Futures High School: Full Guide

Location: North Highlands, CA

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

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

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

Let's get started!

Basic Information

Futures High School is a public school, supporting grades 7 to 12 . It's located in North Highlands, CA in Sacramento County.

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

Contact Information

Mailing address:

Futures High School
3701 Stephen Dr.
North Highlands, CA 95660-4532

Phone number: 9162861902

Futures High School homepage: http://www.fhscharter.org/

Principal: Nataliya Burko
Email the principal: [email protected]

Student Demographics

Student Enrollment

The total enrollment at Futures High School is 345 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, Futures 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 Futures High School growing or shrinking? This will help you see trends in where the school is headed.

From our calculations, the enrollment at Futures 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	68	60	128
10^th grade	62	52	114
11^th grade	30	26	56
12^th grade	23	24	47

As you can see in the table above, the freshman class is 81 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 North Highlands could be growing in population, thus sending more students into Futures High. Alternatively, Futures High could be relaxing its student policies and taking in more students.

Gender Split

Are there more boys or girls at Futures High School?

From our statistics, Futures High has a 54:46 split between male and female students in the high school grades.

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

From our statistics, Futures High has a very homogenous student body, with over 90% of students identifying as one ethnicity. This is especially extreme - fewer than 10% of California schools show as little racial diversity as Futures High does. When attending class, you'll be surrounded by students of the same ethnicity.

The majority of students at Futures 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 Futures High is one of hundreds of schools in the state that have a majority of white students.

	Percentage	Number
American Indian/Alaska Native	0.0%	0
Asian	3.1%	11
Hispanic	0.8%	3
Black	0.8%	3
White	94.4%	326
Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander	0.0%	0
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 North Highlands. 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 Futures High Families

What are the family incomes of students at Futures 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 Futures High, 13.3% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 77.3% qualify for free lunches.

This means Futures 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, Futures High can be classified as a high poverty school. The income level of families in North Highlands is thus likely to be low.

	Number	Percent
Reduced-price lunches	46	13.3%
Free lunches	267	77.3%
Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches	32	9.2%

As with ethnicity, this likely reflects the surrounding community in North Highlands 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 Futures 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 Futures 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 Futures 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 Futures 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 Futures 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 292 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:

Twin Rivers Unified School District Safety

School Name	Total Referred	Total Arrests	Enrollment
Foothill High	62	6	353
Grant Union High	0	0	2026
Highlands High	61	0	880
Rio Linda High	0	0	1843
Elwood J. Keema High	2	0	730
Pacific Career And Technology High	0	0	131

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

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

Standardized Testing

Next, we'll look at another major piece of high school academics: standardized testing performance for Futures 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 Futures High School SAT scores.

The average composite SAT score is a 1460 out of 2400, compared to a national average of 1500. Each year, roughly 13 at Futures High take the SAT.

This is an average SAT score, putting Futures High School right around the national average. Because the SAT measures academic achievement, this suggests that Futures 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.

Keep in mind, however, that only 3% of all students at Futures High 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
Futures High	475	476	510	1460
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 1460 as an SAT score? Find out with our complete 1460 SAT score guide, including which colleges you can get into with a 1460 or any other SAT score!

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Advanced Placement (AP)

Advanced Placement (AP) classes are college-level courses that are an additional academic challenge may give Futures 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 Futures 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 Futures High is out of 5.

Compared to schools across California, this score puts Futures 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 Futures 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 Futures 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 Futures 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 Futures 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 Futures 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 Futures High.

English/Language Arts

At Futures High School, 48% of students meet or exceed state standards in English/Language Arts.

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

Furthermore, many colleges will accept your Futures 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 Futures High School offer?

AP Courses

Futures High School offers AP courses in 4 subjects.

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

Course Title
Calculus AB
Calculus BC
Psychology
United States History

Sports Teams

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

By the way, the Futures High mascot is the Knights. Go Knights!

Futures High School fields 3 teams for girls' sports. This is a low number that puts Futures High in the bottom 25% of California schools that offer girls' sports. This is understandable - sports teams are expensive to support, and many schools would rather support other programs with their limited resources. If you play a sport that Futures High doesn't field a team for, consider joining a local non-school team to get practice and compete.

And now for the boys: Futures High School fields 3 teams for boys' sports. This low number puts Futures High in the bottom 25% of California schools that offer boys' sports. If you play a sport that Futures High doesn't field a team for, consider joining a local non-school team to get practice and compete.

Boys Teams	Girls Teams
Soccer Var JV Fr	Soccer Var JV Fr
Basketball Var JV Fr	Basketball Var JV Fr
Volleyball Var JV Fr	Volleyball 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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