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Liberty High · MaderaPublic

Liberty High: This school runs ahead of the state average. The bar itself is the harder conversation.

Liberty posts 48% meeting the standard against 36% statewide — ahead of most, with real headroom above the bar.

12220 Road 36, 93636 (opens in new tab)·Golden Valley Unified·Madera·Grades 9-12·748 students·34% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(559) 645-3500·Website
2019–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
This schoolCA avg
Scope5747
% Exceeded22%16%
% Met+48%36%
Grad rate95.7%86.6%
College readiness44.2%33.9%
Absence15.2%30.2%
Suspension4.1%3.6%
Scope Score
57
🌱 Building Momentum · Solid
ranked #651 statewide

Liberty High scores 57 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 70th 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 “48% proficient” and call it done. Liberty deserves a closer read. The school sits in Madera, where one in three students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.

Liberty's low-income kids hit 61.3% proficiency in ELA — a number the same group reaches at 38.2% statewide. If you're trying to read past zip-code-driven test scores, that's the signal worth weighing.

The seven-year arc

Percentile among 2,160 high schools statewide

Has stayed near the 70th percentile since 2019.

ELABlue(Increased Significantly)MathYellow(Increased Significantly)

Proficiency here is back to its pre-pandemic level — 48% meet the standard, about where the school stood in 2019.

ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 1163%50%50%48%67%
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 1134%31%25%17%28%

The story this school is actually telling

Proficient by 11th grade
48%
State 36%
Graduate
96%
State 87%
Pass an AP exam
44%
State 34%

Of 100 students here: 48 are proficient by 11th grade → 96 graduate → 44 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.

61.3%
Low-income · ELA · met standard

Liberty's most underrated number

61.3% of low-income students met the ELA standard — versus 38.2% for the same group statewide. That's the strongest kind of signal a school can post: it holds across income lines.

Liberty low-income: 61.3%State low-income: 38.2%

The 7 things our score weighs

Graduation rate
95.7%
State 86.6%
9.1pp above state avg
Exceeded standard
22.1%
State 15.8%
6.3pp above state avg
College readiness
44.2%
State 33.9%
AP exam pass rate above state avg
Met or exceeded
47.7%
State 35.7%
12.0pp above state avg
Chronic absenteeism
15.2%
State 30.2%
15.0pp below state avg
Suspension rate
4.1%
State 3.6%
0.4pp above state avg
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
8.0%
State 18.0%
10.0pp below state avg
Worth a school visit

Ask how the school challenges kids who clear the standard early. The gap between meeting and exceeding is where pacing shows.

  • Ask whether extra support — tutoring, counseling, small groups — reaches kids across income lines, not just the students already ahead.
  • 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.

How every group of students does here

At Liberty High in Madera, 61.3% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 46.3% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Liberty High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 15.0 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (17.3% Math proficient); White students (72.5% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 43.7 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 75 students tested.

All students at this school: 48% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 48%, district —, state 36%48%
MaleMale: this school 45%, district 48%, state 42%45% · −2 vs school
FemaleFemale: this school 50%, district 51%, state 44%50% · +2 vs school
WhiteWhite: this school 54%, district 57%, state 56%54% · +6 vs school
Hispanic/LatinoHispanic/Latino: this school 40%, district 44%, state 32%40% · −7 vs school
Socioeconomically DisadvantagedSocioeconomically Disadvantaged: this school 39%, district 38%, state 32%39% · −8 vs school
Students with DisabilitiesStudents with Disabilities: this school 12%, district 13%, state 15%12% · −36 vs school

8 of 15 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.

this school district, same group California, same group
AP access · 2020-21 federal civil rights snapshot (structural, dated — newest published; biennial)
Shown, never scored
Hispanic32.5% AP · 44.9% enroll.
American Indian/Alaska Native0.0% AP · 0.7% enroll.
Asian4.9% AP · 4.6% enroll.
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander0.0% AP · 0.4% enroll.
Black1.8% AP · 1.3% enroll.
White58.3% AP · 45.4% enroll.
Two or more races2.5% AP · 2.8% enroll.
English learners0.0% AP · 2.9% enroll.
Students with disabilities0.0% AP · 1.5% enroll.

● share of AP enrollment vs share of total enrollment, this school only · not part of the Scope Score

Data source: U.S. Dept. of Education Office for Civil Rights, Civil Rights Data Collection, 2020-21 (biennial; newest published)

Showing up, and staying in class

Chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeism: this school 15.2%, district 14.2%, state 30.2%15.2% · −15.0pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 4.1%, district —, state 3.6%4.1% · +0.4pp vs state
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 9–1213.9%

Where the path goes

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

K-12 Feeder Path

Feeder patterns derived from NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries are approximate and may have changed — verify with your school district for current assignments.

