Is Downtown High a good school?

Downtown High ranks in the bottom 6.8% of California high schools.

How many students attend Downtown High?

In the 2023-24 school year, 147 students attended Downtown High.

What is the racial makeup of Downtown High?

Students at Downtown High are 60% Hispanic, 20% African American, 10% Two or more races, 5% Asian, 4% Pacific Islander, 1% White.

Downtown High

Summary:

Downtown High is a public high school located in San Francisco, California, serving grades 9-12 with a total enrollment of 103 students. The school is part of the San Francisco Unified School District, which is ranked 651 out of 1,568 districts in California and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Downtown High has consistently ranked in the bottom 10-15% of California high schools over the past decade, with rankings ranging from 1,692 out of 2,238 schools in 2008-2009 to 2,164 out of 2,323 schools in 2023-2024. The school has maintained a 0 or 1-star rating from SchoolDigger during this time period. Downtown High's performance is particularly concerning for certain student subgroups, such as female and male students, as well as Hispanic students and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. The school has struggled with low graduation rates, ranging from 44.6% to 60.4% over the past five years, and correspondingly high dropout rates, ranging from 8.6% to 24.3% during the same period. Additionally, Downtown High has an alarmingly high chronic absenteeism rate, ranging from 81.5% to 95.4% over the past five years, which is significantly higher than the district and state averages.

Interestingly, Downtown High is located in close proximity to several other public high schools, including Marshall (Thurgood) High, Wells (Ida B.) High, O'Connell (John) High, and Mission High, which generally perform better than Downtown High across various metrics. Additionally, the analysis includes data on several charter high schools in the San Francisco area, such as KIPP San Francisco College Preparatory and Life Learning Academy Charter, which tend to outperform Downtown High in areas like graduation rates, test scores, and chronic absenteeism.

Detail:

Public 9-12

693 Vermont St.
San Francisco, CA 94107-2635

(415) 695-5860

District: San Francisco Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
2164^th of 2,323 California High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $6,103

Student/teacher ratio: 28.5

Number of students: 147

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

59.9%

African American:

19.7%

Two or more races:

9.5%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 63.9%

See top rated California high schools

Compare Downtown High to nearby high schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Downtown High ranks worse than 93.2% of high schools in California. It also ranks last among 16 ranked high schools in the San Francisco Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 8.18. (See more...)

The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Downtown High who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.

The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Downtown High has the smallest high school student body size in the San Francisco Unified School District. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (59.9%), African American (19.7%), two or more races (9.5%). (See more...)

Compare Details 63.9% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Downtown High is 28.5, which is the highest among 17 high schools in the San Francisco Unified School District! (See more...)

Compare Downtown High employs 5.1 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Downtown High is $6,103, which is the highest among 17 high schools in the San Francisco Unified School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Downtown High:

SchoolDigger ranks Downtown High 2164^th of 2323 California public high schools. (See Downtown High in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

San Francisco Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks San Francisco Unified 651^st of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Downtown High

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Rank History for all students at Downtown High

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	17.83	1357^th	1653	17.9%
2005	23.83	1244^th	1901	34.6%
2006	19.46	1457^th	1968	26.0%
2007	20.81	1474^th	2063	28.6%
2008	17.35	1646^th	2117	22.2%
2009	23.57	1692^nd	2238	24.4%
2010	15.02	1828^th	2281	19.9%
2011	15.38	1831^st	2367	22.6%
2012	13.69	1862^nd	2354	20.9%
2013	14.86	1888^th	2426	22.2%
2015	8.53	1948^th	1994	2.3%
2016	8.81	1972^nd	2039	3.3%
2022	12.77	1881^st	2123	11.4%
2023	8.56	2161^st	2348	8.0%
2024	8.18	2164^th	2323	6.8%

See the entire list of California High School Rankings!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Downtown High

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	CA State Percentile
2022	10.34	1880^th	1943	3.2%
2023	7.64	2132^nd	2247	5.1%
2024	7.60	2130^th	2235	4.7%

See the entire list of Best California High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Downtown High

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	10.44	1879^th	2118	11.3%
2024	6.14	2075^th	2098	1.1%

