Central Union High

The Central Union High district has three high schools serving grades 9–12: Central Union High, Southwest High, and Desert Oasis High (Continuation). In the latest reported results, English language arts (ELA) is the area’s closest subject to California’s results: the three-school average was 48%, compared with 49% statewide. Mathematics averaged 17% versus 38% statewide, and science averaged 17% versus 36%. The clearest area-wide concern is that math and science proficiency remain substantially below state results.

Central Union led in ELA and math, with 55% proficient in ELA and 25% in math; Southwest led in science at 23%. Central and Southwest were above the state in ELA by 6 and 4 percentage points, respectively, but both were below it in math and science. Desert Oasis was lowest in all three subjects, at 37% in ELA, 1% in math, and 7% in science. Its profile also differed on other outcomes: graduation was 82%, compared with 88% statewide, while chronic absenteeism was 74%, versus 18% statewide. Central’s graduation rate was 97% and absenteeism 10%; Southwest’s were 94% and 18%.

Scores changed unevenly: from the prior year, Central gained 7 points in ELA and 6 in math but lost 5 in science; Southwest gained 3 points in math while ELA and science each fell by about 1–2 points. Across the area, the ELA gap with the state narrowed from 8 points to 1, and the math gap narrowed from 24 to 22; the science gap widened from 15 to 19 points. SchoolDigger’s ranking percentile fell over three years from 66 to 47 for Central and from 66 to 54 for Southwest, while Desert Oasis rose from 16 to 24. In SY 2024–2025, free/reduced lunch eligible figures were similar at Central and Southwest—73% and 72%—and 94% at Desert Oasis; student-teacher ratios were 20.9, 19.5, and 13.9, respectively. Desert Oasis is a small continuation school with 138 students, so its results are not a like-for-like comparison with the two comprehensive schools.