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Visalia Charter Independent Study · VisaliaCharter

Visalia Charter Independent Study: No single number tells this school's story. Here's the honest picture.

Visalia Charter Independent Study posts 29% meeting the standard and 8.0% exceeding it, against 36% and 15.8% statewide. The gaps and the bright spots below are the real read.

424 North Lovers Lane, 93291 (opens in new tab)·Visalia Unified·Visalia·Grades 7-12·515 students·70% low-income·Charter·2024–25 CAASPP·(559) 735-8055·Website
Charter school — publicly funded, independently operated, open enrollment via lottery. Learn more
2019–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
This schoolCA avg
Scope4247
% Exceeded8%16%
% Met+29%36%
Grad rate96.0%86.6%
College readiness4.3%33.9%
Absence18.1%30.2%
Suspension0.5%3.6%
Scope Score
42
🌱 Building Momentum · Developing
ranked #1,363 statewide · #6 of 7 in Visalia Unified

Visalia Charter Independent Study scores 42 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 37th 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 “29% proficient” and call it done. Visalia Charter Independent Study deserves a closer read. The school sits in Visalia, where two-thirds of students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.

Visalia Charter Independent Study's low-income kids hit 48.9% 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.

As a charter, Visalia Charter Independent Study enrolls by application rather than address. That changes how you get in, but it doesn't change the score.

The seven-year arc

Percentile among 2,160 high schools statewide

Has stayed near the 37th percentile since 2019.

ELAYellow(Declined)MathRed(Declined Significantly)

Proficiency here is back to its pre-pandemic level — 29% meet the standard, about where the school stood in 2019.

ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 831%46%
Grade 1143%46%50%55%48%
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 814%38%
Grade 119%8%9%9%9%

The story this school is actually telling

Proficient by 11th grade
29%
State 36%
Graduate
96%
State 87%
Pass an AP exam
4%
State 34%

Of 100 students here: 29 are proficient by 11th grade → 96 graduate → 4 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.

48.9%
Low-income · ELA · met standard

Visalia Charter Independent Study's most underrated number

48.9% 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.

Visalia Charter Independent Study low-income: 48.9%State low-income: 38.2%

The 6 things our score weighs

Graduation rate
96.0%
State 86.6%
9.4pp above state avg
Exceeded standard
8.0%
State 15.8%
7.8pp below state avg
College readiness
4.3%
State 33.9%
AP course or exam readiness below state avg
Met or exceeded
28.8%
State 35.7%
6.9pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
18.1%
State 30.2%
12.1pp below state avg
Suspension rate
0.5%
State 3.6%
3.1pp 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 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 Visalia Charter Independent Study in Visalia, 48.9% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 39.7% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Visalia Charter Independent Study outperforms its district average for low-income students by 9.2 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (10.8% Math proficient); Hispanic students (46.9% ELA proficient). Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 135 students tested.

All students at this school: 28% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 28%, district —, state 36%28%
Hispanic/LatinoHispanic/Latino: this school 28%, district 34%, state 32%28% · −1 vs school
Socioeconomically DisadvantagedSocioeconomically Disadvantaged: this school 29%, district 31%, state 32%29% · +1 vs school
FemaleFemale: this school 28%, district 39%, state 44%28% · −0 vs school
MaleMale: this school 29%, district 37%, state 42%29% · +0 vs school
WhiteWhite: this school 34%, district 53%, state 56%34% · +5 vs school
Students with DisabilitiesStudents with Disabilities: this school 11%, district 9%, state 15%11% · −17 vs school
English LearnersEnglish Learners: this school 12%, district 11%, state 11%12% · −16 vs school

5 of 13 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 18.1%, district 20.6%, state 30.2%18.1% · −12.1pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 0.5%, district —, state 3.6%0.5% · −3.1pp vs state
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 9–1217.1%

Where the path goes

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

K-12 Feeder Path

Estimated path based on proximity within the same district. Contact your school district for official feeder information.

Where graduates go

Context — never part of the Scope Score
46%
College-going rate, class of 2023

Where they went after graduation

Of Visalia Charter Independent Study's class of 2023, 46% 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: 231 completers, 46% enrolled somewhere within a year

University of California 0 (0%)California State University 4 (2%)California community college 101 (44%)In-state private 0 (0%)Out-of-state, 4-year 2 (1%)Out-of-state, 2-year 0 (0%)Not enrolled 124 (54%)

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
Applied5fall 2025, universitywide
Admitted4
Enrolled‹3

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, 46% of this class's predecessors enrolled in college somewhere within a year. More of the class of 2023 enrolled at community colleges (101) than at UC (0).

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 11:1, district 22:111:1
Teaching staff49 teachers
Avg. experience12.0 years
Fully credentialed92%
First-year teachers12%
Salary Schedule
Teacher salary schedule$66,787 – $128,563
Principal salary$170,993 – $192,499
Superintendent salary$346,186

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

Course Breadth
AP exam qualifiers2 studentsCCI, participation not authorization
CTE pathway completers7 students
Advanced Coursework

Visalia Charter Independent Study's teachers are authorized to teach 1 of the 40 AP subjects the College Board offers — including Precalculus.

AP subjects taught1
Math & Computer Science (1)Precalculus

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: $22,544, CA average $14,491$22,544 · spent at this school
Federal share$86 per student

$86 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.

District current expense · FY 2024–25$19,265 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
Instruction55%
Instruction support14%
Student services10%
Administration6%
Buildings & maintenance9%
Other5%

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$12,738 per pupil
2019$12,100 per pupil
2018$12,279 per pupil
2017$11,230 per pupil
2016$10,379 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood it serves

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Hispanic70.9%
District 73.1% · CA 56.1%
White18.3%
District 15.2% · CA 19.9%
Other4.8%
District 6.5% · CA 9.0%
Asian4.3%
District 3.9% · CA 10.2%
Black1.8%
District 1.3% · CA 4.8%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 70.3% (6pp above CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Median income$83K · CA $85K
Median home value$410K · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+25% · CA 35%
ZIP population63,568
Median age33 years

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

Worth Knowing

At 515 students, this school is much smaller than the typical California high school (≈1450).

On the state's science test (CAST), 12% 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 Visalia Charter Independent Study a good high school?

Visalia Charter Independent Study has a Scope Score of 42 out of 100, placing it in the 37th percentile of California high schools and ranked #1,363 statewide. 8.0% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 7.8 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 Visalia Charter Independent Study's CAASPP test scores?

On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 28.8% of students at Visalia Charter Independent Study met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 8.0% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 20.7% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 8.0% 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. 404 student-subject combinations were assessed.

How does Visalia Charter Independent Study rank in California?

Visalia Charter Independent Study ranks #1,363 among California high schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 37th 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 Visalia Charter Independent Study?

18.1% of students at Visalia Charter Independent Study are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), which is better than the California average of 30.2%. The suspension rate is 0.5%, 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 Visalia Charter Independent Study compare to other schools in Visalia?

Visalia Charter Independent Study scores 42/100 (37th 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 515 students. Use the schools in Visalia page or the map view to compare all high schools nearby.

How does Visalia Charter Independent Study serve low-income and underrepresented students?

At Visalia Charter Independent Study in Visalia, 48.9% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 39.7% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Visalia Charter Independent Study outperforms its district average for low-income students by 9.2 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (10.8% Math proficient); Hispanic students (46.9% ELA proficient). Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 135 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 Visalia Charter Independent Study?

Visalia Charter Independent Study's teachers are authorized to teach 1 of the 40 AP subjects the College Board offers, per the 2025 - 2026 AP Course Audit: Precalculus. 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 Visalia Charter Independent Study go to UC?

UC masks this number for Visalia Charter Independent Study — fewer than three enrollees in fall 2025 — a privacy protection for small cohorts, not a signal about the school. Data source: University of California Office of the President (UC Information Center).

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%
96.0%
↑ vs CA 86.6% · 60th pctile
Exceeded standard · 22%
8.0%
↓ vs CA 15.8% · 41th pctile
College readiness · 20%
4.3%
↓ vs CA 33.9% · 33th pctile
Met or exceeded · 18%
28.8%
↓ vs CA 35.7% · 45th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
18.1%
↑ vs CA 30.2% · 60th pctile
▲ 0.3pp higher vs 2024
Suspension rate · 5%
0.5%
↑ vs CA 3.6% · 64th pctile
▼ 0.1pp lower vs 2024
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 1119915%33%37%15%48%−0
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 112051%8%17%74%9%−14

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
Schoolwide2061%11%82%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 Disadvantaged13548.9%+9+11
Hispanic/Latino14746.9%+5+8
White3756.8%−3−5
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
Visalia Charter Independent Study ←428.0%28.8%0.5%
Golden West High0.8 mi5010.3%32.5%5.5%
La Sierra High1 mi4310.0%37.5%7.7%
California average4715.8%35.7%3.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Graduation Rate
96.0%
AP Exam Prepared
4.3%
A-G Completion
17.1%
A-G are the 15 courses (across 7 subjects) required for UC/CSU eligibility
College-Going Rate
46.3%
YearScopePctileRankExcMet+AbsentSuspGrade gap
20194035#13225.9%26.0%22.2%2.4%
20224239#12697.8%26.8%21.3%0.9%
20234441#12658.7%29.3%21.2%0.8%
20244340#12877.0%31.9%17.8%0.6%
20254237#13638.0%28.8%18.1%0.5%
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
Female18.5%13.3%-5.2pp
Male26.3%22.4%-3.9pp
Asian10.5%14.8%+4.3pp
Black/African American9.1%18.2%+9.1pp
Filipino14.3%6.7%-7.6pp
Hispanic/Latino22.4%16.4%-6.0pp
Two or More Races24.0%25.0%+1.0pp
Students with Disabilities20.5%32.0%+11.5pp
English Learners22.0%20.0%-2.0pp
Foster Youth12.5%45.5%+33.0pp
Homeless13.3%27.3%+14.0pp
Military-Connected27.3%
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged21.6%19.9%-1.7pp
All Students21.9%17.1%-4.8pp
06UC admissions, universitywide2025–2025 · summed across CEEB codes at query time
YearAppliedAdmittedEnrolledGPA (applied)GPA (admitted)GPA (enrolled)
202554‹33.57

‹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
Universitywide202554‹3

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
Precalculusthis 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 offerednot offered
AP course countnot reported
AP enrollmentnot reported
IB participationnot offered
Dual enrollmentoffered · 64 enrolled
Algebra I in grade 8not reported
Calculus sections0
Physics sections0
Chemistry sections0
Total enrollment (CRDC)498

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 California00.0%
California State University41.7%
California community college10143.7%
In-state private00.0%
Out-of-state, 4-year20.9%
Out-of-state, 2-year00.0%
Not enrolled12453.7%

231 completers, class of 2023 · state-reported college-going rate 46% · % 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.

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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