Location: Arcadia, CA
Are you a student or parent at Rancho Learning Center (Alternative) School? Want to understand how to get the most out of high school?
We've written the best guide to Rancho Learning Center Alternative available. Here we'll cover:
- Breakdowns of student ethnicity, gender, and family income
- How safe Rancho Learning Center Alternative is to attend
- SAT/ACT/AP scores earned by Rancho Learning Center Alternative students
- Which AP/IB classes you can take at Rancho Learning Center Alternative
- Every sports team you can join at Rancho Learning Center Alternative
Let's get started!
Basic Information
Rancho Learning Center (Alternative) School is a public school, supporting grades 1 to 12 . It's located in Arcadia, CA in Los Angeles County.
Based on its location, Rancho Learning Center Alternative is classified as a school in a small city. Here's the location on a map:
Contact Information
Mailing address:
Rancho Learning Center (Alternative) School234 Campus Dr. Arcadia, CA 91007-3703
Phone number: 6268216629
Rancho Learning Center (Alternative) School homepage: http://site.ausd.net/modules/cms/pages.phtml?pageid=251718
Principal: Laurie McQuaidEmail the principal: [email protected]
Student Demographics
Student Enrollment
The total enrollment at Rancho Learning Center (Alternative) School is 57 students, making it a small high school, in the bottom 25% of all California high schools by size.
With at most a few dozen students in your class, you'll get to know most other Rancho Learning Center Alternative students well. But the small student body size may mean that you won't get access to the full range of activities and classes that other high schools offer.
If you find that your interests aren't well served by Rancho Learning Center Alternative, consider transferring to a larger high school if possible, or find ways to supplement your interests in your community or on the Internet.
Growth in Student Body Size
Is Rancho Learning Center (Alternative) School growing or shrinking? This will help you see trends in where the school is headed.
From our calculations, the enrollment at Rancho Learning Center Alternative has steadily 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 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10th grade | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| 11th grade | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| 12th grade | 15 | 5 | 20 |
As you can see in the table above, the senior class is 20 students larger than the freshman class. This suggests that Rancho Learning Center Alternative is shrinking in size and taking on fewer students.
There are a few reasons this can happen. The population of Arcadia could be decreasing, thus sending fewer students into Rancho Learning Center Alternative. Alternatively, other schools (like charter or private schools) might be appearing, drawing students away.
Gender Split
Are there more boys or girls at Rancho Learning Center (Alternative) School?
From our statistics, Rancho Learning Center Alternative has a 71:29 split between male and female students in the high school grades.
There is a large male majority at Rancho Learning Center Alternative, and much more than you would expect from the general population in Los Angeles 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 Rancho Learning Center Alternative. In other cases, the school might preferentially select for males. For example, in our data we find that continuation high schools unfortunately seem to be male-dominated. In yet other cases, other neighboring schools might attract female students, drawing them away from Rancho Learning Center Alternative.
If the male majority is concerning to you, we suggest contacting Rancho Learning Center Alternative administration and asking if they have any thoughts about why there's a gender imbalance. Their phone number is 6268216629.
Ethnicity Breakdown
What's the racial diversity at Rancho Learning Center (Alternative) School? Does one ethnicity make up most of the student body, or is it fairly balanced?
From our statistics, Rancho Learning Center Alternative 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 Rancho Learning Center Alternative is Hispanic. In California, 51.5% of all students are Hispanic, making it the most common ethnicity. Even though Rancho Learning Center Alternative is relatively diverse, students of Hispanic descent are the most common ethnicity here.
| Percentage | Number | |
|---|---|---|
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 0.0% | 0 |
| Asian | 28.0% | 16 |
| Hispanic | 43.8% | 25 |
| Black | 7.0% | 4 |
| White | 19.2% | 11 |
| Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander | 0.0% | 0 |
| Two or more races | 1.7% | 1 |
High schools usually reflect the population in the surrounding area, so the ethnicities of students likely resembles those of Arcadia. 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 Rancho Learning Center Alternative Families
What are the family incomes of students at Rancho Learning Center (Alternative) 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 Rancho Learning Center Alternative, 5.2% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 10.5% qualify for free lunches.
This means Rancho Learning Center Alternative has a very low poverty level. Nearly no students at Rancho Learning Center Alternative qualify for free or reduced price lunches. Arcadia is thus likely to have a very affluent community, and Rancho Learning Center Alternative is in the top 10% of California schools in terms of family income.
| Number | Percent | |
|---|---|---|
| Reduced-price lunches | 3 | 5.2% |
| Free lunches | 6 | 10.5% |
| Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches | 48 | 84.2% |
As with ethnicity, this likely reflects the surrounding community in Arcadia and doesn't speak much about the school itself.
Because Rancho Learning Center Alternative 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 Rancho Learning Center Alternative has to offer. If you work hard and spend your time effectively, you'll likely be well positioned to succeed in college and beyond.
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School Safety
How safe is Rancho Learning Center (Alternative) 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 Rancho Learning Center Alternative: 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 Rancho Learning Center Alternative 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 49 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:
Arcadia Unified School District Safety
| School Name | Total Referred | Total Arrests | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arcadia High | 0 | 10 | 3679 |
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 Rancho Learning Center (Alternative) School? Will you be competitive for college? Will you have access to advanced classes?
We've compiled everything we could find about Rancho Learning Center Alternative's academics here.
Standardized Testing
Next, we'll look at another major piece of high school academics: standardized testing performance for Rancho Learning Center (Alternative) School students. These are tests that are administered to large populations of students for comparison purposes.
State Tests
As of 2014, eleventh graders attending Rancho Learning Center (Alternative) 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 Rancho Learning Center Alternative 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 Rancho Learning Center Alternative.
English/Language Arts
At Rancho Learning Center (Alternative) School, 28% of students meet or exceed state standards in English/Language Arts.
This is considered below average and puts Rancho Learning Center Alternative in the bottom 50% of all high schools in California for English/Language Arts. The majority of Rancho Learning Center Alternative 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 Rancho Learning Center Alternative will likely rise over time. But it still reflects Rancho Learning Center Alternative'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 Rancho Learning Center (Alternative) School, 12% of students meet or exceed state standards in Math. This is considered well below average and puts Rancho Learning Center Alternative in the bottom 25% of all high schools in California. The vast majority of Rancho Learning Center Alternative 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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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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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
- IBO.org