Nogales High School: Full Guide

Location: La Puente, CA

Are you a student or parent at Nogales High School? Want to understand how to get the most out of high school?

We've written the best guide to Nogales High available. Here we'll cover:

Breakdowns of student ethnicity, gender, and family income
How safe Nogales High is to attend
SAT/ACT/AP scores earned by Nogales High students
Which AP/IB classes you can take at Nogales High
Every sports team you can join at Nogales High

Let's get started!

Basic Information

Nogales High School is a public school, supporting grades 9 to 12 . It's located in La Puente, CA in Los Angeles County.

Based on its location, Nogales High is classified as a school in a large suburb. Here's the location on a map:

Contact Information

Mailing address:

Nogales High School
401 S. Nogales St.
La Puente, CA 91744-6144

Phone number: 6269653437

Nogales High School homepage: http://www.nogaleshs.org/

Principal: Kelly Godfrey
Email the principal: [email protected]

Student Demographics

Student Enrollment

The total enrollment at Nogales High School is 2062 students, making it a large high school, in the top 25% of all California high schools by size.

Attending Nogales High will feel like attending a small college. You'll have a few hundred students in your class, enough to provide an interesting set of activities, sports, and classes to try. But compared to the largest high schools in California, the student body size won't be overwhelming.

Growth in Student Body Size

Is Nogales High School growing or shrinking? This will help you see trends in where the school is headed.

From our calculations, the enrollment at Nogales High has decreased over the past few years. We calculate this by comparing enrollment in grades 9 to 12.

	Male Students	Female Students	All Students
9^th grade	233	266	499
10^th grade	266	269	535
11^th grade	277	224	501
12^th grade	247	280	527

As you can see in the table above, the senior class is 28 students larger than the freshman class. This suggests that Nogales High is shrinking in size and taking on fewer students.

There are a few reasons this can happen. The population of La Puente could be decreasing, thus sending fewer students into Nogales High. Alternatively, other schools (like charter or private schools) might be appearing, drawing students away.

Gender Split

Are there more boys or girls at Nogales High School?

From our statistics, Nogales High has a 50:50 split between male and female students in the high school grades.

Nogales High has a balanced male-female ratio that's largely representative of the general population in Los Angeles County. Since the student body is roughly half and half, it should feel like there are equal numbers of boys and girls in your classes.

This usually means that Nogales High doesn't strongly select for either males or females, unlike other schools that have a large majority of males or females.

Ethnicity Breakdown

What's the racial diversity at Nogales High School? Does one ethnicity make up most of the student body, or is it fairly balanced?

From our statistics, Nogales High has a homogenous student body, with the overwhelming majority of students identifying as one ethnicity. Only a third of California schools show as little diversity as Nogales High does. When attending class, most students will be of the same ethnicity, with some variation.

The majority of students at Nogales High are Hispanic. In California, Hispanic students make up the majority of all students at 51.5%, and are thus the most common ethnicity. Predominantly Hispanic schools are the most common type of homogenous school, and Nogales High fits within this category.

	Percentage	Number
American Indian/Alaska Native	0.1%	3
Asian	13.3%	275
Hispanic	82.7%	1707
Black	1.8%	39
White	1.3%	28
Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander	0.1%	4
Two or more races	0.2%	6

High schools usually reflect the population in the surrounding area, so the ethnicities of students likely resembles those of La Puente. If you'd like to see how other nearby schools look in diversity, just google "[name of school] prepscholar" to find our guide to that specific school.

Income Level of Nogales High Families

What are the family incomes of students at Nogales High School? To determine this, we look at the number of students who qualify for free or reduced lunches, a classification by the US federal government.

To qualify for a reduced price meal, family income needs to be below 185% of the federal poverty guidelines. For a family of 4, this means an income of around $45,000 or below.

To qualify for a free meal, family income needs to be below 130% of the federal poverty guidelines. For a family of 4, this means an income of around $32,000 or below.

The lower the percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced price meals, the higher the income levels are likely to be.

At Nogales High, 15.9% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 61.3% qualify for free lunches.

This means Nogales High has a high percentage of students at or near poverty. Almost a third of all schools in California show this level of poverty, and by National Center for Education Statistics standards, Nogales High can be classified as a high poverty school. The income level of families in La Puente is thus likely to be low.

	Number	Percent
Reduced-price lunches	329	15.9%
Free lunches	1265	61.3%
Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches	468	22.6%

As with ethnicity, this likely reflects the surrounding community in La Puente and doesn't speak much about the school itself.

Unfortunately, schools in areas of lower income levels are likely to be more poorly funded. As a result, they might feature less advanced coursework like AP/IB classes, and you may not have a full range of sports and extracurriculars to draw from. Because Nogales High is an especially high poverty-level school, it might not have the resources you need to meet your full potential.

You definitely don't have control over the city, the school, or other families, but you can structure your own learning to be more productive. If you'd like to open yourself to more opportunities, you can look into whether it's possible to transfer to a nearby school with higher income levels.

If not, don't be alarmed - it's possible that Nogales High has all that you need for your ambition. And you can definitely be proactive about learning outside of your school, looking to your community or to the Internet to find more resources.

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School Safety

How safe is Nogales High School to attend? Can you expect a lot of conflict as a student here?

To study this, we look at disciplinary data for two types of incidents at Nogales High: referrals to law enforcement (when incidents are reported to police), and arrests.

These are the most serious disciplinary actions available to school administration and are more severe than suspensions or expulsions. Suspensions are often discretionary and can be given just for being disruptive in class. In contrast, law enforcement referrals and arrests often indicate incidents that put the safety of other Nogales High students at risk.

In the school year of 2011-2012, there were 0 referrals to law enforcement, and 0 school-related arrests. This is out of a total enrollment of 2272 students.

To put this into perspective, most California schools (59% of them) reported 0 law enforcement referrals and arrests.

Compare this school with other high schools in the same school district, using the following table:

Rowland Unified School District Safety

School Name	Total Referred	Total Arrests	Enrollment
John A. Rowland High	0	0	2413
Santana High (continuation)	0	0	260
Rowland Unified Community Day	0	0	14
Rowland Assistive Technology Academy	0	0	32
Iq Academy California-los Angeles	0	0	374

Academic Performance

Now we get to a major aspect of assessing a high school: academic performance. How good of an education will you get at Nogales High School? Will you be competitive for college? Will you have access to advanced classes?

We've compiled everything we could find about Nogales High's academics here.

Graduation Rate

To start off, an important benchmark of academic achievement is graduation rate. For all students who start high school at Nogales High, the state of California wants as many students to graduate as possible, since a high school diploma can mean a big difference in getting a job.

At Nogales High, 84% (of 434) Nogales High students graduated within four years of starting high school.

Here's how this stacks up to other schools. The California state government has defined 90% as a target rate. The state average is around 80-85%.

Nogales High is in the 52nd percentile of all public high schools in California for graduation rate. This is above average. Generally, a graduation rate of above 90% is considered good and well above average, and below 75% is well below average.

Note: This data comes from a few years back, but the trends are likely to stay the same, since schools don't get significantly better or worse within a short period of time.

Standardized Testing

Next, we'll look at another major piece of high school academics: standardized testing performance for Nogales High School students. These are tests that are administered to large populations of students for comparison purposes.

Let’s start by taking a look at the data for nationally administered standardized tests.

SAT Scores

As you probably know, the SAT is a critical test used for college admissions. The higher the score you get, the better your academic performance compared to students nationwide, and the easier it is to get into top colleges.

We did in-depth research and found the average Nogales High School SAT scores.

The average composite SAT score is a 1340 out of 2400, compared to a national average of 1500. Each year, roughly 264 at Nogales High take the SAT.

This is a below-average SAT score, putting Nogales High School in the bottom 50% of all California schools. Only 24% of students here score the national average or higher. Because the SAT measures academic achievement, this suggests that Nogales High may offer a somewhat lacking high school education, compared to schools with higher SAT averages.

Note, however, that an average is just an average - top performers will still be able to impress. If you work hard and get an SAT score well above Nogales High's average, you'll have a great shot at entering a good college.

Here's a breakdown of SAT scores by section:

Average SAT Scores (2013-2014)

Source	Critical Reading	Math	Writing	Composite
Nogales High	445	462	440	1340
California	498	510	496	1504
United States	495	511	484	1490

Note that the SAT has since changed to a 1600 scale, but the trends above for your high school are likely to continue. Just use this guide to convert between the old 2400 scale and the new 1600 scale.

To learn more about SAT percentile rankings, read our guide on what SAT percentiles really mean.

How good is 1340 as an SAT score? Find out with our complete 1340 SAT score guide, including which colleges you can get into with a 1340 or any other SAT score!

