Summary:
McArthur, California, served by the Fall River Joint Unified district, has three small high schools (grades 7-12) enrolling 250 students total, with the district performing around the state average.
The main comprehensive school, Fall River Junior-Senior High, stands out for its very strong 97.4% graduation rate, which is well above state and district averages, though its test scores in English, math, and science are below state averages. In contrast, the two much smaller alternative schools, Soldier Mountain High (Continuation) and Fall River Community Day, face significant challenges with chronic absenteeism affecting over 90% of their students and have lower graduation rates where data is available.
Key takeaways for parents include the district's dual reality of high graduation rates at the main school alongside lower test scores, and a severe attendance crisis in the alternative programs serving higher-need students. Mathematics is an area of particular need across the district. The comprehensive school receives the highest per-student funding, while the smaller alternative schools, which serve students with greater economic need, have less funding and large gaps in reported performance data.
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