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Thomas Downey High

Q: Is Thomas Downey High a good school?

Thomas Downey High ranks 1113 th of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

1113^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California High Schools

Better than 49% of California high schools

Summary

Thomas Downey High is a large public high school serving grades 9-12 with about 2,200 students in Modesto City High School District, a district with average performance across the state.

The school has a strong 93% graduation rate and an impressively low dropout rate, showing it successfully supports students through to graduation. Academically, it shows a promising upward trend, improving from a lower ranking a few years ago to now performing around the middle of all California high schools. However, test scores in math and science remain below state averages, and chronic student absenteeism is a notable challenge. Compared to other high schools in the Modesto City High district, Thomas Downey performs in the middle of the pack—ahead of Grace M. Davis High and Peter Johansen High in most subjects, but behind higher-performing schools like James C. Enochs High and Fred C. Beyer High.

Looking at different student groups, the school has seen extraordinary success, with one group's performance ranking in the top 15% of schools statewide, a dramatic three-year improvement. At the same time, it faces a significant challenge in supporting another student group, which ranks very low compared to their peers at other California schools. The school spends more per student than most of its district peers, yet this higher funding hasn't translated to top-tier academic results, indicating a focus on how resources are used may be as important as the amount.

2,192

Students ?

23.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$19,656

Per pupil spending ?

76%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1000 Coffee Rd.
Modesto, CA 95355-4204

(209) 574-1685

District: Modesto City High

Feeder schools for Thomas Downey High:

Elementary:	Bret Harte Elementary
	Fairview Elementary
	John Muir Elementary
	Rose Avenue Elementary
	More...
	Shackelford Elementary
	Sonoma Elementary
Middle:	Evelyn Hanshaw Middle

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

69.1%

White:

18.1%

Two or more races:

8.4%

See top rated California high schools

Compare Thomas Downey High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 27th percentile in 2022 → 49th in 2025

Strengths

✓93% graduate in 4 years — above the California average (88%)

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 49th (2025) from a 27th-percentile low (2022)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (31% vs 41% meeting standards)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

!Mathematics scores 17 pts below the California average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school31%

District avg30%

California avg41%

1,113^th of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Bottom 49%▼ down 19 pts since 2015

From top 33% (2015) to bottom 49% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 8High Schools in the Modesto City High

873^rd of 1,543Modesto City High among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	46.1	1113 of 2162	48.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	38.8	1272 of 2159	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	30.9	1466 of 2170	32.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	23.9	1560 of 2123	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	31.8	869 of 1290	32.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	41.0	1189 of 2133	44.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	53.7	939 of 2017	53.4%	★★★☆☆
2017	54.1	926 of 2021	54.2%	★★★☆☆
2016	57.2	848 of 2039	58.4%	★★★☆☆
2015	65.0	656 of 1994	67.1%	★★★☆☆
2013	48.9	819 of 2426	66.2%	★★★☆☆
2012	50.6	787 of 2354	66.6%	★★★☆☆
2011	54.8	672 of 2367	71.6%	★★★★☆
2010	57.6	563 of 2281	75.3%	★★★★☆
2009	53.4	647 of 2238	71.1%	★★★★☆
2008	57.4	515 of 2117	75.7%	★★★★☆
2007	64.8	356 of 2063	82.7%	★★★★☆
2006	64.2	382 of 1968	80.6%	★★★★☆
2005	58.2	443 of 1901	76.7%	★★★★☆
2004	51.1	472 of 1653	71.4%	★★★★☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	79.2	79 of 523	84.9%	★★★★☆
2022	14.7	479 of 522	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	14.9	523 of 592	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	44.7	288 of 582	50.5%	★★★☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	7.9	543 of 585	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	3.4	560 of 581	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	21.2	1070 of 1161	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	23.3	471 of 555	15.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	36.5	615 of 1117	44.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	42.6	488 of 1052	53.6%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	47.1	409 of 1085	62.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	32.6	762 of 1064	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.2	894 of 1044	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	38.9	263 of 467	43.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	34.3	625 of 941	33.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	25.5	721 of 938	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	40.7	1104 of 1906	42.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.1	1194 of 1915	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.3	1333 of 1915	30.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	18.7	1520 of 1858	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	21.4	861 of 1054	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	39.1	1091 of 1833	40.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	49.9	905 of 1760	48.6%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	44.5	1060 of 1900	44.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	33.5	1292 of 1902	32.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	26.3	1422 of 1917	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.3	1465 of 1861	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	42.3	1055 of 1814	41.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	52.2	862 of 1742	50.5%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	43.2	1141 of 2013	43.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.6	1280 of 2026	36.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	28.3	1448 of 2030	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.5	1567 of 1943	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	29.3	834 of 1126	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	37.6	1219 of 1937	37.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	51.8	916 of 1862	50.8%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	46.9	978 of 1942	49.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.1	1168 of 1948	40.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.4	1347 of 1963	31.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	25.6	1393 of 1916	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	34.4	740 of 1122	34.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	48.5	900 of 1880	52.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	50.4	908 of 1834	50.5%	★★★☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.4	483 of 577	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	10.4	517 of 574	9.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	7.1	503 of 541	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	3.5	507 of 515	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	17.1	354 of 422	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	34.4	782 of 1252	37.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	31.3	798 of 1216	34.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	23.2	1027 of 1197	14.2%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	47.8	630 of 1155	45.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	54.7	532 of 1173	54.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	38.8	744 of 1193	37.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	26.9	889 of 1204	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	46.5	674 of 1222	44.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	53.4	609 of 1173	48.1%	★★☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

