Temescal Canyon High School: Full Guide

Location: Lake Elsinore, CA

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

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

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

Let's get started!

Basic Information

Temescal Canyon High School is a public school, supporting grades 9 to 12 . It's located in Lake Elsinore, CA in Riverside County.

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

Contact Information

Mailing address:

Temescal Canyon High School
28755 El Toro Rd.
Lake Elsinore, CA 92532-1912

Phone number: 9512537250

Temescal Canyon High School homepage: http://tch.leusd.k12.ca.us/

Principal: Whitney D'Amico
Email the principal: [email protected]

Student Demographics

Student Enrollment

The total enrollment at Temescal Canyon High School is 2139 students, making it a large high school, in the top 25% of all California high schools by size.

Attending Temescal Canyon High will feel like attending a small college. You'll have a few hundred students in your class, enough to provide an interesting set of activities, sports, and classes to try. But compared to the largest high schools in California, the student body size won't be overwhelming.

Growth in Student Body Size

Is Temescal Canyon High School growing or shrinking? This will help you see trends in where the school is headed.

From our calculations, the enrollment at Temescal Canyon High has steadily 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	300	264	564
10^th grade	285	276	561
11^th grade	280	254	534
12^th grade	260	220	480

As you can see in the table above, the freshman class is 84 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 Lake Elsinore could be growing in population, thus sending more students into Temescal Canyon High. Alternatively, Temescal Canyon High could be relaxing its student policies and taking in more students.

Gender Split

Are there more boys or girls at Temescal Canyon High School?

From our statistics, Temescal Canyon High has a 53:47 split between male and female students in the high school grades.

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

From our statistics, Temescal Canyon High 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 Temescal Canyon High is Hispanic. In California, 51.5% of all students are Hispanic, making it the most common ethnicity. Even though Temescal Canyon High is relatively diverse, students of Hispanic descent are the most common ethnicity here.

	Percentage	Number
American Indian/Alaska Native	0.7%	15
Asian	3.8%	83
Hispanic	43.6%	933
Black	5.9%	128
White	42.0%	899
Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander	0.7%	15
Two or more races	3.0%	66

High schools usually reflect the population in the surrounding area, so the ethnicities of students likely resembles those of Lake Elsinore. 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 Temescal Canyon High Families

What are the family incomes of students at Temescal Canyon 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 Temescal Canyon High, 12.9% of students qualify for reduced-price lunches, and 33.8% qualify for free lunches.

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

	Number	Percent
Reduced-price lunches	276	12.9%
Free lunches	723	33.8%
Do not qualify for reduced-price or free lunches	1140	53.2%

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

Temescal Canyon 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. Temescal Canyon 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 Temescal Canyon 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 Temescal Canyon 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 Temescal Canyon 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 Temescal Canyon 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 2035 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:

Lake Elsinore Unified School District Safety

School Name	Total Arrests	Enrollment
Ortega High	0	240
Elsinore High	30	2248
Lakeside High	0	1921
Keith Mccarthy Academy	0	184
Southern California Online Academy	0	330

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

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

Graduation Rate

To start off, an important benchmark of academic achievement is graduation rate. For all students who start high school at Temescal Canyon High, the state of California wants as many students to graduate as possible, since a high school diploma can mean a big difference in getting a job.

At Temescal Canyon High, 94% (of 429) Temescal Canyon High students graduated within four years of starting high school.

Here's how this stacks up to other schools. The California state government has defined 90% as a target rate. The state average is around 80-85%.

Temescal Canyon High is in the 84th percentile of all public high schools in California for graduation rate. This is well above average. Generally, a graduation rate of above 90% is considered good and well above average, and below 75% is well below average.

Note: This data comes from a few years back, but the trends are likely to stay the same, since schools don't get significantly better or worse within a short period of time.

Standardized Testing

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

The average composite SAT score is a 1480 out of 2400, compared to a national average of 1500. Each year, roughly 280 at Temescal Canyon High take the SAT.

This is an average SAT score, putting Temescal Canyon High School right around the national average. Because the SAT measures academic achievement, this suggests that Temescal Canyon 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.

Here's a breakdown of SAT scores by section:

Average SAT Scores (2013-2014)

Source	Critical Reading	Math	Writing	Composite
Temescal Canyon High	490	506	486	1480
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 1480 as an SAT score? Find out with our complete 1480 SAT score guide, including which colleges you can get into with a 1480 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 Temescal Canyon High School ACT scores with the rest of the country.

At Temescal Canyon High, the average ACT composite score was 22, compared to the nationwide average of 20. Each year, roughly 99 out of 2139 total students take the ACT.

This is above average performance, putting Temescal Canyon 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 Temescal Canyon High.

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

Average ACT Scores

Source	English	Math	Reading	Science
Temescal Canyon High	21	23	22	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 Temescal Canyon 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 224 students in grades 9-12 at Temescal Canyon High take 325 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 Temescal Canyon High is 2.6 out of 5.

This score puts Temescal Canyon 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 Temescal Canyon High School in the top 50% of schools for AP tests.

It's great that Temescal Canyon 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 Temescal Canyon 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 Temescal Canyon High, there is a total enrollment of 452 in AP courses (a student taking more than one AP course counts more than once).

Of AP-taking students, 16 took AP tests for ALL AP courses. 21 students took AP tests for SOME AP Courses, and 69 took AP courses but took NO tests.

This is bad test participation. Most AP students at Temescal Canyon High School take the AP exam for NONE of their AP courses. This is an unusual situation, as the goal of an AP course is typically to take the standardized national AP test.

