Gretchen Whitney High School: Full Guide

Location: Cerritos, CA

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

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

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

Let's get started!

Basic Information

Gretchen Whitney High School is a public school, supporting grades 7 to 12 . It's located in Cerritos, CA in Los Angeles County.

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

Contact Information

Mailing address:

Gretchen Whitney High School
16800 Shoemaker Ave.
Cerritos, CA 90703-1244

Phone number: 5629265566

Gretchen Whitney High School homepage: http://www.edline.net/pages/WhitneyHS

Principal: Rhonda Buss, Ed.D.
Email the principal: [email protected]

Student Demographics

Student Enrollment

The total enrollment at Gretchen Whitney High School is 1022 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, Whitney 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 Gretchen Whitney High School growing or shrinking? This will help you see trends in where the school is headed.

From our calculations, the enrollment at Whitney 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	85	94	179
10^th grade	95	79	174
11^th grade	84	81	165
12^th grade	77	94	171

As you can see in the table above, the freshman class is 8 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 Cerritos could be growing in population, thus sending more students into Whitney High. Alternatively, Whitney High could be relaxing its student policies and taking in more students.

Gender Split

Are there more boys or girls at Gretchen Whitney High School?

From our statistics, Whitney High has a 50:50 split between male and female students in the high school grades.

Whitney 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 Whitney 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 Gretchen Whitney High School? Does one ethnicity make up most of the student body, or is it fairly balanced?

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

The majority of students at Whitney High are Asian. Across all of California, Asian students make up 11.5% of enrollment, but it's rare for a school to be majority Asian. Thus Whitney High is notable in California for having such a strong Asian presence.

	Percentage	Number
American Indian/Alaska Native	0.2%	3
Asian	80.1%	819
Hispanic	10.2%	105
Black	1.9%	20
White	4.8%	50
Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander	0.3%	4
Two or more races	2.0%	21

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

What are the family incomes of students at Gretchen Whitney 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 Whitney High, 7.0% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 11.8% qualify for free lunches.

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

	Number	Percent
Reduced-price lunches	72	7.0%
Free lunches	121	11.8%
Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches	829	81.1%

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

Because Whitney 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 Whitney 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.

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School Safety

How safe is Gretchen Whitney 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 Whitney 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 Whitney 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 1016 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:

Abc Unified School District Safety

School Name	Total Referred	Total Arrests	Enrollment
Artesia High	2	2	1363
Cerritos High	0	0	2170
Gahr (richard) High	2	0	1969
Tracy (wilbur) High (continuation)	0	0	340
Abc Secondary (alternative)	0	0	161

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

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

Standardized Testing

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

The average composite SAT score is a 1960 out of 2400, compared to a national average of 1500. Each year, roughly 209 at Whitney High take the SAT.

This is an extremely high average SAT score, putting Gretchen Whitney High School in the elite top 2% of all California high schools. The average student at Whitney High is already scoring in the 80th percentile nationwide or higher - indeed, 98% of students score above the national average. This means that the top students are likely scoring well in the top percentiles, and some may even be getting perfect scores every year.

Because you're surrounded by very talented students, this is a good sign that you'll receive a top-of-the-line education at Whitney High. By following the trend at your school, you'll have a very strong chance at getting into some of the best colleges in the country.

Here's a breakdown of SAT scores by section:

Average SAT Scores (2013-2014)

Source	Critical Reading	Math	Writing	Composite
Whitney High	629	683	648	1960
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 1960 as an SAT score? Find out with our complete 1960 SAT score guide, including which colleges you can get into with a 1960 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 Gretchen Whitney High School ACT scores with the rest of the country.

At Whitney High, the average ACT composite score was 30, compared to the nationwide average of 20. Each year, roughly 106 out of 689 total students take the ACT.

This is excellent performance, putting Whitney High in the top 5% of high schools in California by ACT score. Most students who take the ACT here are scoring well above average and in the top tier of the nation.

Since the ACT is meant to gauge what you learn in school, very high average ACT scores are a good indication that you'll get a high-quality education at Whitney High and be surrounded by other high-achieving students.

