Big Valley Jr. Sr. High School: Full Guide

Location: Bieber, CA

Are you a student or parent at Big Valley Jr. Sr. High School? Want to understand how to get the most out of high school?

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

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

Let's get started!

Basic Information

Big Valley Jr. Sr. High School is a public school, supporting grades 7 to 12 . It's located in Bieber, CA in Lassen County.

Based on its location, Big Valley High 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:

Big Valley Jr. Sr. High School
Po Box 157
Bieber, CA 96009-0157

Phone number: 5302945231

Big Valley Jr. Sr. High School homepage: http://www.bigvalleyschool.org/bvhsweb.html

Principal: Paula Silva
Email the principal: [email protected]

Student Demographics

Student Enrollment

The total enrollment at Big Valley Jr. Sr. High School is 94 students, making it a somewhat small high school, in the bottom half of all California high schools by size.

As a smaller-sized high school, Big Valley High will feel like a cozy learning environment. With fewer than 100 students in your class, you'll likely get to know most other students and your teachers well. This will give you the feeling of a small liberal arts college.

But with a smaller student body, you won't have as many activities and clubs to choose from. If you find Big Valley High lacking for your interests, consider looking to your local community to supplement your interests.

Growth in Student Body Size

Is Big Valley Jr. Sr. High School growing or shrinking? This will help you see trends in where the school is headed.

From our calculations, the enrollment at Big Valley High has decreased 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	4	5	9
10^th grade	14	8	22
11^th grade	11	6	17
12^th grade	9	9	18

As you can see in the table above, the senior class is 9 students larger than the freshman class. This suggests that Big Valley High is shrinking in size and taking on fewer students.

There are a few reasons this can happen. The population of Bieber could be decreasing, thus sending fewer students into Big Valley High. Alternatively, other schools (like charter or private schools) might be appearing, drawing students away.

Gender Split

Are there more boys or girls at Big Valley Jr. Sr. High School?

From our statistics, Big Valley High has a 58:42 split between male and female students in the high school grades.

There is a large male majority at Big Valley High, and much more than you would expect from the general population in Lassen 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 Big Valley High. 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 Big Valley High.

If the male majority is concerning to you, we suggest contacting Big Valley High administration and asking if they have any thoughts about why there's a gender imbalance. Their phone number is 5302945231.

Ethnicity Breakdown

What's the racial diversity at Big Valley Jr. Sr. High School? Does one ethnicity make up most of the student body, or is it fairly balanced?

From our statistics, Big Valley High 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 Big Valley High does. When attending class, most students will be of the same ethnicity, with some variation.

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

	Percentage	Number
American Indian/Alaska Native	3.1%	3
Asian	0.0%	0
Hispanic	13.8%	13
Black	0.0%	0
White	82.9%	78
Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander	0.0%	0
Two or more races	0.0%	0

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

What are the family incomes of students at Big Valley Jr. Sr. 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 Big Valley High, 2.1% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 56.3% qualify for free lunches.

This means Big Valley High has a below average level of poverty. With most students not qualifying for free or reduced price lunches, Big Valley High is below average among California schools in poverty level. The income level of families in Bieber is thus likely to be relatively high.

	Number	Percent
Reduced-price lunches	2	2.1%
Free lunches	53	56.3%
Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches	39	41.4%

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

Big Valley 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. Big Valley 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 Big Valley 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 Big Valley Jr. Sr. 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 Big Valley 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 Big Valley 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 71 students.

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

This means that 2.8 Big Valley High has minor safety issues. For every 100 students, there were just 2.8 law-enforcement related actions, but this is still higher than 75% of California schools.

With this record, is Big Valley Jr. Sr. High School significantly different from other schools in the area? It could be that Big Valley 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:

Big Valley Joint Unified School District Safety

School Name	Total Referred	Total Arrests	Enrollment
Gateway High (continuation)	0	0	2

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 Big Valley Jr. Sr. High School? Will you be competitive for college? Will you have access to advanced classes?

