Compare with peers
Most similar nearby schools
Minarets High School → Carter G. Woodson Public Charter → Endeavor Charter → Career Technical Education Charter → Gateway High (continuation) → Compare all similar →A parent's read
- About 3 in 4 students read and write at grade level. On the state's own 11th-grade test, 76% met or exceeded the college-readiness bar — the top quarter of California high schools (statewide: 54%).
- Most grads aim beyond the UC system. Seniors file only ~0.1 UC applications each — families here mostly target CSU, private, or out-of-state colleges, so judge this school on more than its UC numbers.
- Worth asking about on a tour: counselor load. One counselor served about 348 students here in the 2020 federal count — above the 250-to-1 level counseling experts recommend. Ask what the ratio is today and how junior-year college advising actually gets covered.
Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.
At a glance
- 6 AP courses offered — Elite
- Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
- Gifted & talented program
- 2 calculus classes · 1 physics · 3 chemistry
- AP rigor: 66th percentile nationally
- SAT/ACT participation: Bottom 1% by test-taker volume
- 4-yr grad rate: 92% in 2019 (60th percentile nationally)
Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts graduation data, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.
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Where grads go — and what it costs & pays
UC admits by campus · Class of 2025
Getting in is step one. The cost above is the average aid-receiving family's net price — yours depends on whether you qualify for aid — and your child's odds depend on their GPA + scores. See your family's real numbers at these campuses:
Get my child's odds + our real costs →Sources: UC Office of the President (admits); IPEDS net price + College Scorecard 10-yr earnings (cost & payoff). Full campus-by-campus breakdown below.
California College-Going Rate
71.6% of the 2022-23 graduating class enrolled in college within a year.
The share of 2022-23 graduates who enrolled at a college anywhere in the U.S. within 12 months, per the National Student Clearinghouse match the California Department of Education publishes.
Give the same class four more months and 74.3% had enrolled — CDE publishes a 16-month window alongside the 12-month one, 55 students.
Up 11.9 points from the 2021-22 class (59.7%).
Where the 2022-23 class enrolled
In California — 51 students (68.9%)
Out of state — 2 students (2.7%)
CDE puts each graduate in one bucket only — whichever kind of college they were enrolled in longest — so these add up to the rate above. That is a different count from the UC Reach Score on this page, which counts a student at every UC campus that admitted them.
Source: California Department of Education, College-Going Rate (DataQuest) ↗, cohort 2022-23, posted 17-Sep-2025. Data file: cgr12mo23.txt ↗ (and the 16-month file ↗). CDE builds the rate by matching California high school completers to National Student Clearinghouse enrollment records; we publish CDE’s aggregates and hold no student-level data.
How Sierra High School compares for families
Real college outcomes data available below.
- ▸ StatewideUC Reach Score of 8 — 11 points below the California median of 19.
- ▸ Locally📘 Top 10 in Fresno County on ELA proficiency — plus 1 more top-rank.
- ▸ vs Similar SchoolsTrails the peer median (UC Reach Score 8 vs a 57 median) across the 5 most similar nearby schools.
For Parents
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Objective, government-grade data — no school pays us for placement.
Academic rigor
AP + advanced-course offerings
Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth
66th percentile nationally
Gifted/talented program
Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).
SAT / ACT participation
CRDC federal data · 2020-21Bottom 1% by test-taker volume
Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.
4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts
What % of students graduate on time?
60th percentile nationally
Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.
Federal Title I context
Title I Targeted Assistance eligible
35-39% FRPL — qualifies for Title I Targeted Assistance
35-39% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. The school can receive Title I funds targeted to identified students (not schoolwide).
Source: NCES Common Core of Data, free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. The actual Title I designation is a district decision and may differ from eligibility — but the federal eligibility math is what we show here. We don't claim to assert whether the district formally chose to enroll this school in Title I.
