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School Profile · Modesto

Modesto High: No single number tells this school's story. Here's the honest picture.

Modesto posts 33% meeting the standard and 14.1% exceeding it, against 35% and 15.5% statewide. The gaps and the bright spots below are the real read.

18 H Street, 95351·Modesto City High·Modesto·Grades 9-12·2,292 students·84% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(209) 574-1776·Website
Scope Score
43
🌱 Building Momentum · Developing
ranked #1,116 statewide · #7 of 8 in Modesto City High

Modesto High scores 43 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 36th percentile of 1,739 California high schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).

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

CDE CAASPP 2025

Most rating sites would stop at “33% proficient” and call it done. Modesto deserves a closer read. The school sits in Modesto, where four in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.

The story this school is actually telling

Proficient by 11th grade
33%
State 35%
Graduate
90%
State 88%
Pass an AP exam
6%
State 36%

Of 100 students here: 33 are proficient by 11th grade → 90 graduate → 6 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.

The 7 things our score weighs

Graduation rate
89.7%
State 87.6%
2.1pp above state avg
Exceeded standard
14.1%
State 15.5%
1.4pp below state avg
College readiness
6.4%
State 35.5%
AP exam pass rate below state avg
Met or exceeded
32.6%
State 34.6%
2.0pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
28.8%
State 32.1%
3.3pp below state avg
Suspension rate
3.4%
State 4.0%
0.6pp below state avg
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
17.1%
State 17.7%
0.6pp below state avg
Worth a school visit

Ask what the school is working on next. Strong numbers tell you where a school is, not where it's going.

Where the path goes

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

Your other options

All schools in Modesto →

The community around it

Community Profile
Context — not part of the Scope Score

Student demographics

Hispanic77.1%
White6.4%
Asian6.8%
Black2.0%
Other7.8%
GenderFemale 50.6%Male 49.4%
Resources & Access
Enrollment
2,292
842 above CA avg (~1,450)
Free/Reduced Lunch
84%
20pp above CA avg (64%)
Student-Teacher Ratio
22:1
1 more students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$20,765
CA avg: $14,815 · School-level · CDE ESSA
EL Proficiency (ELPAC)
17.1% Level 4
Share of English Learners reaching full proficiency
At Modesto High in Modesto, 41.5% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 40.1% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Modesto High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 1.4 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (15.3% Math proficient); Hispanic students (42.4% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 39.9 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 460 students tested.
Equity Gaps
Absenteeism · Homeless+46.8pp
75.6% vs 28.8% overall · n=41
Suspension · Black+6.8pp
10.2% vs 3.4% overall · n=49
ELA · Disabilities−39.9pp
5.4% vs 45.3% overall · n=56
3 more gaps by subject
ELA Exceeded · English Learner−20.2pp
0.7% vs 20.8% overall · n=153
Math · Disabilities−19.9pp
0.0% vs 19.9% overall · n=56
Math Exceeded · Disabilities−7.4pp
0.0% vs 7.4% overall · n=56

Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.

Subgroup Proficiency
Low-Income461 tested
ELA 41.5%·Math 15.3%· +1.4pp vs district
Hispanic421 tested
ELA 42.4%·Math 15.8%· +0.2pp vs district
English Learner154 tested
ELA 6.5%·Math 5.3%· -0.2pp vs district

Weighted average across tested grades. Subgroups with fewer than 15 students excluded. Data: CDE CAASPP 2024-25.

Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$53K
$32K below CA median
Median Home Value
$284K
$375K below CA median
Bachelor's+
8%
27pp below CA avg
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2022) · ZIP-level
Whole Child
Teacher experience, college/career readiness, and more. Context only — never part of the Scope Score.
Teacher Experience
16.5 years avg experience
135 teachers · 3% second-year
Teacher Credentials
86% fully credentialed
3.1% on intern/emergency permit
AP Courses Offered
12 AP courses
13 students qualified via AP exam

Sources: CDE SARC · CDE College/Career Indicator, 2024-25

Community Profile provides context about who attends this school and the resources available. These factors are never part of the Scope Score. Learn why →
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%
89.7%
↑ vs CA 87.6% · 53th pctile
Exceeded standard · 22%
14.1%
↓ vs CA 15.5% · 49th pctile
College readiness · 20%
6.4%
↓ vs CA 35.5% · 33th pctile
Met or exceeded · 18%
32.6%
↓ vs CA 34.6% · 49th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
28.8%
↑ vs CA 32.1% · 53th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
3.4%
↑ vs CA 4.0% · 53th pctile
EL proficiency (ELPAC) · 5%
17.1%
↓ vs CA 17.7% · 49th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 1154321%24%21%34%45%−2
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 115427%13%19%61%20%−3
Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Grade 5/8/115594%19%64%13%

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 Disadvantaged46041.5%+1+3
Hispanic/Latino42042.4%+0+4
English Learners1536.5%−0−4
03Peer comparison · nearest high schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Modesto High ←—4314.1%32.6%—3.4%
Peter Johansen High1.1 mi479.5%28.1%—2.5%
Dickens (Billy Joe) High (Continuation)3.1 mi353.6%17.9%—8.3%
California average—4715.5%34.6%—4.0%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Graduation Rate
89.7%
AP Exam Prepared
6.4%
A-G Completion
44.5%
A-G are the 15 courses (across 7 subjects) required for UC/CSU eligibility
College-Going Rate
54.2%
Scope Score history
47%43%'19'22'23'24'25
2019 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · no testing 2020–21 (COVID) · rank #967 → #1175 → #1138 → #1154 → #1116
Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=1,739 high schools · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue

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

Frequently asked questions

Is Modesto High a good high school?
Modesto High has a Scope Score of 43 out of 100, placing it in the 36th percentile of California high schools and ranked #1,116 statewide. 14.1% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is near the California average of 15.5%. The Scope Score weights six dimensions for high schools: exceeded standard (43%), met or exceeded (22%), grade 3-to-5 growth (15%), chronic absenteeism (10%), ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%), and suspension rate (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.
What are Modesto High's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 32.6% of students at Modesto High met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 14.1% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 18.5% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 14.1% 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. 1,085 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Modesto High rank in California?
Modesto High ranks #1,116 among California high schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 36th 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 Modesto High?
28.8% of students at Modesto High are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), which is better than the California average of 32.1%. The suspension rate is 3.4%. 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 Modesto High compare to other schools in Modesto?
Modesto High scores 43/100 (36th 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 2,292 students. Use the schools in Modesto page or the map view to compare all high schools nearby.
How does Modesto High serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At Modesto High in Modesto, 41.5% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 40.1% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Modesto High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 1.4 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (15.3% Math proficient); Hispanic students (42.4% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 39.9 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 460 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.
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