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

Standardized Testing

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

The average composite SAT score is a 1320 out of 2400, compared to a national average of 1500. Each year, roughly 12 at Big Valley High take the SAT.

This is a below-average SAT score, putting Big Valley Jr. Sr. High School in the bottom 50% of all California schools. Only 25% of students here score the national average or higher. Because the SAT measures academic achievement, this suggests that Big Valley High may offer a somewhat lacking high school education, compared to schools with higher SAT averages.

Note, however, that an average is just an average - top performers will still be able to impress. If you work hard and get an SAT score well above Big Valley High's average, you'll have a great shot at entering a good college.

Here's a breakdown of SAT scores by section:

Average SAT Scores (2013-2014)

Source	Critical Reading	Math	Writing	Composite
Big Valley High	435	448	442	1320
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 1320 as an SAT score? Find out with our complete 1320 SAT score guide, including which colleges you can get into with a 1320 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 Big Valley Jr. Sr. 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 8 students in grades 9-12 at Big Valley 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 Big Valley High is out of 5.

Compared to schools across California, this score puts Big Valley 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 Big Valley Jr. Sr. 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 Big Valley 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 Big Valley Jr. Sr. 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 Big Valley Jr. Sr. 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 Big Valley 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 Big Valley High.

English/Language Arts

At Big Valley Jr. Sr. High School, 19% of students meet or exceed state standards in English/Language Arts.

This is considered well below average and puts Big Valley High in the bottom 25% of all high schools in California for English/Language Arts. The vast majority of Big Valley High students don't meet state standards, and only a small percentage pass.

This low percentage itself isn't much cause for concern - as teachers and students get more familiar with the new Common Core, the pass rate at Big Valley High will likely increase. But it still reflects Big Valley High's low 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 Big Valley Jr. Sr. High School, 5% of students meet or exceed state standards in Math. This is considered well below average and puts Big Valley High in the bottom 25% of all high schools in California. The vast majority of Big Valley 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 Big Valley Jr. Sr. 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 Big Valley 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 Big Valley High. Taking AP/IB classes also raises your weighted GPA and makes you a stronger college applicant.

Furthermore, many colleges will accept your Big Valley 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 Big Valley Jr. Sr. High School offer?

AP Courses

Big Valley Jr. Sr. High School offers AP courses in 2 subjects.

This is a low number of AP subjects, putting Big Valley Jr. Sr. High School in the bottom 25% of California schools offering AP courses. You'll be very limited in your ability to explore your interests in math, science, humanities, or social sciences at Big Valley High.

Take a look at every AP subject offered. If you want to take any AP courses not being offered at Big Valley High, ask your counselor for ideas on how to cover the gap. If you're a strong student and not feeling adequately challenged, you might consider transferring to another high school to access a more advanced curriculum.

Of course, keep in mind that even though Big Valley High doesn't offer many AP courses, it might teach the few it does offer quite well. You can see student performance in the AP score analysis section above.

The following AP courses were offered at Big Valley High during 2015-2016:

Course Title
English Language and Composition
English Literature and Composition

Sports Teams

Finally, we'll cover which sports teams are available at Big Valley Jr. Sr. 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 Big Valley High.

By the way, the Big Valley Jr. Sr. High mascot is the Cardinals. Go Cardinals!

Big Valley Jr. Sr. High School fields 5 teams for girls' sports. This is a low number that puts Big Valley 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 Big Valley High doesn't field a team for, consider joining a local non-school team to get practice and compete.

And now for the boys: Big Valley Jr. Sr. High School fields 6 teams for boys' sports. This low number puts Big Valley High in the bottom 25% of California schools that offer boys' sports. If you play a sport that Big Valley High doesn't field a team for, consider joining a local non-school team to get practice and compete.

Boys Teams	Girls Teams
Basketball Var JV Fr	Basketball Var JV Fr
Football Var JV Fr
Wrestling Var JV Fr
Volleyball Var JV Fr	Volleyball Var JV Fr
Baseball Var JV Fr
	Softball 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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