Eureka Senior High School: Full Guide

Location: Eureka, CA

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

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

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

Let's get started!

Basic Information

Eureka Senior High School is a public school, supporting grades 9 to 12 . It's located in Eureka, CA in Humboldt County.

Based on its location, Eureka High is classified as a school in a remote town, or more than 35 miles from an urbanized area. Here's the location on a map:

Contact Information

Mailing address:

Eureka Senior High School
1915 J St.
Eureka, CA 95501-3052

Phone number: 7074412508

Eureka Senior High School homepage: http://www.eurekacityschools.org/?option=com_content&view=article&id=60&Itemid=169

Principal: Jennifer Johnson
Email the principal: [email protected]

Student Demographics

Student Enrollment

The total enrollment at Eureka Senior High School is 1151 students, making it a somewhat large high school, in the top half of all California high schools by size.

As a mid-sized high school, Eureka High strikes the balance between size and comfort. There will be enough students to provide a diversity of experiences, like clubs and sports, for you to join. But it'll be small enough that you'll likely get to know most people in your class.

Growth in Student Body Size

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

From our calculations, the enrollment at Eureka High has steadily increased 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	175	154	329
10^th grade	139	147	286
11^th grade	133	150	283
12^th grade	127	126	253

As you can see in the table above, the freshman class is 76 students larger than the senior class. This suggests that the school is growing in size and taking on more students.

There are a few reasons this could be happening. The city of Eureka could be growing in population, thus sending more students into Eureka High. Alternatively, Eureka High could be relaxing its student policies and taking in more students.

Gender Split

Are there more boys or girls at Eureka Senior High School?

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

Eureka High has a balanced male-female ratio that's largely representative of the general population in Humboldt 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 Eureka 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 Eureka Senior High School? Does one ethnicity make up most of the student body, or is it fairly balanced?

From our statistics, Eureka High has a somewhat homogenous student body, with the majority of students identifying as one ethnicity, but not representing over 70% of the student body. Most schools in California fit this profile, so Eureka High isn't out of the ordinary. Most students attending class with you will be of the predominant ethnicity, but there will be meaningful diversity from other races.

The majority of students at Eureka High are white. In California, white students make up 26.3% of all California students, and are the second most common ethnicity after Hispanic students. Thus Eureka High is one of hundreds of schools in the state that have a majority of white students.

	Percentage	Number
American Indian/Alaska Native	5.4%	63
Asian	11.9%	137
Hispanic	14.0%	162
Black	2.7%	32
White	57.1%	658
Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander	1.1%	13
Two or more races	7.4%	86

High schools usually reflect the population in the surrounding area, so the ethnicities of students likely resembles those of Eureka. 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 Eureka High Families

What are the family incomes of students at Eureka Senior 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 Eureka High, 7.3% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 35.3% qualify for free lunches.

This means Eureka High has a below average level of poverty. With most students not qualifying for free or reduced price lunches, Eureka High is below average among California schools in poverty level. The income level of families in Eureka is thus likely to be relatively high.

	Number	Percent
Reduced-price lunches	85	7.3%
Free lunches	407	35.3%
Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches	659	57.2%

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

Eureka High is in the middle 50% of schools by income level. Generally, higher income level schools are better-funded and have a higher quality range of classes and activities. Eureka High is likely in the middle of the pack in this regard and will give you a good set of options to try.

If you have any interests that Eureka High doesn't cover, look to your local community for activities, or to the Internet for self-study AP classes.

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School Safety

How safe is Eureka Senior 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 Eureka 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 Eureka 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 1240 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:

Eureka City Schools School District Safety

School Name	Total Referred	Total Arrests	Enrollment
Zoe Barnum High	0	0	99

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 Eureka Senior High School? Will you be competitive for college? Will you have access to advanced classes?

We've compiled everything we could find about Eureka 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 Eureka 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 Eureka High, 93% (of 296) Eureka 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%.

Eureka High is in the 81st percentile of all public high schools in California for graduation rate. This is well 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 Eureka Senior 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 Eureka Senior High School SAT scores.

The average composite SAT score is a 1520 out of 2400, compared to a national average of 1500. Each year, roughly 151 at Eureka High take the SAT.

This is an average SAT score, putting Eureka Senior High School right around the national average. Because the SAT measures academic achievement, this suggests that Eureka High will offer a fairly standard high school education, neither strongly lacking or outperforming.

Note, however, that this is just an average - the top students can still exceed the average significantly. If you can rise far above your school average, you'll have a great shot at entering a strong college.

Here's a breakdown of SAT scores by section:

Average SAT Scores (2013-2014)

Source	Critical Reading	Math	Writing	Composite
Eureka High	505	524	498	1520
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 1520 as an SAT score? Find out with our complete 1520 SAT score guide, including which colleges you can get into with a 1520 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 Eureka Senior High School ACT scores with the rest of the country.

At Eureka High, the average ACT composite score was 21, compared to the nationwide average of 20. Each year, roughly 37 out of 1151 total students take the ACT.

This is above average performance, putting Eureka High in the top 50% of California high schools. Since the ACT tests what you learn in school, these ACT scores are a good indication that you'll get an above-average education at Eureka High.

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

Average ACT Scores

Source	English	Math	Reading	Science
Eureka High	21	22	20	21
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 Eureka Senior 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 161 students in grades 9-12 at Eureka High take 309 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 Eureka High is 3.0 out of 5.

