West Campus High School: Full Guide

Location: Sacramento, CA

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

We've written the best guide to West Campus available. Here we'll cover:

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

Let's get started!

Basic Information

West Campus High School is a public school, supporting grades 9 to 12 . It's located in Sacramento, CA in Sacramento County.

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

Contact Information

Mailing address:

West Campus High School
5022 58th St.
Sacramento, CA 95820

Phone number: 9162776400

West Campus High School homepage: http://westcampus.scusd.edu/

Principal: David Rodriguez
Email the principal: [email protected]

Student Demographics

Student Enrollment

The total enrollment at West Campus High School is 861 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, West Campus 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 West Campus High School growing or shrinking? This will help you see trends in where the school is headed.

From our calculations, the enrollment at West Campus 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	89	132	221
10^th grade	75	134	209
11^th grade	83	119	202
12^th grade	91	138	229

As you can see in the table above, the senior class is 8 students larger than the freshman class. This suggests that West Campus is shrinking in size and taking on fewer students.

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

Gender Split

Are there more boys or girls at West Campus High School?

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

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

If this gender imbalance is a concern for you, we suggest contacting West Campus administration and asking if they have any thoughts about why there's a female majority. Their phone number is 9162776400.

Ethnicity Breakdown

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

From our statistics, West Campus 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 West Campus is Hispanic. In California, 51.5% of all students are Hispanic, making it the most common ethnicity. Even though West Campus is relatively diverse, students of Hispanic descent are the most common ethnicity here.

	Percentage	Number
American Indian/Alaska Native	0.2%	2
Asian	30.6%	264
Hispanic	34.8%	300
Black	6.8%	59
White	19.1%	165
Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander	0.5%	5
Two or more races	7.6%	66

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

What are the family incomes of students at West Campus 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 West Campus, 11.0% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 50.2% qualify for free lunches.

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

	Number	Percent
Reduced-price lunches	95	11.0%
Free lunches	433	50.2%
Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches	333	38.6%

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

West Campus 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. West Campus 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 West Campus 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 West Campus 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 West Campus: 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 West Campus 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 859 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:

Sacramento City Unified School District Safety

School Name	Total Referred	Total Arrests	Enrollment
American Legion High (continuation)	0	0	310
C. K. Mcclatchy High	0	0	2368
Hiram W. Johnson High	0	0	1651
John F. Kennedy High	4	2	2395
Luther Burbank High	0	0	1822
Capital City Independent Study	0	0	799

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 West Campus High School? Will you be competitive for college? Will you have access to advanced classes?

We've compiled everything we could find about West Campus'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 West Campus, 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 West Campus, 97% (of 203) West Campus 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%.

West Campus is in the 96th percentile of all public high schools in California for graduation rate. This is extremely good. 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 West Campus 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 West Campus High School SAT scores.

The average composite SAT score is a 1550 out of 2400, compared to a national average of 1500. Each year, roughly 272 at West Campus take the SAT.

This is an above-average SAT score, putting West Campus High School in the top 25% of all California high schools and well above the national average (58% of students score above the national average). This is a notable academic achievement that distinguishes West Campus as a high-achieving school.

This is a good indication that you'll receive an above-average education at West Campus. While your school isn't in the very top echelon of all California public schools, you're still in a great environment.

Here's a breakdown of SAT scores by section:

Average SAT Scores (2013-2014)

Source	Critical Reading	Math	Writing	Composite
West Campus	511	529	514	1550
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 1550 as an SAT score? Find out with our complete 1550 SAT score guide, including which colleges you can get into with a 1550 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 West Campus High School ACT scores with the rest of the country.

At West Campus, the average ACT composite score was 23, compared to the nationwide average of 20. Each year, roughly 114 out of 861 total students take the ACT.

This is above average performance, putting West Campus 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 West Campus.

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

Average ACT Scores

Source	English	Math	Reading	Science
West Campus	23	25	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 West Campus 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 308 students in grades 9-12 at West Campus take 459 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 West Campus is 2.8 out of 5.

This score puts West Campus 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 West Campus High School in the top 50% of schools for AP tests.

It's great that West Campus 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 West Campus 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 West Campus, there is a total enrollment of 385 in AP courses (a student taking more than one AP course counts more than once).

Of AP-taking students, 170 took AP tests for ALL AP courses. 101 students took AP tests for SOME AP Courses, and 95 took AP courses but took NO tests.

This is good test participation. Most students at West Campus High School are taking some or all AP exams available to them, and only a minority of students end up taking zero AP tests. This means most students feel well enough prepared to take the nationwide AP tests for their courses.

There's still some room for improvement. West Campus could reduce the number of AP students who take zero AP exams, and encourage students to take all AP exams available to them. Some students may not feel confident that they'll pass, so they choose not to take the test. By building a better AP program West Campus could improve their AP exam participation.

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 West Campus 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, 117 students passed every AP test they took, which is a fantastic job. 15 students passed some but not all AP exams, and 122 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 West Campus High School fail all the AP exams they take.

Overall, this points to a fairly strong AP program at West Campus. 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 West Campus may be stronger at some subjects and weaker in others.

If you attend West Campus, 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 West Campus 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 West Campus 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 West Campus 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 West Campus.

English/Language Arts

At West Campus High School, 93% of students meet or exceed state standards in English/Language Arts.

This is considered excellent and puts West Campus in the top 5% of all high schools in California for English/Language Arts. The vast majority of West Campus 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 West Campus High School, 76% of students meet or exceed state standards in Math. This is considered well below average and puts West Campus in the bottom 25% of all high schools in California. The vast majority of West Campus 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 West Campus 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 West Campus. 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 West Campus. Taking AP/IB classes also raises your weighted GPA and makes you a stronger college applicant.

Furthermore, many colleges will accept your West Campus 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 West Campus High School offer?

AP Courses

West Campus High School offers AP courses in 13 subjects.

This is a reasonable number of AP subjects, putting West Campus 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 West Campus 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 West Campus, 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 West Campus 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 West Campus during 2015-2016:

Course Title
Biology
Calculus AB
English Language and Composition
English Literature and Composition
French Language and Culture
Physics 1: Algebra-Based
Physics 2: Algebra-Based
Spanish Language and Culture
Statistics
Studio Art: 2-D Design
United States Government and Politics
United States History
World History

Sports Teams

Finally, we'll cover which sports teams are available at West Campus 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 West Campus.

By the way, the West Campus mascot is the Warriors. Go Warriors!

West Campus High School fields 14 teams for girls' sports. This is a sizable number that puts West Campus 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 West Campus doesn't offer, consider looking for a local non-school team that you can join.

And now for the boys: West Campus High School fields 17 teams for boys' sports. This puts West Campus 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 West Campus doesn't offer, consider looking for a local non-school team that you can join.

Boys Teams	Girls Teams
Lacrosse Var JV Fr	Lacrosse Var JV Fr
Basketball Var JV Fr	Basketball Var JV Fr
Golf 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	Volleyball Var JV Fr
Baseball Var JV Fr
	Softball Var JV Fr
Trackfield Var JV Fr	Trackfield 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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