Where graduates go

Context — never part of the Scope Score
70%
College-going rate, class of 2023

Where they went after graduation

Of Liberty's class of 2023, 70% enrolled in college somewhere within a year — a CSU, a community college, a UC, or out of state.

College destination mix, class of 2023

Class of 2023: 141 completers, 70% enrolled somewhere within a year

University of California 9 (6%)California State University 22 (16%)California community college 56 (40%)In-state private 4 (3%)Out-of-state, 4-year 8 (6%)Out-of-state, 2-year 0 (0%)Not enrolled 42 (30%)

Percentages are computed by SchoolScope (count ÷ completers) from CDE-reported counts, not a CDE-native rate.

Data source: California Department of Education, 2023 cohort — the newest published; National Student Clearinghouse match.

UC application funnel — one destination of six, tracked in detail because UC is the only source with 30 years of history

In fall 2025, 9 of Liberty's 156 graduates enrolled in the University of California system — Davis the most common landing, with 4 enrollees.

Applied23fall 2025, universitywide
Admitted18
Enrolled9
Where they landed (fall 2025)

7 of 8 campuses are masked below UC's privacy floor — a protection, not a verdict.

campuses never sum to the universitywide figure — students apply to several

UC enrollees, universitywide, 2014–2025

UC publishes this trend back to 1994 — no other destination has a comparable multi-year record

UC is one road of many — the full destination mix for the class of 2023 is below. And who applied isn't who the school taught: the ratio between the two reflects the self-selected pool of students who chose to apply, not what happened in the classroom. By the state's 2023 count, 70% of this class's predecessors enrolled in college somewhere within a year. More of the class of 2023 enrolled at community colleges (56) than at UC (9).

Data source: University of California Office of the President (UC Information Center), fall 2025 admissions cycle · college-going rate: California Department of Education, 2023 cohort.

The people teaching here

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Student : teacherStudent to teacher ratio: this school 21:1, district 23:121:1
Teaching staff39 teachers
Avg. experience8.4 years
Fully credentialed79%
First-year teachers21%
Intern / emergency permit6.1%
Salary Schedule
Teacher salary schedule$53,680 – $102,617
Principal salary$128,682 – $145,367
Superintendent salary$215,823

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

Course Breadth
AP exam qualifiers42 studentsCCI, participation not authorization
CTE pathway completers2 students
Advanced Coursework

Liberty's teachers are authorized to teach 14 of the 40 AP subjects the College Board offers — including Physics 1, Computer Science A, and Computer Science Principles.

AP subjects taught14
Math & Computer Science (3)Computer Science A · Computer Science Principles · Precalculus
Sciences (2)Environmental Science · Physics 1
English (1)English Literature and Composition
History & Social Science (3)Macroeconomics · U.S. Government and Politics · World History: Modern
Arts (3)2-D Art and Design · 3-D Art and Design · Drawing
AP Capstone (2)Research · Seminar

Data source: College Board AP Course Audit, 2025 - 2026 audit year (authorization, not enrollment) · IB World Schools directory, name-matched · structural depth: 2020-21 federal snapshot, table 09

What gets spent here

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $5,775, CA average $14,491$5,775 · spent at this school

These measure different things: this figure is spending attributed to this campus, while district-wide figures also include central administration, districtwide programs, and the state's pension contributions made on the district's behalf — costs that never get assigned to a single school. The district number runs higher at nearly every school, not just this one.

Federal share$660 per student

$660 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.

District current expense · FY 2024–25$14,436 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
Instruction56%
Instruction support11%
Student services11%
Administration8%
Buildings & maintenance13%
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$11,644 per pupil
2019$10,741 per pupil
2018$11,241 per pupil
2017$10,876 per pupil
2016$10,522 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood it serves

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Hispanic49.1%
District 49.8% · CA 56.1%
White41.2%
District 37.5% · CA 19.9%
Asian5.0%
District 6.3% · CA 10.2%
Other3.5%
District 4.1% · CA 9.0%
Black1.3%
District 2.3% · CA 4.8%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 34.5% (29pp below CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Median income$133K · CA $85K
Median home value$542K · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+39% · CA 35%
ZIP population15,294
Median age39 years

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

Worth Knowing

At 748 students, this school is much smaller than the typical California high school (≈1450).

On the state's science test (CAST), 33% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 and once in high school, and it never enters the Scope Score.

Frequently asked questions

Is Liberty High a good high school?

Liberty High has a Scope Score of 57 out of 100, placing it in the 70th percentile of California high schools and ranked #651 statewide. 22.1% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 6.3 percentage points above 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 Liberty High's CAASPP test scores?

On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 47.7% of students at Liberty High met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 22.1% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 25.5% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 22.1% 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. 384 student-subject combinations were assessed.

How does Liberty High rank in California?

Liberty High ranks #651 among California high schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 70th 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 Liberty High?