This score puts Eureka High at average performance. For AP tests, the passing score is considered a 3, and the number of students who pass and don't pass are roughly even. This performance places Eureka Senior High School in the top 50% of schools for AP tests.

It's great that Eureka High offers an AP program so you have the opportunity to take courses at a college level. Even though roughly half of all AP students here don't get a passing grade, half do - so with motivated studying throughout the year, you'll be able to beat the 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:

AP Test-Taking Statistics

Another way to gauge the quality of a school's AP program is to see how many AP students actually took AP exams at Eureka Senior High School. If a lot of students enroll in AP courses but don't actually take the AP tests, it can be a sign that students don't feel adequately prepared to take the test, or the school isn't encouraging students to take the exams enough.

At Eureka High, there is a total enrollment of 200 in AP courses (a student taking more than one AP course counts more than once).

Of AP-taking students, 153 took AP tests for ALL AP courses. 12 students took AP tests for SOME AP Courses, and 0 took AP courses but took NO tests.

This is stellar test participation. First, every single Eureka Senior High School student who took AP courses took at least some AP exams - there were zero students who took no exams. Furthermore, the students who took AP tests for ALL their AP courses outnumber the students who took just some AP exams.

These are great signs because it suggests students feel prepared to take the tests at the end of the year, and Eureka High does a good job of helping students sign up for AP tests. You'll likely have a good AP course experience here.

Note: The most recent data we have available is from 2012, so the statistics may have changed since then. Most likely, however, the trends are likely to continue - above average schools are likely to stay above average, and below average schools are likely to stay below average.

AP Passing Rates

For AP students at Eureka Senior High School who take the exam, it's important to know how they do. Here we have specific data on how many students got a passing grade (a 3 or above) on all, some, or none of the AP exams that they took.

Of all AP test takers, 66 students passed every AP test they took, which is a fantastic job. 20 students passed some but not all AP exams, and 56 students didn't pass ANY AP exam they took.

This is good performance. The majority of students pass SOME or ALL of the AP tests. Only a minority of students at Eureka Senior High School fail all the AP exams they take.

Overall, this points to a fairly strong AP program at Eureka High. Most students are able to pass at least one of the AP tests they take, which means the teaching is likely of acceptable quality, and the students are motivated to do well. However, the program isn't strong across the board. Some teachers or courses may be better than others, and students at Eureka High may be stronger at some subjects and weaker in others.

If you attend Eureka High, this means you'll have a good starting point to work from - but if you want to pass all the AP tests you take, you'll need to work hard and use good study strategies.

To find out the passing rates for specific AP courses at Eureka Senior 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 Eureka Senior 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 Eureka 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 Eureka High.

English/Language Arts

At Eureka Senior High School, 61% of students meet or exceed state standards in English/Language Arts.

This is considered above average and puts Eureka High in the top 50% of all high schools in California for English/Language Arts. Around half of Eureka 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 Eureka High will likely rise over time. But it still reflects Eureka 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 Eureka Senior High School, 27% of students meet or exceed state standards in Math. This is considered well below average and puts Eureka High in the bottom 25% of all high schools in California. The vast majority of Eureka 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 Eureka Senior 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 Eureka 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 Eureka High. Taking AP/IB classes also raises your weighted GPA and makes you a stronger college applicant.

Furthermore, many colleges will accept your Eureka 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 Eureka Senior High School offer?

AP Courses

Eureka Senior High School offers AP courses in 10 subjects.

This is a reasonable number of AP subjects, putting Eureka Senior High School in the top 50% of California schools that offer AP courses. You'll likely have access to some of the most popular math and humanities AP subjects, as well as a few others.

The total number of AP subjects is 38, so Eureka High is missing a large number of subjects, including some popular ones. If there are any AP courses you want to take that aren't being offered at Eureka High, ask your counselor for ideas on how to cover the gap.

Of course, keep in mind that quality matters even more than quantity - even if Eureka High doesn't offer every AP course under the sun, the classes might still be taught very well. You can see student performance in the AP score analysis section above.

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

Course Title
Biology
Calculus AB
English Language and Composition
English Literature and Composition
Music Theory
Spanish Language and Culture
Statistics
United States Government and Politics
United States History
World History

Sports Teams

Finally, we'll cover which sports teams are available at Eureka Senior 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 Eureka High.

By the way, the Eureka Senior High mascot is the Loggers. Go Loggers!

Eureka Senior High School fields 12 teams for girls' sports. This is a relatively number that puts Eureka High in the bottom 50% of California schools that offer girls' sports. This is understandable - sports teams are expensive to support, and many schools would rather put those resources elsewhere. If you participate in a sport that Eureka High doesn't offer, consider joining a local non-school team to get practice and compete.

And now for the boys: Eureka Senior High School fields 12 teams for boys' sports. This relatively number puts Eureka High in the bottom 50% of California schools that offer boys' sports. Sports teams are expensive to support, and Eureka High may not be able to offer the full range of options. If you participate in a sport that Eureka High doesn't offer, consider joining a local non-school team to get practice and compete.

Boys Teams	Girls Teams
Basketball Var JV Fr	Basketball Var JV Fr
	Golf Var JV Fr
Tennis Var JV Fr	Tennis Var JV Fr
Football Var JV Fr
Wrestling Var JV Fr
	Volleyball Var JV Fr
Baseball Var JV Fr
	Softball Var JV Fr
Waterpolo Var JV Fr	Waterpolo Var JV Fr
Soccer Var JV Fr	Soccer 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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