Anderson High School: Full Guide

Location: Anderson, CA

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

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

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

Let's get started!

Basic Information

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

Based on its location, Anderson High is classified as a school in a rural fringe area, near an urbanized area. Here's the location on a map:

Contact Information

Mailing address:

Anderson High School
1471 Ferry St.
Anderson, CA 96007-3313

Phone number: 5303652741

Anderson High School homepage: http://www.andersoncubs.com/

Principal: Brian Parker
Email the principal: [email protected]

Student Demographics

Student Enrollment

The total enrollment at Anderson High School is 669 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, Anderson 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 Anderson High School growing or shrinking? This will help you see trends in where the school is headed.

From our calculations, the enrollment at Anderson 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	89	86	175
10^th grade	115	93	208
11^th grade	76	66	142
12^th grade	65	79	144

As you can see in the table above, the freshman class is 31 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 Anderson could be growing in population, thus sending more students into Anderson High. Alternatively, Anderson High could be relaxing its student policies and taking in more students.

Gender Split

Are there more boys or girls at Anderson High School?

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

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

From our statistics, Anderson High has a somewhat homogenous student body, with the majority of students identifying as one ethnicity, but not representing over 70% of the student body. Most schools in California fit this profile, so Anderson High isn't out of the ordinary. Most students attending class with you will be of the predominant ethnicity, but there will be meaningful diversity from other races.

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

	Percentage	Number
American Indian/Alaska Native	9.5%	64
Asian	2.5%	17
Hispanic	20.3%	136
Black	2.2%	15
White	63.6%	426
Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander	0.4%	3
Two or more races	1.1%	8

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

What are the family incomes of students at Anderson 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 Anderson High, 11.0% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 57.3% qualify for free lunches.

This means Anderson High 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 Anderson is likely to be relatively low.

	Number	Percent
Reduced-price lunches	74	11.0%
Free lunches	384	57.3%
Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches	211	31.5%

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

Anderson High 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. Anderson High 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 Anderson High 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 Anderson 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 Anderson 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 Anderson High students at risk.

In the school year of 2011-2012, there were 2 referrals to law enforcement (2 male, 0 female), and 0 school-related arrests. This is out of a total enrollment of 698 students.

To put this into perspective, most California schools (59% of them) reported 0 law enforcement referrals and arrests.

This means that 0.2 Anderson High is a safe school. For every 100 students, there is much fewer than 1 law-enforcement related action. It's not a perfect record, but it happens so infrequently that it might have just been a few bad apples.

With this record, is Anderson High School significantly different from other schools in the area? It could be that Anderson High has an especially bad record, or it could be that the local area shows a pattern.

Compare this school with other high schools in the same school district, using the following table:

Anderson Union High School District Safety

School Name	Total Referred	Enrollment
North Valley High	0	97
Oakview High (alternative)	0	110
Anderson Community Day	2	12
West Valley High	0	971
Anderson New Technology High	0	220
Anderson Community Day Transition	0	0

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

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

Standardized Testing

Next, we'll look at another major piece of high school academics: standardized testing performance for Anderson 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 Anderson 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 28 at Anderson High take the SAT.

This is an average SAT score, putting Anderson High School right around the national average. Because the SAT measures academic achievement, this suggests that Anderson 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 4% of all students at Anderson 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
Anderson High	486	519	463	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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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 Anderson High School ACT scores with the rest of the country.

At Anderson High, the average ACT composite score was 22, compared to the nationwide average of 20. Each year, roughly 12 out of 669 total students take the ACT.

This is above average performance, putting Anderson 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 Anderson High.

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

Average ACT Scores

Source	English	Math	Reading	Science
Anderson High	21	23	25	22
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 Anderson 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 80 students in grades 9-12 at Anderson High take 93 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 Anderson High is 1.7 out of 5.

Compared to schools across California, this score puts Anderson 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 Anderson 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 Anderson 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:

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 Anderson 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 Anderson High, there is a total enrollment of 99 in AP courses (a student taking more than one AP course counts more than once).

Of AP-taking students, 7 took AP tests for ALL AP courses. 59 students took AP tests for SOME AP Courses, and 4 took AP courses but took NO tests.

This is acceptable test participation. Most AP students at Anderson High School take the AP exam for just some of their AP courses, outnumbering students who take exams for all or none of their courses. The good news here is that Anderson High students feel confident to take at least some AP tests. The question you may want to figure out is why more students don't feel confident enough to take tests for ALL their AP classes. This is something you can ask your counselor or AP teachers.

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 Anderson 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, 4 students passed every AP test they took, which is a fantastic job. 0 students passed some but not all AP exams, and 57 students didn't pass ANY AP exam they took.

To find out the passing rates for specific AP courses at Anderson 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 Anderson 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 Anderson 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 Anderson High.

English/Language Arts

At Anderson High School, 37% of students meet or exceed state standards in English/Language Arts.

This is considered below average and puts Anderson High in the bottom 50% of all high schools in California for English/Language Arts. The majority of Anderson High 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 Anderson High will likely rise over time. But it still reflects Anderson High'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 Anderson High School, 21% of students meet or exceed state standards in Math. This is considered well below average and puts Anderson High in the bottom 25% of all high schools in California. The vast majority of Anderson 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 Anderson 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 Anderson 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 Anderson High. Taking AP/IB classes also raises your weighted GPA and makes you a stronger college applicant.

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

AP Courses

Anderson High School offers AP courses in 5 subjects.

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

Course Title
Calculus AB
English Literature and Composition
Spanish Language and Culture
United States Government and Politics
World 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.

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