Location: Hughson, CA
Are you a student or parent at Hughson High School? Want to understand how to get the most out of high school?
We've written the best guide to Hughson High available. Here we'll cover:
- Breakdowns of student ethnicity, gender, and family income
- How safe Hughson High is to attend
- SAT/ACT/AP scores earned by Hughson High students
- Which AP/IB classes you can take at Hughson High
- Every sports team you can join at Hughson High
Let's get started!
Basic Information
Hughson High School is a public school, supporting grades 9 to 12 . It's located in Hughson, CA in Stanislaus County.
Based on its location, Hughson High is classified as a school in a large suburb. Here's the location on a map:
Contact Information
Mailing address:
Hughson High SchoolPo Box 99 Hughson, CA 95326-0099
Phone number: 2098830469
Hughson High School homepage: http://hughsonhhs.ss4.sharpschool.com/
Principal: Debra DavisEmail the principal: [email protected]
Student Demographics
Student Enrollment
The total enrollment at Hughson High School is 746 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, Hughson 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 Hughson High School growing or shrinking? This will help you see trends in where the school is headed.
From our calculations, the enrollment at Hughson 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9th grade | 87 | 126 | 213 |
| 10th grade | 87 | 94 | 181 |
| 11th grade | 104 | 81 | 185 |
| 12th grade | 82 | 84 | 166 |
As you can see in the table above, the freshman class is 47 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 Hughson could be growing in population, thus sending more students into Hughson High. Alternatively, Hughson High could be relaxing its student policies and taking in more students.
Gender Split
Are there more boys or girls at Hughson High School?
From our statistics, Hughson High has a 49:51 split between male and female students in the high school grades.
Hughson High has a balanced male-female ratio that's largely representative of the general population in Stanislaus 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 Hughson 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 Hughson High School? Does one ethnicity make up most of the student body, or is it fairly balanced?
From our statistics, Hughson 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 Hughson 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 Hughson 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 Hughson High is one of hundreds of schools in the state that have a majority of white students.
| Percentage | Number | |
|---|---|---|
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 0.8% | 6 |
| Asian | 0.8% | 6 |
| Hispanic | 45.7% | 341 |
| Black | 0.2% | 2 |
| White | 50.9% | 380 |
| Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander | 0.0% | 0 |
| Two or more races | 1.4% | 11 |
High schools usually reflect the population in the surrounding area, so the ethnicities of students likely resembles those of Hughson. 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 Hughson High Families
What are the family incomes of students at Hughson 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 Hughson High, 7.6% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 31.0% qualify for free lunches.
This means Hughson High has a low poverty level. The overwhelming majority of students at Hughson High don't qualify for free or reduced price lunches. Hughson is thus likely to be an affluent community, with quite high family incomes.
| Number | Percent | |
|---|---|---|
| Reduced-price lunches | 57 | 7.6% |
| Free lunches | 232 | 31.0% |
| Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches | 457 | 61.2% |
As with ethnicity, this likely reflects the surrounding community in Hughson and doesn't speak much about the school itself.
Because Hughson 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 Hughson 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.
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 Hughson 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 Hughson 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 Hughson 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 749 students.
To put this into perspective, most California schools (59% of them) reported 0 law enforcement referrals and arrests.
This means that 0.2 Hughson 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 Hughson High School significantly different from other schools in the area? It could be that Hughson 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:
Hughson Unified School District Safety
| School Name | Total Referred | Total Arrests | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dickens (billy Joe) High (continuation) | 0 | 0 | 39 |
| Valley Community Day | 0 | 0 | 7 |
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 Hughson High School? Will you be competitive for college? Will you have access to advanced classes?
We've compiled everything we could find about Hughson High's academics here.
Standardized Testing
Next, we'll look at another major piece of high school academics: standardized testing performance for Hughson 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 Hughson High School SAT scores.
The average composite SAT score is a 1440 out of 2400, compared to a national average of 1500. Each year, roughly 72 at Hughson High take the SAT.
This is a below-average SAT score, putting Hughson High School in the bottom 50% of all California schools. Only 40% of students here score the national average or higher. Because the SAT measures academic achievement, this suggests that Hughson 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 Hughson High's average, you'll have a great shot at entering a good college.
