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Esperanza High (Continuation) · Gridley

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

Esperanza 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.

581 B Jackson Street, 95948 (opens in new tab)·Gridley Unified·Gridley·Grades 9-12·23 students·83% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(530) 846-6721·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.
2019–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
This schoolCA avg
Scope2644
% Exceeded0%16%
% Met+0%36%
Grad rate90.9%87.6%
College readiness0.0%35.4%
Absence41.8%30.2%
Suspension6.2%3.6%
Scope Score
26
🌱 Building Momentum · Needs Support
ranked #1,810 statewide

Esperanza High (Continuation) scores 26 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 16th 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 “0% proficient” and call it done. Esperanza High (Continuation) deserves a closer read. The school sits in Gridley, where four in five 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 seven-year arc

Percentile among 2,160 high schools statewide

Has stayed near the 16th percentile since 2019.

CA Dashboard
ELARedMathRed

This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 0% meet the standard today, versus 11% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.

ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade2019202220232024
Grade 1121%0%27%17%
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 110%0%6%0%0%

The story this school is actually telling

Proficient by 11th grade
0%
State 36%
Graduate
91%
State 88%
Pass an AP exam
0%
State 35%

Of 100 students here: 0 are proficient by 11th grade → 91 graduate → 0 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.

The 6 things our score weighs

Graduation rate
90.9%
State 87.6%
3.3pp above state avg
Exceeded standard
0.0%
State 15.8%
15.8pp below state avg
College readiness
0.0%
State 35.4%
AP exam pass rate below state avg
Met or exceeded
0.0%
State 35.7%
35.7pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
41.8%
State 30.2%
11.6pp above state avg
Suspension rate
6.2%
State 3.6%
2.6pp 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 41.8%, district 25.0%, state 30.2%41.8% · +11.6pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 6.2%, district —, state 3.6%6.2% · +2.6pp vs state
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 9–1269.7%

Where the path goes

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

K-12 Feeder Path
High School
Esperanza High (Continuation)
26/100
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 12:1, district 21:112:1
Teaching staff2 teachers
Avg. experience25.5 years
Fully credentialed57%
Salary Schedule
Teacher salary schedule$54,533 – $123,597
Principal salary$144,219 – $181,833
Superintendent salary$199,305

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

Course Breadth
AP courses offered0

What gets spent here

Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $46,913, CA average $14,815$46,913 · spent at this school
Federal share$211 per student

$211 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.

District current expense · FY 2024–25$17,685 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
Instruction60%
Instruction support11%
Student services11%
Administration7%
Buildings & maintenance10%
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$13,619 per pupil
2019$12,091 per pupil
2018$12,109 per pupil
2017$10,900 per pupil
2016$10,788 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood it serves

Hispanic73.9%
District 59.1% · CA 56.1%
White26.1%
District 33.5% · CA 19.9%
GenderFemale 34.8%Male 65.2%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 82.6% (19pp above CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Median income$60K · CA $85K
Median home value$354K · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+17% · CA 35%
ZIP population11,200
Median age35 years

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

Worth Knowing

At 23 students, this school is much smaller than the typical California high school (≈1450).

On the state's science test (CAST), 0% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.

Frequently asked questions

Is Esperanza High (Continuation) a good high school?

Esperanza High (Continuation) has a Scope Score of 26 out of 100, placing it in the 16th percentile of California high schools and ranked #1,810 statewide. 0.0% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 15.8 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 Esperanza High (Continuation)'s CAASPP test scores?

On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 0.0% of students at Esperanza High (Continuation) met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 0.0% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 0.0% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 0.0% 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. 11 student-subject combinations were assessed.

How does Esperanza High (Continuation) rank in California?

Esperanza High (Continuation) ranks #1,810 among California high schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 16th 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 Esperanza High (Continuation)?

41.8% of students at Esperanza High (Continuation) are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), compared to the California average of 30.2%. The suspension rate is 6.2%. 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 Esperanza High (Continuation) compare to other schools in Gridley?

Esperanza High (Continuation) scores 26/100 (16th 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 23 students. Use the schools in Gridley 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%
90.9%
↑ vs CA 87.6% · 54th pctile
Exceeded standard · 22%
0.0%
↓ vs CA 15.8% · 33th pctile
College readiness · 20%
0.0%
↓ vs CA 35.4% · 29th pctile
Met or exceeded · 18%
0.0%
↓ vs CA 35.7% · 25th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
41.8%
↓ vs CA 30.2% · 41th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
6.2%
↓ vs CA 3.6% · 38th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 1110
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 11110%0%0%100%0%−23
Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Grade 5/8/11110%0%55%45%

CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.

03Peer comparison · nearest high schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Esperanza High (Continuation) ←260.0%0.0%6.2%
Gridley High0.5 mi5027.8%56.6%6.4%
California average4415.8%35.7%3.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Graduation Rate
90.9%
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
14.3%
YearScopePctileRankExcMet+AbsentSuspGrowth
20193023#15630.0%10.7%45.9%3.8%
20222415#17770.0%0.0%64.1%9.2%
20233127#157910.0%16.5%61.1%5.9%
20242617#17710.0%8.3%50.3%10.8%
20252616#18100.0%0.0%41.8%6.2%
NO STATEWIDE TESTING 2020–21 (COVID) · SCORE AND PERCENTILE ARE RELATIVE TO EACH YEAR'S FIELD
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
Female75.0%81.8%+6.8pp
Male65.5%63.6%-1.9pp
Hispanic/Latino60.0%71.4%+11.4pp
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged73.7%66.7%-7.0pp
All Students69.4%69.7%+0.3pp
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