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School Profile · Sonora

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

Theodore Bird posts 15% meeting the standard and 2.4% exceeding it, against 36% and 15.8% statewide. The gaps and the bright spots below are the real read.

251 South Barretta Street, 95370 (opens in new tab)·Sonora Union High·Sonora·Grades 9-12·65 students·57% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(209) 533-2923·Website
Alternative school — serves students who benefit from a non-traditional educational setting. Scores are not directly comparable to comprehensive schools.
Scope Score
33
🌱 Building Momentum · Developing
ranked #1,571 statewide · #2 of 3 in Sonora Union High

Theodore Bird High scores 33 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 27th 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 →

Most rating sites would stop at “15% proficient” and call it done. Theodore Bird deserves a closer read. The school sits in Sonora, where more than half of 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
15%
State 36%
Graduate
98%
State 88%
Pass an AP exam
0%
State 35%

Of 100 students here: 15 are proficient by 11th grade → 98 graduate → 0 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.

The 6 things our score weighs

Graduation rate
97.9%
State 87.6%
10.3pp above state avg
Exceeded standard
2.4%
State 15.8%
13.4pp below state avg
College readiness
0.0%
State 35.4%
AP exam pass rate below state avg
Met or exceeded
14.9%
State 35.7%
20.8pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
52.8%
State 30.2%
22.6pp above state avg
Suspension rate
1.0%
State 3.6%
2.6pp 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

Private alternatives nearby

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

The community around it

Community Profile
Context — not part of the Scope Score

Student demographics

Hispanic12.3%
White80.0%
Other7.7%
GenderFemale 41.5%Male 53.9%Non-binary 4.6%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 56.9% (7pp below CA avg)
Resources & Access
Enrollment
65
1,385 below CA avg (~1,450)
Student-Teacher Ratio
22:1
1 more students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$7,383
District avg: $13,587 · CA avg: $14,815 · School-level · CDE ESSA
At Theodore Bird High in Sonora, 15.0% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 43.7% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Theodore Bird High trails its district average for low-income students by 28.7 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (4.8% Math proficient); White students (25.0% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 7.5 percentage points for low-income students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 20 students tested.
Equity Gaps
Absenteeism · Hispanic+25.0pp
77.8% vs 52.8% overall · n=18
ELA · Low-Income−7.5pp
15.0% vs 22.5% overall · n=20

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

Subgroup Proficiency
Low-Income21 tested
ELA 15.0%·Math 4.8%· -28.7pp vs district
White24 tested
ELA 25.0%·Math 8.3%· -28.5pp vs district

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

Funding Breakdown
Instruction 54%Support 44%Other 2%

Source: NCES F-33 (2019–2020) · Full district breakdown →

Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$83K
$2K below CA median
Median Home Value
$448K
$211K below CA median
Bachelor's+
26%
9pp below CA avg
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
Whole Child
Teacher experience, college/career readiness, and more. Context only — never part of the Scope Score.
Teacher Experience
13.3 years avg experience
3 teachers · 33% first-year
Teacher Credentials
35% fully credentialed

Source: CDE SARC, 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 →

Frequently asked questions

Is Theodore Bird High a good high school?
Theodore Bird High has a Scope Score of 33 out of 100, placing it in the 27th percentile of California high schools and ranked #1,571 statewide. 2.4% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 13.4 percentage points below the California average of 15.8%. 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 Theodore Bird High's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 14.9% of students at Theodore Bird High met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 2.4% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 12.5% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 2.4% 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 Theodore Bird High rank in California?
Theodore Bird High ranks #1,571 among California high schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 27th 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 Theodore Bird High?
52.8% of students at Theodore Bird High are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), compared to the California average of 30.2%. The suspension rate is 1.0%, indicating a low-discipline-incident environment. 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 Theodore Bird High compare to other schools in Sonora?
Theodore Bird High scores 33/100 (27th 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 65 students. Use the schools in Sonora page or the map view to compare all high schools nearby.
How does Theodore Bird High serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At Theodore Bird High in Sonora, 15.0% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 43.7% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Theodore Bird High trails its district average for low-income students by 28.7 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (4.8% Math proficient); White students (25.0% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 7.5 percentage points for low-income students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 20 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.

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%
97.9%
↑ vs CA 87.6% · 62th pctile
Exceeded standard · 22%
2.4%
↓ vs CA 15.8% · 36th pctile
College readiness · 20%
0.0%
↓ vs CA 35.4% · 29th pctile
Met or exceeded · 18%
14.9%
↓ vs CA 35.7% · 35th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
52.8%
↓ vs CA 30.2% · 32th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
1.0%
↑ vs CA 3.6% · 62th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 11400%23%43%35%23%−25
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 11415%2%10%83%7%−16
Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Grade 5/8/11430%7%88%5%

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 Disadvantaged2015.0%−29−23
White2425.0%−29−37
03Peer comparison · nearest high schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Theodore Bird High ←332.4%14.9%1.0%
Sonora High0.8 mi5218.9%47.4%8.4%
Dario Cassina High0.1 mi224.0%14.0%15.0%
California average4415.8%35.7%3.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Graduation Rate
97.9%
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
31.6%
Scope Score history
38%33%'19'22'23'24'25
2019 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · no testing 2020–21 (COVID) · rank #1350 → #1466 → #1599 → #1582 → #1571
What we can't show
  • — Low-income students here trail the state average for their group by 23 points in ELA — worth asking how the school is closing that gap.
Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=2,160 high schools · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue