Summary:
Benicia Unified has two high schools serving grades 9–12: Benicia High (1,335 students) and Liberty High (43 students). In 2025–2026, Benicia scored higher than Liberty in English language arts, math, and science, and was above California results in all three subjects; Liberty was below the state in all three. The most important takeaway is that results vary sharply depending on which of these two schools a student attends.
Benicia High stands out at the top: 65% of students were proficient in ELA, 45% in math, and 51% in science. Those results exceed Liberty High by 45, 37, and 33 percentage points, respectively. Liberty’s results were 20% in ELA, 8% in math, and 17% in science. The contrast also shows in other outcomes: Benicia’s graduation rate was 97%, compared with 80% at Liberty, while chronic absenteeism was 18% at Benicia and 71% at Liberty.
Scores improved at both schools from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026 in every subject. Benicia’s gains were 4 points in ELA, 8 in math, and 10 in science; Liberty’s were 9, 8, and 7 points. The equally weighted average for the two schools remained below the state, though science was closest—2 points below, compared with 7 in ELA and 12 in math. SchoolDigger’s statewide percentile rose for Liberty from 7 to 22 over three years, while Benicia’s was 82 in 2025–2026 after dipping and recovering; SchoolDigger gives the district four stars. For 2024–2025, Liberty had a lower student–teacher ratio (9.2 versus 22.2) and higher reported per-student spending ($49,746 versus $18,014), observations that do not explain the outcome differences. Both schools reported free/reduced lunch eligible figures for 2024–2025: 24% at Benicia and 40% at Liberty. Liberty’s enrollment is much smaller, so its results may be less stable year to year; grade 12 science results are not reported.
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