Point Loma High stays ahead of the pack in graduation and college prep rates

Point Loma High School still stands ahead of many of its San Diego Unified School District peers in a pair of key categories as the class of 2025 maintained the school’s overall graduation rate and increased the rate of students taking “A-G” courses that help them become eligible for University of California and California State University campuses. However, the school saw a drop this year in the rate of career technical education, or CTE.

A-G includes essential subjects such as English, math and science. CTE includes more-specialized technical, trade or vocational courses.

SDUSD released data last week on its schools’ projected graduation, A-G and CTE rates for the class of 2025, which had commencement May 29, and detailed each school’s performance with “spotlight students” who fall 15-20% below standards in math and English language arts. Confirmation of the rates is expected in November.

Here is the data for Point Loma High:

• Projected 2025 graduation rate: 95.7% (district average: 90.2%). No change from 2024.

• Projected 2025 A-G rate: 78.7% (district average: 70.3%). Change from 2024: +3.8 percentage points.

• Projected 2025 CTE pathway rate: 18.1% (district average: 32.4%). Change from 2024: -3.3 percentage points.

Across the district, schools had about a 2 percentage-point increase in graduation rate, to 90.2%, and a 4.2 percentage-point rise, to 67.1%, in college and career preparedness, a rate that is an aggregate of several factors and serves as a bird’s-eye view of graduates’ readiness, SDUSD reported. This year’s graduation rate was just below the 2022 peak of 90.4%, according to the district.

Though Point Loma High remains well above the district averages in graduation and A-G rates, it trails the district average in CTE pathway rate.

PLHS Principal David Jaffe did not respond to the Point Loma-OB Monthly’s request for comment.

SDUSD Superintendent Fabiola Bagula praised the district’s process in helping facilitate its increases in graduation and college and career preparedness rates.

“We are constantly working to improve student outcomes throughout our district, and I attribute these modest rises in graduation rates and college and career readiness to our focus on real-time data monitoring and collaborative support systems we have enacted to help students on their path to being future-ready,” Bagula said in a statement.

Still, the district saw a slight decrease in students choosing to finish the CTE pathway compared with last year.

In a presentation at SDUSD’s Sept. 30 board meeting, the district placed an emphasis on improving outcomes for spotlight students.

Point Loma High exceeded the district average for spotlight students’ graduation rate at 84.6% vs. 79.6%, and its 36.4% A-G rate for spotlight students was 1.3 percentage points above the district average. But PLHS’ CTE pathway rate for those students was 13.6% — below the district average of 21.6%.

The district is targeting an overall increase in spotlight students’ completion of A-G requirements with a grade of “C” or higher from 24.7% in spring 2023 to 42.7% in spring 2030.