15.2% of students at Liberty High are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), which is better than the California average of 30.2%. The suspension rate is 4.1%. 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 Liberty High compare to other schools in Madera?

Liberty High scores 57/100 (70th 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 748 students. Use the schools in Madera page or the map view to compare all high schools nearby.

How does Liberty High serve low-income and underrepresented students?

At Liberty High in Madera, 61.3% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 46.3% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Liberty High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 15.0 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (17.3% Math proficient); White students (72.5% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 43.7 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 75 students tested. SchoolScope shows disaggregated test scores by demographic subgroup so you can see how a school performs for your child's specific group — not just the school-wide average. Subgroup data is context, not part of the Scope Score: we don't penalize schools for who they serve. See our equity approach.

What AP courses are offered at Liberty High?

Liberty High's teachers are authorized to teach 14 of the 40 AP subjects the College Board offers, per the 2025 - 2026 AP Course Audit: 2-D Art and Design, 3-D Art and Design, Computer Science A, Computer Science Principles, Drawing, English Literature and Composition, Environmental Science, Macroeconomics, Physics 1, Precalculus, Research, Seminar, U.S. Government and Politics, World History: Modern. Authorization means the school may teach a course, not that a section is running this year, and it's separate from AP exam pass rates. Data source: College Board AP Course Audit, analyzed by SchoolScope.

How many students from Liberty High go to UC?

In fall 2025, 9 Liberty High graduates enrolled at University of California campuses, universitywide. That figure can't be split into a per-campus sum — students apply to several UC campuses at once, so campus-level counts don't add up to the universitywide total. UC is one destination among many: this says nothing about graduates who chose a CSU, a private college, a community college, or work, and it is a count, not a rate or a ranking. Data source: University of California Office of the President (UC Information Center), fall 2025 admissions cycle.

Your other options

Private alternatives nearby

Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.


For the data nerds

Every number on this page

Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and nearest schools.

01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Graduation rate · 25%
95.7%
↑ vs CA 86.6% · 60th pctile
Exceeded standard · 22%
22.1%
↑ vs CA 15.8% · 57th pctile
College readiness · 20%
44.2%
↑ vs CA 33.9% · 56th pctile
Met or exceeded · 18%
47.7%
↑ vs CA 35.7% · 59th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
15.2%
↑ vs CA 30.2% · 62th pctile
▼ 1.9pp lower vs 2024
Suspension rate · 5%
4.1%
↓ vs CA 3.6% · 48th pctile
▲ 0.1pp higher vs 2024
EL proficiency (ELPAC) · 5%
8.0%
↓ vs CA 18.0% · 37th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 1119235%32%22%11%67%+20
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 111929%19%28%44%28%+5

We show the grade rows CDE publishes for this school. A missing grade or dash can mean the school does not serve that grade, no valid result was published, or the tested group was too small to report. It does not mean zero.

Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Schoolwide1957%26%61%6%

CAST is tested in grades 5 and 8, then once in grade 10, 11, or 12. This row is the school's all-student aggregate. Not part of the Scope Score.

Subgroup · ELATestedMET+vs districtvs CA
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged7561.3%+15+23
White9172.5%+6+11
Hispanic/Latino8760.9%+10+22
03Nearest high schoolssorted by Scope Score · Grade gap = grade 3 vs grade 5, this year, different students; Cohort growth = the same students tracked across grades, in scale-score points — that's the measurement the Scope Score weights
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+Grade gapCohort growthSusp
Liberty High ←5722.1%47.7%4.1%
Independence Continuation High0.1 mi334.8%19.0%3.9%
California average4715.8%35.7%3.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Graduation Rate
95.7%
AP Exam Prepared
44.2%
A-G Completion
58.3%
A-G are the 15 courses (across 7 subjects) required for UC/CSU eligibility
College-Going Rate
70.2%
YearScopePctileRankExcMet+AbsentSuspGrade gap
20195666#68617.1%48.5%10.9%6.3%
20225466#71712.7%40.6%15.1%4.8%
20235364#77312.1%37.3%14.7%4.3%
20245260#85812.5%32.7%17.1%3.9%
20255770#65122.1%47.7%15.2%4.1%
Grade gap = this year's grade 3 vs grade 5 result, two different sets of students, not a trend for any one child — it is not the measurement the Scope Score's growth dimension uses. See §01 above and /methodology#verdicts for the school's actual scored (cohort) growth.
NO STATEWIDE TESTING 2020–21 (COVID) · SCORE AND PERCENTILE ARE RELATIVE TO EACH YEAR'S FIELD
05Climate by student groupchronic absenteeism · 2019 vs 2025 — the two years CDE publishes at subgroup level
Group20192025Δ
Female10.7%13.5%+2.8pp
Male7.2%14.4%+7.2pp
Asian0.0%8.1%+8.1pp
Black/African American20.0%
Hispanic/Latino9.4%15.8%+6.4pp
Two or More Races9.1%27.3%+18.2pp
Students with Disabilities15.6%24.4%+8.8pp
English Learners10.0%17.9%+7.9pp
Foster Youth50.0%
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged13.0%20.1%+7.1pp
All Students9.0%13.9%+4.9pp
06UC admissions, universitywide2014–2025 · summed across CEEB codes at query time
YearAppliedAdmittedEnrolledGPA (applied)GPA (admitted)GPA (enrolled)
2025231894.164.234.28
2024241894.024.054.14
2023221693.894.043.96
2022201574.004.044.02
2021171474.144.214.25
2020109‹33.723.84
2019147‹33.884.04
201816853.854.113.96
20178444.00
2016141134.144.24
201510854.034.174.22
2014161273.914.104.18

