Health Careers Academy: Full Guide

Location: Stockton, CA

Are you a student or parent at Health Careers Academy? Want to understand how to get the most out of high school?

We've written the best guide to Health Careers Academy available. Here we'll cover:

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

Let's get started!

Basic Information

Health Careers Academy is a public school, supporting grades 9 to 12 . It's located in Stockton, CA in San Joaquin County.

Based on its location, Health Careers Academy is classified as a school in a large city. Here's the location on a map:

Contact Information

Mailing address:

Health Careers Academy
931 E. Magnolia St.
Stockton, CA 95203-2243

Phone number: 2099337360

Health Careers Academy homepage: https://hca-susd-ca.schoolloop.com/

Principal: Traci Miller
Email the principal: [email protected]

Student Demographics

Student Enrollment

The total enrollment at Health Careers Academy is 395 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, Health Careers Academy 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 Health Careers Academy growing or shrinking? This will help you see trends in where the school is headed.

From our calculations, the enrollment at Health Careers Academy has 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	53	125	178
10^th grade	35	72	107
11^th grade	32	78	110
12^th grade	0	0	0

As you can see in the table above, the freshman class is 178 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 Stockton could be growing in population, thus sending more students into Health Careers Academy. Alternatively, Health Careers Academy could be relaxing its student policies and taking in more students.

Gender Split

Are there more boys or girls at Health Careers Academy?

From our statistics, Health Careers Academy has a 31:69 split between male and female students in the high school grades.

There is a large female majority at Health Careers Academy, and the imbalance is greater than you would expect from the general population in San Joaquin County. As a result, it'll feel like there are a lot more girls than boys in your classes.

Sometimes this imbalance can result from random chance and may not suggest anything about Health Careers Academy. In other cases, the school might preferentially select for females (if it has its own admissions criteria), or parents with female kids might prefer to send them to Health Careers Academy. In yet other cases, other neighboring schools might attract male students, drawing them away from Health Careers Academy.

If this gender imbalance is a concern for you, we suggest contacting Health Careers Academy administration and asking if they have any thoughts about why there's a female majority. Their phone number is 2099337360.

Ethnicity Breakdown

What's the racial diversity at Health Careers Academy? Does one ethnicity make up most of the student body, or is it fairly balanced?

From our statistics, Health Careers Academy 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 Health Careers Academy 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 Health Careers Academy 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 Health Careers Academy fits within this category.

	Percentage	Number
American Indian/Alaska Native	3.5%	14
Asian	14.1%	56
Hispanic	66.0%	261
Black	8.1%	32
White	6.3%	25
Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander	1.2%	5
Two or more races	0.5%	2

High schools usually reflect the population in the surrounding area, so the ethnicities of students likely resembles those of Stockton. 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 Health Careers Academy Families

What are the family incomes of students at Health Careers Academy? 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 Health Careers Academy, 9.1% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 72.1% qualify for free lunches.

This means Health Careers Academy 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, Health Careers Academy can be classified as a high poverty school. The income level of families in Stockton is thus likely to be low.

	Number	Percent
Reduced-price lunches	36	9.1%
Free lunches	285	72.1%
Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches	74	18.7%

As with ethnicity, this likely reflects the surrounding community in Stockton 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 Health Careers Academy 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 Health Careers Academy 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.

Exclusive: Want to learn how to improve your SAT score by 160 points? image description

Download our free guide on the top 5 strategies you must be using to improve your score. This guide was written by Harvard graduates and SAT perfect scorers. If you apply the strategies in this guide, you'll study smarter and make huge score improvements.

School Safety

How safe is Health Careers Academy 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 Health Careers Academy: 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 Health Careers Academy students at risk.

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

Stockton Unified School District Safety

School Name	Total Referred	Enrollment
Edison High	0	2209
Franklin High	63	2815
Stagg Senior High	2	1687
Walton Development Center	0	112
Weber Institute	0	420
District Special Education	0	0

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 Health Careers Academy? Will you be competitive for college? Will you have access to advanced classes?