Keep in mind, however, that only 9% of all students at Hughson 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hughson High | 484 | 490 | 472 | 1440 |
| 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 1440 as an SAT score? Find out with our complete 1440 SAT score guide, including which colleges you can get into with a 1440 or any other SAT score!
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.
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 Hughson High School ACT scores with the rest of the country.
At Hughson High, the average ACT composite score was 22, compared to the nationwide average of 20. Each year, roughly 30 out of 745 total students take the ACT.
This is above average performance, putting Hughson 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 Hughson High.
Here are the average English, Math, Reading, and Science scores for Hughson High compared to California and the US:
Average ACT Scores
| Source | English | Math | Reading | Science |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hughson High | 21 | 23 | 23 | 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!
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.
Advanced Placement (AP)
Advanced Placement (AP) classes are college-level courses that are an additional academic challenge may give Hughson 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 51 students in grades 9-12 at Hughson High take 88 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 Hughson High is 3.0 out of 5.
This score puts Hughson 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 Hughson High School in the top 50% of schools for AP tests.
It's great that Hughson 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 Hughson 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 Hughson High, there is a total enrollment of 80 in AP courses (a student taking more than one AP course counts more than once).
Of AP-taking students, 46 took AP tests for ALL AP courses. 8 students took AP tests for SOME AP Courses, and 15 took AP courses but took NO tests.
This is good test participation. Most AP students at Hughson 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. Hughson 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 Hughson 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, 16 students passed every AP test they took, which is a fantastic job. 8 students passed some but not all AP exams, and 18 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 Hughson High School fail all the AP exams they take.
Overall, this points to a fairly strong AP program at Hughson 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 Hughson High may be stronger at some subjects and weaker in others.
If you attend Hughson 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 Hughson 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 Hughson 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 Hughson 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 Hughson High.
English/Language Arts
At Hughson High School, 67% of students meet or exceed state standards in English/Language Arts.
This is considered good and puts Hughson High in the top 25% of all high schools in California for English/Language Arts. Most Hughson High students pass or exceed state standards, though there is also a sizable portion of students who fail to meet state standards.
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 Hughson High School, 28% of students meet or exceed state standards in Math. This is considered well below average and puts Hughson High in the bottom 25% of all high schools in California. The vast majority of Hughson 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 Hughson 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 Hughson 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 Hughson High. Taking AP/IB classes also raises your weighted GPA and makes you a stronger college applicant.
Furthermore, many colleges will accept your Hughson 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 Hughson High School offer?
AP Courses
Hughson High School offers AP courses in 7 subjects.
This is a relatively low number of AP subjects, putting Hughson 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 Hughson High is missing most. If you want to take any AP courses not being offered at Hughson 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 Hughson 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 Hughson High during 2015-2016:
| Course Title |
|---|
| Art History |
| Biology |
| Calculus AB |
| English Language and Composition |
| Environmental Science |
| Spanish Language and Culture |
| United States History |
Sports Teams
Finally, we'll cover which sports teams are available at Hughson 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 Hughson High.
By the way, the Hughson High mascot is the Huskies. Go Huskies!
Hughson High School fields 13 teams for girls' sports. This is a sizable number that puts Hughson 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 Hughson High doesn't offer, consider looking for a local non-school team that you can join.
And now for the boys: Hughson High School fields 16 teams for boys' sports. This puts Hughson 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 Hughson High doesn't offer, consider looking for a local non-school team that you can join.
| Boys Teams | Girls Teams |
|---|---|
| Lacrosse
Var
|
Lacrosse
Var
|
| Basketball
Var
JV
Fr
|
Basketball
Var
JV
Fr
|
| Golf
Var
|
Golf
Var
|
| Tennis
Var
|
|
| Football
Var
JV
Fr
|
|
| Wrestling
Var
JV
|
|
| Volleyball
Var
|
Volleyball
Var
|
| Baseball
Var
JV
|
|
| Softball
Var
JV
|
|
| Waterpolo
Var
|
|
| Trackfield
Var
|
Trackfield
Var
|
| Soccer
Var
JV
|
Soccer
Var
JV
|
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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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
- AP Course Ledger
- IBO.org