Quartz Hill High School: Full Guide

Location: Quartz Hill, CA

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

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

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

Let's get started!

Basic Information

Quartz Hill High School is a public school, supporting grades 9 to 12 . It's located in Quartz Hill, CA in Los Angeles County.

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

Contact Information

Mailing address:

Quartz Hill High School
6040 W. Ave. L
Quartz Hill, CA 93536-4501

Phone number: 6617183100

Quartz Hill High School homepage: http://www.qhhs.org/

Principal: Matt Anderson
Email the principal: [email protected]

Student Demographics

Student Enrollment

The total enrollment at Quartz Hill High School is 3135 students, making it a very large high school, in the top 10% of all California high schools by size.

Wow! Attending Quartz Hill High might feel like attending a college. You'll be surrounded by a large group of students (over 500 per class) and have more options for activities and clubs to join, which can be exciting.

On the other hand, you may also find that resources like counseling are spread thin across so many students. Make sure that you can get enough teacher and counselor attention to succeed at Quartz Hill High, which may require being proactive.

Growth in Student Body Size

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

From our calculations, the enrollment at Quartz Hill High 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	417	356	773
10^th grade	444	376	820
11^th grade	393	391	784
12^th grade	367	391	758

As you can see in the table above, the freshman class is 15 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 Quartz Hill could be growing in population, thus sending more students into Quartz Hill High. Alternatively, Quartz Hill High could be relaxing its student policies and taking in more students.

Gender Split

Are there more boys or girls at Quartz Hill High School?

From our statistics, Quartz Hill High has a 52:48 split between male and female students in the high school grades.

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

From our statistics, Quartz Hill 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 Quartz Hill High is white. In California, white students make up 26.3% of all California students, and are the second most common ethnicity after Hispanic students.

	Percentage	Number
American Indian/Alaska Native	0.5%	16
Asian	5.6%	178
Hispanic	34.0%	1068
Black	12.1%	381
White	43.6%	1367
Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander	0.3%	11
Two or more races	3.6%	114

High schools usually reflect the population in the surrounding area, so the ethnicities of students likely resembles those of Quartz Hill. 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 Quartz Hill High Families

What are the family incomes of students at Quartz Hill 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 Quartz Hill High, 5.9% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 24.8% qualify for free lunches.

This means Quartz Hill High has a low poverty level. The overwhelming majority of students at Quartz Hill High don't qualify for free or reduced price lunches. Quartz Hill is thus likely to be an affluent community, with quite high family incomes.

	Number	Percent
Reduced-price lunches	185	5.9%
Free lunches	780	24.8%
Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches	2170	69.2%

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

Because Quartz Hill High is in the top quartile of schools by family income, it's likely to be well-funded relative to other high schools in California. This means you'll likely have access to advanced coursework like AP/IB classes and better-funded extracurriculars and sports.

It's still up to you, though, to take advantage of the resources Quartz Hill High has to offer. If you work hard and spend your time effectively, you'll likely be well positioned to succeed in college and beyond.

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 Quartz Hill 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 Quartz Hill 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 Quartz Hill 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 3151 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:

Antelope Valley Union High School District Safety

School Name	Total Referred	Total Arrests	Enrollment
Antelope Valley High	0	0	1764
Desert Winds Continuation High	0	0	433
Palmdale High	0	0	3067
Lancaster High	0	0	2452
Phoenix High Community Day	0	0	140
Desert Sands Charter	0	0	1771

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

We've compiled everything we could find about Quartz Hill High'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 Quartz Hill High, 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 Quartz Hill High, 82% (of 675) Quartz Hill High 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%.

Quartz Hill High is in the 47th percentile of all public high schools in California for graduation rate. This is below average. 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 Quartz Hill 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 Quartz Hill High School SAT scores.

The average composite SAT score is a 1510 out of 2400, compared to a national average of 1500. Each year, roughly 427 at Quartz Hill High take the SAT.

This is an average SAT score, putting Quartz Hill High School right around the national average. Because the SAT measures academic achievement, this suggests that Quartz Hill 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
Quartz Hill High	510	507	494	1510
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 1510 as an SAT score? Find out with our complete 1510 SAT score guide, including which colleges you can get into with a 1510 or any other SAT score!

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

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 Quartz Hill High School ACT scores with the rest of the country.

At Quartz Hill High, the average ACT composite score was 23, compared to the nationwide average of 20. Each year, roughly 106 out of 3135 total students take the ACT.

This is above average performance, putting Quartz Hill 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 Quartz Hill High.