‹n = UC masks counts below n · a missing year means zero or masked — never assume zero · GPA cells blank for years with more than one contributing CEEB code (a summed GPA would be fabricated math) · GPAs live here and nowhere else on this page · Applied/Admitted/Enrolled reflect who applied, not what the school taught — no admit rate is computed or implied by this table. Series shown from 2014; full record to 1994 at the UC Infocenter.

07UC admissions by campuslatest falls on file
CampusYearAppliedAdmittedEnrolled
Berkeley202513‹3‹3
Berkeley202415‹3‹3
Berkeley202393‹3
Berkeley20228‹3‹3
Berkeley202111‹3‹3
Davis2025974
Davis2024135‹3
Davis2023114‹3
Davis2022124‹3
Davis20211294
Irvine2025145‹3
Irvine20246‹3‹3
Irvine2023134‹3
Irvine20218‹3‹3
Los Angeles202516‹3‹3
Los Angeles20249‹3‹3
Los Angeles202312‹3‹3
Los Angeles20225‹3‹3
Los Angeles202193‹3
Merced202588‹3
Merced202498‹3
Merced2023873
Merced20221010‹3
Riverside202465‹3
Riverside202355‹3
San Diego2025123‹3
San Diego20249‹3‹3
San Diego202354‹3
San Diego20228‹3‹3
San Diego20218‹3‹3
Santa Barbara202596‹3
Santa Barbara2024155‹3
Santa Barbara2023115‹3
Santa Barbara202254‹3
Santa Barbara202155‹3
Santa Cruz202554‹3
Santa Cruz20241073
Santa Cruz202265‹3
Universitywide202523189
Universitywide202424189
Universitywide202322169
Universitywide202220157
Universitywide202117147

Σ campuses ≠ universitywide — students apply to several campuses; the Universitywide row (muted) is its own independent count, never a sum of the rows above it.

08AP course catalog2025 - 2026
SubjectTaught by
2-D Art and Designthis school
3-D Art and Designthis school
Computer Science Athis school
Computer Science Principlesthis school
Drawingthis school
English Literature and Compositionthis school
Environmental Sciencethis school
Macroeconomicsthis school
Physics 1this school
Precalculusthis school
Researchthis school
Seminarthis school
U.S. Government and Politicsthis school
World History: Modernthis school

Authorization ≠ a section running this year — the Ledger records what the school may teach, not seat counts.

09Advanced coursework — 2020-21 federal civil-rights snapshotstructural, dated — newest published; biennial
MeasureThis school
AP offeredoffered
AP course count10
AP enrollment163
IB participationnot offered
Dual enrollmentoffered · 23 enrolled
Algebra I in grade 8not reported
Calculus sections2
Physics sections1
Chemistry sections5
Total enrollment (CRDC)544

Shown, never scored — no entry to any composite. NULL/reserve codes render "not reported," never a fabricated zero. The equity block above this table (§4) is the per-subgroup view of this same collection.

10College destinationsclass of 2023 · CDE 12-mo College-Going Rate
DestinationCompleters% (derived)
University of California96.4%
California State University2215.6%
California community college5639.7%
In-state private42.8%
Out-of-state, 4-year85.7%
Out-of-state, 2-year00.0%
Not enrolled4229.8%

141 completers, class of 2023 · state-reported college-going rate 70% · % column is computed by SchoolScope (count ÷ completers), not a CDE-native rate · a missing cell is CDE suppression, never a fabricated zero · source: CDE 12-mo CGR, 2023 cohort (the newest published), National Student Clearinghouse match — a different, older vintage than the fall 2025 UC admissions rows in tables 06-07 above.

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 · UC Infocenter (annual refresh, summer) — ‹5/‹3 = masked, never summed across campuses · AP Course Ledger 2025 - 2026 (November refresh; authorization not enrollment) · CRDC 2020-21 (biennial; next expected 2021-22) · CDE 12-mo CGR 2023 cohort, National Student Clearinghouse match · 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