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Mesquite Continuation High · Ridgecrest

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

Mesquite 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.

140 West Drummond, 93555 (opens in new tab)·Sierra Sands Unified·Ridgecrest·Grades 9-12·95 students·77% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(760) 499-1810·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
Scope1044
% Exceeded3%16%
% Met+12%36%
Grad rate47.4%87.6%
College readiness0.0%35.4%
Absence67.9%30.2%
Suspension3.7%3.6%
Scope Score
10
🌱 Building Momentum · Needs Support
ranked #2,123 statewide

Mesquite Continuation High scores 10 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 2nd 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.

CDE CAASPP 2025

Most rating sites would stop at “12% proficient” and call it done. Mesquite Continuation deserves a closer read. The school sits in Ridgecrest, 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 seven-year arc

Percentile among 2,160 high schools statewide

Has stayed near the 2nd percentile since 2019.

CA Dashboard
ELABlue(Increased Significantly)MathBlue(Increased Significantly)

Proficiency here is back to its pre-pandemic level — 12% meet the standard, about where the school stood in 2019.

ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 1129%14%39%14%23%
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 110%0%7%5%0%

The story this school is actually telling

Proficient by 11th grade
12%
State 36%
Graduate
47%
State 88%
Pass an AP exam
0%
State 35%

Of 100 students here: 12 are proficient by 11th grade → 47 graduate → 0 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.

The 6 things our score weighs

Graduation rate
47.4%
State 87.6%
40.2pp below state avg
Exceeded standard
2.6%
State 15.8%
13.3pp below state avg
College readiness
0.0%
State 35.4%
AP exam pass rate below state avg
Met or exceeded
11.5%
State 35.7%
24.2pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
67.9%
State 30.2%
37.7pp above state avg
Suspension rate
3.7%
State 3.6%
0.1pp 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 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 Mesquite Continuation High in Ridgecrest, 3.9% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 30.1% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Mesquite Continuation High trails its district average for low-income students by 26.2 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (0.0% Math proficient); White students (26.7% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 19.2 percentage points for low-income students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 26 students tested.

All students at this school: 11% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 11%, district —, state 36%11%
Socioeconomically DisadvantagedSocioeconomically Disadvantaged: this school 2%, district 25%, state 32%2% · −9 vs school
MaleMale: this school 7%, district 34%, state 42%7% · −4 vs school
FemaleFemale: this school 16%, district 34%, state 44%16% · +5 vs school
WhiteWhite: this school 13%, district 41%, state 56%13% · +1 vs school
Hispanic/LatinoHispanic/Latino: this school 7%, district 26%, state 32%7% · −4 vs school

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

this school district, same group California, same group

Showing up, and staying in class

Chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeism: this school 67.9%, district 30.1%, state 30.2%67.9% · +37.7pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 3.7%, district —, state 3.6%3.7% · +0.1pp vs state
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 9–1281.1%

Where the path goes

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

K-12 Feeder Path
▼
High School
Mesquite Continuation High
10/100
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 16:1, district 22:116:1
Teaching staff9 teachers
Avg. experience25.7 years
Fully credentialed21%
Salary Schedule
Teacher salary schedule$50,189 – $114,358
Principal salary$128,185 – $148,973
Superintendent salary$249,075

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

Course Breadth
AP courses offered0

What gets spent here

Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $23,383, CA average $14,815$23,383 · spent at this school
Federal share$688 per student

$688 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.

District current expense · FY 2024–25$19,178 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
Instruction58%
Instruction support12%
Student services12%
Administration8%
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$13,508 per pupil
2019$12,643 per pupil
2018$12,280 per pupil
2017$10,915 per pupil
2016$10,902 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood it serves

White51.6%
District 46.1% · CA 19.9%
Hispanic34.7%
District 34.6% · CA 56.1%
Other7.4%
District 9.5% · CA 9.0%
Black6.3%
District 7.9% · CA 4.8%
GenderFemale 37.9%Male 62.1%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 76.8% (13pp above CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Median income$87K · CA $85K
Median home value$253K · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+30% · CA 35%
ZIP population33,845
Median age35 years

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

Worth Knowing

At 95 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 Mesquite Continuation High a good high school?

Mesquite Continuation High has a Scope Score of 10 out of 100, placing it in the 2nd percentile of California high schools and ranked #2,123 statewide. 2.6% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 13.3 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 Mesquite Continuation High's CAASPP test scores?

On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 11.5% of students at Mesquite Continuation High met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 2.6% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 9.0% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 2.6% 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. 81 student-subject combinations were assessed.

How does Mesquite Continuation High rank in California?

Mesquite Continuation High ranks #2,123 among California high schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 2nd 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 Mesquite Continuation High?

67.9% of students at Mesquite Continuation High are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), compared to the California average of 30.2%. The suspension rate is 3.7%. 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 Mesquite Continuation High compare to other schools in Ridgecrest?

Mesquite Continuation High scores 10/100 (2nd 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 95 students. Use the schools in Ridgecrest page or the map view to compare all high schools nearby.

How does Mesquite Continuation High serve low-income and underrepresented students?

At Mesquite Continuation High in Ridgecrest, 3.9% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 30.1% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Mesquite Continuation High trails its district average for low-income students by 26.2 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (0.0% Math proficient); White students (26.7% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 19.2 percentage points for low-income students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 26 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.

Your other options

All schools in Ridgecrest →

Private alternatives nearby

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

A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means

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%
47.4%
↓ vs CA 87.6% · 2th pctile
Exceeded standard · 22%
2.6%
↓ vs CA 15.8% · 36th pctile
College readiness · 20%
0.0%
↓ vs CA 35.4% · 29th pctile
Met or exceeded · 18%
11.5%
↓ vs CA 35.7% · 33th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
67.9%
↓ vs CA 30.2% · 19th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
3.7%
↓ vs CA 3.6% · 50th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 11395%18%18%59%23%−24
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 11420%0%12%88%0%−23
Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Grade 5/8/11360%0%72%28%

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

Subgroup · ELATestedMET+vs districtvs CA
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged263.9%−26−34
White1526.7%−21−35
03Peer comparison · nearest high schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Mesquite Continuation High ←—102.6%11.5%—3.7%
Burroughs High0.7 mi4727.0%50.4%—7.5%
California average—4415.8%35.7%—3.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Graduation Rate
47.4%
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
2.4%
YearScopePctileRankExcMet+AbsentSuspGrowth
2019103#19862.4%14.3%53.1%13.1%—
202260#20900.0%7.2%64.4%9.3%—
202371#21210.0%23.1%63.5%16.0%—
202492#21061.1%9.2%67.3%2.8%—
2025102#21232.6%11.5%67.9%3.7%—
NO STATEWIDE TESTING 2020–21 (COVID) · SCORE AND PERCENTILE ARE RELATIVE TO EACH YEAR'S FIELD
What we can't show
  • — Low-income students here trail the state average for their group by 34 points in ELA — worth asking how the school is closing that gap.
05Climate by student groupchronic absenteeism · 2019 vs 2025 — the two years CDE publishes at subgroup level
Group20192025Δ
Female70.6%81.4%+10.8pp
Male69.8%81.1%+11.3pp
Black/African American60.0%85.7%+25.7pp
Hispanic/Latino73.7%83.9%+10.2pp
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged69.9%86.6%+16.7pp
All Students70.2%81.3%+11.1pp
Students with Disabilities—89.7%—
Homeless—93.3%—
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

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