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Colusa Alternative High (Continuation) · Colusa

Colusa Alternative High (Continuation): The scores are below where anyone wants them. Here's what they don't tell you.

Colusa Alternative High (Continuation) posts low test scores — and test scores are one lens among several. If this is your zoned school, the numbers below are where to start a conversation, not where to end one.

901 Colus Avenue, 95932 (opens in new tab)·Colusa Unified·Colusa·Grades 9-12·27 students·78% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(530) 458-2156·Website
Continuation school — a small alternative high school designed for students at risk of not graduating. Focuses on credit recovery and flexible scheduling. Test scores and college-readiness rates are not directly comparable to comprehensive high schools.
2025–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
This schoolCA avg
Scope2444
% Exceeded5%16%
% Met+5%36%
Grad rate81.0%87.6%
College readiness0.0%35.4%
Absence51.5%30.2%
Suspension4.0%3.6%
Scope Score
24
🌱 Building Momentum · Needs Support
ranked #1,849 statewide

Colusa Alternative High (Continuation) scores 24 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 14th percentile of 2,160 California high schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).

Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →

🌱 Building Momentum — This label means the data doesn't clearly sort the school one way or the other — ask what the school is proud of, and what it's working on.

Most rating sites would stop at “5% proficient” and call it done. Colusa Alternative High (Continuation) deserves a closer read. The school sits in Colusa, where three in four students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.

Test scores are one lens, and at this school they're a rough one right now. The sections below show the fuller picture — including the parts that are working.

The story this school is actually telling

Proficient by 11th grade
5%
State 36%
Graduate
81%
State 88%
Pass an AP exam
0%
State 35%

Of 100 students here: 5 are proficient by 11th grade → 81 graduate → 0 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.

The 6 things our score weighs

Graduation rate
81.0%
State 87.6%
6.6pp below state avg
Exceeded standard
4.5%
State 15.8%
11.3pp below state avg
College readiness
0.0%
State 35.4%
AP exam pass rate below state avg
Met or exceeded
4.5%
State 35.7%
31.2pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
51.5%
State 30.2%
21.3pp above state avg
Suspension rate
4.0%
State 3.6%
0.4pp above state avg
Worth a school visit

Ask what changed in the last two years, and what the school is asking families for. Growth shows up in these numbers a year or two after it shows up in classrooms.

  • Ask how the school follows up when a student starts missing days — chronic absence often starts outside the classroom, not inside it.
  • Ask what share of students complete the full college-prep course sequence, and who gets steered into it.
  • Ask whether the tour can step into a working classroom — watch how the teacher handles a student who's stuck.
  • Ask to tour while school's in session, and notice how hallways and transitions feel — culture shows up between classes, not just in them.
  • Ask how the school communicates with families when a child starts to struggle.
  • Ask what a typical day looks like for a new student in the first few weeks.

Showing up, and staying in class

Chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeism: this school 51.5%, district 26.8%, state 30.2%51.5% · +21.3pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 4.0%, district —, state 3.6%4.0% · +0.4pp vs state
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 9–1278.6%

Where the path goes

The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.

K-12 Feeder Path
High School
Colusa Alternative High (Conti…
24/100
This school

Estimated path based on proximity within the same district. Contact your school district for official feeder information.

The people teaching here

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Student : teacherStudent to teacher ratio: this school 27:1, district 20:127:1
Teaching staff2 teachers
Avg. experience7.5 years
Fully credentialed38%
First-year teachers50%
Salary Schedule
Teacher salary schedule$63,936 – $123,180
Principal salary$129,137 – $175,865
Superintendent salary$182,948

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

Course Breadth
AP courses offered0

What gets spent here

Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $17,039, CA average $14,815$17,039 · spent at this school
Federal share$6,988 per student

$6,988 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.

District current expense · FY 2024–25$17,204 per student

The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.

Where the district's dollars go · FY 2024–25 · CDE SACS
Instruction66%
Instruction support8%
Student services5%
Administration9%
Buildings & maintenance11%
Other1%

District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.

district detail, 2016–2020 — the newest published
2020$11,763 per pupil
2019$10,995 per pupil
2018$11,553 per pupil
2017$11,019 per pupil
2016$10,248 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood it serves

Hispanic77.8%
District 73.9% · CA 56.1%
White18.5%
District 18.3% · CA 19.9%
Other3.7%
District 5.9% · CA 9.0%
GenderFemale 33.3%Male 66.7%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 77.8% (14pp above CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Median income$67K · CA $85K
Median home value$390K · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+17% · CA 35%
ZIP population7,701
Median age40 years

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level

Worth Knowing

At 27 students, this school is much smaller than the typical California high school (≈1450).

