Summary:
The Sierra Unified school district in California is home to two high schools: Sierra High and Sierra Alternative High. While Sierra High is the larger and higher-performing of the two, Sierra Alternative High has impressive graduation and dropout rates that set it apart.
Sierra High boasts strong academic performance, outperforming the Sierra Unified district and the state of California in proficiency rates for 11th-grade and end-of-course Smarter Balanced Assessments in English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics. It also has higher proficiency rates in the California Science Test (CAST) for 10th grade and end-of-course compared to the district and state. However, Sierra Alternative High has a significantly higher four-year graduation rate of 92.9% and a 0% dropout rate, compared to 91.4% and 6.2% at Sierra High.
The performance gap between the two schools is notable, with Sierra Alternative High facing challenges in academic achievement, as evidenced by its high chronic absenteeism rate of 96.3%, compared to 28.8% at Sierra High. The stark difference in student-teacher ratios, with Sierra Alternative High having a lower ratio of 6.9 compared to 18.3 at Sierra High, may contribute to the performance gap and suggest the need for further investigation and targeted interventions to improve student outcomes at Sierra Alternative High.
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