Location: Petrolia, CA
Are you a student or parent at Mattole Valley Charter (#159) School? Want to understand how to get the most out of high school?
We've written the best guide to Mattole Valley Charter School available. Here we'll cover:
- Breakdowns of student ethnicity, gender, and family income
- How safe Mattole Valley Charter School is to attend
- SAT/ACT/AP scores earned by Mattole Valley Charter School students
- Which AP/IB classes you can take at Mattole Valley Charter School
- Every sports team you can join at Mattole Valley Charter School
Let's get started!
Basic Information
Mattole Valley Charter (#159) School is a public school, supporting grades 0 to 12 . It's located in Petrolia, CA in Humboldt County.
Based on its location, Mattole Valley Charter School is classified as a school in a remote rural area, over 25 miles away from an urbanized area. Here's the location on a map:
Contact Information
Mailing address:
Mattole Valley Charter (#159) SchoolPo Box 211 Petrolia, CA 95558
Phone number: 7076293634
Mattole Valley Charter (#159) School homepage: http://www.mattolevalley.com/
Principal: Richard GraeyEmail the principal: [email protected]
Student Demographics
Student Enrollment
The total enrollment at Mattole Valley Charter (#159) School is 662 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, Mattole Valley Charter School 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 Mattole Valley Charter (#159) School growing or shrinking? This will help you see trends in where the school is headed.
From our calculations, the enrollment at Mattole Valley Charter School has decreased over the past few years. We calculate this by comparing enrollment in grades 9 to 12.
| Male Students | Female Students | All Students | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9th grade | 14 | 15 | 29 |
| 10th grade | 36 | 39 | 75 |
| 11th grade | 25 | 32 | 57 |
| 12th grade | 30 | 37 | 67 |
As you can see in the table above, the senior class is 38 students larger than the freshman class. This suggests that Mattole Valley Charter School is shrinking in size and taking on fewer students.
There are a few reasons this can happen. The population of Petrolia could be decreasing, thus sending fewer students into Mattole Valley Charter School. Alternatively, other schools (like charter or private schools) might be appearing, drawing students away.
Gender Split
Are there more boys or girls at Mattole Valley Charter (#159) School?
From our statistics, Mattole Valley Charter School has a 47:53 split between male and female students in the high school grades.
Mattole Valley Charter School 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 Mattole Valley Charter School 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 Mattole Valley Charter (#159) School? Does one ethnicity make up most of the student body, or is it fairly balanced?
From our statistics, Mattole Valley Charter School has a homogenous student body, with the overwhelming majority of students identifying as one ethnicity. Only a third of California schools show as little diversity as Mattole Valley Charter School does. When attending class, most students will be of the same ethnicity, with some variation.
The majority of students at Mattole Valley Charter School 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 Mattole Valley Charter School is one of hundreds of schools in the state that have a majority of white students.
| Percentage | Number | |
|---|---|---|
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 4.6% | 31 |
| Asian | 0.4% | 3 |
| Hispanic | 10.1% | 67 |
| Black | 1.2% | 8 |
| White | 73.7% | 488 |
| Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander | 0.1% | 1 |
| Two or more races | 9.6% | 64 |
High schools usually reflect the population in the surrounding area, so the ethnicities of students likely resembles those of Petrolia. 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 Mattole Valley Charter School Families
What are the family incomes of students at Mattole Valley Charter (#159) 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 Mattole Valley Charter School, 31.1% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 35.4% qualify for free lunches.
This means Mattole Valley Charter School has a moderate percentage of students at or near poverty. About half of all schools in California show this level of poverty or greater. The income level of families in Petrolia is likely to be relatively low.
| Number | Percent | |
|---|---|---|
| Reduced-price lunches | 206 | 31.1% |
| Free lunches | 235 | 35.4% |
| Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches | 221 | 33.3% |
As with ethnicity, this likely reflects the surrounding community in Petrolia and doesn't speak much about the school itself.
Mattole Valley Charter School 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. Mattole Valley Charter School 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 Mattole Valley Charter School doesn't cover, look to your local community for activities, or to the Internet for self-study AP classes.
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 Mattole Valley Charter (#159) 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 Mattole Valley Charter School: 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 Mattole Valley Charter School 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 731 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:
Mattole Unified School District Safety
| School Name | Total Referred | Total Arrests | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mattole Triple Junction High | 0 | 0 | 7 |
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 Mattole Valley Charter (#159) School? Will you be competitive for college? Will you have access to advanced classes?
We've compiled everything we could find about Mattole Valley Charter School's academics here.
Standardized Testing
Next, we'll look at another major piece of high school academics: standardized testing performance for Mattole Valley Charter (#159) 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.
Advanced Placement (AP)
Advanced Placement (AP) classes are college-level courses that are an additional academic challenge may give Mattole Valley Charter (#159) 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 4 students in grades 9-12 at Mattole Valley Charter School 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 Mattole Valley Charter School is out of 5.
Compared to schools across California, this score puts Mattole Valley Charter School 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 Mattole Valley Charter (#159) School in the bottom 25 % of schools for AP tests.
This isn't all bad news for you, though. It's still good that Mattole Valley Charter School 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 Mattole Valley Charter (#159) 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 Mattole Valley Charter (#159) 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 Mattole Valley Charter School 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 Mattole Valley Charter School.
English/Language Arts
At Mattole Valley Charter (#159) School, 30% of students meet or exceed state standards in English/Language Arts.
This is considered below average and puts Mattole Valley Charter School in the bottom 50% of all high schools in California for English/Language Arts. The majority of Mattole Valley Charter School students do not pass state standards, and only a small percentage pass.
This specific percentage isn't much cause for concern - because the Common Core is new, the pass rate at Mattole Valley Charter School will likely rise over time. But it still reflects Mattole Valley Charter School's below average standing 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 Mattole Valley Charter (#159) School, 4% of students meet or exceed state standards in Math. This is considered well below average and puts Mattole Valley Charter School in the bottom 25% of all high schools in California. The vast majority of Mattole Valley Charter School 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 Mattole Valley Charter (#159) 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 Mattole Valley Charter School. 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 Mattole Valley Charter School. Taking AP/IB classes also raises your weighted GPA and makes you a stronger college applicant.
Furthermore, many colleges will accept your Mattole Valley Charter School 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 Mattole Valley Charter (#159) School offer?
AP Courses
Mattole Valley Charter (#159) School offers AP courses in 12 subjects.
This is a reasonable number of AP subjects, putting Mattole Valley Charter (#159) 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 Mattole Valley Charter School 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 Mattole Valley Charter School, 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 Mattole Valley Charter School 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 Mattole Valley Charter School during 2015-2016:
| Course Title |
|---|
| Biology |
| Calculus AB |
| Chemistry |
| English Language and Composition |
| English Literature and Composition |
| Macroeconomics |
| Microeconomics |
| Psychology |
| Spanish Language and Culture |
| Statistics |
| 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...
Our experts have written hundreds of useful articles on improving your ACT 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.
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:
Sources
The data on this page is drawn from a variety of sources, including (but not limited to):
- National Center for Educational Statistics CCD 2013-2014
- "Free or reduced price lunch: A proxy for poverty?", NCES Blog
- CRDC 2011-2012 school year data
- California Department of Education SAT, ACT, and AP Test Results
- California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System Results
- AP Course Ledger
- IBO.org