African American (2025)85th percentile+36 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)62nd percentile+21 vs school

Male (2025)50th percentile~ school

White (2025)45th percentile-3 vs school

Hispanic (2025)44th percentile-4 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)43rd percentile-5 vs school

Female (2025)42nd percentile-6 vs school

Special Education (2025)38th percentile-11 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)16th percentile-32 vs school

Disabled (2022)8th percentile-19 vs school

Asian (2025)7th percentile-41 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy48%~ state avg

Science24%-8 vs state

Mathematics21%-17 vs state

4.5

2 ratings

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3★0

2★0

1★0

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Schools Near Thomas Downey High

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)					Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)					Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)					Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science 10th Grade	CAST Science 11th Grade	CAST Science 12th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Thomas Downey High	Public	9-12	1000 Coffee Rd.	Modesto	95355	Stanislaus County	Modesto City High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 574-1685	2,192	92	23.8	76.0%	396 (18.1%)	36 (1.6%)	1,514 (69.1%)	46 (2.1%)	7 (0.3%)	8 (0.4%)	185 (8.4%)	46.1	1113^th of 2162 public high schools	48.5%		38.8	1272^nd of 2159 public high schools	41.1%	159		7.4	28.8	13.3	24.2				47.9	47.9				20.5	20.5	$19,656	$2,735	$16,921
Robert Elliott Alternative Education Center	Public	9-12	1440 Sunrise Ave.	Modesto	95350	Stanislaus County	Modesto City High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 574-1701	479	33	14.4	87.9%	66 (13.8%)	19 (4.0%)	346 (72.2%)	7 (1.5%)	1 (0.2%)	5 (1.0%)	34 (7.1%)	8.5	2095^th of 2162 public high schools	3.1%		11.6	1969^th of 2159 public high schools	8.8%	126			2.0		2.5				4.8	4.8				1.4	1.4	$23,165	$3,219	$19,946
Stanislaus Alternative Charter	Public, Charter	9-12	1325 H St.	Modesto	95354	Stanislaus County	Stanislaus Alternative Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 238-8650	651	25	26.4	64.8%	134 (20.6%)	36 (5.5%)	433 (66.5%)	16 (2.5%)	7 (1.1%)	7 (1.1%)	15 (2.3%)								(n/a)				0.0	0.0											$11,938	$906	$11,032
Yosemite Regional Occupational Program	Public	11-12	1100 H St.	Modesto	95354	Stanislaus County	Yosemite Regional Occupational Program	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(209) 238-1500	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Fred C. Beyer High	Public	9-12	1717 Sylvan Ave.	Modesto	95355	Stanislaus County	Modesto City High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 574-1647	1,609	74	21.8	62.2%	428 (26.6%)	55 (3.4%)	849 (52.8%)	89 (5.5%)	3 (0.2%)	11 (0.7%)	174 (10.8%)	63.2	734^th of 2162 public high schools	66.0%		64.8	654^th of 2159 public high schools	69.7%	80			28.5		28.7				62.9	62.9				31.4	31.4	$21,348	$2,746	$18,602