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

Average ACT Scores

Source	English	Math	Reading	Science
Whitney High	31	31	30	30
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 Gretchen Whitney 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 467 students in grades 9-12 at Whitney High take 1002 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 Whitney High is 4.1 out of 5.

This is a remarkable achievement showing top of the line performance. The overwhelming majority of students taking AP exams here earn a 5 or a 4, placing them well above the national average. Only a few dozen schools in all of California show this level of achievement, placing Gretchen Whitney High School in the top 1% of schools for AP tests.

It's safe to say that Whitney High has an excellent AP program, with high quality teachers and classes that will thoroughly prepare students for AP exams. Furthermore, students at Whitney High are likely to be highly academically motivated. By attending Whitney High, you'll be in strong academic company.

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 Gretchen Whitney 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 Whitney High, there is a total enrollment of 801 in AP courses (a student taking more than one AP course counts more than once).

Of AP-taking students, 372 took AP tests for ALL AP courses. 16 students took AP tests for SOME AP Courses, and 10 took AP courses but took NO tests.

This is good test participation. Most AP students at Gretchen Whitney 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. Whitney 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 Gretchen Whitney 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, 353 students passed every AP test they took, which is a fantastic job. 29 students passed some but not all AP exams, and 4 students didn't pass ANY AP exam they took.

This is very strong performance. The majority of Gretchen Whitney High School students pass ALL the AP tests they take - an impressive feat, especially if students take multiple AP exams each year!

Overall, this points to a strong AP program at Whitney High: across all AP course offerings, teachers are able to prepare students well for the exam. There are still some students who fail some or all of their exams, but this is a good starting point to improve from. You'll have a strong foundation to learn from throughout high school.

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

English/Language Arts

At Gretchen Whitney High School, 99% of students meet or exceed state standards in English/Language Arts.

This is considered excellent and puts Whitney High in the top 5% of all high schools in California for English/Language Arts. The vast majority of Whitney High students easily meet state standards, and many of them are likely well above average. Students here are very well prepared academically.

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 Gretchen Whitney High School, 98% of students meet or exceed state standards in Math. This is considered well below average and puts Whitney High in the bottom 25% of all high schools in California. The vast majority of Whitney 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 Gretchen Whitney 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 Whitney 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 Whitney High. Taking AP/IB classes also raises your weighted GPA and makes you a stronger college applicant.

Furthermore, many colleges will accept your Whitney 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 Gretchen Whitney High School offer?

AP Courses

Gretchen Whitney High School offers AP courses in 16 subjects.

This is an impressive number of AP subjects, putting Gretchen Whitney 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 Whitney 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 Whitney 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 Whitney High likely means you'll be in good hands.

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

Course Title
Biology
Calculus AB
Calculus BC
Chemistry
Computer Science A
English Language and Composition
English Literature and Composition
European History
French Language and Culture
Human Geography
Japanese Language and Culture
Music Theory
Physics C: Mechanics
Spanish Language and Culture
Statistics
United States History

Sports Teams

Finally, we'll cover which sports teams are available at Gretchen Whitney 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 Whitney High.

By the way, the Whitney (gretchen) High mascot is the Wildcats. Go Wildcats!

Gretchen Whitney High School fields 13 teams for girls' sports. This is a sizable number that puts Whitney High in the top 50% of California schools that offer girls' sports. You won't get the full range of sports and levels, but you'll be able to try out for a few options. If you participate in a sport that Whitney High doesn't offer, consider looking for a local non-school team that you can join.

And now for the boys: Gretchen Whitney High School fields 15 teams for boys' sports. This relatively number puts Whitney High in the bottom 50% of California schools that offer boys' sports. Sports teams are expensive to support, and Whitney High may not be able to offer the full range of options. If you participate in a sport that Whitney High doesn't offer, consider joining a local non-school team to get practice and compete.

Boys Teams	Girls Teams
Basketball Var JV Fr	Basketball Var JV Fr
Golf Var JV Fr	Golf Var JV Fr
	Fieldhockey Var JV Fr
Tennis Var JV Fr	Tennis Var JV Fr
Wrestling Var JV Fr
Volleyball Var JV Fr	Volleyball Var JV Fr
Baseball Var JV Fr
	Softball Var JV Fr
Waterpolo 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

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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