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ACT Scores

In California, the ACT is less popular than the SAT. Fewer students take the ACT, and typically these students are more motivated and academically prepared for college. Therefore, it's harder to compare Nogales High School ACT scores with the rest of the country.

At Nogales High, the average ACT composite score was 19, compared to the nationwide average of 20. Each year, roughly 77 out of 2062 total students take the ACT.

This is below average performance, putting Nogales High in the bottom 50% of California high schools. Most students who take the ACT are below the national average.

Since the ACT tests what you learn in school, this is a pretty strong indicator that you'll get an average or below average education at Nogales High.

Here are the average English, Math, Reading, and Science scores for Nogales High compared to California and the US:

Average ACT Scores

Source	English	Math	Reading	Science
Nogales High	18	20	19	19
California	21.8	22.8	22.3	21.7
United States	20.3	20.9	21.3	20.8

Scores provided are for the 2013-14 school year.

Find out more about percentile rankings and the ACT in this article.

Every individual is different. What counts as a good ACT score for you? Learn more with this article!

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Advanced Placement (AP)

Advanced Placement (AP) classes are college-level courses that are an additional academic challenge may give Nogales High School students credit for college.

Here's what we're looking for: high average AP test scores as well as high AP passing rates.

AP Scores

Every year, roughly 302 students in grades 9-12 at Nogales High take 542 AP exams. It's important to understand how students score on the AP - earning a 3, 4, or 5 on the AP test means passing the test and often earning college credit.

The average score of all AP exams taken at Nogales High is 2.2 out of 5.

Unfortunately, this score puts Nogales High at below average performance. For AP tests, the passing score is considered a 3, and the majority of students who take AP tests at Nogales High don't pass. This performance places Nogales High School in the bottom 50% of schools for AP tests in California.

This isn't all bad news. It's already good that Nogales High offers an AP program, so you can start dipping your toes into college-level courses. Some schools are new to offering AP courses, and teachers often get better at preparing students for AP tests. Furthermore, a good number of students still earn a passing grade of 3 or above. With hard work throughout the year, you'll still be able to beat your school's average.

We have specific data on how many students got a 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 (out of 5) on AP exams in the chart below:

To find out the passing rates for specific AP courses at Nogales High School, you'll have to talk to your guidance counselor (who can then help you find that information). For instance, one AP Calculus teacher may have an above-90% passing rate, while another might only have a 50% passing rate. If you can, you'll want to take the class with the teacher who has more students get a 3 or above on the AP exam.

Find out more about the average score for each AP subject here.

State Tests

As of 2014, eleventh graders attending Nogales High School must take standardized tests in English/Language Arts and Math as part of the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP). These align with the new Common Core standards and are called the "Smarter Balanced" tests.

If Nogales High students meet or exceed state standards, they're academically prepared to graduate high school and go to college. Specifically, we care about the percentage of students who meet or exceed state standards. The larger this number, the higher the preparation of students at Nogales High.

English/Language Arts

At Nogales High School, 51% of students meet or exceed state standards in English/Language Arts.

This is considered above average and puts Nogales High in the top 50% of all high schools in California for English/Language Arts. Around half of Nogales High students pass state standards, and around half do not.

This specific percentage isn't much cause for concern - because the standards have gotten harder with the Common Core, the pass rate at Nogales High will likely rise over time. But it still reflects Nogales High's roughly average ranking among California high schools.

English/Language Arts Test Results (2015)

Read more about what’s measured in each ELA area score here.

Math

The other major test taken for state assessments is Math. Across the state, Math performance is generally lower than English/Language Arts performance, so it's natural for this number to be lower.

At Nogales High School, 20% of students meet or exceed state standards in Math. This is considered well below average and puts Nogales High in the bottom 25% of all high schools in California. The vast majority of Nogales High students don't meet state standards, and only a small percentage pass.

Math Test Results (2015)

Read more about what’s measured in each Math area score, go here.

Academic Offerings

In addition to the standard high school curriculum, many high schools like Nogales High School offer advanced coursework as part of the Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) programs.

Brief Intro to AP/IB

AP and IB courses are designed at the difficulty level of college introductory classes. There are several important benefits to taking advanced coursework at Nogales High. First, taking more advanced classes shows colleges that you're committed to challenging yourself academically, and that you're one of the more advanced students at Nogales High. Taking AP/IB classes also raises your weighted GPA and makes you a stronger college applicant.