See the entire list of Best California High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Downtown High

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	CA State Percentile
2022	9.71	1864^th	1916	2.7%
2023	6.42	2162^nd	2207	2.0%
2024	8.92	1958^th	2172	9.9%

See the entire list of Best California High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Downtown High

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	CA State Percentile
2022	13.73	1627^th	1861	12.6%
2023	6.01	2102^nd	2142	1.9%
2024	9.21	1907^th	2125	10.3%

See the entire list of Best California High Schools for Hispanic Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: California Department of Education

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Reviews:
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Enrollment information for Downtown High

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	67	49	33	101	1	n/a	n/a	0	251
1989	55	66	50	94	4	n/a	n/a	0	269
1990	28	75	46	95	5	n/a	n/a	0	249
1991	27	83	62	111	5	n/a	n/a	0	288
1992	29	72	70	120	6	n/a	n/a	0	297
1993	30	97	60	117	4	n/a	n/a	0	308
1994	65	152	116	162	5	n/a	n/a	0	500
1995	28	166	105	164	8	n/a	n/a	0	471
1996	28	166	105	164	8	n/a	n/a	0	471
1997	30	127	62	141	5	n/a	n/a	0	365
1998	23	112	70	112	3	n/a	n/a	0	320
1999	18	96	60	81	2	n/a	n/a	0	257
2000	22	84	65	87	2	n/a	n/a	0	260
2001	21	104	66	74	5	n/a	n/a	0	270
2002	15	83	73	98	3	n/a	n/a	0	272
2003	15	83	73	98	3	n/a	n/a	0	272
2004	22	92	62	93	3	n/a	n/a	1	273
2005	11	88	58	100	4	n/a	n/a	1	262
2006	12	66	49	94	5	n/a	n/a	4	230
2007	5	43	25	55	3	n/a	n/a	157	288
2008	12	87	62	89	3	n/a	n/a	0	253
2009	10	90	43	105	3	15	5	0	271
2010	6	67	33	114	3	12	4	0	239
2011	4	65	35	118	2	14	1	0	239
2012	7	76	22	124	3	19	2	0	253
2013	6	53	24	141	2	19	7	0	252
2014	3	45	14	83	3	13	4	0	165
2015	8	45	11	98	5	6	5	0	178
2016	9	37	16	92	2	7	4	0	167
2017	2	45	7	74	1	9	5	0	143
2018	6	45	10	89	2	10	7	0	169
2019	5	46	10	85	0	10	15	0	171
2020	1	50	4	74	2	11	10	0	152
2021	4	32	4	82	2	6	14	0	144
2022	4	33	3	79	0	4	11	0	134
2023	4	31	4	50	3	3	8	0	103
2024	2	29	7	88	1	6	14	0	147

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Downtown High

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	251	8.0	31.3	n/a
1989	269	11.5	23.3	n/a
1990	249	14.5	17.1	n/a
1991	288	11.4	25.2	n/a
1992	297	11.6	25.6	n/a
1993	308	14.5	21.2	0
1994	500	15.4	32.5	0
1995	471	13.5	34.9	31.8
1996	471	13.5	34.9	31.8
1997	365	15.2	24.0	17.3
1998	320	13.9	23.0	33.1
1999	257	10.0	25.7	26.5
2000	260	9.0	28.9	34.2
2001	270	12.0	22.5	44.8
2002	272	13.5	20.1	58.8
2003	272	13.5	20.1	58.8
2004	273	12.0	22.8	37.5
2005	262	13.3	19.7	46.7
2006	230	14.8	15.5	0
2007	288	16.2	17.8	125.2
2008	253	16.0	15.8	47.8
2009	271	14.6	15.8	50.9
2010	239	13.0	18.3	54
2011	239	n/a	n/a	72.4
2012	253	14.2	17.7	51.8
2013	252	12.4	20.3	67.9
2014	165	12.5	13.2	72.1
2015	178	12.0	14.8	80.3
2016	167	12.0	13.9	74.9
2017	143	10.6	13.4	77.6
2018	169	8.5	19.8	77.5
2019	171	6.5	26.3	71.9
2020	152	n/a	n/a	72.4
2021	144	5.7	25.2	75.7
2022	134	6.7	19.8	75.4
2023	103	6.5	15.7	71.8
2024	147	5.1	28.5	63.9