SBAC academic outcomes — grade 11, 2025
Share of grade-11 students meeting or exceeding the California standard on Smarter Balanced ELA and Math. This is the academic-readiness signal that pairs with UC Reach (post-grad outcomes), stability (retention), and absenteeism (engagement). Note: statewide median Math is only ~20% — a school at 20% isn't an outlier; one at 45%+ genuinely is.
Source: California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) Smarter Balanced research files. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥30 tested students.
Student composition — 2025-26
HS grades 9–12 racial/ethnic composition and program subgroups, from CDE Census Day Enrollment. Two-year shift shown when ≥1 pt — surfaces how the community served has changed since 2023-24.
Race / ethnicity
Program subgroups
Source: California Department of Education, Census Day Enrollment 2025-26 (HS grades 9–12). Δ shown when shift is ≥1 pt since 2023-24. Categories below 0.5% omitted.
Chronic absenteeism — 2024-25
Share of students missing 10% or more of expected attendance — the leading indicator that often precedes the demand decline shown above. Families disengaging tend to raise absenteeism first, then formally leave. Basis: grades 9–12.
Absenteeism is up 11.5 pp since 2016-17. A rising absenteeism trend often precedes formal departure — worth investigating which subgroups are driving it.
Source: California Department of Education, Chronic Absenteeism 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 eligible students. CDE didn't publish a usable 2019-20 file (COVID).
Enrollment trend & projection
If this trend holds (-0.7%/yr, Total enrollment)
At per-pupil funding of $ / student:
| Horizon | Projected Total enrollment | Change | Funding impact / yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 yr (2027) | ~355 | -3 | $0 |
| 3 yr (2029) | ~351 | -7 | $0 |
| 5 yr (2031) | ~346 | -12 | $0 |
Straight-line extrapolation of the recent annual rate — a what-if, not a forecast of intent. Default = California's LCFF base grant for grades 9–12 ($12,423/ADA). Edit the figure to match your school.
How does Sierra High School really compare on getting kids to college?
We've ranked it #3 of 3 most similar nearby schools on UC Reach. Unlock the full snapshot to see the head-to-head — who's ahead, by how much, and where it's heading.
Your similar-school group includes
Minarets High School · Carter G. Woodson Public Charter · Endeavor Charter · Career Technical Education Charter · Gateway High (continuation) · University High School · +4 more
Enrollment stability & demand — 2024-25
Two complementary signals: retention (do students stay once enrolled?) and demand (are families choosing the school?). Read against the Fresno County baseline — the demographic tide is moving every CA HS, so a school's gap vs. county is the actionable signal.
Enrollment -38.2% vs. county +6.7% AND stability (76.6%) below the county median. Recruitment and retention both under pressure — likely a foundational rather than tactical problem. Chronic absenteeism is also at 32.9% (up +11.5 pts from 2016-17) — engagement and demand are both signaling decline.
95 of 406 students who enrolled at Sierra High School this year didn't maintain continuous enrollment (23.4% non-stability). Mid-year transfers, dropouts, and other exits are all counted.
Stability by student group
Nearest peer high schools
Source: California Department of Education, Stability Rate 2024-25. Benchmarks limited to non-virtual public & charter HS with ≥100 cumulative enrollees so by-design-high-churn continuation schools don't dominate the bottom of the distribution. Cumulative enrollment counts every student on the rolls during the year, so it can exceed peak-day enrollment.
District financial profile — Sierra Unified (FY2020)
From 4 years of NCES F-33 filings (the federally-mandated district finance survey). Public schools don't have their own books — the district does. These figures show the financial scale, revenue dependence, instruction-vs-overhead mix, and long-term debt that shape what a school can sustain.
Local: 47.7%
Federal: 10.2%
Source: NCES F-33 Annual Survey of School System Finances (Urban Institute Education Data API). Latest year currently published: FY2020. F-33 is a district-level federal filing — it reflects the Sierra Unified as a whole, not this individual school's books. Revenue mix shows where the district's dollars come from (state aid dominates in CA via LCFF). Instruction share is current expenditure on instruction ÷ total current expenditure (national benchmark ~60%). Long-term debt is end-of-year outstanding (mostly facilities bonds).
