
American Indian 1%

Program subgroups

Socioeconomically disadv. 36% -4.2
Students w/ disabilities 17% +1.7

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.

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.

39% of students miss 10%+ of school days — above the state's ~23%. Ask what the school is doing about engagement.
Chronic absent
39.3%
186 of 473 students

Absenteeism is down 21.5 pp since 2016-17. Engagement improving — a positive trajectory worth understanding and reinforcing.

Riverside County median
28.9% · school is worse than 69% of 96 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)
221 (2018)332 (2026)
+50.2%
Grade 12 (graduating class)
97 (2018)124 (2026)
+27.8%

If this trend holds (+4.1%/yr, Total enrollment)

At per-pupil funding of $ / student:

Horizon Projected Total enrollment Change Funding impact / yr
1 yr (2027) ~345 +13 $0
3 yr (2029) ~374 +42 $0
5 yr (2031) ~405 +73 $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 Susan H. Nelson High School really compare on getting kids to college?

Unlock a head-to-head snapshot of Susan H. Nelson 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

Empire Springs Charter School · Bonsall High School · Murrieta Canyon Academy · Ortega High · Jcs - Pine Hills · Rancho Vista High · +4 more

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Enrollment stability & demand — 2024-25

Two complementary signals: retention (do students stay once enrolled?) and demand (are families choosing the school?). Read against the Riverside County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.

47% of students who start the year finish it here — more churn than most CA schools. Ask what's behind the turnover.
Mixed signal
Demand outpacing county is masking internal churn.

Enrollment growth is beating Riverside County (+27.8% vs. -2.6%), but 266 of 502 students didn't maintain continuous enrollment. Why are families leaving once enrolled? Chronic absenteeism is also at 39.3% (up -21.5 pts from 2016-17) — engagement and demand are both signaling decline.

+27.8%  senior class, grade 12 (2018–2026)
-2.6%  Riverside County baseline
+30.4pp  gap vs. county
47.0%  retention (county median 85.4%)
Senior class (grade 12) — indexed to 100 at 2018
Stability rate by year (raw %)
Stability rate
47.0%
236 of 502 students

266 of 502 students who enrolled at Susan H. Nelson High School this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (53.0% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.

Riverside County median
85.4% · school is in the 23rd percentile of 96 HS
Statewide median
87.3% · in the 15th percentile of 1,734 HS

Stability by student group

White (226) 42.5%
Hispanic / Latino (204) 49.0%
Socio. disadvantaged (197) 43.7%
Students w/ disabilities (101) 44.6%
Two or more races (42) 54.8%

Nearest peer high schools

Empire Springs Charter School 59.8% Bonsall High School 88.5% Murrieta Canyon Academy 46.8% Ortega High 45.0% Jcs - Pine Hills 78.6%

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 — Temecula Valley 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
$374.2M
+7.3% since FY2017
Per-pupil revenue
$14,010
26,710 students enrolled
Revenue mix
State: 61.9%
Local: 30.6%
Federal: 7.5%
Instruction share
64.8%
of current spending · $8,081/pupil
Long-term debt
$177.0M
+105.6% since FY2017
Total revenue by year ($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 Temecula Valley 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
10
11 applications
In context: CA median 75 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 224 · Riverside Co. Top 10% ≥ 100 · higher than 1% of CA HS.
UC Admit Rate
N/A
— / 11 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 / 113 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.
A-G Completion
Only 1 in 3 graduates finish the courses UC and CSU require — below the state norm. Worth asking how course access and planning work here.
31%
37 of 119 graduates · 2024-25 cohort
In context: CA median 55.9% · -24.8 pp vs. median.
Selective UC Reach (UCB, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, UCI — incl. the Elite two)
N/A
Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA)
N/A
Senior Class Size
113
CDE grade 12 (exact)
Total School Enrollment
301
All grades · CDE Census Day
Avg. Applicant GPA · top-6 UCs
3.34

UC Outcomes Trend — 2022–2023

UC Admit Rate %
UC Reach Score (where available)
UC Admits (count, right axis)

Class size from CDE grade 12 enrollment. Campus-level data: applicant and admit totals count a student once at EACH campus. A senior admitted to UCLA and UC San Diego adds 2 to the admit total, so the total can exceed the senior class — that is the metric working as defined, not an error. The admit RATE is unaffected: both its numerator and denominator are campus-level.

Campus Breakdown — 2023

Campus Applicants Admits Enrollees Admit Rate UC Reach Score Yield Avg GPA (App) Avg GPA (Adm)
UCLA → Elite 6 3.41
UC Santa Barbara → Selective 5 3.26
= 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 Riverside County rankings →

For School Admins

The full Reach Report for Susan H. Nelson 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 4.1%/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 →

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