What you want to figure out is why so many students take AP courses but end up not taking the course. Do they not feel comfortable enough taking the AP test, knowing they may not pass? Or is it hard for Temescal Canyon High students to take AP courses? Good people to ask are your counselors and AP teachers.

Hopefully, you may find that there are just logistical issues with taking AP tests that you might be able to overcome. However, you may also learn that the AP courses at Temescal Canyon High don't prepare students well enough for the test, which reflects poorly on the AP program at your school. If the AP resources available to you don't give you confidence, consider self-studying to prepare for the AP test.

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 Temescal Canyon 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, 54 students passed every AP test they took, which is a fantastic job. 99 students passed some but not all AP exams, and 201 students didn't pass ANY AP exam they took.

Unfortunately, this is poor performance compared to other high schools. At Temescal Canyon High School, the majority of AP students fail ALL of the AP exams they take. This usually means that they're not adequately prepared for the national AP exam at the end of the year.

This isn't necessarily the school's fault. AP courses may be too advanced for the typical student at Temescal Canyon High, and it's still a good thing that AP courses are offered at all. Furthermore, it's possible that a majority of the AP exams taken by students at Temescal Canyon High are on the more difficult side.

However, if you're a student at Temescal Canyon High, this is a warning that you'll have to go above and beyond the typical student to pass your AP exams. This may entail self-studying, figuring out who the better AP teachers are and trying to get into their classes, and working hard.

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

English/Language Arts

At Temescal Canyon High School, 61% of students meet or exceed state standards in English/Language Arts.

This is considered above average and puts Temescal Canyon High in the top 50% of all high schools in California for English/Language Arts. Around half of Temescal Canyon High students pass state standards, and around half do not.

This specific percentage isn't much cause for concern - because the standards have gotten harder with the Common Core, the pass rate at Temescal Canyon High will likely rise over time. But it still reflects Temescal Canyon High's roughly average ranking 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 Temescal Canyon High School, 30% of students meet or exceed state standards in Math. This is considered well below average and puts Temescal Canyon High in the bottom 25% of all high schools in California. The vast majority of Temescal Canyon 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 Temescal Canyon 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 Temescal Canyon 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 Temescal Canyon High. Taking AP/IB classes also raises your weighted GPA and makes you a stronger college applicant.

Furthermore, many colleges will accept your Temescal Canyon 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 Temescal Canyon High School offer?

AP Courses

Temescal Canyon High School offers AP courses in 14 subjects.

This is a reasonable number of AP subjects, putting Temescal Canyon High School in the top 50% of California schools that offer AP courses. You'll likely have access to some of the most popular math and humanities AP subjects, as well as a few others.

The total number of AP subjects is 38, so Temescal Canyon High is missing a large number of subjects, including some popular ones. If there are any AP courses you want to take that aren't being offered at Temescal Canyon High, ask your counselor for ideas on how to cover the gap.

Of course, keep in mind that quality matters even more than quantity - even if Temescal Canyon High doesn't offer every AP course under the sun, the classes might still be taught very well. You can see student performance in the AP score analysis section above.

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

Course Title
Art History
Biology
Calculus AB
English Language and Composition
English Literature and Composition
Environmental Science
Human Geography
Physics 1: Algebra-Based
Psychology
Spanish Language and Culture
Statistics
United States Government and Politics
United States History
World History

IB Courses

The International Baccalaureate program is less popular in the United States than the Advanced Placement program (there are around 850 diploma schools in the country and 100 in California). But Temescal Canyon High School is one of the lucky few to have an IB program!

For college application purposes, the IB and AP programs are basically equivalent. So don't worry about being advantaged or disadvantaged either way if you participate in IB vs AP. What colleges care about first is academic achievement, and AP and IB classes are seen as equally challenging.

Temescal Canyon High School has been an IB school since 12/21/11. Questions about the IB program at Temescal Canyon High? You can contact the IB Diploma Programme coordinator, Mr Jason Garrison, by phone at 951.253.7250.

The following IB courses were offered at Temescal Canyon High during 2015-2016:

Course Title	HL/SL
Design technology	HL + SL
Spanish B	HL + SL
Dance
Biology	HL + SL
Mathematical studies	SL
Chemistry	HL + SL
Theory of Knowledge
English A Literature	HL + SL
Music	HL + SL
Mathematics	HL + SL
History	HL + SL
Visual Arts
Theatre

You can find out more about the IB testing schedule by going here.

We've also written the best study and test guides to International Baccalaureate.

Sports Teams

Finally, we'll cover which sports teams are available at Temescal Canyon 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 Temescal Canyon High.

By the way, the Temescal Canyon High mascot is the Titans. Go Titans!

Temescal Canyon High School fields 20 teams for girls' sports. This is an impressively high number that puts Temescal Canyon High in the top 10% of California schools that offer girls' sports. If you're a female, you'll have plenty of options of sports and levels to try out for. Furthermore, schools that offer more teams typically have a strong sports culture and field competitive teams.

And now for the boys: Temescal Canyon High School fields 23 teams for boys' sports. This puts Temescal Canyon High in the top 25% of California schools that offer boys' sports. Boys will have a large pick of sports to try out for.

Boys Teams	Girls Teams
Basketball Var JV Fr	Basketball Var JV Fr
Golf Var JV Fr	Golf Var JV Fr
Tennis Var JV Fr	Tennis 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
Waterpolo 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
	Fieldhockey 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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