Sierra High School sent 12 applications to the six most selective University of California campuses and 58.3% were admitted, producing a UC Reach Score of 8 (top-6 UC admits per 100 seniors, counting a student at each campus that admitted them) — 11 points below the California median of 19, higher than 9% of California high schools..
19
57
53
8
Higher than 9% of California high schools (1105 ranked, ≥50 seniors)
Sierra High School's UC Reach Score of 8 is below the California median (19). The top 10% of CA schools achieve 53 or higher.
Against similar schools, Sierra High School trails the peer-group median (57) — even though it looks strong vs. the state average.
Overall, Sierra High School's UC Reach is higher than 9% of California high schools (1105 ranked).
UC Outcomes Trend — 2018–2025
Class size from CDE grade 12 enrollment. Campus-level data: applicant and admit totals count a student once at EACH campus. A senior admitted to UCLA and UC San Diego adds 2 to the admit total, so the total can exceed the senior class — that is the metric working as defined, not an error. The admit RATE is unaffected: both its numerator and denominator are campus-level.
Campus Breakdown — 2025
| Campus | Applicants | Admits | Enrollees | Admit Rate | UC Reach Score | Yield | Avg GPA (App) | Avg GPA (Adm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Irvine → Selective | 5 | 3 | —† | 60.0% | 3 | — | 3.76 | —† |
| UC Davis → | 7 | 4 | —† | 57.1% | 4 | — | 3.92 | —† |
What This Means
For School Admins
The full Reach Report for Sierra High School
A board- and LCAP-ready intelligence brief: your enrollment retention and college outcomes, benchmarked against your closest competitors, with a 5-year forecast, concrete steps to act on, and the rigor + outcomes story you can share with your families. Built from primary public data — prepared for you, not auto-generated.
- ✓Your UC Reach Score (8) ranked head-to-head against your closest competitor schools
- ✓Your 5-year enrollment forecast (currently -0.7%/yr) with the revenue at stake
- ✓Student-retention benchmarking vs your county median — and the LCAP evidence to back your goals
At a glance
JSON · Using this page with an AI assistantSierra High School is a public high school in Tollhouse, Fresno County, California with 93 seniors in the Class of 2025.
Its UC Reach Score is 8 (Below the CA median, below the state median): 7 UC admits (counted at each UC) from a senior class of 93, so a student admitted to several campuses counts at each. That is higher than 9% of California high schools.
In 2025 its students filed 12 UC applications and received 7 offers, a UC admit rate of 58.3% (counted at each campus).
55% of its graduates completed the A-G courses required for UC and CSU eligibility (California median 56%).
72% of its 2022-23 graduates enrolled in college within 12 months (California Department of Education College-Going Rate).
It has about 348 students per school counselor.
Enrollment was 358 students in 2026, down 12% since 2018.
Sources: University of California Office of the President (admissions), California Department of Education (enrollment, A-G, college-going), and the school's own published documents where named.
Questions families ask
What is Sierra High School's UC Reach Score? Sierra High School's UC Reach Score is 8 (Below the CA median, below the state median): 7 UC admits (counted at each UC) from a senior class of 93, so a student admitted to several campuses counts at each. That is higher than 9% of California high schools.
How many students from Sierra High School got into a UC? In 2025 its students filed 12 UC applications and received 7 offers, a UC admit rate of 58.3% (counted at each campus).
What percentage of Sierra High School graduates complete the A-G requirements? 55% of its graduates completed the A-G courses required for UC and CSU eligibility (California median 56%).
What percentage of Sierra High School graduates go to college? 72% of its 2022-23 graduates enrolled in college within 12 months (California Department of Education College-Going Rate).
How many students attend Sierra High School? Enrollment was 358 students in 2026, down 12% since 2018.
Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com). These figures may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.
What does AI tell parents about Sierra High School?
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