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Downtown High

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	251	8.0	31.3	n/a
1989	269	11.5	23.3	n/a
1990	249	14.5	17.1	n/a
1991	288	11.4	25.2	n/a
1992	297	11.6	25.6	n/a
1993	308	14.5	21.2	0
1994	500	15.4	32.5	0
1995	471	13.5	34.9	31.8
1996	471	13.5	34.9	31.8
1997	365	15.2	24.0	17.3
1998	320	13.9	23.0	33.1
1999	257	10.0	25.7	26.5
2000	260	9.0	28.9	34.2
2001	270	12.0	22.5	44.8
2002	272	13.5	20.1	58.8
2003	272	13.5	20.1	58.8
2004	273	12.0	22.8	37.5
2005	262	13.3	19.7	46.7
2006	230	14.8	15.5	0
2007	288	16.2	17.8	125.2
2008	253	16.0	15.8	47.8
2009	271	14.6	15.8	50.9
2010	239	13.0	18.3	54
2011	239	n/a	n/a	72.4
2012	253	14.2	17.7	51.8
2013	252	12.4	20.3	67.9
2014	165	12.5	13.2	72.1
2015	178	12.0	14.8	80.3
2016	167	12.0	13.9	74.9
2017	143	10.6	13.4	77.6
2018	169	8.5	19.8	77.5
2019	171	6.5	26.3	71.9
2020	152	n/a	n/a	72.4
2021	144	5.7	25.2	75.7
2022	134	6.7	19.8	75.4
2023	103	6.5	15.7	71.8
2024	147	5.1	28.5	63.9

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Downtown High

Year	Total Expenditures Per Pupil
2018	$6,103

Data source: California Department of Education

Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Downtown High

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Test Scores

	% proficient Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)	% proficient Post pandemic (2022-2023)	Change (%)
11th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Downtown High)	0	0
11th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (San Francisco Unified)	63.1	64.5	1.4%
11th Grade English Language Arts/Literacy (California)	57.3	55.4	1.9%

Student Body

	Number of students Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)	Number of students Post pandemic (2022-2023)	Change (%)
Total Students	171	103	39.8%
African American	46	31	32.6%
American Indian	0	3
Asian	10	4	60%
Hispanic	85	50	41.2%
Pacific Islander	10	3	70%
White	5	4	20%
Two or More Races	15	8	46.7%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	71.9%	71.8%	0.1%