Furthermore, many colleges will accept your Nogales High AP/IB coursework as college coursework. In some cases, you'll be able to skip introductory-level classes and move to more advanced classes. In other cases, you'll be able to avoid having to take required courses and might even be able to graduate earlier than the standard 4 years. Often this will require you to pass the AP test, getting a score of 3 or above.

So what advanced courses does Nogales High School offer?

AP Courses

Nogales High School offers AP courses in 7 subjects.

This is a relatively low number of AP subjects, putting Nogales High School in the bottom 50% of California schools offering AP courses. You'll likely be able to take the most popular courses like Calculus, English, and US History, but you won't have most other subjects available.

The total number of AP subjects is 38, so Nogales High is missing most. If you want to take any AP courses not being offered at Nogales High, ask your counselor for ideas on how to cover the gap. If you're a strong student, you might consider transferring schools to access a more advanced curriculum.

Of course, keep in mind that even though Nogales High doesn't offer many AP courses, it might teach the ones it does offer quite well. You can see student performance in the AP score analysis section above.

The following AP courses were offered at Nogales High during 2015-2016:

Course Title
Calculus AB
Calculus BC
French Language and Culture
Psychology
Spanish Language and Culture
Spanish Literature and Culture
Statistics

IB Courses

The International Baccalaureate program is less popular in the United States than the Advanced Placement program (there are around 850 diploma schools in the country and 100 in California). But Nogales High School is one of the lucky few to have an IB program!

For college application purposes, the IB and AP programs are basically equivalent. So don't worry about being advantaged or disadvantaged either way if you participate in IB vs AP. What colleges care about first is academic achievement, and AP and IB classes are seen as equally challenging.

Nogales High School has been an IB school since 7/24/00. Questions about the IB program at Nogales High? You can contact the IB Diploma Programme coordinator, Mr Clay Woodside, by phone at (1) 626 965 3437.

The following IB courses were offered at Nogales High during 2015-2016:

Course Title	HL/SL
Film
Spanish B	HL + SL
French ab initio	SL
Biology	HL + SL
Mathematical studies	SL
Psychology	HL + SL
Theory of Knowledge
French B	HL + SL
English A Literature	HL + SL
Mathematics	HL + SL
History	HL + SL
Visual Arts
Theatre

You can find out more about the IB testing schedule by going here.

We've also written the best study and test guides to International Baccalaureate.

Sports Teams

Finally, we'll cover which sports teams are available at Nogales High School. Sports are an integral part of many students' high school experiences. The more sports that are available, and the more levels supported (Frosh, JV, Varsity), the more likely you'll be able to participate in a sport at Nogales High.

By the way, the Nogales High mascot is the Nobles. Go Nobles!

Nogales High School fields 16 teams for girls' sports. This is a sizable number that puts Nogales High in the top 50% of California schools that offer girls' sports. You won't get the full range of sports and levels, but you'll be able to try out for a few options. If you participate in a sport that Nogales High doesn't offer, consider looking for a local non-school team that you can join.

And now for the boys: Nogales High School fields 20 teams for boys' sports. This puts Nogales High in the top 50% of California schools that offer boys' sports. You won't get every sport and level possible here, but you'll have a decent number of options. If you participate in a sport that Nogales High doesn't offer, consider looking for a local non-school team that you can join.

Boys Teams	Girls Teams
Basketball Var JV Fr	Basketball Var JV Fr
Tennis Var JV Fr	Tennis Var JV Fr
Football Var JV Fr
Wrestling Var JV Fr
Volleyball Var JV Fr	Volleyball Var JV Fr
Baseball Var JV Fr
	Softball Var JV Fr
Waterpolo Var JV Fr	Waterpolo Var JV Fr
Trackfield Var JV Fr	Trackfield Var JV Fr
Crosscountry Var JV Fr	Crosscountry Var JV Fr
Soccer Var JV Fr	Soccer Var JV Fr
	Fieldhockey Var JV Fr

What’s Next?

Want to get more useful information about high school classes and preparing for colleges? Our blog has a ton of articles and advice on topics ranging from coursework and GPA to letters of recommendation, extracurriculars, and much more!

Ready to bulk up your schedule and maximize your college preparedness? Read all about the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs.

Not quite in high school yet, but eager to get started? We've also got information for younger students interested in advanced learning opportunities, both in and out of school.

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