We've compiled everything we could find about Health Careers Academy's academics here.

Standardized Testing

Next, we'll look at another major piece of high school academics: standardized testing performance for Health Careers Academy 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 Health Careers Academy SAT scores.

The average composite SAT score is a 1290 out of 2400, compared to a national average of 1500. Each year, roughly 31 at Health Careers Academy take the SAT.

This is a very low SAT score, putting Health Careers Academy in the bottom 25% of all California schools, and well below the national average. Only 19% of SAT takers here score above the national average. Unfortunately, this suggests that most students attending Health Careers Academy are not high-achieving, and may find it difficult to be admitted to a good college.

Note, however, that an average is just an average - you still have the potential to rise above expectations. If you work hard and earn an SAT score well above Health Careers Academy's average, you'll have a great shot at entering a good college.

Keep in mind, however, that only 7% of all students at Health Careers Academy took the SAT, so the results could be skewed by the small sample size.

Here's a breakdown of SAT scores by section:

Average SAT Scores (2013-2014)

Source	Critical Reading	Math	Writing	Composite
Health Careers Academy	435	431	433	1290
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 1290 as an SAT score? Find out with our complete 1290 SAT score guide, including which colleges you can get into with a 1290 or any other SAT score!

Exclusive: Want to learn how to improve your SAT score by 160 points? image description

Advanced Placement (AP)

Advanced Placement (AP) classes are college-level courses that are an additional academic challenge may give Health Careers Academy 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 33 students in grades 9-12 at Health Careers Academy take 46 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 Health Careers Academy is 1.1 out of 5.

Compared to schools across California, this score puts Health Careers Academy at below average performance. On AP tests, the passing score is considered a 3, and unfortunately the number of students who don't pass is greater than the number of do. This performance places Health Careers Academy in the bottom 25 % of schools for AP tests.

This isn't all bad news for you, though. It's still good that Health Careers Academy offers AP classes so you have the opportunity to take courses at a college level. Your school might be new to offering AP courses, and typically teachers get better at preparing students for AP tests over time. Finally, as you'll see below, there are still students who earn a passing grade of 3 or above - and with hard work, you can be one of them.

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 Health Careers Academy, 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 Health Careers Academy 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 Health Careers Academy 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 Health Careers Academy.

English/Language Arts

At Health Careers Academy, 65% of students meet or exceed state standards in English/Language Arts.

This is considered good and puts Health Careers Academy in the top 25% of all high schools in California for English/Language Arts. Most Health Careers Academy students pass or exceed state standards, though there is also a sizable portion of students who fail to meet state standards.

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 Health Careers Academy, 17% of students meet or exceed state standards in Math. This is considered well below average and puts Health Careers Academy in the bottom 25% of all high schools in California. The vast majority of Health Careers Academy 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 Health Careers Academy 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 Health Careers Academy. 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 Health Careers Academy. Taking AP/IB classes also raises your weighted GPA and makes you a stronger college applicant.

Furthermore, many colleges will accept your Health Careers Academy 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 Health Careers Academy offer?

AP Courses

Health Careers Academy offers AP courses in 6 subjects.

This is a relatively low number of AP subjects, putting Health Careers Academy 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 Health Careers Academy is missing most. If you want to take any AP courses not being offered at Health Careers Academy, 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 Health Careers Academy 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 Health Careers Academy during 2015-2016:

Course Title
Biology
English Language and Composition
English Literature and Composition
Psychology
United States Government and Politics
United States History

Sports Teams

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.

If You Liked Our Advice...

Visit our blog for free strategy guides on college admissions and test prep.

Our experts have written hundreds of useful articles on improving your SAT score and getting into college. You'll definitely find something useful here.

Visit our blog now.

Subscribe to our newsletter to get FREE strategies and guides sent to your email. Learn how to ace the SAT/ACT and get into college, with exclusive tips and insights that we share with our private newsletter subscribers.

Get Free SAT Tips to Boost Your Score

You should definitely follow us on social media. You'll get updates on our latest articles right on your feed. Follow us on all of our social networks:

Follow @PrepScholar