Frequently asked questions

Is Colusa Alternative High (Continuation) a good high school?

Colusa Alternative High (Continuation) has a Scope Score of 24 out of 100, placing it in the 14th percentile of California high schools and ranked #1,849 statewide. 4.5% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 11.3 percentage points below the California average of 15.8%. The Scope Score weights 7 dimensions for high schools: graduation rate (25%), exceeded standard (22%), college/career readiness (20%), met or exceeded (proficient) (18%), chronic absenteeism (5%), suspension rate (5%), and ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.

What are Colusa Alternative High (Continuation)'s CAASPP test scores?

On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 4.5% of students at Colusa Alternative High (Continuation) met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 4.5% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 0.0% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 4.5% pushed past it. Most rating sites report only the combined "proficient" number. SchoolScope surfaces the exceeded-vs-met split because it reveals whether a school's curriculum challenges students beyond minimum proficiency or paces toward it. 22 student-subject combinations were assessed.

How does Colusa Alternative High (Continuation) rank in California?

Colusa Alternative High (Continuation) ranks #1,849 among California high schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 14th percentile. This ranking is based on a weighted composite of 2025 CAASPP test performance (exceeded and met rates), chronic absenteeism, and suspension rate. Unlike single-number ratings, the Scope Score shows what drives the ranking so parents can decide what matters most to their family. See full methodology.

What is the attendance and school culture like at Colusa Alternative High (Continuation)?

51.5% of students at Colusa Alternative High (Continuation) are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), compared to the California average of 30.2%. The suspension rate is 4.0%. SchoolScope includes these culture metrics in the Scope Score because they reflect day-to-day school experience in ways test scores alone cannot.

How does Colusa Alternative High (Continuation) compare to other schools in Colusa?

Colusa Alternative High (Continuation) scores 24/100 (14th percentile) among California high schools. To compare with nearby schools, SchoolScope shows the same metrics side by side: exceeded rate, proficiency, growth trajectory, and school culture indicators. The school serves 27 students. Use the schools in Colusa page or the map view to compare all high schools nearby.

Your other options


For the data nerds

Every number on this page

Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.

01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Graduation rate · 25%
81.0%
↓ vs CA 87.6% · 42th pctile
Exceeded standard · 22%
4.5%
↓ vs CA 15.8% · 38th pctile
College readiness · 20%
0.0%
↓ vs CA 35.4% · 29th pctile
Met or exceeded · 18%
4.5%
↓ vs CA 35.7% · 28th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
51.5%
↓ vs CA 30.2% · 33th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
4.0%
↓ vs CA 3.6% · 48th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 11110%0%18%82%0%−47
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 11119%0%9%82%9%−14
03Peer comparison · nearest high schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Colusa Alternative High (Continuation) ←244.5%4.5%4.0%
Colusa High0.1 mi4313.6%34.6%2.7%
California average4415.8%35.7%3.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Graduation Rate
81.0%
AP Exam Prepared
Not offered
This school may not offer AP courses
A-G Completion
0.0%
This school may not offer A-G courses
College-Going Rate
18.2%
What we can't show
  • — Subgroup results are suppressed for small student counts (fewer than 15 tested), following CDE privacy rules.
05Climate by student groupchronic absenteeism · 2019 vs 2025 — the two years CDE publishes at subgroup level
Group20192025Δ
Female41.7%84.6%+42.9pp
Male43.5%75.9%+32.4pp
Hispanic/Latino40.6%85.3%+44.7pp
English Learners57.1%83.3%+26.2pp
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged50.0%80.0%+30.0pp
All Students42.9%78.6%+35.7pp
EXC = exceeded standard · MET+ = met or exceeded ("proficient") · Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=2,160 high schools · Vintages: climate subgroups 2019+2025 · district finance per its label · ACS 2022 · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue

SchoolScope scores and verdicts are our interpretation of public California Department of Education data — independent analysis, not an official rating. How we analyze · Request a correction