Schools Near Downtown High

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2024)				Ranking (2023)				CAST Science (2024)				Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2024)			Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2024)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2018)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Statewide Rank (2023)	State Percentile (2023)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science 11th Grade	CAST Science 12th Grade	CAST Science End of Course	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy End of Course	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics End of Course	Total
Downtown High	Public	9-12	693 Vermont St.	San Francisco	94107	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 695-5860	147	5	28.5	63.9%	2 (1.4%)	29 (19.7%)	88 (59.9%)	7 (4.8%)	1 (0.7%)	6 (4.1%)	14 (9.5%)	8.2	2164^th of 2323 public high schools	6.8%		8.6	2161^st of 2348 public high schools	8.0%	3				7.1		10.6	10.6		0.0	0.0	$6,103
S.F. International High	Public	8-12	655 DeHaro St.	San Francisco	94107	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 695-5781	392	26	15.0	69.4%	20 (5.1%)	2 (0.5%)	323 (82.4%)	44 (11.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.8%)	12	1900^th of 2323 public high schools	18.2%		15.2	1829^th of 2348 public high schools	22.1%	71	0.0	2.9		2.4		14.0	14.0	0.0	8.6	7.3	$6,103
O'Connell (John) High	Public	9-12	2355 Folsom St.	San Francisco	94110	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 695-5370	483	32	15.2	67.5%	22 (4.6%)	48 (9.9%)	353 (73.1%)	25 (5.2%)	5 (1.0%)	4 (0.8%)	26 (5.4%)	12.2	1897^th of 2323 public high schools	18.3%		25.2	1554^th of 2348 public high schools	33.8%	343						16.7	16.7		4.2	4.2	$6,103
Life Learning Academy Charter	Public, Charter	9-12	651 Eighth St. Bldg. 229 Treas	San Francisco	94130	San Francisco County	Life Learning Academy Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 397-8957	41	8	5.2	78.0%	8 (19.5%)	18 (43.9%)	12 (29.3%)	3 (7.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18.1	1734^th of 2323 public high schools	25.4%		26.6	1519^th of 2348 public high schools	35.3%	215			9.1	9.1		29.4	29.4		0.0	0.0
S.F. County Opportunity (Hilltop)	Public	6-12	1325 Florida St.	San Francisco	94110	San Francisco County	San Francisco County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 695-5606	76	8	9.2	68.4%	0 (0.0%)	3 (3.9%)	71 (93.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.3%)	1 (1.3%)								(n/a)
Five Keys Charter (SF Sheriff's)	Public, Charter	9-12	70 Oak Grove St.	San Francisco	94107	San Francisco County	Five Keys Charter (SF Sheriff's) District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 734-3310	153	6	26.1	32.0%	9 (5.9%)	21 (13.7%)	112 (73.2%)	3 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	7 (4.6%)								(n/a)
Five Keys Independence High School (SF Sheriff's)	Public, Charter	9-12	70 Oak Grove	San Francisco	94107	San Francisco County	Five Keys Independence High School (SF Sheriff's) District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 734-3310	3,172	93	34.2	35.8%	236 (7.4%)	760 (24.0%)	1,905 (60.1%)	60 (1.9%)	36 (1.1%)	26 (0.8%)	140 (4.4%)	26.3	1519^th of 2323 public high schools	34.6%		79.4	336^th of 2348 public high schools	85.7%	1183		7.7		7.7		35.0	35.0		14.3	14.3
Mission High	Public	9-12	3750 18th St.	San Francisco	94114	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 241-6240	1,084	57	19.0	58.9%	80 (7.4%)	132 (12.2%)	746 (68.8%)	70 (6.5%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	52 (4.8%)	16.7	1769^th of 2323 public high schools	23.8%		24.4	1579^th of 2348 public high schools	32.8%	190		13.5	13.3	13.5		15.9	15.9		4.5	4.5	$6,103
S.F. County Civic Center Secondary	Public	6-12	727 Golden Gate Ave.	San Francisco	94102	San Francisco County	San Francisco County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 241-3000	50	7	7.0	76.0%	3 (6.0%)	27 (54.0%)	11 (22.0%)	2 (4.0%)	1 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (12.0%)								(n/a)
Marshall (Thurgood) High	Public	9-12	45 Conkling St.	San Francisco	94124	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 695-5612	477	33	14.2	82.4%	4 (0.8%)	37 (7.8%)	373 (78.2%)	42 (8.8%)	4 (0.8%)	2 (0.4%)	15 (3.1%)	10.4	1986^th of 2323 public high schools	14.5%		13.1	1897^th of 2348 public high schools	19.2%	89		6.3	0.0	4.9	0.0	12.5	11.0	0.0	2.6	2.3	$6,103

Downtown High

Downtown High:

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

San Francisco Unified:

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Rank History for Downtown High

Rank History for all students at Downtown High

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Downtown High

Rank History for Female students at Downtown High

Rank History for Male students at Downtown High

Rank History for Hispanic students at Downtown High

Enrollment information for Downtown High

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Downtown High

Student/Teacher Ratio Downtown High

Per Pupil Expenditures for Downtown High

Impact of COVID-19 on Downtown High

Test Scores

Student Body

Schools Near Downtown High

Downtown High

S.F. International High

O'Connell (John) High

Life Learning Academy Charter

S.F. County Opportunity (Hilltop)

Five Keys Charter (SF Sheriff's)

Five Keys Independence High School (SF Sheriff's)

Mission High

S.F. County Civic Center Secondary

Marshall (Thurgood) High

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