Middle College High School: Full Guide

Location: San Pablo, CA

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

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

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

Let's get started!

Basic Information

Middle College High School is a public school, supporting grades 9 to 12 . It's located in San Pablo, CA in Contra Costa County.

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

Contact Information

Mailing address:

Middle College High School
2600 Mission Bell Dr.
San Pablo, CA 94806-3195

Phone number: 5102357800

Middle College High School homepage: http://www.wccusd.net/middlecollege

Principal: Ann Shin
Email the principal: [email protected]

Student Demographics

Student Enrollment

The total enrollment at Middle College High School is 275 students, making it a somewhat small high school, in the bottom half of all California high schools by size.

As a smaller-sized high school, Middle College High will feel like a cozy learning environment. With fewer than 100 students in your class, you'll likely get to know most other students and your teachers well. This will give you the feeling of a small liberal arts college.

But with a smaller student body, you won't have as many activities and clubs to choose from. If you find Middle College High lacking for your interests, consider looking to your local community to supplement your interests.

Growth in Student Body Size

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

From our calculations, the enrollment at Middle College 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	35	38	73
10^th grade	18	46	64
11^th grade	24	39	63
12^th grade	33	42	75

As you can see in the table above, the senior class is 2 students larger than the freshman class. This suggests that Middle College High is shrinking in size and taking on fewer students.

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

Gender Split

Are there more boys or girls at Middle College High School?

From our statistics, Middle College High has a 40:60 split between male and female students in the high school grades.

There is a large female majority at Middle College High, and the imbalance is greater than you would expect from the general population in Contra Costa 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 Middle College High. 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 Middle College High. In yet other cases, other neighboring schools might attract male students, drawing them away from Middle College High.

If this gender imbalance is a concern for you, we suggest contacting Middle College High administration and asking if they have any thoughts about why there's a female majority. Their phone number is 5102357800.

Ethnicity Breakdown

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

From our statistics, Middle College High has a diverse student body. No single ethnicity composes more than 50% of all students, which means you'll be surrounded by a diverse set of students in class. Only a third of California schools show this much diversity.

The most common ethnicity at Middle College High is Hispanic. In California, 51.5% of all students are Hispanic, making it the most common ethnicity. Even though Middle College High is relatively diverse, students of Hispanic descent are the most common ethnicity here.

	Percentage	Number
American Indian/Alaska Native	0.0%	0
Asian	18.9%	52
Hispanic	49.0%	135
Black	24.0%	66
White	6.9%	19
Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander	1.0%	3
Two or more races	0.0%	0

High schools usually reflect the population in the surrounding area, so the ethnicities of students likely resembles those of San Pablo. 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 Middle College High Families

What are the family incomes of students at Middle College 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 Middle College High, 12.3% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 36.0% qualify for free lunches.

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

	Number	Percent
Reduced-price lunches	34	12.3%
Free lunches	99	36.0%
Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches	142	51.6%

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

Middle College 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. Middle College 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 Middle College 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 Middle College 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 Middle College 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 Middle College High students at risk.

In the school year of 2011-2012, there were 2 referrals to law enforcement (2 male, 0 female), and 0 school-related arrests. This is out of a total enrollment of 399 students.

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

This means that 0.5 Middle College High is a safe school. For every 100 students, there is much fewer than 1 law-enforcement related action. It's not a perfect record, but it happens so infrequently that it might have just been a few bad apples.

With this record, is Middle College High School significantly different from other schools in the area? It could be that Middle College High has an especially bad record, or it could be that the local area shows a pattern.

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

West Contra Costa Unified School District Safety

School Name	Total Referred	Total Arrests	Enrollment
De Anza Senior High	0	0	852
El Cerrito Senior High	0	0	1316
Gompers (samuel) Continuation	0	0	186
Kennedy High	4	2	2395
Pinole Valley High	0	0	1474
Richmond High	0	0	1563

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 Middle College High School? Will you be competitive for college? Will you have access to advanced classes?

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

Standardized Testing

Next, we'll look at another major piece of high school academics: standardized testing performance for Middle College 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 Middle College 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 116 at Middle College High take the SAT.

This is an average SAT score, putting Middle College High School right around the national average. Because the SAT measures academic achievement, this suggests that Middle College 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
Middle College High	498	528	500	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 Middle College High School ACT scores with the rest of the country.

At Middle College High, the average ACT composite score was 22, compared to the nationwide average of 20. Each year, roughly 28 out of 275 total students take the ACT.

This is above average performance, putting Middle College 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 Middle College High.

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

Average ACT Scores

Source	English	Math	Reading	Science
Middle College High	22	23	23	23
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 Middle College 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 1 students in grades 9-12 at Middle College High take 0 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 Middle College High is out of 5.

Compared to schools across California, this score puts Middle College High 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 Middle College High School in the bottom 25 % of schools for AP tests.

This isn't all bad news for you, though. It's still good that Middle College High 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 Middle College 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 Middle College 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 Middle College 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 Middle College High.

English/Language Arts

At Middle College High School, 92% of students meet or exceed state standards in English/Language Arts.

This is considered excellent and puts Middle College High in the top 5% of all high schools in California for English/Language Arts. The vast majority of Middle College High students easily meet state standards, and many of them are likely well above average. Students here are very well prepared academically.

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 Middle College High School, 60% of students meet or exceed state standards in Math. This is considered well below average and puts Middle College High in the bottom 25% of all high schools in California. The vast majority of Middle College 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.

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!

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