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

Average ACT Scores

Source	English	Math	Reading	Science
Quartz Hill High	23	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!

Exclusive: Want to learn how to improve your ACT score by 4 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 ACT perfect scorers. If you apply the strategies in this guide, you'll study smarter and make huge score improvements.

Free eBook: 5 Tips to 4+ Points on the ACT

Advanced Placement (AP)

Advanced Placement (AP) classes are college-level courses that are an additional academic challenge may give Quartz Hill 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 463 students in grades 9-12 at Quartz Hill High take 920 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 Quartz Hill High is 2.6 out of 5.

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

It's great that Quartz Hill High 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 Quartz Hill 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 Quartz Hill High, there is a total enrollment of 444 in AP courses (a student taking more than one AP course counts more than once).

Of AP-taking students, 241 took AP tests for ALL AP courses. 46 students took AP tests for SOME AP Courses, and 159 took AP courses but took NO tests.

This is good test participation. Most AP students at Quartz Hill High School take the AP test for every one of their AP courses, outnumbering the students who take some or no AP exams. This is a good sign that students feel confident enough to take tests for all AP courses available to them, which reflects well on the teachers and course material. Quartz Hill High can continue to improve by reducing the number of students who take AP exams for some or none of their courses, but it's in a good state.

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 Quartz Hill 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, 97 students passed every AP test they took, which is a fantastic job. 54 students passed some but not all AP exams, and 128 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 Quartz Hill High School fail all the AP exams they take.

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

If you attend Quartz Hill High, 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 Quartz Hill 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 Quartz Hill 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 Quartz Hill 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 Quartz Hill High.

English/Language Arts

At Quartz Hill High School, 64% of students meet or exceed state standards in English/Language Arts.

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

Furthermore, many colleges will accept your Quartz Hill 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 Quartz Hill High School offer?

AP Courses

Quartz Hill High School offers AP courses in 18 subjects.

This is an impressive number of AP subjects, putting Quartz Hill High School in the top 25% of California schools in AP offerings. You'll likely have all of the most popular AP courses available to you, as well as some broader interests.

The total number of AP subjects is 38, so Quartz Hill High is missing a good number of subjects, but these are likely the least popular subjects, like less popular foreign languages. If there are any AP courses you want to take that aren't being offered at Quartz Hill High, ask your counselor for other options.

Of course, keep in mind that quality matters even more than quantity - it's important that your AP courses are taught well by engaging teachers. But the strong AP program at Quartz Hill High likely means you'll be in good hands.

The following AP courses were offered at Quartz Hill High during 2015-2016:

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

IB Courses

The International Baccalaureate program is less popular in the United States than the Advanced Placement program (there are around 850 diploma schools in the country and 100 in California). But Quartz Hill High School is one of the lucky few to have an IB program!

For college application purposes, the IB and AP programs are basically equivalent. So don't worry about being advantaged or disadvantaged either way if you participate in IB vs AP. What colleges care about first is academic achievement, and AP and IB classes are seen as equally challenging.

Quartz Hill High School has been an IB school since 5/13/98. Questions about the IB program at Quartz Hill High? You can contact the IB Diploma Programme coordinator, Mr Jeff Cassady, by phone at (1) 661 718 3100.

The following IB courses were offered at Quartz Hill High during 2015-2016:

Course Title	HL/SL
Spanish B	HL + SL
Biology	HL + SL
Art History	SL
Psychology	HL + SL
Business management	HL + SL
Theory of Knowledge
French B	HL + SL
English A Literature	HL + SL
Music	HL + SL
Mathematics	HL + SL
History	HL + SL
Visual Arts

You can find out more about the IB testing schedule by going here.

We've also written the best study and test guides to International Baccalaureate.

Sports Teams

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

By the way, the Quartz Hill High mascot is the Rebels. Go Rebels!

Quartz Hill High School fields 17 teams for girls' sports. This is a high number that puts Quartz Hill High in the top 25% of California schools that offer girls' sports. If you're a female, you'll have lots of options of sports and levels to try out for.

And now for the boys: Quartz Hill High School fields 19 teams for boys' sports. This puts Quartz Hill High 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 Quartz Hill High doesn't offer, consider looking for a local non-school team that you can join.

Boys Teams	Girls Teams
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	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
Crosscountry Var JV Fr	Crosscountry Var JV Fr
Soccer Var JV Fr	Soccer Var JV Fr
	Fieldhockey 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.

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 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.

Get Free ACT 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