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Riverdale High · Riverdale

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

Riverdale posts 33% meeting the standard and 8.7% exceeding it, against 36% and 15.8% statewide. The gaps and the bright spots below are the real read.

3086 West Mount Whitney Avenue, 93656 (opens in new tab)·Riverdale Joint Unified·Riverdale·Grades 9-12·496 students·91% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(559) 867-3562·Website
2019–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
This schoolCA avg
Scope4744
% Exceeded9%16%
% Met+33%36%
Grad rate97.5%87.6%
College readiness48.3%35.4%
Absence13.1%30.2%
Suspension4.3%3.6%
Scope Score
47
🌱 Building Momentum · Developing
ranked #953 statewide

Riverdale High scores 47 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 56th 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 “33% proficient” and call it done. Riverdale deserves a closer read. The school sits in Riverdale, where four in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.

The headline number: 13.1% chronic absenteeism — versus 30.2% statewide. Attendance is the quietest strong signal a school can post.

The seven-year arc

Percentile among 2,160 high schools statewide

Has stayed near the 56th percentile since 2019.

CA Dashboard
ELAYellow(Declined Significantly)MathGreen(Increased Significantly)

This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 33% meet the standard today, versus 42% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.

ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 1155%57%46%48%46%
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 1128%30%21%21%20%

The story this school is actually telling

Proficient by 11th grade
33%
State 36%
Graduate
98%
State 88%
Pass an AP exam
48%
State 35%

Of 100 students here: 33 are proficient by 11th grade → 98 graduate → 48 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.

The 7 things our score weighs

Graduation rate
97.5%
State 87.6%
9.9pp above state avg
Exceeded standard
8.7%
State 15.8%
7.2pp below state avg
College readiness
48.3%
State 35.4%
AP exam pass rate above state avg
Met or exceeded
33.5%
State 35.7%
2.2pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
13.1%
State 30.2%
17.1pp below state avg
Suspension rate
4.3%
State 3.6%
0.7pp above state avg
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
14.9%
State 18.0%
3.0pp 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.

  • 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 Riverdale High in Riverdale, 42.6% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 33.7% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Riverdale High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 8.9 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (17.4% Math proficient); Hispanic students (45.8% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 46.5 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 115 students tested.

All students at this school: 33% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 33%, district —, state 36%33%
Hispanic/LatinoHispanic/Latino: this school 33%, district 29%, state 32%33% · −1 vs school
Socioeconomically DisadvantagedSocioeconomically Disadvantaged: this school 30%, district 28%, state 32%30% · −3 vs school
FemaleFemale: this school 36%, district 32%, state 44%36% · +3 vs school
MaleMale: this school 30%, district 29%, state 42%30% · −4 vs school
English LearnersEnglish Learners: this school 0%, district 6%, state 11%0% · −33 vs school
Students with DisabilitiesStudents with Disabilities: this school 5%, district 4%, state 15%5% · −29 vs school
WhiteWhite: too few students to report‹11
HomelessHomeless: too few students to report‹11
this school district, same group California, same group

Showing up, and staying in class

Chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeism: this school 13.1%, district 12.1%, state 30.2%13.1% · −17.1pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 4.3%, district —, state 3.6%4.3% · +0.7pp vs state
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 9–1210.9%

Where the path goes

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

K-12 Feeder Path
▼
High School
Riverdale High
47/100
This school

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

The people teaching here

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Student : teacherStudent to teacher ratio: this school 16:1, district 17:116:1
Teaching staff34 teachers
Avg. experience12.7 years
Fully credentialed93%
First-year teachers6%
Salary Schedule
Teacher salary schedule$62,295 – $121,053
Principal salary$137,243 – $142,567
Superintendent salary$189,599

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

Course Breadth
AP courses offered10
AP exam qualifiers29 students
CTE pathway completers24 students

What gets spent here

Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $24,452, CA average $14,815$24,452 · spent at this school
Federal share$1,358 per student

$1,358 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.

District current expense · FY 2024–25$23,214 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
Instruction59%
Instruction support7%
Student services10%
Administration6%
Buildings & maintenance15%
Other3%

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$15,706 per pupil
2019$13,640 per pupil
2018$14,576 per pupil
2017$13,126 per pupil
2016$12,323 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood it serves

Hispanic89.7%
District 90.0% · CA 56.1%
White10.1%
District 9.1% · CA 19.9%
Other0.2%
District 0.3% · CA 9.0%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 90.7% (27pp above CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Median income$72K · CA $85K
Median home value$295K · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+8% · CA 35%
ZIP population7,172
Median age31 years

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

Worth Knowing

At 496 students, this school is much smaller than the typical California high school (≈1450).

On the state's science test (CAST), 20% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.

Frequently asked questions

Is Riverdale High a good high school?

Riverdale High has a Scope Score of 47 out of 100, placing it in the 56th percentile of California high schools and ranked #953 statewide. 8.7% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 7.2 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 Riverdale High's CAASPP test scores?

On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 33.5% of students at Riverdale High met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 8.7% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 24.8% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 8.7% 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. 254 student-subject combinations were assessed.

How does Riverdale High rank in California?

Riverdale High ranks #953 among California high schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 56th 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 Riverdale High?

13.1% of students at Riverdale 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 4.3%. 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 Riverdale High compare to other schools in Riverdale?

Riverdale High scores 47/100 (56th 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 496 students. Use the schools in Riverdale page or the map view to compare all high schools nearby.

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

At Riverdale High in Riverdale, 42.6% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 33.7% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Riverdale High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 8.9 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (17.4% Math proficient); Hispanic students (45.8% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 46.5 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 115 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 Riverdale →

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 peer comparisons.

01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Graduation rate · 25%
97.5%
↑ vs CA 87.6% · 62th pctile
Exceeded standard · 22%
8.7%
↓ vs CA 15.8% · 42th pctile
College readiness · 20%
48.3%
↑ vs CA 35.4% · 57th pctile
Met or exceeded · 18%
33.5%
↓ vs CA 35.7% · 48th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
13.1%
↑ vs CA 30.2% · 64th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
4.3%
↓ vs CA 3.6% · 47th pctile
EL proficiency (ELPAC) · 5%
14.9%
↓ vs CA 18.0% · 48th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 1112713%33%35%18%46%−1
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 111274%17%29%50%20%−3
Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Grade 5/8/111272%18%73%6%

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 Disadvantaged11542.6%+9+4
Hispanic/Latino11845.8%+10+7
English Learners220.0%−7−10
03Peer comparison · nearest high schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Riverdale High ←—478.7%33.5%—4.3%
California average—4415.8%35.7%—3.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Graduation Rate
97.5%
AP Exam Prepared
48.3%
A-G Completion
47.8%
A-G are the 15 courses (across 7 subjects) required for UC/CSU eligibility
College-Going Rate
78.5%
YearScopePctileRankExcMet+AbsentSuspGrowth
20195264#73910.6%41.5%8.9%3.3%—
20224966#70911.2%43.3%34.9%4.8%—
20234863#7969.4%33.4%11.3%4.6%—
20244758#9007.3%34.8%12.2%7.0%—
20254756#9538.7%33.5%13.1%4.3%—
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
Female8.7%9.5%+0.8pp
Male5.1%12.2%+7.1pp
Hispanic/Latino6.4%10.2%+3.8pp
Students with Disabilities14.3%21.3%+7.0pp
English Learners6.4%15.6%+9.2pp
Homeless26.3%8.0%-18.3pp
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged7.4%11.9%+4.5pp
All Students6.9%10.9%+4.0pp
Military-Connected—5.6%—
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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