Grace M. Davis High	Public	9-12	1200 West Rumble Rd.	Modesto	95350	Stanislaus County	Modesto City High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 574-1668	2,083	95	21.9	80.2%	319 (15.3%)	63 (3.0%)	1,304 (62.6%)	170 (8.2%)	11 (0.5%)	18 (0.9%)	198 (9.5%)	32.5	1436^th of 2162 public high schools	33.6%		39.3	1256^th of 2159 public high schools	41.8%	180		7.6	21.9	5.3	18.4				39.8	39.8				12.2	12.2	$18,989	$2,805	$16,184
Modesto High	Public	9-12	18 H St.	Modesto	95351	Stanislaus County	Modesto City High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 574-1776	2,292	104	22.0	83.7%	146 (6.4%)	46 (2.0%)	1,767 (77.1%)	168 (7.3%)	5 (0.2%)	10 (0.4%)	150 (6.5%)	43.5	1179^th of 2162 public high schools	45.5%		35.1	1367^th of 2159 public high schools	36.7%	188		8.4	28.9		22.7				45.3	45.3				19.9	19.9	$18,957	$2,731	$16,226
Peter Johansen High	Public	9-12	641 Norseman Dr.	Modesto	95357	Stanislaus County	Modesto City High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 574-1760	2,029	91	22.3	81.9%	251 (12.4%)	53 (2.6%)	1,474 (72.6%)	69 (3.4%)	4 (0.2%)	14 (0.7%)	164 (8.1%)	35.8	1363^rd of 2162 public high schools	37.0%		45.7	1107^th of 2159 public high schools	48.7%	256		11.1	21.4	6.3	20.5				43.0	43.0				13.1	13.1	$19,513	$2,827	$16,686
Aspire Vanguard College Preparatory Academy	Public, Charter	6-12	819 Sunset Ave.	Modesto	95351	Stanislaus County	Aspire Vanguard College Preparatory Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 521-3010	617	27	22.7	77.5%	35 (5.7%)	16 (2.6%)	491 (79.6%)	20 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	53 (8.6%)	61.7	772^nd of 2162 public high schools	64.3%		56.8	840^th of 2159 public high schools	61.1%	68	9.1			41.9	18.3	26.5	21.9	21.8	59.7	29.3	12.0	13.8	7.3	16.4	12.0	$16,847	$1,713	$15,134
James C. Enochs High	Public	9-12	3201 Sylvan Ave.	Modesto	95355	Stanislaus County	Modesto City High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 574-1719	2,304	98	23.5	45.5%	623 (27.0%)	61 (2.6%)	1,055 (45.8%)	255 (11.1%)	5 (0.2%)	18 (0.8%)	284 (12.3%)	69.5	613^th of 2162 public high schools	71.6%		77.9	438^th of 2159 public high schools	79.7%	175			38.4		38.3				60.6	60.6				32.6	32.6	$18,409	$2,442	$15,967

Frequently Asked Questions about Thomas Downey High

What district is Thomas Downey High in?

Modesto City High

What is the racial makeup of Thomas Downey High?

Students at Thomas Downey High are 69% Hispanic, 18% White, 8% Two or more races, 2% Asian, 2% African American.

What schools feed into Thomas Downey High?

Thomas Downey High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Bret Harte Elementary
Elementary : Fairview Elementary
Elementary : John Muir Elementary
Elementary : Rose Avenue Elementary
Elementary : Shackelford Elementary
Elementary : Sonoma Elementary
Middle : Evelyn Hanshaw Middle

How many students attend Thomas Downey High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 2,192 students attended Thomas Downey High.

Is Thomas Downey High a good school?

Thomas Downey High ranks 1113^th of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Rate Thomas Downey High!

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.